[Fic] "For the End of that Man is Peace"

[lux_tuli]

Title: "For the End of that Man is Peace"

Fandom: Supernatural

Rating: Teen

Pairing(s): Gen-fic

Characters: Dean Winchester, Bobby Singer, Gabriel, Lucifer, Michael, Sam Winchester, Death, Chuck Shurley

Word Count: 10,027

Summary: Earth is a shell of its former glory, devastated centuries ago by a war between Heaven and Hell. Dean Winchester is a seventeen year old without any family left, his baby brother robbed of his life by a mysterious stranger and his father lost from being consumed by a path of revenge. He is content to keep his head down and just live things out in Vegas, one of the human settlements under the protection of an archangel, but forces unbeknownst to him are determined to set him down a different path, one towards discovering the truth of that day when Sam was killed and so much more.

Written for: SPN Dystopia Bang

Originally posted: June 15, 2017

Artwork by: lennelle

Dean Winchester was only four years old when he last saw his younger brother, Sam, inside their family home in Lawrence, Kansas. While most of the towns and cities had been devastated from the war between Heaven and Hell a hundred years prior, known as The War of Revelations as the conflict exposed the existence of angels and demons to all humans who had previously been largely unaware, their small town miraculously still stood. The earth was still healing and humans were slowly rebuilding over what had been lost.

 

It had been during the middle of the night when he was abruptly awoken by the sounds of his baby brother crying, which told him that something was wrong as he was tend to be a rather quiet baby. His dad had been woken up too as they met each other inside Sam’s nursery, where a mysterious young man with dark hair and bright blue eyes stood over the crib clutching a silver blade in his hand. The moonlight that creeped in through the curtains reflected off the short looking sword.

 

“What the hell do you think you are doing!?” His father had cursed angrily before taking a lunge at the man but before he could even land a hit, he was flung back and pinned down in the hallway using abilities that no human possessed. 

 

“I’m sorry, this is my duty to bear.” The man mumbled out, sounding apologetic before turning his back to Dean and looked down at Sam.

 

“Please don’t!” Dean cried out as he begged, clinging onto the man’s leg. The stranger turned back around and hunched down to look at him at eye level.

 

“You will be alright so...sleep.” The voice spoke softly. He was about to protest until two fingers brushed against his forehead, causing him to lose consciousness.

 

When Dean finally broke out of his forced slumber, he found himself being smothered in his father’s arms, clinging on him for dear life. His eyes were red and Dean could make out dried tear stains on his face. It had only cemented the fact that his brother was gone.

 

It was bad enough losing his mother right after his brother had been born from childbirth complications but the loss of Sam weighed heavily on his father. He lost himself to grief and despair. Ever since his dad dedicated himself to hunting down the creature and making him pay for what he had done.

 

It did not end well for his father, either.

 

He was sixteen when the cops showed up at the door and informed him that they had found his father’s body ditched in some alley. It had been ruled as the handiwork of demons and that his dad had went barking up the wrong tree. And tough luck getting justice for him because demons lived outside the law, doing whatever they pleased. They were a plague on the earth and they could not do anything about it, powerless as they were. And demons were the reasons why it was dangerous to live outside of a settlement under the protection of an angel.

 

Dean did not have any other family left but thankfully his dad’s close friend, Bobby Singer, who was like an uncle to him, took him in. They moved out to Vegas, which was under the archangel Gabriel’s protection. The city used to be vibrant with all the lights on the casinos and booming with activity from tourists but the war had changed that, no longer was it a center for visitors to go sight seeing.

 

The hotels had been transformed into apartments and living quarters for the residents, the slot machine and other games of the casinos were rendered unplayable as the machines were left broken. No one cared to repair them, especially when there was more important matters.

 

He had seen the movies of what Vegas had used to be like, the kind of place that he would enjoy, but in the aftermath of the war, the city had lost its playfulness and became a more somber place. Bobby’s loft was inside the remnants of the Flamingo hotel. The bright pink front faded to the point of being pale pink, almost white. The large swimming pool was filled with nothing but debris.

 

A pity, he would have liked to see what the city was like in its prime.

 

---

 

The education system was a joke, higher education had been eradicated, and the K through 12 system focused on the aspects of survival. For Dean, it was extremely boring, he had already learned it all from his father and Bobby so sitting inside the classroom nestled in an old, abandoned church was a trial of patience, patience that he did not have. Often times, he would just stare at the stained glass windows and daydream while the teacher droned on.

 

Eventually, he grew tired of that and started to skip class, wandering around the city until it was time for him to go home. It was a sorry sight, the streets rampant with poverty - beggars pleading for any coin or food that could be spared, all the while the rich lived in their sky high apartments, untouched by the troubles that plagued the common people.

 

The Angel Watch, the city’s guard overseen by the archangel Gabriel, patrolled the streets and tried to carry on without paying the beggars any mind. Many of them struggled to get by as well.

 

Despite the amount of destruction the War of Revelations had brought, some religious icons still stood inside Vegas. Some of the angel statues were outfitted with shrines where diehard believers offered up prayers in the hopes of salvation. It was a load of crap, why would they lift a finger to eradicate the demons when they had not bothered to lift a finger in the past hundred years. It was clear to Dean that the angels had lost hope, too.

 

He stared up at the angel statue, clad in armor rather than the typical flowy robes and sword in hand, with contempt. Sure, it was great the angels protected what they could but it was not enough, human civilization could not continue to exist under these conditions forever. Without much thought, Dean spat at the statue, which turned out to be an unwise decision as the Angel Watch had spotted the action and rushed towards him.

 

Dean was thrown onto the ground, his arms pulled behind his back as he was handcuffed, “What’s your problem, man?”

 

“Vandalism and heresy, you are going to be taken before the archangel, boy.” The one soldier growled out before pulling him up harshly and dragging him off towards the direction of the Monte Carlo. The first few floors housed the soldiers barracks, a few floors above those were the luxurious homes of the rich, and the top floor was Gabriel’s personal residence and office.

