All Hell Breaks Loose : Part 2

chapter fifty two , All Hell Breaks Loose: Part 2

a/n : y'all ready? i'm readyyyyy

Prepare the waterworks! JK JK it's not that sad...

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Flashback

Sam's breathing was quick, not able to think. The last thing he heard before the screaming stopped was a loud bang. They had gone on a hunt and John told her to stay in the car. But she wanted to help. Sadly, she didn't. In John's words, she was the distraction that got Dean hurt. The ghost had thrown Dean across the room, breaking his arm.

After the loud thud in Athena's room, she came running out of the motel. Crying. Sam couldn't find her anywhere. He was standing in the motel parking lot.

"Athena?!"

The young boy's eyes brim with tears. Did she run away? Was she gone forever?

Then he felt something hit the back of his neck. Sam turns around and looks down at the Oreo on the ground. He looks up and sees Athena sitting on the roof of the motel with tears staining her face. Even though she had tears, there was a comforting smile across her lips. Sam lets out a breath of relief, he runs over to the building and climbs up the ladder. He gets ontop of the roof and inhales a breath. "I thought you left."

Athena shrugs, "Where would I go? To my mom's house?" she looks at the ground. "She'd just shoo me away."

Sam's eyes soften, "Athy..."

"It's fine. You don't have to be up here." Athena wipes at her eyes. "I just wanted to look at the stars it...calms me down, I guess."

"Well, I happen to like the stars so..." Sam walks over to her and sits next to her, his feet hanging off the roof. "Do you know the constellations?"

"Yeah, I do." Athena nods, her voice quiet.

Sam raises his brows, "You want to point them out--"

"Is Dean okay?" Athena asks with her glassy eyes on Sam's gentle ones. "Daddy won't let me in the room to see him."

"Yeah, well, Dad's a dick."

Athena blinks, "I don't know what that means..." she looks back at the stars. Athena points at one of the constellations and traces it. "The big dipper." she shivers.

Sam takes his jacket off and puts it around Athena. He pulls her into his side. Athena exhales a small cry. "Is Dean mad?"

Before Sam could answer, someone else speaks.

"Nah, I'm not mad."

Athena and Sam look down and see Dean staring up at them. Dean smiles, "I'm coming up."

"No, you're not, idiot." Sam snaps. "Your arm's broken."

"Oh, is it? Thanks for that unknown information, Sammy." Dean grunts as he uses one hand to climb up the ladder.

"How could your arm being broken be unknown information to you?" Athena asks. "Did it not hurt when it broke?"

"Nah, I'm just the strongest and most badass mother fucker alive." Dean finally gets on top of the roof and lets out a huff. "This felt like nothing."

"But you were crying--"

"Uh, I was acting." Dean corrects.

Sam rolls his eyes, but he smirks. "Sure you were..."

Dean looks at Athena and she looks down at her swinging legs, guilt drowning her. The eldest Winchester sibling. "Athy, I'm okay."

"Yeah, but you'd be better if it weren't for me."

"What? Are you kidding?" Dean sits beside her, so now she was in the middle. "I am so unlucky on cases." he then mushes the side of Sam's face. "More unlucky than Sammy here!"

Sam groans, "I'm gonna grow out of that name and you're gonna look stupid using it."

"Yeah, yeah..."

Athena softly giggles. Dean touches the top of her head and exhales. "Besides, I look kind of badass with this sling, huh?" he then frowns. "You think the ladies'll like it?"

"Oh, dude--come on. Can you stop worrying about the ladies for one minute?" Sam rolls his eyes. Dean gasps, "How dare you? That's the one thing I can't do."

"Guys, look!" Athena stands up and points.

Sam and Dean follow her finger and their eyes land on the flying star in the sky.

"A shooting star?" Sam softly chuckles. Dean then snorts, "Where are we a Disney film?"

"Yeah, you would like that, wouldn't you?"

"Hey, Cinderella is a good movie!"

"Please, please, pleaseeee..."

Sam and Dean look back at the girl. Her fingers were interlocked and her eyes were squeezed shut. "Uh, Athy? What are you doing?"

"Making a wish."

"Oh, cool--what about?"

Athena turns to Sam and stares at him with wide eyes. Dean does the same. Sam slightly pulls his face back. "Wh-what?"

"I cannot believe you, Sammy." Dean clicks his tongue and wags his finger at him.

"I can't tell you what I wished for or it won't come true." Athena puts her hands on her hips and shakes her head. "Come on, Sam."

"Yeah, come on Sam." Dean instigates. "Do better." he pokes Sam's face.

"Dude, knock it off!" Sam smacks Dean's finger out of his face.

Athena laughs and sits back in between her brothers. "Can I show you guys the constellations?"

Sam and Dean look at each other, smiles on their lips. "Of course, dude." Dean touches the top of her head. "I wanna know all about consolations."

"Constellations."Sam corrects with emphasis. "Idiot..." he then inhales a breath and looks at Athena. "But he's right. I wanna know all about the constellations too."

Athena's smile grows and she opens her mouth. "Okay! Look!" she points at the night sky and traces a group of stars.

Present

Athena hadn't been able to relax since Dean and Bobby left. She went from pacing the room to sitting at the creaky dining table to tossing a bouncing ball against the wall. She couldn't calm down knowing that they were all still out there with their lives at risk. Athena wanted to call Jo and tell her about Ellen, but then Jo would want to be there with them. And after Ash...

Athena couldn't handle losing anyone else.

