by Amelia Esla
"But Lilith-"
"Lilith is the final seal. Simply killing her will break the seal, freeing Lucifer from his cage. That is what my brothers are trying to do. But if Megan destroys her, no one will ever be able to kill her. There will be no way to open the cage, and this will all be over."
"But how? I have no control over my powers! I'm practically starting over!" Megan was scared. She felt a new wave of responsibilities that she couldn't fulfill.
"I can train you. I can help you," Castiel promised. "But you have to, Megan. You're our only hope."
"Now hold on, Princess Leia." Dean stepped forward. "Let me talk to Obi-wan over here alone for a minute, okay?" Castiel sighed before nodding and disappearing. Dean turned back to Megan. "You okay?"
"How could I be okay, Dean?" Megan covered her face, turning away. "Cas basically just told me I'm the only one who can stop the angels and demons from ending the world!"
Megan slumped forward into his arms. "It's okay, Megan. You don't have to do this if you don't want to." He promised. "We'll figure something else out."
Megan shook her head. "No. No, I have to. I can't... I can't just sit back and let this happen."
Dean had to admire her for that. He called Castiel back and Megan accepted her fate. She would help them stop the Apocalypse.
Castiel wanted to tell her the truth, he really did. But he knew she would never accept if she knew. He knew that this was all for the greater good.
Megan would die with Lilith, it was the only way- but she would save so many more. In the end, it was worth it... wasn't it?
21- War
"Sam, I have news." Ruby had been training Sam for months now. She would have rather spent more time with him, but they had bigger problems now. Some of the other demons told her what she never thought was possible.
Dean Winchester was up and kicking.
"Are you finally going to tell me what we're doing here?" Sam groaned. He was stronger- way stronger. He could feel Ruby's blood pulsing through his veins. He knew that whatever they had to do, he would be up for it.
Ruby rolled her eyes. "No. We have a problem. And you're not going to take it well."
"Come on, Ruby, spit it out. I don't have the patience right now."
"It's your brother. He's out of Hell."
Sam froze. "What?"
Ruby chose her words carefully. Sam was fragile, and he stood the chance of falling apart at just the mention of his lost brother. He wasn't going to like what she said, but she had to say it. It was the only way to convince him to continue their plan. "Don't get too excited. He's not your brother anymore, Sam. Yes, it's him... but he's different. Trust me when I say this, Hell changes people."
"I don't care! We have to go to him!" Sam argued, grabbing onto Ruby's wrists. Ruby noted his strength. He was getting stronger everyday. "Take me to him!"
"I can't, Sam. It's not that simple. Remember those angels we are working with to stop all this?" Sam nodded, his jaw clenching in impatience. "Well, not all angels were on board. Some of them rebelled, claiming God didn't want humans to survive. They got to Dean first. The angel Castiel has him under his wing, so to speak. They're going to try and stop us."
"No- Dean would never do that!" Sam pushed himself away. "Hell or not, Dean wouldn't want to end the world like that!"
"I told you, Sam. Dean's not your brother anymore. He's Hell's bitch, and he's working with those sons-of-bitches whether you believe it or not." Ruby knew this would be tricky. Sam would never go against his brother willingly, but if he gave into his brother, the demons would never respect him as their leader. She had to turn the tides, and quickly. "We have to stop him. Before he stops us."
…
Castiel took Megan somewhere to train. It had been two days since he saw either of them, and Dean was not liking it. "They could at least let us know what's going on!" Dean growled, pacing around the shack he and Bobby were staying in until their return.
"You're worrying too much, Dean." Bobby replied, not really paying attention. He was knee deep in lore books about Angels, trying to learn as much as he could about them.
"Worrying too much?" Dean repeated. "I'm sorry, Bobby. I'll just forget about my two angel friends who aren't picking up their God damn phone, and my brother whose being used as some demons bitch right now!"
"Don't raise your voice at me, son." Bobby closed his current book, finding the words blurring together after hours and hours of reading. "I just think you need to relax a bit. You've only been topside for a few days, ya know."