 

He had never seen the archangel in person before, most people never did. Bobby was so going to tear him a new one for this, if there was anything of him left after meeting Gabriel. He had also never envisioned that his very first elevator ride was going to be under these circumstances. The soothing music that played in the elevator did little to settle his rapidly beating heart. When the door dinged open, he was led down a long corridor until they arrived at the archangel’s office, the door guarded by another Angel Watch soldier.

 

Ushered inside the office, Dean glanced over the decorations, filled with tons of books, before settling onto the figure of the archangel. Gabriel was not what he had expected. Angels were supposed to be imposing figures, they had been God’s warriors, but the one standing before him was half his height. Dean was so focused on the matter of the major height difference, he paid little mind to the lollipop that was in his mouth.

 

“My lord, he desecrated the statue of St Michael with his spit.” The patrolman informed the archangel, who surprisingly appeared to be mildly amused by it if the slight smile that formed on his face was any indication. Desecrated? That was stretching it.

 

Sometimes Dean let his mouth run before he thought through his words carefully as he laughed out, “Are you sure that you are supposed to be an archangel? You look more like a cherub.”

 

His smart remark earned him a strong elbow into his stomach, which caused him to collapse onto the floor. Dean glared up at the soldier responsible for knocking him down.

 

“Show some respect, boy.” The man growled out but the archangel remained silent, scrutinizing him.

 

“That’s enough, I got this handled.” Gabriel popped the lollipop out of his mouth and waved him off. The man looked like he was about to protest but a stern look from the archangel cut him off. Once he had left the office and closed the door behind him, the archangel walked around the desk and helped pull Dean up.

 

“You’re Dean Winchester, aren’t you?” Dean sprung backwards in surprise. He had not introduced himself to the archangel so how on earth did he know who he was. Gabriel had taken his stunned silence as a yes, adding, “You think that I don’t know every single person who lives in my city?”

 

“But we never met until now.”

 

“That matters little,” Gabriel shrugged, offering no further explanation as to how exactly he knew who he was. However, he did remark on Dean remaining quiet despite his earlier comment, “Not so bold now? Though, I got to say, kid, I like your spirit.”

 

“Are you going to lock me up for spitting at your brother?”

 

“Heh, I would pay just to spit in my actual brother’s face. It would be hilarious. He’s so uptight and doesn’t know how to chill. But no, I don’t think it would be right to lock you up. You didn’t hurt anybody.” Dean was grateful that the archangel was not offended by his actions. From the way the guards made it sound, he had expected Gabriel to be furious, not amused. “Though, I can see them whining if I don’t punish you somehow...so how about this, you come visit my office after school. And no more skipping class, Dean, I will know.”

 

The comment sent a shiver down his spine. 

 

“We good?” Gabriel asked, to which Dean fervently nodded. “Alright, see you tomorrow, kiddo.” The archangel sent him off with a pat on the back.

 

Dean was stunned as he walked through the doors of the office, the archangel had let him off without even a real slap on the wrist. But even still, Bobby was going to be furious at him for getting in trouble in the first place.

 

Bobby did not have angel-like powers but somehow he knew what had transpired as soon as Dean walked into the loft and saw him waiting on the lounge chair with his arms crossed in front of his chest with a stern expression on his face.

 

“You know, I may be old but I still got contacts. Got a few in the Angel Watch. Care to explain why one of them told me that they presented you in front of the archangel for stirring up trouble?” He spoke patiently, betraying none of the disappointment and fury displayed on his face.

 

“I may have spat at a statue....” Dean offered hesitantly. 

 

Bobby raised an incredulous eyebrow, “That all?”

 

“Apparently it was of the archangel Michael.” He admitted. His foster father let out a deep sigh.

 

“You acted like a damn fool but still...seems excessive dropping you in front of Gabriel for something relatively minor.”

 

“He seemed to think so too. But I have to show up to his office after school to keep up appearances.”

 

“And try to behave in front of him, okay? The last thing I need to hear is that you got yourself smited because you pissed off an archangel.” Yeah, Dean was totally not revealing that his first words to Gabriel was calling him a cherub.

 

---

 

Like any other human, Dean had heard the stories about Gabriel, the messenger of God. Though funnily enough, all the classical paintings had depicted him in feminine looking robes and his casual attire of pants and a t-shirt conflicted with that image.

 

He had said as much to the archangel when he saw him next, obediently attending class that day as he was not sure how far he wanted to test him.

 

Gabriel craned his head, “You mean this form? It’s just a vessel, my true form is the size of this building.”

 

“Vessel?” Dean asked, confused.

 

“Yeah, I suppose most of you don’t know. See, angels, we’re really just wavelengths of light and in order to walk the earth, we need to take a human vessel.” The archangel explained.

 

“You’re possessing some poor bastard?”

 

“We are not permitted to take a vessel without consent so don’t go shouting at me about taking advantage. Besides, it’s only me in here right now, his soul burned out long ago.” Despite Gabriel’s reassurance, it did not make Dean feel any better. He could not understand why anyone would consent to being the meatsuit for an angel, taking a backseat in their own body. “Anyways, enough of that, let’s get you started on your first task.”

 

The archangel led him out of his office and down the hallway into a huge library. As Dean gaped at the large collection of books, he was distracted as Gabriel scolded a woman in the center of the room, seated in a chair with her feet propped up on the table as she read a book, “Lucy! What do you think you’re doing!? What have I said about sneaking out of your room?”

 

The woman closed her book and pouted at the archangel as she turned her head. Long curly blond hair was pulled into a side ponytail and icy blue eyes shined underneath the light. She huffed, “It’s so boring and you hardly ever visit me. I get so lonely.”

 

Gabriel let out an agitated sigh, “It’s for your own safety. You know what happened if he found out.” Lucy rolled her eyes before focusing her attention on Dean, smirking at him.

 

“Now, who is this young man?” She purred out. Gabriel let out a growl then proceeded to step in front of Dean.

 

“None of your business.” The archangel snapped.