Creaking is heard outside of the cabin, which causes Athena to snap her eyes over to the door. She quickly grabs her knife and tightens her grip around it to keep herself from shaking. The door pushes open, revealing the man. Athena lets out a small breath of relief, "You're okay." she drops the knife and runs over to him. She wraps her arms around Bobby. He freezes for a moment, trying to keep his strong facade stable. He hugs Athena back.

The girl pulls away from Bobby and looks behind him and out the door. She pulls her brows together, "Wh-where are Sam and Dean?" she walks toward the door. Bobby's breathing falters, "Kid, now hang on..." he stands in front of her.

Athena tilts her head up to him. She then sees the tears in Bobby's eyes and her mind jumps to the worst. "Are they okay?" her heart begins to pound through her ears. She takes a small step back.

"Athena..." Bobby's voice shakes and he takes a moment to recover.

Athena's breathing quickens and her hands begin to shake. She looks back at the door, not seeing her brothers walk through. "Bobby stop...please, where are they?"

"It's Sam."

Athena snaps her eyes over to Bobby. She heard her brother's name. She saw the pain and grief across his face, the tears burning his eyes. But she wasn't comprehending it. Athena was always the smartest person in the room. But when it came to emotions. Sadness specifically, she never understood. Especially when it came to death.

"I don't understand..." Athena shakes her head. "I don't understand what you're trying to say..." her voice gets caught in her throat when she finally sees Dean walking towards the house, holding Sam's body in his arms. A crease forms between Athena's brows and she stumbles back. What was she staring at? Athena closes her eyes and opens them again. Her eyes travel to Dean's and he couldn't even look at her.

"N-No...no..." her back hits the wall and she slides to the ground. "No, no, no..." her chest constricts in a painful manner and she can hardly breathe. Her hands tangle in her hair and she shakes her head. Tears blue her vision and she continues to quietly whimper with weak "No's" leaving her mouth. Bobby makes his way over to Athena and pulls her into a warm hug.

Dean steps into the small cabin, his steps were slow. With each step you can feel him slow down. He didn't want to be in this cabin, he didn't want to set Sam on this bed. Then it would become real. But Dean did it anyway and everything hit him like a truck. He looks down at his shaky blood-stained hands. His eyes flit back to Sam's pale face and his limp body on the mattress.

Athena pulls herself from Bobby and walks into the room. "Sam?" she squeaks.

Dean closes his eyes due to Athena's shaky voice. She walks over to Sam and grips his shoulders, weakly shaking him. "Sam, wake up."

"Athena--"

"Sammy, please!"

Dean feels tears prick his vision once again. And his breathing quickens. With every loud and quivering plead that came from Athena's voice; Dean's anger grew. He just wanted everyone to be quiet. All he could see was Sam getting stabbed and hearing his last breath. He promised Athena. And now he's dead. Sam was dead.

"Sam, please, just--"

Dean grips Athena's arms and pulls her away from Sam's body. "He's dead, all right?! Sam is dead! So stop just--Stop!"

With every word that was spat at her, Athena flinched and cried.

"Dean!"

Dean snaps his eyes over to Bobby. He notices the anger and screaming in his head settle, but all he's left with is Athena sobbing. He looks back at his sister, who was hyperventilating.

"Thena, I..." As soon as he let go of her, she fell to the ground and tries to grasp at her chest. She couldn't catch her breath.

Dean takes a step toward her, but she smacks his hand away and runs into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Athena crumbles onto the floor and cries harder than before. Her realization hitting her so hard, she could barely see.

Sam was dead.

☆

Athena never left the bathroom. She felt weak and her head hurt from crying so much. It was all so...surreal. She heard Dean yelling at Bobby to get out earlier. Then she heard him break down sobbing. Athena wanted to go out there. She wanted them to grieve together. But she couldn't move. Then she heard a loud bang.

"What am I supposed to do?!"

It caused Athena's heart to lurch from the abrupt sound. Dean's footsteps were rushed. He couldn't waste any time over his neck reckless plan. If he was going to get Sam back. He needed to go now. But he still hesitated. He looks at the bathroom door. Dean raises a hand and goes to knock, but he stops and looks at his shaky hand. The same hand that grabbed Athena. He hurt her. He wasn't the only person grieving Sam. So, why did he act like he was?

"A-Athena?" Dean's voice was quiet.

Athena doesn't respond, but she quiets her quick breathing.

"I have to go out, but I'll be back. I promise."

Athena keeps her eyes on the wall. She hears his boots thud against the wooden floor then she hears the grow quieter. The door shuts, leaving the entire cabin silent. Athena was all alone. Alone with Sam's dead body. Athena softly whimpers, she forces herself to sit up and groans. She clutches at her head for a moment and sniffles. Athena slowly stands up and walks toward the door. She opens the door and slowly steps out, her heart begins to pound against her ribcage. Her eye shifts to the doorway to the room where Sam was located. Athena's breathing quickens and tears blur her eyes.

She cautiously walks over to the room and peaks into the room. A small cry escapes her lips when she sees Sam laying on the bed. "Oh, Sam..." she whimpers and walks into the room, fidgeting with her fingers. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry." she grabs his hand but she quickly pulls back.

He was so cold.

Athena gnaws on her lower lip and grabs his hand again, getting past the coldness. She sits in the chair beside the bed and lets out a small breath. "My wish...?" she whispers. "Was for all of us to stay together."

