Go (Gen, R)
Word count: 1108
Characters: Sam, Dean, Castiel, Bobby
Warnings: rampant theological speculation
Follows directly after Apotheosis
Dean stands there for a minute or so, looking at Sam on his throne. He keeps expecting Sam to say something, to give some indication that he isn't just part of the ornate structure itself, but Sam remains statue-still, considering Dean with unblinking all-seeing eyes.
Dean breaks their staring contest and asks, "So...you want to tell me what's going on?"
Sam doesn't respond, but continues to stare at Dean.
"Can you at least send me back to Bobby's?"
"Why?" Sam says, "You can leave anytime you want."
"Can we - could you please knock off the overlord thing for a few minutes and come down here and talk to me?" Dean jumps when Sam suddenly disappears from his throne and reappears next to him, just a few feet away.
"Let's take a walk." Sam says.
Dean lets out a shaky breath, "Not really in the mood for the tour, Sam. My memories of here aren't all that good."
"I didn't mean here." Sam's mouth twitches, "I killed them all, you know. Every demon that ever laid its hands on you. Every demon that ever taunted you. Meg's the only one left. Say the word and I'll end her too. I don't even need to touch her, or see her, or speak. I can kill her with a thought."
Dean swallows, "That's not the point...I didn't...I don't want to remember who I was here."
"You're a legend here."
"How many of your demons are souls that I helped break? Or did you kill all of them, too?" Dean says angrily.
Sam looks at the ground and then back to Dean. "We'll go somewhere else then."
Dean blinks to clear the sense of disorientation he's feeling. He looks to the left and then right, "Huh."
Sam passes Dean one of the two menus he's holding, and says "I hear their cheeseburgers are awesome."
Dean heads for the closest booth and sits. "Should I ask why this diner is completely empty?"
"It's in Wyoming, twenty miles away from the nearest town, and it's two AM." Sam studies his menu.
"Okay...and what, are we gonna go cook the food ourselves?" Dean eyes the door he suspects leads to the kitchen, and wonders if they have a deep fryer. "Why not take us to a 24-hour joint?"
"Because this way we're far less likely to accidentally kill someone. Order off the menu." Sam says.
"You know, the weird part is - I'm not even hungry. I mean, I should be, but-"
"That's because you don't need to eat anymore. Doesn't mean you can't though." Sam closes his menu and takes the wrapper off his straw. He sips his ginger ale and watches Dean.
"How do you do that?!" Dean snaps.
Sam grins, "It's easy. I'll teach you."
"No, wait. Just- just explain to me what you were talking about earlier. Why am I the 'only weapon that matters'?" Dean closes his menu and adds, "And get me a bacon cheeseburger with waffle fries."
Sam takes a bite of his Cobb Salad as Dean stares at his enormous bacon cheeseburger with waffle fries.
Sam unscrews the lids from the salt and pepper shakers and dumps their contents onto the table top, between their two plates. "Hell and Heaven function in completely different ways, but they also have some similarities." Sam says. The pile of salt begins moving and separates itself into smaller piles.
"What, no sketchbook?" Dean asks through a mouthful of burger. He pours a generous amount of ketchup over the fries.
"This would take way too much paper." Sam nods his chin towards the salt. "Heaven has two main populations. Human souls..." Sam points at the largest pile of salt, "...and angels." Sam nods at the multiple tiny piles of salt which look suspiciously like reverse snow-angels.
Dean snorts, "That's adorable. Are we gonna build a little sandcastle next?"
Sam raises his eyebrow and points at the larger pile of salt, "Each human soul is a constant. They're at peace from the moment they enter Heaven, and remain that way for eternity. Or that's the plan, anyway."
"I didn't feel at peace up there at all." Dean says, shooting Sam a look.
"Angels are similar. They're a lot more powerful of course, but they don't change over time." Sam shifts his gaze left to the pile of pepper. The pepper spreads out over nearly half of the table as Sam continues, "In Hell, all human souls become demons eventually. The longer they're in Hell, the stronger they become."
Dean stares at the pepper, transfixed, and watches each tiny piece of pepper grow. Some of the pieces reach the size of whole peppercorns. "Ok, and all this means what, exactly?"
"Up until recently, Heaven and Hell were pretty evenly matched. Then we came along, and instead of playing our roles the way we were supposed to -" Sam raps his right fist against the tabletop lightly and several of the snow-angels disappear, "-we changed the rules." Sam looks over to the left and the peppercorns all roll towards each other.
"Sam. Could you please stop speaking in haikus?"
"Heaven is held together by faith. Everyone there- the souls, the angels - it's their faith that keeps Heaven going." Sam says.
Dean nods slowly, "Because they're all that's left...and I'm willing to bet their faith is a little shaky these days."
"Just a little."
"So...what? I'm supposed to go up there and give them a pep talk? They're still dicks." Dean says.
Sam smirks, "I only know what Lucifer and Michael told me. I'm not even sure they told me the whole truth. Though- I did learn quite a bit more when I took their grace from them. Raphael filled in some of the gaps too..." Sam smiles and Dean feels ice run down his spine. "What I do know is that Castiel is set on getting you to fight with him against the other angels. He's convinced that you're what will keep Heaven from falling."
"Oh. Is that all?" Dean asks, and leans back against the cushioned bench.
"You don't owe them anything." Sam says quietly.
"I know I don't." Dean looks at Sam and adds, "I'm not going up there. I already told Cas - if he wants to talk, he has to come down here to talk to me."
"Good to hear." Sam sighs, and stands up. "I have to get back. Call me if you need anything."
Dean, alone in the diner, in the middle of nowhere, curses loudly at no one. "How the Hell am I supposed to get back to Bobby's?! There aren't even any cars in the-"
"Dean?" Bobby asks in surprise.