 

“Geez, take a chill pill, why don’t you?” Lucy booped Gabriel on the nose. Dean blinked at her. She had to know the archangel well enough to take such liberties with him, “Though, it’s unlike you to be so protective, he must be someone special.”

 

Gabriel snarled something back, but Dean was unable to understand because it was not English. Honestly, he did not have an idea what language it was but the two fluently tossed comments back in forth in it. The only thing that he could understand was Lucy’s playful tone and Gabriel’s angry one. Eventually the woman sauntered away, though not before giving a little wink in his direction.

 

“Is she your lover?” Dean asked when Lucy was out of earshot.

 

“What? Dad no!” Gabriel stuck out his tongue in disgust at the thought, “I would appreciate though that you didn’t mention Lucy to anybody. She can be a troublemaker but if my older brother found out about her, she would be dead.”

 

“Why does your brother want to kill her?” More importantly, why was Gabriel going to such lengths to keep her hidden? What did she mean to him if she was not a girlfriend?

 

However, the archangel declined to answer his question and instead instructed him on his task, “I can only imagine what kind of mess that Lucy has left in here so I want you to tidy up the books. Don’t worry about getting through them all, I know there’s a lot here.”

 

When Gabriel had left the library, Dean picked up and inspected the book that Lucy had left behind.

 

Paradise Lost.

 

He had never read the epic poem but he was familiar with its contents. Frankly, Dean was not entirely sure what to believe about the so called Devil - the Bible completely villainized him while Milton tried to paint him in a more sympathetic light. Lucifer had once been God’s favorite, most trusted angel, then he had rebelled against God.

 

Though, with the absence of God, he wondered if any of the angels still followed the path that God had laid out for them. It was the angels’ story after all, that they settled down on Earth after the War of Revelations because they lost faith in their own Father.

 

---

 

Gabriel had dropped by two hours later to tell him that he could go home. Dean had realized he had underestimated how massive the library was because he had not even put in a dent.

 

The next day Dean was back inside the library, resuming where he had left off when he had a visitor. Lucy must enjoy annoying the archangel as she had joined Dean, disregarding the order to remain in her room once again. Today she was wearing sundress and Dean was taken aback by her decision to wear pure white of all colors.

 

“So, what did you do? I heard the guards mumbling about you causing trouble and now have to work for Gabriel as punishment.” Lucy invaded his personal space and rested her chin on his shoulder, looking down at what he was doing. He wanted to shrug her off but she was surprisingly strong and practically immovable.

 

“I disrespected the statue of St Michael.” Dean could feel her chest rumble with laughter.

 

“Oh, is that all? That hardly seems worthy of punishment.”

 

“Gabriel felt the same way. This is just to keep appearances.” Dean confirmed.

 

“Hmm, so tell me, what is like beyond these walls?” Lucy asked idly as she started to toy with the ends of his hair, twirling it around her finger.

 

“You really don’t get to leave the Monte Carlo, do you?”

 

“I may test Gabriel by sneaking out of my room but I know better than push my luck outside of these walls.”

 

“I used to live out in Lawrence. Nowhere near as large as Vegas, though.” Lawrence was just a small town and outside of it was nothing but country. Aside from the demon activity, it was a relatively quiet place.

 

“So why did you move out to the big city?”

 

“My father died and I didn’t have any other family left. Uncle Bobby took me in and we moved out here.” Bobby’s reasoning for leaving Lawrence behind was escaping all the bad memories associated with the place and give themselves a new beginning. Dean was not the only one that lost a loved one, Bobby had lost his wife due to circumstances that he had kept private.

 

“Sounds like you had a hard life.” Lucy offered sympathetically. 

 

“At least I’m alive.” Unfortunately the same could not be said for the rest of his family. He paused, “Don’t you have any family? Seems strange that you are shacking up with an archangel.” Maybe they were not in a romantic relationship, as Gabriel claimed, but Lucy and Gabriel seemed oddly close, more than just mere friends.

 

“I had an older brother once...one that I loved and idolized but he forsook me.” She gave him a bitter smile.

 

“Sorry,” Dean responded, unable to think of anything better to say. He would like to think that if Sam was still alive, Dean would always have his back. Eventually Lucy had taken to reading and leaving Dean to his duties until Gabriel came in to herd her back into her room, exchanging more words in a tongue that he could not recognize.

 

---

 

Dean had tuned out most of the titles of the books that he has been sorting through but for some reason, one happened to catch his eye, Supernatural by Chuck Shurley. He scanned through the summary provided on the back cover and froze as the story was all too familiar, eerily reminiscent of his own childhood. There was no way that it was mere coincidence.

 

He thumbed through the pages, wondering how detailed this supposedly fictional story got. The mysterious man that took the life of his brother was unnamed. Dean growled out and flung the book across the room until it hit the shelf with a loud thump.

 

Lucy, who had just walked in, raised an eyebrow, “What did the book do to offend you? Give you a papercut?” She bent over to retrieve the book from the floor and dusted off the cover.

 

“You don’t understand...somehow that book has my life story in it.” While Dean was busy freaking out about how that author happened to know about his life, Lucy was calm. Then again, it did not concern her.

 

“Hmm...perhaps a psychic or prophet trying to profit off of your life?” She pursed her lips, considering carefully the reasons.

 

“Prophets are a thing?” Dean replied in disbelief. He knew about psychics, Missouri, another one of his dad’s friends was one. His dad had turned to her after what happened to Sam but she was unable to give him any hints as to the identity of the man.

 

“They’re just as real as angels and demons. And are very special, they get their own archangel guardian.”

 

“So, if this guy is a prophet then maybe Gabriel will know him?” To his knowledge, there were only four archangels in existence, the one was Lucifer, who was fallen so Dean doubted that he would be the guardian of a prophet, so there was a one in third chance that Gabriel might know the guy personally from guarding him.

 

“Maybe and that’s only if he’s a prophet. Lord knows how many psychics there are out there.” Lucy gave a small shrug.