"Not...all of us as in you, me, Dean, and dad. But, just us three." Athena shakes her head and tears roll down her cheeks. "But everything is so messed up. I just wanted us to all stay together, but now..." she exhales a defeated breath. "I wish Dean and I never picked you up from Stanford. You deserved...so much more than to be pulled back into this life."

...

Dean stands in the middle of the crossroads, waiting. He looks around, his breathing quick. "Come on, already..." his hands shake. "Show your face, you bitch!"

"Easy, sugar. You'll wake the neighbors."

Dean turns around to see a woman in a black dress. She blinks, revealing red eyes. "Dean." she looks him up and down. "It is so, so good to see you." she sucks in a sharp breath. "I mean it. Look at you." she walks closer to him.

"Gone and got most of your family killed." The demon clicks her tongue. "And the only family you have left hates your guts. You're basically all alone in the world. It's too sweet."

Dean swallows the lump in his throat. The demon circles the girl, a smile on her lips. "Excuse me. You're gonna have to give me a moment."

"Sometimes you got to stop and smell the roses."

Dean's upper lip curls, "I should send you straight back to Hell."

"Oh, you should." She pouts her lower lip. "But, you won't."

"And I know why."

Dean turns to her, "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah." She nods. "Folliwng in daddy's footsteps, you want to make a deal. Little Sammy back from the dead, and--let me guess--you're offering up your own soul?"

"There are a hundred other demons who'd love to get their hands on it. And it's all yours." Dean says. "All you got to do is bring Sam back. Give me 10 years--10 years, and then you come for me."

"You must be joking." The demon squints her eyes.

Dean pulls his brows together, "That's the same deal you give everybody else."

"You're not everybody else." The demo steps closer to him. "Why would I want to give you anything? Just keep your gutter would. It's too tarnished, anyway."

"Nine years."

"No."

"Eight."

She steps away from him, a small chuckle escaping her lips. "You keep going, I'll keep saying no."

Dean's desperation begins to increase. He couldn't go back to that cabin without this deal being sealed. How could he look Athena in the eyes again?

"Okay, five years." Dean exhales. "Five years, and my bill comes due. That's my last offer--five years or no deal."

The demon scoffs, "Five years for The Sam Winchester? Do you think I'm an idiot?" she then snorts. "After the stories I heard about Sam...you're gonna have to do better than that."

Dean shakes his head, not budging.

"Wow." The demon shakes her head. "You really don't know how special those two are, do you?"

Dean pulls his brows together. Who the hell was she referring to?

The demon noticies Dean's confused expression and she rolls her eyes. "Sam and Athena."

Dean's jaw goes slack. He knew that Sam had special abilities. Of course, he did. But Athena? He never thought about it...

"Is that why our dad took Athena from her mother?"

The demon raises her brows and smiles like Dean got his hypothesis correct. Dean's gut twists and he glances away from the Demon for a moment. He tries to get his thoughts in order. What if he brought Sam back and the demons would just end up going after Athena? Then he'd just be back to losing another sibling. He couldn't let that happen.

"You stay away from Athena too."

The demon lets out a breath of disbelief, "Come again?"

"You heard me. Any sick plans you have for my sister, you put them to rest now!"

The demon chuckles and tilts her head. "Yeah...that's not gonna happen." She snorts.

"But—"

"Five years for both of your siblings? No, you've gotta sweeten the—"

"1 year."

The demon stops talking and she slightly tilts her chin up, intrigued by the offer. "Go on..." she urges.

Dean inhales through his nose, "You bring Sam back and leave Athena alone. And you can have me in one year. I won't try to weasel my way out. This is it."

The demon laughs, "Now, that's what I call a deal."

And they seal it with a kiss.

...

Athena never let Sam's hand go, her forehead was against Sam's hand. And she hadn't stopped crying. She lifts her head up and stares at Sam's grey face. Athena sniffles, she could've sworn she felt his hand twitch. She pulls her brows together, "S-Sam--"

A loud gasp comes from Sam's mouth and he quickly sits up. Athena screams and her fist collides with Sam's nose. He groans and flops back onto the bed again. Athena falls out of the chair and her back comes into contact with the hardwood floor. She groans, but quickly recovers. Athena scrambles onto her feet and watches as Sam clutches his nose.

"Oh, Athena, why?" Sam sits sup again, groaning.

Athena opens and closes her mouth. She slowly approaches Sam, ignoring the fact that he was covering his bleeding nose. Athena looks across his skin that was now back to it's normal color. She touches his forehead with the back of her hand and Sam pulls his brows together.

"What's with you--"

"Sammy?" Athena cries.

Sam raises his brows, seeing the tears in Athena's eye. A small laugh of disbelief leaves her lips, she crashes into Sam by wrapping her arms around his neck; pulling him into a tight embrace.

"Oh, My God--how are y--I mean...what, I don't get it." Athena pulls her face back and looks at him. She then pokes her finger into Sam's face. Sam pulls his brows together, "Athena, It's me."

Athena shakes her head, "I don't understand..." her brows pull together. Before she could ask any more questions, the front door swings open. Rushed steps are heard throughout the cabin. Dean pops his head into the doorway and sees both his siblings. Tears find his eyes when he sees Sam alive.

"Sammy."

Athena and Sam stand up.

"Thank god." Dean rushes over to Sam and pulls him into a tight hug. Athena pulls her brows together.

"Ow..." Sam's strained voice comes from his mouth. "Uh, Dean?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, man." Dean pulls out of the hug. "I'm just...I'm just happy to see you up and around, that's all."

