10x00 - Brothers of the Road - Part Eight: Show of Force
Title: Show of Force, Part Eight of Brothers of the Road
Author: dracox-serdriel
Artist: wifihunters
Acknowledgements: Thanks to my beta readers, septembers_coda and novakev
Status: Completed as part of sastiel-bigbang 2013
Sam fumbled through the pile of artifacts the Men of Letters kept in their archive. Cas watched curiously, unsure whether Sam had decided to no longer take his own advice of 'going in smart.'
"What are you doing?" Cas asked.
"Amazons made a deal with Harmonia," Sam said.
"Yes, but - "
"There's a thing in here that can kill her - "
"You want to kill Harmonia?" the angel asked. "Why?"
Sam stopped and turned to face Cas. "Because the Amazons get their power from a deal with her. We kill her, they become weak, we kill them and take Dean back."
"In the event that we do successfully dispatch Harmonia, it is much more likely that they kill Dean in retaliation before we get to him."
"So what then? We go up against dozens of super warriors and hope we win?" Sam asked.
"First we need to figure out where the Kronia Festival is taking place."
"Okay, that's another thing, the Kronia festival was to celebrate Cronus, and we ganked him already - "
"The Amazons wouldn't honor a male deity," Cas cut him off. "This is there variation on it. Likely in Harmonia's name. If we can find out where, then we can rescue Dean and this Kelvin Colt person."
"That's your plan?" Sam asked.
"After we rescue them, we can kill all the Amazons, if you'd like," Cas added. "But we would have more luck as four than as two."
Sam considered this and nodded. "Then, how do we find them?"
"We summon Harmonia and ask," Cas said.
"I thought you said you didn't want to kill her."
"I said it would be foolish to kill her, yes."
"So, we summon her and ask, you think she'll spill?" Sam asked.
"We challenge her Amazons," Cas said. "Harmonia's bargain with the warriors make them like her - children. They kill in her name. They hunt for her. If we ask her where they plan to hold their festival, she'll tell us."
"Because?" Sam prompted.
"Because she will assume that we will fail," Cas said. "We have already done our due show of force, I feel strongly that we can summon her now and demand to know about the festival."
Sam's mind was swimming. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"The vampire nest? The immortal alchemist? The Leviathan? We've shown our prowess in terms of battle over the last few days, which would make us worthy opponents," Cas replied. "That is our show of force."
"What if you're wrong?" Sam asked. "What if she blows us off?"
Cas didn't even think about it. He replied, "Then we kill her, I suppose."
"Great, then I need that Greek-god-killing spear thing."
"Spear-thing?" Cas asked.
"Yeah, it's similar to what we used on Cronus," Sam said as he returned to his excavation of the artifacts.
Cas gathered materials for the spell, realizing -
"I need Cyprus oil and rosemary."
"What?" Sam asked.
But Cas had already disappeared.
Summoning a Greek deity wasn't as difficult as Sam thought it would be. He had his reservations from the time they dealt with Zeus, but Castiel wasn't backing down.
Sam managed to find a stake made from an ancient olive tree, imbued with special properties by way of some random creature's blood. For good measure, he pocketed the Colt.
"Damn it," Cas cursed. It sounded odd from his mouth, like he wanted to give the words venom but didn't know how.
"Cas?"
"This summoning spell only works at dawn!"
It was midnight.
"I've been wondering, Cas - can't you hone in on Kelvin Colt?" Sam asked.
"What?"
"Dean has tagging on his ribs, but Colt doesn't. They're in the same place, so if you can hone in on him - "
"No, it won't work," Cas interrupted. "I already tried."
"But - "
"Wherever they're holding them, it's protected from angels," Cas said. "Summoning Harmonia is the only way, and we can't even do that for another six hours."
"Then I guess we should look for other ways to find Amazons," Sam said, putting down his weapons and walking back over to his books.
"You should sleep."