 

---

 

“What do you know about prophets?” Dean asked Gabriel once he wrapped up his tasks for the day, still not quite over how many books that the archangel had in his library.

 

“Why do you ask?” He responded with suspicion, raising an eyebrow at him. Then he sighed, “Have you been talking to Lucy? Dear Dad, I swear that trouble and pain in my ass are her middle names.”

 

“Look, I stumbled across this book in your library by Chuck Shurley and it’s about my childhood. My family is dead so unless one of them is ghostwriting from the dead then I have some serious questions about how they found this information out.” Gabriel eyed him cautiously, looking reluctant to divulge any information.

 

“Yes, I know who you are talking about. He’s not under my protection and I strongly recommend that you don’t go sniffing after him for your own good.” The archangel warned him, acting oddly cryptic.

 

“Why not?” He prodded.

 

“Trust me, Dean, that’s one rock that you will want to leave unturned.” That is all he is given before he is ushered out of Gabriel’s office. He can make out through the thick doors the sound of the archangel picking up the phone and barking at Lucy. 

 

Dean really wondered what language they spoke.

 

---

 

Unlike Lawrence where the local police were not equipped with the means to handle demons, Vegas was well protected by Gabriel’s presence. Demons could not just slip in as they pleased. Dean did not know all of the details but apparently the archangel had created a barrier of sorts around the city with his own grace, which kept most of the common sort of demons out. The ones that managed to slip through the cracks were quickly taken out by the Angel Watch.

 

Dean was on his way from the church to the Monte Carlo minding his own business when he is attacked from behind. He heard a screech of, “Down with the righteous man!” as a hand reached out to grab the back of his shirt and slammed him down to the ground. A woman with black eyes straddled him, keeping him pinned, and held a knife to his neck.

 

His heart is racing and any semblance of coherent thought has gone out the window as all Dean can think is that this is the end. He does not even pay any mind to the shrieking of the bystanders observing the scene, the demon does not either, as if they are unimportant. But why him? What did he do?

 

He would strongly disagree about being some kind of righteous man.

 

The demon hissed and writhed in agony as a member of the Angel Watch appeared and started to chant the exorcism prayer then splashed holy water at her.

 

“This isn’t the end! Strike me down but then another will come to take my place.” She managed to threaten before the demon is successfully exorcised, the now empty body slumping on top of him, crushing him against the ground. The Angel Watch soldier quickly hurried over to lift him up then called for backup over the radio to handle the body while Dean was escorted to the Monte Carlo. 

 

He was taken straight into Gabriel’s office and the archangel had a serious, grim expression on his face, a sharp contrast to his usual playful attitude. Surprisingly, he found that Gabriel was not alone and Bobby was already waiting for him in there. Strange that he was able to get here that quickly, unless one of his contacts had reached out to him as soon as the Angel Watch had found Dean.

 

“Thank God you’re alright, I would never forgive myself if something ever happened to you.” Bobby had tears in his eyes as he pulled him into a tight hug.

 

“I know.” Dean nodded into his shoulder.

 

“In light of the attack, you’re off the hook today for your chores.” Gabriel spoke softly as the hug ended. 

 

Bobby spun around to look at him, “How the hell did a demon get through anyways? And why target Dean?”

 

“We’re investigating the matter.” The archangel replied simply.

 

“The demon said some nonsense about the righteous man but I don’t know what that is supposed to mean. Not like there’s a damn righteous bone in this body.” Dean supplied.

 

“The demon was delusional, I would not take anything it said to heart.” Gabriel suggested. He wanted to believe the archangel but Dean could not help but feel like some unexplainable pull in his gut to not let it go. But for the moment, he lets the matter go.

 

---

 

Dean can hear a woman singing as he walked through the hallways of the Monte Carlo. Drawn in by the sound, he is led out into a rooftop garden that he did not know that existed and is more surprised to find that it is Lucy who is singing.

 

“...Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place: For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again...” When her eyes meet his, she abruptly stopped.

 

“What was that?”

 

“Some of His word.” His classes had went over the Bible but he had never paid too close attention to it. It was kind of hard for him to have faith when God had left long ago. Any prayers probably fell on deaf ears.

 

“Huh, I didn’t take you for one of the religious sort.” Dean considered.

 

“It’s all I ever knew growing up. I may no longer adhere to those tenants but sometimes old habits are hard to break.”

 

“I overheard the word ‘righteous’ in that verse that you sung. Would you happen to know what a righteous man is?” He thought that it was worth a shot to at least ask, given her knowledge. 

 

Lucy tilted her head at him, “Indeed, I do but what does it matter to you?”

 

“The demon that attacked me called me that.”

 

“A righteous man walks the path that God has laid out. But that is not all, I have heard whispers that there is a righteous man that is marked as Michael’s true vessel.”

 

“True vessel?” Gabriel had explained to him about the concept of vessels and that angels needed them to walk the Earth but he had not brought up that.

 

“Only the archangels have them. These true vessels were literally made to complement their corresponding archangel. MFEOs, essentially. Inside of these vessels, the archangel is at his full strength and doesn’t have to worry about decay as most other vessels will burn out over time.” He found the information to be shocking but Dean was largely unconcerned. 

 

It was not like there was any chance that he was Michael’s true vessel. Yeah right. Michael was the one that had cast Lucifer out of Heaven on God’s order and took up the throne as the viceroy until the angels all abandoned the Host. His true vessel would have to be someone truly special, one completely devoid of sin. Dean was not that guy.

 

“Sounds fun,” Dean drawled out sarcastically, “How do you know so much about this anyways? I couldn’t get this much detail out of Gabriel.”

 

“I like knowing things and make it a point to learn everything that I can.”

 

“Nerd.” He chuckled.

 

“Not like there’s much else that I can do being cooped up most of the time.” She pointed out. Dean winced, how could he forget that she had a big red target on her back.

 

“I been meaning to ask, what is that language that you talk with Gabriel in? It doesn’t sound like anything that I have ever heard.”