"What, but he was--"

"Hurt. Badly." Dean speaks, looking at Athena. The little girl stands there for a minute, trying to read the stern look across Dean's face. He didn't want her to say anything. But she didn't understand where he went, she didn't understand why Sam was even alive right now.

"Guys...what happened to me?" Sam asks, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Well, what do you remember?"

Sam closes his eyes for a moment, "I-I saw you and Bobby, and...I felt this pain, this sharp pain like...like, white-hot, you know, and...then you started running at me, and...that's about it."

"Yeah, that--that kid stabbed you in the back."

Athena pulls her brows together.

"You lost a lot of blood. It was touch and go for a while." Dean says, he shifts his eyes to Athena.

"But, Dean, you--you can't patch up a wound that bad," Sam states. "And I'm sure Athena's skills are great, but she's still new to it."

"No, but Bobby could," Dean states.

A small breath leaves Athena's lips. And her heart clenches. She keeps her strong glare on Dean, realizing what's happening.

"Who was that kid, anyway?" Dean asks, snapping Athena out of her thoughts.

"His name's Jake. Did you get him?" Sam asks.

Dean shakes his head, "No, he disappeared into the woods."

Sam's eyes cloud with anger. "We got to find him, Dean." he seethes, his body heaving with rage. Athena's brows scrunch together seeing Sam so angry.

"And I swear I'm gonna tear that son of a bitch apart." Sam rises to his feet. Dean quickly stands up as well, holding his hands up. "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Easy, Van Damme. You just woke up, all right?"

"Let's get you something to eat. You want something to eat?" Dean questions. "I'm starving. Come on."

Dean goes to guide Sam out of the room, but before he could leave; a hand latches around his wrist. Dean turns to see Athena's strong glare on him.

"What did you do?" Athena growls.

Dean looks behind him, hoping Sam wasn't standing there. "Athena, we'll talk about this later."

"Dean--"

"Later, Athena. Not now." Dean snaps at her. She pulls her face back and watches as Dean walks out of the room. And Athena's left feeling angry and disappointed. She then watches as Sam and Dean sit at the dining room table, opening up the boxes of food. Dean smiles and clasps Sam's shoulder. Just a few hours ago, he was grabbing and screaming at her. Like she wasn't enough. Then Athena felt a feeling that brought her shame.

She felt envious.

☆

As soon as Bobby set eyes on Sam, who was very much alive it clicked in his head. He knew that there was a deal made. But the question was...

Which idiot Winchester was the one to do it? Athena had her eye trained on the ground and her fingers were tapping her arms. She was pissed. He shifts his gaze to Dean, who quickly looks away; guilty. Fucking idjit...

"Hey, Bobby." Sam smiles.

"Sam. It's good to...see you up and around." Bobby manages to speak.

"Yeah, well..." Sam walks into the house. "Thanks for patching me up."

"Don't mention it," Bobby says.

Dean walks into the house with Athena behind him. Bobby keeps a hard gaze on Dean. The eldest Winchester hesitantly looks at Bobby, before looking away from him. "Well, Sam's better," Dean speaks. "And we're back in it now, so...what do you know?"

Athena finally looks up, seeing the way Bobby was sending the most fiery glare toward Dean. She could've sworn his glare was scarier than hers earlier.

"I'll meet you guys in the office..." Athena softly speaks. "Is Gil in there?"

"Yeah, he's sleeping on the couch."

Athena makes her way over to the office and sees the black cat curled up in a ball, sleeping. A small smile forms on Athena's lips. She walks over to her cat and it's ears twitch. The black cat yawns and lifts his head up, his bright green eyes already on hers. A small breath leaves Athena's lips and she holds her hands out. Like he was reading her mind, Gil stands up and hops into her arms. Athena lets out a small cry, tears blurring her vision.

"Everything's so...fucked." Athena whispers into Gil's fur. Gil begins to pur and he licks the side of Athena's face. She softly chuckles. Everything's always been fucked. A voice in her head speaks.

"Yeah, but things are even more fucked now." Athena whimpers.

"Who are you talking to?"

Athena looks at the three men and she raises her brows.

"Whoa, Athena, are you okay?" Sam asks.

Athena wipes her tears and looks to the side. "Yeah, I'm good. I've just missed Gil, that's all." she looks at Dean, the guilt heavy in his eyes. Athena sniffles and looks at Bobby. "So, what'd you find?"

Bobby inhales a breath, "Demonic omens...like a frickin' tidal wave. Cattle deaths, lightning storms. They skyrocketed from out of nowhere. Here..." he turns the map towards the siblings. Athena steps closer to the table with Gil still in her arms.

"All around here except for one place--" He points around the state. "Southern Wyoming."

"Wyoming?"

"Yeah." Bobby nods. "That one area's totally clean--spotless. It's almost as if..." he trails off his sentence and Athena knits her brows together.

"What?"

"...the demons are surrounding it."

"But you don't know why?" Dean questions.

Bobby shakes his head, "No, and by this point, my eyes are swimming." he turns to the middle Winchester. "Sam, would you take a look at it? Maybe you can catch something I couldn't."

Sam nods, "Yeah, sure."

"Come on, you two. I got some books in the truck." Bobby shifts his strong and very furious gaze between the two Winchesters. Athena's body tenses and her stomach drops. "Help me lug 'em in."

Athena sets Gil in Sam's arms. "Look after him, kay?"

Sam nods, a smile on his lips. "I always do."