Sam met Castiel's eyes. "If I sleep, will you continue looking for other ways to find the Amazons?"
"What else would I do?"
"Sit here and brood openly."
"Is that supposed to be funny? It's not funny."
Sam shook his head. "Since you got that spell together all you've done is sulk and complain about how long it took me to dig up this stuff. If I sleep, will you actually look for another way? Just in case?"
"Very well."
When Sam didn't seem convinced, Castiel rolled his eyes and said, "I give you my word." He even sounded sarcastic.
With that, the hunter walked up to his room. The angel was ready to ignore his promise, to simply stand and wait for the hours to trickle by.
But Dean's life was on the line, so maybe Sam wasn't wrong. Maybe they should have a contingency for their show of force on Harmonia. His affections for Sam became were becoming frayed by their extended time alone in the same foxhole.
Just like Dean.
Dean had been - indeed, constantly was - a pain in the ass. It made Castiel feel annoyance and fondness at the same time. That particular confluence of emotions planted a nugget of love in his heart. From what he understood about humanity, conflicted emotions were the seat of wisdom. In a way, Dean's particular brand of jerk gave the angel his first glimmer of humanity. Cas hadn't recognized how much Sam presented those same features - thorny and kind, admirable and reckless, bold but bleak.
Cas opened the first book and began absorbing information. He had five hours and fifty-one minutes to go.
Sam had no plans to sleep, but forcing himself to stare at text over and over again would definitely put him to sleep.
He pulled out his phone.
"'lo?" Benny said on the other end.
"It's Sam."
"Figured," Benny huffed. "I haven' foun' much abou' dragons kidnappin' anyone."
"It's not dragons," Sam said.
"You know who it is?"
"Yeah, the Amazons."
Benny laughed. "You're kiddin'." After a few seconds, he added, "You're not kiddin', are you?"
"No," Sam said. "How fast you think you can get to Lebanon, Kansas?"
"Uh, ten hours."
"Okay, please, just get here. We can really use your help."
"By help you mean wha' exac'ly?" Benny asked. "I've been keeping my nose clean, and I'm outta practice."
"Between Cas and me, we can hold'em off, but depending on how many there are..." Sam considered. "What we really need is someone to break Dean out."
"So you two are gonna fight, and I swoop in and grab the damsel in distress?" Benny asked.
"Yes, but only if you promise to say that to Dean," Sam said.
They laughed.
"I'm gonna drive now. I'll call ya when I'm in Kansas."
Harmonia was a voluptuous woman with red-blond hair. Unlike Artemis, she wore a sundress and arrived to her summons without a single weapon.
"Hello," she said mildly as she appeared at dawn.
"Where is the Festival of Time being held this year?" Castiel asked.
"Who wants to know?"
"The Winchesters," Sam replied.
Castiel made to add his name, but the hunter waved his hand. Cas was a Winchester, for better or worse.
Harmonia considered them, her eye lingering on Sam for far too long. "The Winchesters want to die at the hands of my Amazons. Why?"
"Does it matter?" Cas asked. "We're worthy."
"Yes, you two have been quite busy bees in the last week. But vampires? They're not Amazons."
"What about Leviathan?" Sam asked.
"You can't kill Leviathan."
"We can and we have," Cas replied dully. He was following Sam's lead, keeping his voice calm.
Harmonia seemed pleased with them. "My warriors could always use a few more bodies at the Festival. It's rare enough that there's even one man who escapes their killing."
"Tell us where it is," Cas said.
"Imperial, Nebraska," she said calmly. "I'll be seeing you boys there."
"We need to leave immediately," Cas repeated.
"It's a three-hour drive, and we need reinforcements," Sam said. "Something they won't be expecting."
"Every second we wait, Dean and Kelvin are left there with these monsters - "
"I know!" Sam barked. "You agreed to go in smart or not at all. So I called Benny. And Dodge. She has training in long-distance shooting. She's not the best shot in the world, but she can cover us going in."