 

“It’s Enochian, language of the angels.” Dean had not even realized that the angels had their own language.

 

“Whoa, how did you learn that? Did Gabriel teach you?”

 

“No, my older brother did.” She answered somberly and Dean knew to not prod anymore, knowing how the subject of her brother was a touchy subject. Not that he blamed her since he had abandoned her.

 

---

 

Gabriel might have told Dean to let the matter of Chuck Shurley go but he could not. He wanted answers. Why Sam? He had only been a baby, far too young to have slighted the man personally. His father had lost his life trying to search for these answers and Dean did not want his death to be in vain.

 

The archangel had been called out of the Monte Carlo for business, for which Dean was going to owe Ash big time for orchestrating the distraction to allow him to sneak into Gabriel’s office, the typical guard posted at his door was occupied by a carefully placed bottle of Coke and Mentos. A complete mess of an explosion but at least it would not hurt anyone, for which that was not Dean’s intentions.

 

He let out a huge sigh of relief as he carefully closed the office door behind him and leaned against it, he had made it without getting caught. Gabriel had been lenient with him before but he might not be so generous with him this time. The huge plush chair was turned in the opposite direction from the desk, as if Gabriel had been in a rush and did not have time to set it back properly.

 

Dean practically has a heart attack as the chair spun around suddenly to face him and saw Lucy’s grinning face staring at him. He shouted in shock, “Jesus Christ-” He caught himself before he yelled out a slew of curses, not wanting to jeopardize alerting the guard of his presence inside Gabriel’s office because, while he was not at his post, sound could travel.

 

“Sorry, no, just me.” She cackled, finding amusement in his terror.

 

“What are you doing in here!? Are you trying to scare the crap out of me?” He hissed.

 

“Hardly.” Lucy rolled her eyes, pushing her arms against the desk to stand out of the chair and draped herself over the top of the desk with her arms crossed in front of her chest, “Gabriel practically flew out of here like someone put a bee in his bonnet and thought I would take advantage of the opportunity. I know where he keeps his stash of candy. He’s lucky that as an angel he doesn’t have to worry about cavities or his teeth would have rotted out decades ago.” She chided as if the archangel was a little kid.

 

“More importantly, what are you doing in here? Adding trespassing to your resume? Think he’s going to give you just a slap on the wrist if he catches you in here?”

 

“I could say the same to you.” Dean retorted.

 

“Ha, I would like to see him try. I been through shit much worse than anything he could cook up.” Lucy sneered, the expression distorting her typically playful demeanor. There was a dark edge to her voice that gave Dean little doubt that she had truly been through some difficult experiences.

 

“You’re rather bold.”

 

“Not like I got much else to live for when I got a target on my head from an archangel with a grudge.”

 

“Can’t you just apologize for whatever you did?” It never did make sense how Lucy had pissed off an archangel so much that he wanted to kill her. If she repented, surely he would be obliged to let her be.

 

“Apologize?” She howled in laughter, “That’s a good one. See, you haven’t met Michael. He has a huge stick shoved his ass and always think that he is doing what is right. Load of shit, I tell you. Surely you know what he did to his brother.” Her icy blue eyes narrowed in rage as she ranted, not directed at him but the archangel.

 

“Do you mean Lucifer?” Dean asked and Lucy nodded.

 

“You know, before he was cast of Heaven, Lucifer went to Michael and begged him to stand with him. But no, Michael refused and betrayed his brother claiming his duty to God. But ha, where’s God now? Where was he when Hell waged war against Heaven? When their fights devastated the Earth? Killed his precious chosen ones? The angels abandoned their home because they couldn’t stand the fact that their own Father had left them and didn’t care about them!” She rambled on, spurned on by a fiery passion. Her hands moved dramatically as she had talked.

 

“You care a lot about this, don’t you?” He stated dumbly, not exactly sure how to reply to her tirade.

 

“Tch, Gabriel says that I should let go of the past but it’s not so simple.” Lucy stared down at her hand which was tightly clenching the end of the desk.

 

“I get it. I cannot let the matter of my brother’s death go either. I want to find Chuck and get some answers from him hopefully. At the very least a name to the face that has been burned into my mind.” Dean might have been rather young at the time but he could never forgot the man that had taken Sam from him. His memory of him was like a scar, could not be erased no matter how hard he tried.

 

“And what will you do once you have those answers?”

 

“I will kill the bastard.” There was no judgment in Lucy’s eyes as he gave her his answer and she jumped off the desk to walk towards him. She reached behind herself and from underneath the bottom of her skirt, she had pulled out a silver blade, almost identical to the one that the man had, and offered it to him. Dean did not even want to think about where she had been concealing it.

 

“Here, take this then to carry out your justice.”

 

“What is it?” Dean asked in confusion, admiring at how the the reflection of the blade shined under the light of the room.

 

“It’s an angel blade, capable of killing almost any creature in existence. Demons, angels, to name just a few.”

 

“How did you get a hold of something like that? Don’t tell me that you stole this from Gabriel.”

 

“Oh, please, Gabriel may be laid back but he isn’t with his own blade. He’s so paranoid that he keeps it on his person at all times.” Lucy scoffed, “A lot of angels have died during the war and a lot more have died since they started living here at the hands of demons so it’s not that difficult to come across one of their blades lying around on the ground.”

 

“You grabbed this to use against Michael, didn’t you?” Dean guessed. An unreadable expression passed over Lucy’s face.

 

“No, I can’t.” She said weakly with a frown.

 

“But-” He started but Lucy cut him off abruptly.

 

“I can’t, okay? I really don’t want to talk about it.” She stared at the blade in his hand, with an apprehensive expression on her face. 

 

Was that regret? Dean is not able to ponder the thought for long as Lucy looked up at him as she composed herself.

 

“I did some digging, Chuck Shurley lives in the city of Delphi under the protection of Michael.”

 

“Really? Thanks, you don’t know how much this means to me.” Mindful of the blade still in his hand as he did not have any place to properly sheathe it yet, Dean gives her a quick hug.