A small smile forms on her lips and for a moment, Athena sees the flash of Sam's lifeless body from earlier. Her smile lessens and she walks to the backyard, where Bobby's truck was located. She knew she was going to get an earful. She just didn't know if she was going to be reprimanded for not knowing what Dean was going to do or if she was just going to see Bobby yelling at Dean.

They get to the car junkyard and Bobby whips around, turning to the siblings. Athena stops in her tracks and lightly jumps.

"You stupid ass! What did you do?!" Bobby shouts. Dean looks down and Bobby's nose flares. He grips Dean's jacket and yanks him forward before shoving him back. "What did you do?!"

Dean doesn't answer and Athena continues to watch, her heart racing.

"You made a deal...for Sam, didn't you?" Bobby asks.

It hurt to hear, but Athena knew that's what happened. Bobby snaps his eyes over to the quiet girl, her eyes were on the ground.

"Did you know he was gonna make a deal?" Bobby asks.

Athena continues to stare at the ground and slowly shakes her head. "I...no, sir." she answers.

"Don't go all commando on me, Kid." Bobby huffs. "I ain't your daddy."

Athena swallows, so many thoughts swirl her mind and something unexpected happens. She laughs. Bobby and Dean look at the girl. Athena covers her mouth and she continues to laugh. It was the same laugh when she heard that John had died. Dean realizes now that that laugh wasn't of enjoyment or entertainment of any kind. It was filled with pain. She couldn't do anything else, but laugh.

"I'm gonna have to do this again?"

Athena lifts her head up, tears staining her face. "I was just mourning one brother and now I have to do it again?" she whispers. Athena slowly shakes her head and her good eye lands on Dean's shaken face. "How long did they give you?"

"Athena, please--"

"Stop tiptoeing around it and tell us--how long?!" Athena cries.

Dean swallows the lump in his throat and looks to the side, away from Athena and Bobby. "A year..."

"One..." Athena lets out a sharp breath and presses her back against one of the cars. She quietly laughs and covers her face. Her laughs slowly morphs into sobs and she slides her hands down to her mouth, covering it. "I don't...I can't believe this."

"I'm sorry, you guys. I...I couldn't let Sam die, all right?" Dean speaks, his voice shaky. He looks at Athena, who had a look of betrayal across her face. She didn't want Sam to stay dead. But did Dean really think she wasn't enough? I mean, he's going to be gone in one year because he couldn't live without Sam. Then her stomach turns and she becomes physically ill from guilt. Was she really jealous of Dean bringing Sam back? How fucked up am I?

"Athena--"

"You just...you really would do anything for him, wouldn't you?" Athena whispers. She pushes herself off the car and shakes her head. Dean pulls his brows together. "Athena, I would do the same for you--"

"Bullshit--Bull. Shit!" Athena snaps.

"Please, don't be angry--"

"Don't be angry?!" Athena looks at Bobby. "Don't be angry, he says." she snaps her eyes back over to Dean. "Fuck. You--what have you ever done for me?!"

Dean swallows. He couldn't say anything about the deal he made with the demon. He just wanted to keep it quiet. The truth about Sam was bound to come out sooner or later but with Athena's part of the deal? He could keep that quiet. He would rather have Athena hate him than have her blame herself for this deal.

Receiving no answer, Athena softly scoffs. "That's what I thought." she looks at Bobby. "You can keep talking to him, but I'm done."

Athena snaps her eyes over to Dean and points at him. "I am done with you." she then turns on her heel and stalks back over to the house, her anger not simmering.

☆

Ellen could hardly breathe when Athena hugged her. But she wouldn't have it any other way. But the reunion didn't last very long once Bobby slid a shot glass toward Ellen.

"Bobby, is this really necessary?" Ellen holds up the filled shot glass.

Bobby shrugs, "Just a belt of holy water. Shouldn't hurt."

Ellen tilts her head up, taking the shot of Holy water. No effect. She slides the glass back to Bobby. "Whisky now, if you don't mind."

"Ellen, what happened? How'd you get out?" Dean asks.

Ellen looks at Dean, "I wasn't supposed to. I was supposed to be in there with everybody else." a breath of disbelief escapes her lips and all that's left is a pain in her voice. "But we ran out of pretzels, of all things."

Bobby slides the shot of whiskey over to Ellen.

"It was just dumb luck." Ellen takes the shot. "Anyway, that's when Ash called, panic in his voice. He told me to look in the safe. The the call cut out. By the time I got back, the flames were sky-high, and everybody was dead."

A lump forms in Athena's broke as tears form in Ellen's eyes. "I couldn't have been gone more than 15 minutes." Ellen's voice shakes.

Athena leans her head against Ellen's arm. "I am so sorry, Ellen."

Ellen kisses the top of Athena's head, grateful for the girl's comfort. "I lot of good people died in there. And I got to live." She softly scoffs. "Lucky me."

"Ellen, you mentioned a safe," Bobby speaks.

"A hidden safe we keep in the basement," Ellen states.

"Demons get what was in it?"

"No."

Ellen pulls a map from her jacket and sets it on the table. Dean looks over the map and he pulls his brows together. "Wyoming. What does that mean?"

Everyone at the table exchanges a look, a look that Dean doesn't like. His shoulders slump and a small whine leaves his lips. "More research?"

It took a few hours until they found something and it was a big something judging from Bobby's reaction.

"Each of these X's is an abandoned frontier church--all mid-19th century and all of them built by Samuel Colt."

Athena raises her brows, "Whoa wait, like The Samuel Colt?"

"The Demon-killing, gun-making Samuel Colt?" Dean adds.