Previous Chapter Next Chapter
Characters: Sam, Dean, Castiel, Bobby
Warnings: rampant theological speculation
Follows directly after Apotheosis
Dean stands there for a minute or so, looking at Sam on his throne. He keeps expecting Sam to say something, to give some indication that he isn't just part of the ornate structure itself, but Sam remains statue-still, considering Dean with unblinking all-seeing eyes.
Dean breaks their staring contest and asks, "So...you want to tell me what's going on?"
Sam doesn't respond, but continues to stare at Dean.
"Can you at least send me back to Bobby's?"
"Why?" Sam says, "You can leave anytime you want."
"Can we - could you please knock off the overlord thing for a few minutes and come down here and talk to me?" Dean jumps when Sam suddenly disappears from his throne and reappears next to him, just a few feet away.
"Let's take a walk." Sam says.
Dean lets out a shaky breath, "Not really in the mood for the tour, Sam. My memories of here aren't all that good."
"I didn't mean here." Sam's mouth twitches, "I killed them all, you know. Every demon that ever laid its hands on you. Every demon that ever taunted you. Meg's the only one left. Say the word and I'll end her too. I don't even need to touch her, or see her, or speak. I can kill her with a thought."
Dean swallows, "That's not the point...I didn't...I don't want to remember who I was here."
"You're a legend here."
"How many of your demons are souls that I helped break? Or did you kill all of them, too?" Dean says angrily.
Sam looks at the ground and then back to Dean. "We'll go somewhere else then."
Dean blinks to clear the sense of disorientation he's feeling. He looks to the left and then right, "Huh."
Sam passes Dean one of the two menus he's holding, and says "I hear their cheeseburgers are awesome."
Dean heads for the closest booth and sits. "Should I ask why this diner is completely empty?"
"It's in Wyoming, twenty miles away from the nearest town, and it's two AM." Sam studies his menu.
"Okay...and what, are we gonna go cook the food ourselves?" Dean eyes the door he suspects leads to the kitchen, and wonders if they have a deep fryer. "Why not take us to a 24-hour joint?"
"Because this way we're far less likely to accidentally kill someone. Order off the menu." Sam says.
"You know, the weird part is - I'm not even hungry. I mean, I should be, but-"
"That's because you don't need to eat anymore. Doesn't mean you can't though." Sam closes his menu and takes the wrapper off his straw. He sips his ginger ale and watches Dean.
"How do you do that?!" Dean snaps.
Sam grins, "It's easy. I'll teach you."
"No, wait. Just- just explain to me what you were talking about earlier. Why am I the 'only weapon that matters'?" Dean closes his menu and adds, "And get me a bacon cheeseburger with waffle fries."
Sam takes a bite of his Cobb Salad as Dean stares at his enormous bacon cheeseburger with waffle fries.
Sam unscrews the lids from the salt and pepper shakers and dumps their contents onto the table top, between their two plates. "Hell and Heaven function in completely different ways, but they also have some similarities." Sam says. The pile of salt begins moving and separates itself into smaller piles.
"What, no sketchbook?" Dean asks through a mouthful of burger. He pours a generous amount of ketchup over the fries.
"This would take way too much paper." Sam nods his chin towards the salt. "Heaven has two main populations. Human souls..." Sam points at the largest pile of salt, "...and angels." Sam nods at the multiple tiny piles of salt which look suspiciously like reverse snow-angels.
Dean snorts, "That's adorable. Are we gonna build a little sandcastle next?"
Sam raises his eyebrow and points at the larger pile of salt, "Each human soul is a constant. They're at peace from the moment they enter Heaven, and remain that way for eternity. Or that's the plan, anyway."
"I didn't feel at peace up there at all." Dean says, shooting Sam a look.
"Angels are similar. They're a lot more powerful of course, but they don't change over time." Sam shifts his gaze left to the pile of pepper. The pepper spreads out over nearly half of the table as Sam continues, "In Hell, all human souls become demons eventually. The longer they're in Hell, the stronger they become."
Dean stares at the pepper, transfixed, and watches each tiny piece of pepper grow. Some of the pieces reach the size of whole peppercorns. "Ok, and all this means what, exactly?"
"Up until recently, Heaven and Hell were pretty evenly matched. Then we came along, and instead of playing our roles the way we were supposed to -" Sam raps his right fist against the tabletop lightly and several of the snow-angels disappear, "-we changed the rules." Sam looks over to the left and the peppercorns all roll towards each other.
"Sam. Could you please stop speaking in haikus?"
"Heaven is held together by faith. Everyone there- the souls, the angels - it's their faith that keeps Heaven going." Sam says.
Dean nods slowly, "Because they're all that's left...and I'm willing to bet their faith is a little shaky these days."
"Just a little."
"So...what? I'm supposed to go up there and give them a pep talk? They're still dicks." Dean says.
Sam smirks, "I only know what Lucifer and Michael told me. I'm not even sure they told me the whole truth. Though- I did learn quite a bit more when I took their grace from them. Raphael filled in some of the gaps too..." Sam smiles and Dean feels ice run down his spine. "What I do know is that Castiel is set on getting you to fight with him against the other angels. He's convinced that you're what will keep Heaven from falling."
"Oh. Is that all?" Dean asks, and leans back against the cushioned bench.
"You don't owe them anything." Sam says quietly.
"I know I don't." Dean looks at Sam and adds, "I'm not going up there. I already told Cas - if he wants to talk, he has to come down here to talk to me."
"Good to hear." Sam sighs, and stands up. "I have to get back. Call me if you need anything."
Dean, alone in the diner, in the middle of nowhere, curses loudly at no one. "How the Hell am I supposed to get back to Bobby's?! There aren't even any cars in the-"
"Dean?" Bobby asks in surprise.
Previous Chapter Next Chapter