 

---

 

Dean’s heart felt heavy in his chest as he secretly packed some of his things into a satchel and left Vegas in the middle of the night, giving no proper goodbye to Bobby, only leaving a note behind. He knew if he had been upfront about his plans to his adoptive father, he would do everything in his power to stop him. Tell him that he was just going to waste away his life in the same way that his father had, so obsessed with pursuing Sam’s murderer that it had ultimately cost his life.

 

Bobby could not understand that he had to do this to get answers about that day.

 

It was going to be a long, arduous adventure in front of him. Delphi resided where the proud city of freedom, Philadelphia, once stood. A city so massive that it was its own county. Most of the prominent buildings that made up the city’s skyline were long gone but One Liberty Place still remained.

 

Vegas was practically on the other side of the country so Dean could not simply walk the whole way. And the interstate roads and highways that used to be bustling with traffic held little activity these days as people tended to keep inside the perimeters of their settlements so the only vehicles spotted were old military vehicles, caravans carrying goods, and the odd family travelling to a better settlement. So hitchhiking was out of the question.

 

Dean did not want to disrespect Bobby by taking the car he had used to drive them from Lawrence to Vegas so he resorted to taking one from a garage and skedaddling before anyone caught wind of it. He planned his route to accommodate the fact that he would have to refill the car with gas several times during the course of the drive.

 

All in all, Dean felt ready to head out into the wasteland. But, oh, how wrong had he been.

 

His drive had started off quietly enough, nothing but the hum of the engine, since the radio provided only static, no music to take his mind off his surroundings. He knew that he was far enough away from Vegas as there are no people in sight and just the desert stretching out over the horizon. He mistook this peace for safety and before he knows it, Dean is ambushed by a gang of demons, barreling into the side of the car and sends it flying into the air doing flips as it was performing acrobatics in the circus. His head goes dizzy from the motion and feels about ready to vomit, his seatbelt protecting him when the car finally collides with the ground. He did not even have a moment to catch his breath as the bent door is flung open and he is grabbed out by a cackling demon.

 

He recalled that angel blade that Lucy given him, assuring him that it was capable of slaying angels and demons alike. Dean attempted to reach down to pull out of where he was hiding it in his pants but the demon easily picks up on his movement and slammed him face down into the dry dirt. He nearly chokes as a cloud of it kicks up from the impact and invades his orifices.

 

‘Oh, shiny. But this doesn’t belong to you, does it?” The demon taunted as it holds up the blade, the light from the sun reflecting off of it.

 

“Oh, oh, don’t you feel this power? This isn’t just a mere angel blade…” Another demon cooed.

 

“You’re right, it reeks of an archangel. Tsk, tsk, how careless. You think they would be mindful of one of the few things in all of existence that can possibly kill them.” That contradicted what Lucy had told him. She had insisted that she had gotten the blade on her own and it was not Gabriel’s. But then, how was this an archangel blade? Unless...she had managed to steal it from Michael. Perhaps that was the reason why he had such a grudge against her.

 

“Give that back.” Dean grunted, lifting his head up from the dirt.

 

“Now, is that how you ask for something nicely?” The demon tsked, waving the blade in its hand.

 

“Go fuck yourself.”

 

“Oh, this one got a mouth on him. You’re going to be a lot of fun to tear apart, aren’t you, boy?” The one grinned as it gripped him by the chin tightly.

 

“Screw you.” Dean spat.

 

“Oh, oh, I know! Let’s use our new toy!” The other suggested with delight.

 

“What an excellent idea.” The demon holding onto him agreed. His struggling body is held down, no amount of thrashing is able to throw his captors off, and all he can do is suck a huge gasp of air as the silver blade was thrusted through his chest.

 

The world briefly goes black and when he regained awareness, Dean found himself looking down at his lifeless body then up the two demons dancing about in glee. Their dance is short lived as an elderly man with slicked back dark hair and walking with the assistance of a cane just barely brushed a hand against both of their shoulders and they fall to the ground lifelessly.

 

“Revolting creatures, aren’t they?” The man looked at him with an intense gaze.

 

“Who are-” Dean started to ask but is cut off.

 

“You should be honored, I only personally escort those souls that possess Heaven’s favor.” He truly was dead. What a disgrace for his journey to end like this, right out of the gate.

 

“You got to be kidding me…! Heaven’s favor!?”

 

“And you should be grateful. You could have been headed downstairs and ultimately end up as one of those foul creatures.” The elderly man pointed out. He leaned forward to pick up the archangel blade that had been discarded once the demon had been killed, “Hmm...to think that you would be in possession of his blade, how curious indeed.”

 

“Enough of the chit chat, let’s get straight to the point. You’re going to drag my soul to Heaven or what?” Dean replied impatiently.

 

The man’s lips curved into a slight smile, “Yes, I suppose you would be quite eager to be reunited with your parents after such a long time...but hmm, what a pity that you have been unable to see your mission to the end.” 

 

His heart, or was it his soul since he was not truly in a corporal form since his real body was lying motionless on the ground in front of him, fluttered at the mention of his parents and seeing them again. But what about his brother, Sam? Surely the soul of baby would not be sent to Hell.

 

“I could return your soul to your body as good as new.” The man offered and it sounded too good to be true.

 

“What’s the catch?” Dean asked skeptically.

 

“You have been sent down these chain of events by his manipulations. If you manage to avoid bringing about the result that he desires then you will be free to remain inside your body until your natural death. If you do succumb then I will return for your soul.”

 

“What is this? A gamble of fate versus free will?” He was unsure of this “he” that the other man was referring to, unless he meant God. But that did not make any sense because God has long been absent from the world.

 

“No,” He shook his head, “There is always a choice, no matter how outside influences may make it seem like you have none. The question is whether you let yourself be dangled about like a puppet on strings or break free from the strings of coercion.”

 

“You’re not making any sense but I will accept your deal.”

 

The man’s eyes glowed white and clasped his arm in a tight, strong hold, “Remember, a deal is a deal, Dean Winchester. You cannot escape Death.”