"And Benny?"
"He's gonna pull Dean and Kelvin out. He can hear their heartbeats from yards away. He's our best bet."
"How much longer do we have to wait?"
"Benny will be here in two hours, Dodge in one. In the meantime, we should be checking out weapons."
"I should be able to obliterate them," Cas objected.
"And what if your angel death ray doesn't work on them? What if you have to smite them one by one?"
"Then I will!"
"Yeah, and I will have to shoot my way out with you. So we're gonna pack weapons to the nines. You understand?"
"If that's the case, then why are you only packing guns?" Cas asked.
Sam hadn't expected that. "Huh."
"Nice tah meetcha," Benny said extending his hand to Dakota 'Dodge' Gage. "Name's Benny."
"Call me Dodge."
"Sam tell you I'ma vampire?" he asked.
"I've heard of you before," she said. "Dean mentioned you, I think."
"It's nice to be remember'd."
"Great," Sam said, barely concealing his own tension at Dodge meeting Benny. "We're gonna travel separately. We've got a location, but it's not precise."
"Which is why I'm here," Dodge said. "I got this from satellite images."
She rolled out a large map of southwestern Nebraska. There were a number of oddities in the photo, including areas that looked like they had been razed to the ground.
"Are those forest fires?" Sam asked.
"Not so much," Dodge replied. "Someone burned these points to the ground. All eight of them are equidistant from this one spot."
Castiel nodded. "The Festival of Time would require an agricultural sacrifice in the days leading up to the blood sacrifice. It looks like they have burned plots of land."
"Give him a biscuit," Dodge said.
"I don't want a biscuit, " Cas said, but Dodge ignored him.
"Eight spots. Eight arson investigations. Although the cops have linked them because of the similarities: size, shape, accelerant. No leads."
"You sure they're keepin' their captives in the same general area?" Benny asked.
"There are natural caves along the southeastern edge, but only a few that can safely house humans in the southwestern area near Imperial."
"So, we go in, I walk 'round takin' a list'n fer them in that general area," Benny said. "And hopefully find him."
"Cas and I are the decoys, drawing off guards," Sam added. "Dodge, you can provide cover fire, right?"
"Yeah, but I only have one shotgun - "
Sam laughed. "Dodge, I've got dozens of guns. You can have your pick."
Cas took out a pair of large, wire-rimmed glasses. "You will also need these," he said, holding them out to Dodge.
"These some kind of super binoculars?" she asked.
"Cas, those are mine!" Sam protested.
"Yes," Cas said to Sam. He turned to Dodge. "These have been scorched with Holy Fire. They reveal things invisible to the average human eye. You will need them to provide cover fire."
"Why? It's not like hellhounds will be there," Sam said.
Dodge put the glasses on and stepped back quickly, nearly crashing into Benny.
"Dodge?" Sam said as he went to her.
"Sorry," she said to the vampire. She held out the glasses to Sam, who donned them immediately.
Through the lenses, the younger Winchester could see what threw Dodge back. Castiel's enormous black wings branched out in both directions. His body glowed yellow-white, and faint traces of red pulsated around him. Sam pulled them off and handed them back to Dodge.
"That smarts," Sam said simply. "You sure she should wear these, Cas?"
Castiel nodded. "She won't be so close when she uses them," he replied.
"Okay, great. An FBI agent riding with illegal weapons and equipped with angel-spotting glasses," Dodge said as she pocketed them.
"You won't be riding with us?" Cas asked, confused.
"No," Sam and Dodge said at the same time.
"If I'm gonna provide cover fire, I might need to change vantage points, so Sam pulled me an old junker for the job."
"If you are pulled over, simply call out my name and I will teleport you away," Cas offered. "But take the guns."
Benny laughed.
"What?" Dodge asked.
"Strange comp'ny, that's all," he replied.