"Yep. And there's more." Bobby starts. "He built private railway lines connecting church to church. It just happens to lay out like this." he traces the x's on the map, making a large pentagram.

"Tell me that's not what I think it is." Dean exhales.

"It's a Devil's Trap," Sam says.

Athena raises her brows, "A 100-Square-Mile Devil's Trap." she adds.

"That's brilliant. Iron lines demons can't cross." Dean states.

Ellen slowly shakes her head, "I never heard of anything that massive."

"No one has."

"And after all these years, none of the lines are broken? I mean, it still works?" Dean questions.

"Definitely."

Everyone looks at Athena.

"How do you know?"

"All those omens Bobby found." Athena massages her temple as she organizes her thoughts. "The demons, they must be circling and they can't get in."

"Yeah, well...they're trying." Bobby says.

Ellen looks at the man, "Why? What's inside?"

"That's what I've been looking for, and, uh, there's nothing except an old cowboy cemetery right in the middle." Dean points at the map.

"Well, what's so important about a cemetery or...what's Colt trying to protect?" Sam inquires.

"Well, unless..."

"Unless what?"

Dean looks at Bobby. "What if Colt wasn't trying to keep the demons out? What if he was trying to keep something in?"

"Well, that's a comforting thought." Ellen murmurs.

"Yeah, you think?"

Sam snaps his eyes over to Bobby. "Could they do it, Bobby? Could they get inside?"

"This thing's so powerful, you'd practically need an A-Bomb to destroy it," Bobby pronounces. "No way a full-blood demon gets across."

"No..." Sam speaks, and a fit of familiar anger fuels him again, which causes Athena's blood to run cold. "But I know who could."

☆

"No way in hell, you're benching me again."

"Athena--"

"What?! You can't leave me here." Athena snaps, her eye on Dean. "Last time--"

"Last time nothing." Dean seethes, shutting down Athena's words. She closes her mouth and shifts her eyes to Sam, who pulls his brows together. Ever since the cabin Athena's been at Dean's throat. Did he miss something when he was passed out?

"No one would expect a little girl there, right?" Athena holds her arms out. "So, give me a gun--"

"Okay, that is definitely a no." Dean lets out a laugh of disbelief.

Athena's nose flares, then she turns away from her eldest brother; no longer acknowledging him. Her good eye lands on Bobby and Ellen. "A gun?"

Ellen purses her lips, "Sure."

"Ellen!"

"What? She's got a point." Ellen shrugs a shoulder. "No one would expect her to be there. She can be our secret weapon."

Athena inhales a breath. Ellen looks over at Bobby, waiting for his call. Bobby lets out a sharp breath, "Now, listen..." he crouches in front of the girl. "I know you've been around guns your whole life, but you've never shot one on a case, right?"

Athena nods, "Only with you."

Anytime Athena would be dropped off at Bobby's house, he would teach her things that John would never teach her because he thought it would be a waste of time. John never thought Athena would be a real hunter. But these past two years proved that he was wrong about her. Maybe that meant he was wrong about some of the other things he's said about her too.

Dean runs a hand down his face and looks at Sam. Sam shrugs a shoulder, telling Dean to just let this play out. Bobby pulls a smaller black revolver from his back waistband and holds it out to her. "You use it only when one of us tells you to use it, got it?"

Athena nods her head and reaches for the gun, but Bobby pulls back. "Hey. And I mean you gotta listen to every one of us," he emphasizes. Athena's spine straightens, her eye shifts over to Dean and she squints it, causing his chest to tighten. Athena looks back at Bobby and nods her head once again. "I'll listen to all of you. I promise."

Bobby gives her a small smile before handing her the gun.

...

"Howdy, Jake."

Jake whips his head around, to see the four hunters all walking towards him with their guns raised. But his eyes stay on one specific hunter. The hunter he had killed. "Wait..." he shakes his head. "You were dead. I killed you."

"Yeah? Well, next time, finish the job."

"I did."

Sam pulls his brows together as Jake continues to speak.

"I cut clean through your spinal cord, man," Jake says. "You can't be alive--you can't be."

Sam hesitantly looks at Dean, who averts eye contact. That causes a pit to form deep in Sam's stomach.

"Okay, just take it real easy there, son," Bobby warns.

"And if I don't?"

"Wait and see." Sam snaps, his finger already ready to pull the trigger.

Jake shifts his eyes back over to Sam and he raises his brows. "What, you a tough guy all of a sudden?"

Sam tilts his head.

"What are you gonna do--kill me?"

Sam glowers, unable to contain his fiery rage soaked with revenge. "It's a thought."

"You had your chance. You couldn't."

Sam shakes his head, "I won't make that mistake twice."

Suddenly a low darkly laugh comes from Jake. Dean squints his eyes and his grip on his gun tightens. "What are you smiling at, you little bitch?" he wanted nothing more than to lay his whole clip into Jake for what he did to Sam. But they had to wait.

Jake looks over at Ellen, "Hey, Lady...do me a favor. Put that gun to your head."

Like her body was moving on her own, Ellen shakily and reluctantly presses the barrel of her gun against her temple. The three men all look at Ellen, with shaken expressions.

"See, that Ava girl was right. Once you give in to it, there's all sorts of new Jedi mind tricks you can learn."

"Let her go." Sam barks.

Ellen's voice shakes, "Shoot him."

"You'll be mopping up skull before you get a shot off," Jake says. "I'm faster than the three of you."

"Everybody put your guns down." Jake then shifts his eyes to Ellen, a smirk on his lips. "Except you, sweetheart."