 

An intense light surrounds him and the man vanished from his sight.

 

---

 

Dean was disoriented as he woke up, as he was no longer in the desert, but somehow just on the outskirts of Delphi as he found himself looking at its ten foot wall of steel. He looked down and saw that his hand was gripping the silver blade, finding it strange that the man decided to return it to him.

 

When he reached the gate that provided entry into the city, he found soldiers on guard checking all the people that went in and out. His face was splashed with holy water to confirm that he was not a demon and some questioning about his intentions inside Delphi before he was allowed entry.

 

The city was in no better shape than Vegas, containing about the same amount of wreckage and rebuilt structures. At one time Delphi had boasted an intricate train system but the most of the stations located underground had caved in, disrupting service to other stops. One thing that had remained the same after all the years since the war was that the Reading Terminal Market was still a hub for goods. But instead of fresh Amish goods and diverse ethnic cuisine, most of the vendors centered on selling merchandise geared towards survival.

 

---

 

For being a guy that published a novel, Chuck Shurley was not an easy guy to locate. Sure, Delphi was big, bigger than Vegas, but surely somehow had to have heard of the writer who also happened to be a prophet. And while Dean had been trying to avoid the detection of the archangel Michael, apparently his questioning for the prophet’s location had drew the suspicion of his Angel Watch and he was promptly taken into custody.

 

“You are not a citizen of Delphi. Where do you come from?” The guard started interrogating him inside a small room. Delphi kept track of its citizens but issuing them cards, Dean guessed as some kind of security measure. 

 

“Born and raised in Lawrence, Kansas. Then ended up in Vegas.” Dean answered simply.

 

“What business brings you here? And why are you asking for Chuck Shurley?”

 

“That’s none of your business.” He sneered. His insolence resulted in his his hair being grabbed then his face shoved against the table.

 

“Do you understand who you are messing with, boy?” The man growled out.

 

“That is enough, leave us.” Dean heard a new voice make his presence known inside the room and the guard instantly lets go of his hair.

 

“Sir Archangel- I...I…” Shit, this was the exact thing that Dean had been trying to avoid, actually drawing in Michael himself. From the sound of it, he did not tolerate any bullshit. Perhaps Lucy was not exaggerating when she had said that he had a stick up his ass.

 

“Why are you still standing around? Did I not order you to leave?” There is loud shuffling of fabric as the guard hurried out of the room as if his pants were on fire. When the door closed behind him, Dean did not even dare to lift his head up.

 

“You’re quite unlike what I had imagined. Still, strange how you had found your way to me. Tell me, what is it that you seek here? Hmm?” Dean is instantly creeped out as he can feels his warm hands trailing over his body as if searching for something. He felt his shirt being lifted and the angel blade being drawn out. He let out a string of curses, wishing that he could press his face deeper into the table to hide his embarrassment. 

 

“Very curious, how did you get your hands on this? More importantly, how do you plan on using it? To get revenge?” The archangel rambled.

 

“I want answers, dammit!” Dean shouted, finally lifting his head and turning around to face the archangel. What a big mistake as flashbacks begin to scroll through his mind as he looked at Michael and realized that his features matched exactly the man that killed Sam.

 

“You - murderer! You son of a bitch, it was you this entire time!” He let out in anger, fury running rampant under his skin. But even despite all of his rage, Michael remained unphased.

 

“You do not understand that which you speak of.” He chided.

 

“There is nothing to misunderstand about you slaughtering my baby brother!” He growled out, slamming his fists against his chest, though his puny human hands could cause no harm towards the archangel, “I hate you!”

 

“Shh…” Michael hushed him and saw him reaching his fingers out towards him.

 

“Don’t you dare pull that bullshit on me again!” Dean cursed but escape was impossible as he was forcibly lured into sleep.

 

---

 

“Is he dead?” Dean heard a young male’s voice question and a finger poking at his cheek. No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to open his eyes, wondering if he was still under the hold of Michael’s magic.

 

“Have you ever known me to kill humans, Samuel?” Michael answered in a soft voice.

 

“The Plagues of Egypt? The Great Flood?” The youth named off some of the huge disasters that had happened in the Bible.

 

“My Father had commanded it.” The archangel defended himself.

 

“Doesn’t make it any less of a massacre.” He retorted.

 

“Fear not, this one is still alive.”

 

“Why did you bring him here? You normally don’t allow me guests.”

 

“He has caused a bit of trouble and I think he could use your company for awhile, at least until he has calmed down.”

 

“Is he dangerous?” The boy gasped.

 

“No, I would never allow you to be in danger, not under my watch.” Michael assured the boy. Dean idly wondered what this boy meant to the archangel, causing him to act like his personal guardian angel. Regardless, it did not make up for the slaughter of Dean’s younger brother.

 

---

 

Dean groaned when his sight finally returned to him and sat up in a queen sized bed, which had to be rather huge for a young kid. He spotted a lanky form curled up in a chair reading a book, shaggy brown hair and green eyes. His head popped up from the cover of his book, noticing Dean shuffling about on the bed. Hands, which seemed a little too big for his body, closed the book and sat it on his lap.

 

“Hello, Dean.” The boy greeted him with a neutral expression. No doubt Michael had provided his name to the boy while he was unconscious. He wondered what else he had told him.

 

“Where did that winged dick go?” Dean demanded, pushing the sheet off his body and rose off the bed, ready to storm down the hallways in search of the archangel.

 

“What do you have against Michael anyways? He protects us.” The boy inquired.

 

“Yeah? Try saying that to my dead little brother. Tell me, what good reason does an archangel have for killing an infant?” He sneered. Perhaps it was unfair to be rude to the kid who had nothing to do with what happened to Sammy but he was the only one nearby for him to take out his anger on.

 

“Michael does not do anything without reason.” The boy pursed his lips into a frown.

 

“Oh please, there was no justification for what he did.” Dean scowled.