<<< Previous Part:
Part Seven: Underture/Overture
Next Part: >>>
Part Nine: Mirror Door
Primary Post: 10x00 Brothers of the Road
Author: dracox-serdriel
Artist: wifihunters
Acknowledgements: Thanks to my beta readers, septembers_coda and novakev
Status: Completed as part of sastiel-bigbang 2013
Sam fumbled through the pile of artifacts the Men of Letters kept in their archive. Cas watched curiously, unsure whether Sam had decided to no longer take his own advice of 'going in smart.'
"What are you doing?" Cas asked.
"Amazons made a deal with Harmonia," Sam said.
"Yes, but - "
"There's a thing in here that can kill her - "
"You want to kill Harmonia?" the angel asked. "Why?"
Sam stopped and turned to face Cas. "Because the Amazons get their power from a deal with her. We kill her, they become weak, we kill them and take Dean back."
"In the event that we do successfully dispatch Harmonia, it is much more likely that they kill Dean in retaliation before we get to him."
"So what then? We go up against dozens of super warriors and hope we win?" Sam asked.
"First we need to figure out where the Kronia Festival is taking place."
"Okay, that's another thing, the Kronia festival was to celebrate Cronus, and we ganked him already - "
"The Amazons wouldn't honor a male deity," Cas cut him off. "This is there variation on it. Likely in Harmonia's name. If we can find out where, then we can rescue Dean and this Kelvin Colt person."
"That's your plan?" Sam asked.
"After we rescue them, we can kill all the Amazons, if you'd like," Cas added. "But we would have more luck as four than as two."
Sam considered this and nodded. "Then, how do we find them?"
"We summon Harmonia and ask," Cas said.
"I thought you said you didn't want to kill her."
"I said it would be foolish to kill her, yes."
"So, we summon her and ask, you think she'll spill?" Sam asked.
"We challenge her Amazons," Cas said. "Harmonia's bargain with the warriors make them like her - children. They kill in her name. They hunt for her. If we ask her where they plan to hold their festival, she'll tell us."
"Because?" Sam prompted.
"Because she will assume that we will fail," Cas said. "We have already done our due show of force, I feel strongly that we can summon her now and demand to know about the festival."
Sam's mind was swimming. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"The vampire nest? The immortal alchemist? The Leviathan? We've shown our prowess in terms of battle over the last few days, which would make us worthy opponents," Cas replied. "That is our show of force."
"What if you're wrong?" Sam asked. "What if she blows us off?"
Cas didn't even think about it. He replied, "Then we kill her, I suppose."
"Great, then I need that Greek-god-killing spear thing."
"Spear-thing?" Cas asked.
"Yeah, it's similar to what we used on Cronus," Sam said as he returned to his excavation of the artifacts.
Cas gathered materials for the spell, realizing -
"I need Cyprus oil and rosemary."
"What?" Sam asked.
But Cas had already disappeared.
Summoning a Greek deity wasn't as difficult as Sam thought it would be. He had his reservations from the time they dealt with Zeus, but Castiel wasn't backing down.
Sam managed to find a stake made from an ancient olive tree, imbued with special properties by way of some random creature's blood. For good measure, he pocketed the Colt.
"Damn it," Cas cursed. It sounded odd from his mouth, like he wanted to give the words venom but didn't know how.
"Cas?"
"This summoning spell only works at dawn!"
It was midnight.
"I've been wondering, Cas - can't you hone in on Kelvin Colt?" Sam asked.
"What?"
"Dean has tagging on his ribs, but Colt doesn't. They're in the same place, so if you can hone in on him - "
"No, it won't work," Cas interrupted. "I already tried."
"But - "
"Wherever they're holding them, it's protected from angels," Cas said. "Summoning Harmonia is the only way, and we can't even do that for another six hours."
"Then I guess we should look for other ways to find Amazons," Sam said, putting down his weapons and walking back over to his books.
"You should sleep."
Sam met Castiel's eyes. "If I sleep, will you continue looking for other ways to find the Amazons?"