The three men all hesitate for a moment. Then one by one, they drop their weapons. Jake nods his head, "Okay, than--"

A gunshot rings through the cemetery and a bullet pierces Jake's leg. He falls to the ground, screaming. Everyone jumps from the abrupt noise and turn to the 12-year-old, stalking over to them from behind a headstone. Bobby walks over to Ellen and pulls the gun from her head, a shot firing into the sky. Jale clutches at his leg and screams. Athena keeps her eyes on Jake, her hands gripping the revolver. Even though the shot was perfect and she executed the plan perfectly, her hands were shaking. Dean watches as Athena's hands continue to shake. He walks over to her and gently grabs the gun from her hands. "You did good, Athena."

Athena looks at him and swallows. All she wanted was to crush Dean in a hug right now and tell him how horrible it felt to shoot someone--to hurt someone. But instead, she scrunches her brows, forcing a hard expression onto her face and she brushes past him.

Still determined to finish what he started, Jake grabs the Colt and crawls over to the door. He shoes the colt into the socket and twists it. Sam's eyes widen, he grabs his gun from the ground and shoots Jake 3 times in the back. Athena's hands fly over her ears and she flinches. Sam then walks over to the man gurgling on his own blood. He uses his boot to push Jake onto his back. Jake looks at Sam and blood spews from his mouth.

"P-Please, don--"

Sam shoots Jake 3 more times. This time, in the face. Athena keeps her eyes on Sam, her eyes shaking. She walks over to him, then she looks down at the unrecognizable face of Jake. Her stomach turns violently and it takes everything out of her not to throw up. Sam wipes the blood off his face and he drops the gun, like he lost interest. Like the only reason he even wanted the gun was to just kill Jake. This entire mission be damned.

The middle pentagram in the door stops moving and Bobby's face drops. "Oh, no..."

"Bobby, what is it?" Ellen asks.

"It's Hell."

Dean pulls the colt from the socket of the door.

"Take cover--now!"

Sam quickly wraps an arm around Athena and runs behind one of the heastones. As everyone takes cover, the doors bursts open and hundreds--thousands of singular fits of black smoke escape from the doors.

"What the hell just happened?!"

"That's A Devil's Gate, a damn door to Hell!" Ellen shouts over the roaring of the demons.

"Come on! We got to shut that gate!"

Ellen, Bobby, Athena, and Sam sprint over to the set of doors and try to close them. Athena presses her back against the door, her red Chuck Taylor's digging into the mud. Her eyes looks around the cemetery, her skin beginning to crawl. Her good blue eye lands on Dean leaning against the headstone; blood leaving his forehead. Then she looks at the demon standing over him. Her eye widens, "Sam!"

He looks over at the girl and follows where she's looking. His eyes land on the scene and his heart drops. "Dean!" Sam pulls his body off the door and sprints towards his brother. Ellen's grip from the door lessens.

The yellow eyed demon holds his hand out to Sam, pinning him against a tree. "I'll get to you in a minute champ. I'm proud of you—knew you had it in you."

Dean tries to force himself back onto his feet. The Yellow-Eyed Demon holds his hand out to Dean and pins him back against the headstone. He crouches in front of Dean.

"So, Dean...I got to thank you." He clicks his tongue. "You see, Demons can't resurrect people unless a deal is made. I know, red tape—it'll make you nuts."

"But thanks to you, Sammy's back in rotation." He laughs. "Now, I wasn't counting on that, but I'm glad. I liked him better than Jake, anyhow."

Dean keeps his vengeance-filled eyes on the demon.

"Tell me—have you ever heard the expression 'If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is'?"

"You call that dead good?" Dean lets out a bitter chuckle.

The Demon clicks his tongue. "It's a better shake than your dad ever got. And you never wondered why?"

"I'm surprised at you...I mean, you saw what your brother just did to Jake, right? That was pretty cold, wasn't it?" The demon leans closer to Dean. "How certain are you that what you brought back is 100% pure Sam?"

Dean pulls his brows together. And a pit forms in his stomach. He saw the look in Sam's eyes every time Jake's name was mentioned. And he saw how he shot Jake without any remorse. Did this really happen because he brought Sam back?

"And I know you're probably thinking about John bringing the little bird back from her coma." He tilts his head and smirks. "But that case was a little different, don't ya think? She was still breathing even though she would've never woken up."

"Speaking of which..." The demon cackles and points at Dean. "That was pretty smart. The second part of your deal for Athena." He tilts his head. "But what makes you think it's just Demons that are after her?"

Dean's jaw goes slack and the Yellow Eyed Demon laughs even harder than before. "You can't protect her. It's inevitable what's going to happen to our little Athy—"

"Shut the fuck up." Dean snaps.

The demon dramatically grasps at his chest, like he was hurt by Dean's words. "Oh, come on—you know I'm right. I mean, would she even want you to save her? After everything?" He then sighs heavily. "Anywho, this whole catch up has been fun; but I don't need you. Besides, out of the three of you, you're the least interesting."

The demon stands up, "I couldn't have done it without your pathetic, self-loathing, self destructive desire to sacrifice yourself for your family." He points at the colt at Dean and pulls the hammer back.

Before the demon could shoot Dean, arms wrap around him; forcing him out of his vessel. Dean looks at the lifeless body on the ground, then he looks at the figure holding the Yellow Eyed Demon's black in his arms. Even though the figure was tussling and struggling to keep ahold of the Demon; Dean knew who that person was...