 

“So is that what you are here for, revenge? Even if you did manage to kill him, what then? It wouldn’t bring back your brother.” He rationalized.

 

It might be the truth but that still was not going to deter Dean. He had devoted his whole life to tracking down the man responsible for Sam’s death and bringing him to justice, he was not going to stop now. Nothing was going to stop him.

 

The kid protested as Dean left the room, telling him that Michael insisted on him staying inside the room, but ultimately he could not do anything to prevent him from leaving, given the stark contrast of their sizes. He could tell that the kid was going to one day grow into a giant, with his large hands and long limbs, but for now, he was no match for Dean.

 

---

 

When he had finally tracked down the archangel after aimlessly wandering through corridors and hallways without any sense of direction, Dean demanded, “Give me back my blade.”

 

The archangel had seemed surprised to see him appear before him but he made no move to restrain him or lecture him for leaving the room that he had dumped him inside.

 

Michael raised an eyebrow at him, “It does not belong to you.”

 

“What, are you going to tell me that it’s yours?” He snorted.

 

“No, it’s Lucifer’s.” The angel answered coolly. Dean’s eyebrows furrowed in surprise, how on earth had Lucy gotten her hands on that?

 

“But you cast him down into Hell and threw away the key…” Or at least, that was how the whole story had went. While the demons had been able to run rampant on the earth, Lucifer was supposedly locked up in the deepest region of Hell. And thus, it should be practically impossible for his blade to be floating around on the earth.

 

“Perhaps.” Michael responded vaguely.

 

“Whatever, I don’t care if it was Lucifer’s or not, it was given to me so hand it over, feathers.” Dean insisted, reaching out with his hand.

 

The archangel chuckled, “And provide you with a means of slaying archangels? I think not. You are quite braze, unlike what I had expected from you.”

 

“And what, me hunting you down not bold enough for you?”

 

“Do you want to know the truth? About what happened that night and why I was there?” Michael asked, going on a complete tangent.

 

“Going to feed me some excuses for your actions?” Dean growled out.

 

“Hear me out. If you are still discontent after I have finished explaining then I will return Lucifer’s blade to you and you are free to use it as you will.”

 

“Oh, I bet this is going to be real good.” He stated sarcastically but nevertheless he sunk down into a chair to hear the archangel out.

 

“Before I speak of that night, I have to explain vessels and the existence of true vessels.” Michael started off.

 

“I already know about that.”

 

“Including that true vessels go back to a bloodline? These bloodlines have been carefully observed for centuries and I knew that my brother’s true vessel was to be born. There had been a prophecy that Lucifer would break free and walk the earth by taking his true vessel. It was my duty to prevent that from happening. Lucifer’s true vessel also happened to be your brother.”

 

“What!?” Dean gasped but Michael continued to speak.

 

“It had been my intention to kill him and begone with the whole issue. But as I stared down at him, an innocent child, I hesitated. Ultimately, I could not bring myself to harm him so I took him with me, leaving you and your father to believe that he was gone for good.”

 

“Bullshit, where is he then? Huh!?” Dean slammed his foot against the floor.

 

“You have already met him.” Michael responded cryptically. 

 

The boy whose room he had left. The archangel had called him Samuel. Dean had wrote it off initially  as coincidence as Sam was a popular name but here Michael was suggesting that it was not.

 

“You son of a-” Dean cursed, standing up from the chair and about ready to bolt towards the direction of his bedroom. To see his brother. However, the human is stopped as Michael grabbed a hold of his arm.

 

“You will only confuse him. I have not spoken to him of his biological family.” The archangel explained and Dean spun around to face him.

 

“Why? It was bad enough that you stole him from his real family but you made him ignorant of us as well?”

 

“Dean, you just don’t understand, everything that I did was in Samuel’s best interest.”

 

“And who do you think you are? His older brother? Trying to make up with the shitty job that you did with your own brother?”

 

The doors flung open with a burst of air and Sam walked into the room as if it was his right. Dean could make out the muscles in Michael's jaw tensing.

 

“Yes, Michael, do tell.” Sam purred, sounding all too wrong coming from him. He almost seemed like a different person from the boy that he had met earlier.

 

“Lucifer…how did you get inside Sam?” Despite the panic that Dean could see in his eyes, Michael remained rather calm as he demanded answers. What Dean was more concerned about was where was his brother now?

 

“Oh, I just approached him, telling him how concerned that I was about Dean going after you to kill you and told him that he could prevent it all by giving me one tiny word. Children, so eager to believe.”

 

“Where’s Sammy!?” Dean shouted.

 

“Oh, he’s still in here,” Lucifer let his tongue hang out of his mouth as he pointed to Sam’s head, “He’s rather terrified and confused but I’m rather comfy where I am. Though, admittedly, I wish he had been a bit older but well, beggars can’t be choosers. Still a step up from Amelia, who could barely contain me without some magical assistance.”

 

“You were previously inside a vessel?”

 

“Cute little thing, wasn’t she, Dean?” He nearly gagged as Lucifer winked at him.

 

“I have no clue what you are talking about.”

 

“Don’t tell me that you forgot already. Blonde hair. Very feminine. Gave you the means to kill Michael over here.” Lucifer’s grin widened as the realization finally dawned upon Dean.

 

“You manipulated me!” He accused.

 

“You made it so easy, too.” The fallen archangel mocked him. “Though it seems that you have failed on the execution part of the plan. Should have figured that big bro’s true vessel couldn’t finish the job.”

 

“Release Sam.”

 

“Tsk, tsk, you’re in no position to be making demands. Though it is disappointing to see my proud brother practically begging. Grown fond of the boy, have you? You care about him more than you did about me?” By the end of his sentence, Lucifer was growling in rage. The angel did not contain himself anymore and flung himself at Michael but Michael did not fight back against him.

 

“Come on, Michael, show me that wrath of yours!” Lucifer goaded, using his hands to lift Michael’s vessel up from the ground. However, the older archangel was defiant as he looked down at him with a bloodied face. 

 

There was not even anger present on his face, only sadness.