Dean sighed. "Sorry, Bobby. You're right. I just need to-"
"Dean!" Before he could finish speaking, Megan appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye.
"Holy shit! Jeez, Megan. You're going to give me a heart attack..."
"Sorry. I'm just excited." She wrapped her arms around him, making him forget for a moment that she was an ancient being, more powerful than anyone or anything else he had ever met. "I can totally teleport anywhere, now. It's awesome."
"And that isn't all she can do." Castiel appeared beside Bobby. "We've been training non-stop. She's relearning how to control her powers. She's... very powerful."
"We just wanted to check on you guys. Make sure everything's okay." Megan smiled.
Dean frowned. Bobby answered, "As good as we could be, I guess. Hey, Cas. I had some questions about angels. I've been reading lore..." Bobby led Cas over to his stack of books.
Megan tapped on Deans arm, bringing his attention back to her. "Hey, come on. I wanna show you something. Hold on..." She grabbed his hand, and they disappeared.
When they landed, Dean expected to feel as out-of-it as he did with Cas, but for whatever reason, he felt fine. "Wow, that actually went smoothly..."
Megan grinned. "I'm more powerful than Cas. I have more control over my 'passengers' when I fly."
Dean glanced around. They were in a house. It was a mess, as were most houses these days, but he didn't recognize it. "Where did you take us?"
"This is where I lived. As a human, anyway." Megan walked over to her shelf, where a broken picture frame was fallen over. She picked it up, and handed it to Dean.
Dean took the photo. It was a picture of a little girl in shorts and a tank top. Her arms were around a golden retriever that was bigger than her. "This is you?"
"Yeah, when I was six. This isn't my apartment, it's my parents house." Megan explained. "I, uh... I came her earlier to see if they were here... its was stupid, really. Of course they weren't here."
"I'm sorry, Megan." Dean put the photo back down. It seemed oddly invasive of her privacy right now. "I didn't know that you..."
"I didn't... expect them to be alive or anything, if that's what you mean. I just had to know for sure." She sat down on the bed that used to be hers, and Dean sat beside her. "You may think that angels don't have feelings- that emotion is a purely human concept. But you're wrong. Our feelings are just muted. We are able to ignore them- usually. But some of us, like me and Cas, we can't do that anymore. Once you have a taste of emotion, whether it be good or bad, you can't stop."
"Cas feels emotions?" Dean scoffed. "I doubt it. Dude's like a machine."
"You'd be surprised, Dean. He's still new at it. It takes time to adjust. But he cares about mankind. He cares about you. I can see it." Megan's mind was bursting with information. She had been human for so long, she got used to it. But now she remembered everything, and at times it was a bit much. But she was still and angel, and she could see herself in Castiel.
"If you say so..." Dean surely appreciated what Cas was doing for them, but he wasn't really doing it for him. Just like he didn't rescue Dean from Hell for him. He was on a mission, and he needed Dean's help. After all, he did start the whole mess. "Why'd you bring me out here, Megan?"
Megan sighed. "I just wanted you to know I'm still me. I'm not human, but I'm still myself. And I'm going to be here, with you, until this is all over."
Dean smiled, a real smile. "Thanks, Meg
an."
"Now, come on." Megan stood, pulling Dean up with her. "We have a war to start."
22- We Meet Again (Sorta)
"We have to find Lilith." Castiel looked around the group- his group. These were the people he had chosen to help him save the world from his wayward brothers and sisters.
An Angel of Freedom who had seemed to forget what it meant to be an Angel. An old hunter, lost in the world of the undead. And a boy, a brother, who went to Hell and back for the very person he would have to fight, now.
"Megan is ready. I believe she could fight Lilith, and win."
"And how do we do that?" Dean asked. "How do we find her?"
Castiel frowned. He was really starting to like this group. He only hoped that as many as possible would survive this fight. "Lilith is well hidden. It will be hard to find her ourselves. The best thing to do is find someone with insider knowledge."
"Like who?"
…
Sam shoved an Angel Blade into the zombie, dragging it upwards and tearing the monster practically in half.