The black smoke forces the figure off of him, sensing the figure flying. Then the black smoke makes it's way back into the vessel. The demon gets back onto his feet. He looks down at where the Colt was, but it wasn't there. His eyes then shift to Dean, he sees the eldest Winchester pull the hammer of the Colt back and pull the trigger.

The bullet hits the demon in the shoulder. Light and electricity erupts through the demon's body. Sam and Dean watch as the Demon collapses to the ground and the the golden color fades from his eyes.

Ellen, Bobby, and Athena finally get the doors shut. Athena leans her head against the closed door and lets out a heavy breath. She opens her eye and her heart drops into her stomach when she sees a figure rise onto his feet. Athena swallows and she jogs over to her brothers. Her breathing was quick and there were tears threatening to spill from her good eye. This can't be happening...her father was standing right there.

Should she feel relieved? Should she be happy to see him? After knowing he was in Hell being tortured, she was relieved he was out. He may have been a shitty father, but she sure as hell didn't want him to be suffering. And even though she was relieved he was okay, it didn't mean he was forgiven.

That was never going to fucking happen.

Athena stares at his sons for a moment in silence, acknowledging what they had just accomplished. When John's eyes land on Athena, her heart drops. She expected him to brush her off. Or even look at her with disgust—hatred.

It would've been easier to handle than what he actually did.

He looked at her with admiration. With pride. It caused her chest to tighten to the point she didn't think she would be able to breathe. John takes a step away from his kids. He inhales a deep breath and his eyes fall shut. His body begins to glow in a luminous yellow light. His image begins to flicker until he disappears into thin air.

Leaving each of his kids in tears.

☆

The three siblings made their way back to the Impala. Athena has her eyes on her dirty red Chuck Taylor's. She remembered when she used to clean them. But she just started growing tired of doing the things she used to enjoy. When was the last time she even tinkered with an invention. Tears form in her eyes and she sniffles.

Why would he look at me like he was proud?

Athena's brows scrunch in anger. He's such a fucking asshole. Confusion springs in the girl and that confusing quickly morphs into rage.

She was so ducking angry—at everyone.

"What happened...after I was stabbed?"

Athena quickly snaps herself from her thoughts and she looks at her brothers.

"I already told you." Dean says.

Sam shakes his head, never breaking eye contact from his brother. "Not everything."

Dean inhales a breath. "Sam, we just killed the demon."

Tears form in Dean's eyes and Athena's breathing heavies with anger. He didn't think he could keep this a secret forever, did he?

"Can we celebrate for a minute?"

"Celebrate?" Athena lets out a bitter chuckle.

Sam and Dean look at the little girl. Athena shakes her head and looks at Dean. His eyes soften and you could see he was begging her not to say anything. And that just made Athena want to say something even more.

"Tell him." Athena's voice was cold and distant. But there was a shakiness to it. Sam's jaw goes slack. And he knew that his worst fears had come true. But he needed to hear him say it. Sam turns to back to Dean.

"Did I die?"

Dean clicks his tongue and looks away from his siblings.

"Did you sell your soul for me, like dad did for Athena?—"

"Oh, come on! No!" Dean snaps.

Athena scoffs, "You're fucking ridiculous." She looks at the ground and shakes her head.

"How long did you get?" Sam's voice breaks and his eyes fill with tears.

Dean looks at Sam and he inhales a breath. "One year."

Sam slowly nods his head and looks to the side. Athena shakes her head in disbelief. He said it like it wasn't a big deal. Like he didn't care.

"I got one year."

Sam looks back at Dean, "You shouldn't have done that—how could you do that?" He raises his voice.

"Don't get mad at me." Dean lets out a tired breath. "Don't you do that." He shifts his eyes to Athena, who was looking at the ground. He already had one sibling mad at him, he couldn't handle both of their anger.

"I had to." Dean says. The both of you. He wanted to say that second part. He wanted Athena to know that he would die for her. Then he thinks about what the Yellow-Eyed Demon said. If Dean was going to look after Athena, he had to do it in the shadows. And if that meant she would hate him, then he would have ti try and deal with that.

"I had to look out for you—that's my job."

"And what do you think our job is?" Sam questions.

Dean pulls his brows together. "What?"

"Dean, you have saved our lives over and over again." Sam states. "I mean, you sacrifice everything for us—don't you think we'd do the same for you?"

Dean shifts and looks down before looking back at Sam.

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you." Sam says. "And I don't care what it takes. We're gonna get you out of this."

Athena's eye twitches and so does her finger. Who the hell is we?

"Well..."

The siblings look over at Ellen and Bobby, who walk over to them.

"...Yellow-Eyed Demon might be dead, but a lot more for through that gate."

Athena pinches her arm until blood seeps through her skin. Her mouth twitches in pain. I didn't help shooting Jake. I did nothing.

"How many, you think?"

"100, maybe 200." Sam says. "It's an army. He's unleashed an army."

"Hope to hell you three are ready." Bobby speaks. "Cause the war has just begun."

A smile cracks into Dean's lips. "Well then..."

He opens the trunk to the Impala and tosses the Colt into it.

"We got work to do."

Athena rolls her eyes and lets out a heavy sigh.

"That shit is so corny..."

━━━━━━━━━━

author's note.

Y'all, Y'all, Y'ALL—we finished season TWOOOO

IM LITERALLY ON MY WAY TO MAKE SEASON 3 GRAPHICS NOWWWW 🤭

Season two took A WHILE to write, thank you for being patient and sticking with me 🫶

Can't wait for season three!!!!

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