"What else would I do?"
"Sit here and brood openly."
"Is that supposed to be funny? It's not funny."
Sam shook his head. "Since you got that spell together all you've done is sulk and complain about how long it took me to dig up this stuff. If I sleep, will you actually look for another way? Just in case?"
"Very well."
When Sam didn't seem convinced, Castiel rolled his eyes and said, "I give you my word." He even sounded sarcastic.
With that, the hunter walked up to his room. The angel was ready to ignore his promise, to simply stand and wait for the hours to trickle by.
But Dean's life was on the line, so maybe Sam wasn't wrong. Maybe they should have a contingency for their show of force on Harmonia. His affections for Sam became were becoming frayed by their extended time alone in the same foxhole.
Just like Dean.
Dean had been - indeed, constantly was - a pain in the ass. It made Castiel feel annoyance and fondness at the same time. That particular confluence of emotions planted a nugget of love in his heart. From what he understood about humanity, conflicted emotions were the seat of wisdom. In a way, Dean's particular brand of jerk gave the angel his first glimmer of humanity. Cas hadn't recognized how much Sam presented those same features - thorny and kind, admirable and reckless, bold but bleak.
Cas opened the first book and began absorbing information. He had five hours and fifty-one minutes to go.
Sam had no plans to sleep, but forcing himself to stare at text over and over again would definitely put him to sleep.
He pulled out his phone.
"'lo?" Benny said on the other end.
"It's Sam."
"Figured," Benny huffed. "I haven' foun' much abou' dragons kidnappin' anyone."
"It's not dragons," Sam said.
"You know who it is?"
"Yeah, the Amazons."
Benny laughed. "You're kiddin'." After a few seconds, he added, "You're not kiddin', are you?"
"No," Sam said. "How fast you think you can get to Lebanon, Kansas?"
"Uh, ten hours."
"Okay, please, just get here. We can really use your help."
"By help you mean wha' exac'ly?" Benny asked. "I've been keeping my nose clean, and I'm outta practice."
"Between Cas and me, we can hold'em off, but depending on how many there are..." Sam considered. "What we really need is someone to break Dean out."
"So you two are gonna fight, and I swoop in and grab the damsel in distress?" Benny asked.
"Yes, but only if you promise to say that to Dean," Sam said.
They laughed.
"I'm gonna drive now. I'll call ya when I'm in Kansas."
Harmonia was a voluptuous woman with red-blond hair. Unlike Artemis, she wore a sundress and arrived to her summons without a single weapon.
"Hello," she said mildly as she appeared at dawn.
"Where is the Festival of Time being held this year?" Castiel asked.
"Who wants to know?"
"The Winchesters," Sam replied.
Castiel made to add his name, but the hunter waved his hand. Cas was a Winchester, for better or worse.
Harmonia considered them, her eye lingering on Sam for far too long. "The Winchesters want to die at the hands of my Amazons. Why?"
"Does it matter?" Cas asked. "We're worthy."
"Yes, you two have been quite busy bees in the last week. But vampires? They're not Amazons."
"What about Leviathan?" Sam asked.
"You can't kill Leviathan."
"We can and we have," Cas replied dully. He was following Sam's lead, keeping his voice calm.
Harmonia seemed pleased with them. "My warriors could always use a few more bodies at the Festival. It's rare enough that there's even one man who escapes their killing."
"Tell us where it is," Cas said.
"Imperial, Nebraska," she said calmly. "I'll be seeing you boys there."
"We need to leave immediately," Cas repeated.
"It's a three-hour drive, and we need reinforcements," Sam said. "Something they won't be expecting."
"Every second we wait, Dean and Kelvin are left there with these monsters - "
"I know!" Sam barked. "You agreed to go in smart or not at all. So I called Benny. And Dodge. She has training in long-distance shooting. She's not the best shot in the world, but she can cover us going in."
"And Benny?"