Ruby took care of the last zombie, and ran back up with Sam. "That's it," She breathed, still slightly out of breath from the fight. "That's where they are."
Sam didn't reply. He just stared at the house where his brother- no, not his brother, just another demon- was staying. He remembered what Ruby said.
"I know they were once your friends, Sam. But they aren't anymore. They are lost, much like you once were. What's most important now is taking down this major threat. That's all they are- a threat."
Ruby eyed him. "You sure you're ready for this? Do you need more...?" Ruby smiled, holding out her pale white arm.
Sam felt himself being pulled to her blood- he could hear it pumping, feel it running over his teeth. But he shook his head. He needed to get this over with.
Ruby nodded. "Okay. Let's do this, Sammy."
…
Castiel stopped, and stared at seemingly nothing. "Cas, what's up?" Dean knew that look. Something bad was happening.
"I can sense... a demon. Right outside." He warned.
Dean's fists clenched. It had to be Ruby... he could feel it.
Before anyone could answer, the door flew open, and a dark-haired woman ran in. She held an Angel Blade, and was going straight for Dean.
Castiel ran forward, ramming into the girl and knocking them both over. He wrestled the blade away. He held it in the air, prepared to stab it into her chest, when, "CASTIEL! STOP!"
Sam was standing in the doorway, pointing a gun at the Angel.
"Sammy..." Dean breathed. Sam didn't even look at him.
Castiel didn't budge. "A gun won't help you, boy. It won't hurt me."
Sam smirked, making Dean feel numb. "It's not the gun that kills. It's the bullets." He squeezed the trigger, sending a silver-colored bullet through Castiel's shoulder.
Castiel called out in agony, falling backwards. He held his bleeding shoulder.
Megan ran over to him, looking at the bullet wound. "What did you shoot him with?"
"Melted Angel Blades," Sam answered, lowering the gun. "Megan. You look different."
Megan didn't answer, she just held Castiel.
Bobby was the first to step forward. "Sam- what are you doing, boy? You just disappeared one night. And now, you come back with some demon?"
"I'm not just some demon, Bobby." The dark-haired woman stood, brushing herself off. "I'm Ruby. Just in a different body."
"I'm trying to do the right thing here, Bobby-" Sam started to explain. He wanted them to be on his side. They had to see that they were being manipulated. And Dean... he hadn't had the courage yet to look at him.
"You don't need to explain, Sam." Ruby cut him off. "We're not here for chit-chat. We're here to stop them."
"Sammy, wait! " Dean tried again to get his brother's attention. It had been so many years since he had last saw Sam... to him, anyways. But this wasn't his brother. It couldn't be. "Sam. Please, just listen to me. I can explain what's going on!"
Sam closed his eyes. That's not him, Sam. That's just what's left after Hell...
Ruby could see his inner turmoil, and knew he was close to giving in. Not on my watch...
"Sam, come o-" Dean's sentence was cut short as Ruby shoved her blade into his abdomen.
"Dean!"
It was chaos. There was a lot of fighting as Ruby tried to run, and Sam tried to help her. Sam had seen what had happened, but had no time to react because now Bobby and Megan were after Ruby, and he needed her. She was going to help him save the world. She was most important right now.
Sam and Ruby ran out of the house, and disappeared.
…
"God damn it, Ruby! " Sam yelled once they were safe. "That didn't accomplish anything!"
"Calm down, Sam!" Ruby stood still, crossing her arms as Sam paced back and forth. "We accomplished enough. Two of them are down. It's going to be awhile before they're ready to fight again. Enough time for us to kill Lilith."
"Lilith?" Sam repeated.
Ruby nodded. "Lilith is the first demon. She's very powerful. And she's the one behind the apocalypses. We kill her, her minions will scatter like ants. It will all be over."
Ruby watched Sam intently, relishing in her own skills as Sam bought into every word of her lie. She had been working towards this for such a long time... and it was finally about to come together.
She wanted to celebrate, to grin and laugh at her own success... but as for now, Sam would be left in the dark. Only until he he killed Lilith, therefore both raising Lucifer and completing his own transition into his demonic state, would he finally become the leader he was born to be. Her leader.
…
"Dean..." Castiel crawled to the human's side while still grasping in pain at his injured shoulder.
Megan and Bobby had run out after Sam and Ruby.
"Dean... stay with me..." Castiel clutched onto Dean's arm, attempting to be some form of emotional support for him. Dean's eyes were open, but he wasn't saying anything. His face was red, but not as red as the blood pooling from his stomach. "Dean, please... I can't... I can't heal you. I'm too weak. I'd... I'd die. You have to make it until Megan gets back..." He pleaded with Dean, praying that the promise of hope would keep him awake until Megan could heal him.
Secretly, he hoped that she could. She was still new to her powers, but with her training she should be ready to.
"Cas..." Castiel could do nothing but watch as Dean shook, closing his eyes and slumping forwards, slightly.
No... Castiel could feel Dean's life slipping away. He couldn't let Dean die. He was important to this mission. Cas had spent too much to get him out of Hell, just for him to die, now. And most importantly... Dean was his friend.
Castiel reached out once again, this time pressing his palm onto Dean's wound. He tried to focus through his own pain, and heal him.
He could feel his own energy draining away, but he didn't stop.
He had to save Dean Winchester.
23- Castiel
"Castiel?"
Cas opened his eyes, slowly. His vision was blurry, but eventually it adjusted enough for him to see Dean in front of him.
He had been dreaming, which doesn't sound too odd, except for the fact that angel's don't dream. They don't even sleep.
Yet he dreamt of a long, gravel road. He dreamt of the somehow calming sound of an engine rumbling, and... someone's voice. A smooth, warm voice. He couldn't remember who, or what about.
He didn't remember much, but it was a good dream.
"Cas? You with me?" Dean's voice brought him out of his haze.
"Yes, I'm awake. What happened?" He sat up, feeling surprisingly well, but tired. So, so tired. Another human feeling... He was lying on the couch, and Dean had pulled a chair over next to him.
"You and I really got our shit kicked in, that's what happened, " Dean laughed, and for not the first time, Cas wondered why humans laughed at times like these. "I was... I mean I was done
for. But you, you kept me alive long enough for Megan to come back and help." Castiel nodded. He remembered now. He didn't expect to wake up again after that. He was so close to dying.
"She couldn't heal us both. Only so much energy, ya know?" Dean pulled up his shirt, exposing the deep and slightly healed wound. "But you had done enough to keep me alive. So she healed you."
Castiel reached for his shoulder, and discovered that the bullet hole was completely gone. Megan had been able to cure him completely. He would be fine, which is more than he could say for Dean. "Are you in pain?"
Dean shrugged, which Cas took as a yes. Something else he had learned about humans: they lie. Sure, Angels lied, too, but with a purpose. Sometimes humans lied even though it only brought them more suffering.
"Nothing I can't handle. As long as my guts aren't spilling out, I'll be fine." Dean laughed again, and this time Castiel smiled to be polite. "Thanks, by the way. You saved my life. And by almost ending yours."
"You're welcome." Cas didn't know what else to say. He didn't know how to explain that he just couldn't let Dean die. He just couldn't. He cleared his throat, changing the subject from the awkward silence that had followed. "Where is Megan, now? And Bobby?"
Dean sighed. "They think they can track down Sam. And they think he'll lead them straight to Lilith."
"So they are looking for him, now?" Dean grunted his agreement. His face had changed, and Castiel guessed he was thinking about Sam. "If it helps, Dean, I do believe your brother is still in there. He's just... misguided."
Dean scoffed. "Yeah, I know. By Ruby..." Castiel noticed his hand involuntary pressing against his abdomen where the wound still was. He was in pain. Castiel wished he could heal him without hurting himself, again. "I swear to God. I'm going to kill her for what she did to Sam."
Castiel tried to assure him, "You will get your revenge, Dean. Soon. When we stop the demons and angels plan."
Dean nodded, absently. "I don't even really want revenge, Cas..." He admitted, his voice softer and quieter than Castiel had ever heard it before. "I just want my brother back."