"He's gonna pull Dean and Kelvin out. He can hear their heartbeats from yards away. He's our best bet."
"How much longer do we have to wait?"
"Benny will be here in two hours, Dodge in one. In the meantime, we should be checking out weapons."
"I should be able to obliterate them," Cas objected.
"And what if your angel death ray doesn't work on them? What if you have to smite them one by one?"
"Then I will!"
"Yeah, and I will have to shoot my way out with you. So we're gonna pack weapons to the nines. You understand?"
"If that's the case, then why are you only packing guns?" Cas asked.
Sam hadn't expected that. "Huh."
"Nice tah meetcha," Benny said extending his hand to Dakota 'Dodge' Gage. "Name's Benny."
"Call me Dodge."
"Sam tell you I'ma vampire?" he asked.
"I've heard of you before," she said. "Dean mentioned you, I think."
"It's nice to be remember'd."
"Great," Sam said, barely concealing his own tension at Dodge meeting Benny. "We're gonna travel separately. We've got a location, but it's not precise."
"Which is why I'm here," Dodge said. "I got this from satellite images."
She rolled out a large map of southwestern Nebraska. There were a number of oddities in the photo, including areas that looked like they had been razed to the ground.
"Are those forest fires?" Sam asked.
"Not so much," Dodge replied. "Someone burned these points to the ground. All eight of them are equidistant from this one spot."
Castiel nodded. "The Festival of Time would require an agricultural sacrifice in the days leading up to the blood sacrifice. It looks like they have burned plots of land."
"Give him a biscuit," Dodge said.
"I don't want a biscuit, " Cas said, but Dodge ignored him.
"Eight spots. Eight arson investigations. Although the cops have linked them because of the similarities: size, shape, accelerant. No leads."
"You sure they're keepin' their captives in the same general area?" Benny asked.
"There are natural caves along the southeastern edge, but only a few that can safely house humans in the southwestern area near Imperial."
"So, we go in, I walk 'round takin' a list'n fer them in that general area," Benny said. "And hopefully find him."
"Cas and I are the decoys, drawing off guards," Sam added. "Dodge, you can provide cover fire, right?"
"Yeah, but I only have one shotgun - "
Sam laughed. "Dodge, I've got dozens of guns. You can have your pick."
Cas took out a pair of large, wire-rimmed glasses. "You will also need these," he said, holding them out to Dodge.
"These some kind of super binoculars?" she asked.
"Cas, those are mine!" Sam protested.
"Yes," Cas said to Sam. He turned to Dodge. "These have been scorched with Holy Fire. They reveal things invisible to the average human eye. You will need them to provide cover fire."
"Why? It's not like hellhounds will be there," Sam said.
Dodge put the glasses on and stepped back quickly, nearly crashing into Benny.
"Dodge?" Sam said as he went to her.
"Sorry," she said to the vampire. She held out the glasses to Sam, who donned them immediately.
Through the lenses, the younger Winchester could see what threw Dodge back. Castiel's enormous black wings branched out in both directions. His body glowed yellow-white, and faint traces of red pulsated around him. Sam pulled them off and handed them back to Dodge.
"That smarts," Sam said simply. "You sure she should wear these, Cas?"
Castiel nodded. "She won't be so close when she uses them," he replied.
"Okay, great. An FBI agent riding with illegal weapons and equipped with angel-spotting glasses," Dodge said as she pocketed them.
"You won't be riding with us?" Cas asked, confused.
"No," Sam and Dodge said at the same time.
"If I'm gonna provide cover fire, I might need to change vantage points, so Sam pulled me an old junker for the job."
"If you are pulled over, simply call out my name and I will teleport you away," Cas offered. "But take the guns."
Benny laughed.
"What?" Dodge asked.
"Strange comp'ny, that's all," he replied.
<<< Previous Part:
Part Seven: Underture/Overture
Next Part: >>>
Part Nine: Mirror Door
Primary Post: 10x00 Brothers of the Road