Sin City.

chapter fifty-seven , Sin City

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Athena didn't remember the last time she made an invention.

After the car crash, she had lost her goggles—even her swear jar. There were things important to Athena she had lost and at some point, she just stopped doing the things she loved. She didn't want people to think she was still the immature child she was just because she still enjoyed the same things.

So, when Bobby asked her if she wanted to help him repair the Colt she immediately declined. Bobby expected Athena to decline. She had been spending so much time avoiding the three men, he wanted to offer her something to do that he knew she would enjoy.

But Athena is a stubborn girl.

Then again, so is Bobby.

Man. He is a stubborn man. Not girl...feel like I didn't have to clarify that, but I did anyway—

Athena walks down the stairs and her boots hit the wooden floor with a thud. Bobby lifts his eyes up from the broken Colt and looks at the girl. "Look who's finally out."

Athena presses her lips together. "Not for long. Just came down for some water." She walks into the kitchen with Gil on her heels.

"Your brothers went out on a food run."

Athena hums, "So that's why I sense a little less stupid, right now." She grabs a water bottle from the fridge and closes it. Athena grabs a bowl from the dishwasher and pours some of the water into it. She lightly taps the counter signaling the cat. Gil hops up and begins to drink his water.

"That cat better not be on my counter."

Athena smirks into her water bottle. "Of course not."

"Athena..."

The girl pokes her head out from the kitchen and looks at Bobby still seated in the study. His eyes were squinted and he was practically throwing daggers at her. Athena had an innocent smile across her lips.

"Bobby," Athena walks over to the man with her arms out. "would I lie to you?"

"I dunno..." Bobby clicks his tongue. "Recently you've been kind of a brat."

Athena lets out a content sigh, "Yeah, I know."

Her eyes fall to the broken Colt and she raises her brows. Athena watches as Bobby works on the object. She opens her water bottle, "That's the cylinder release."

Bobby looks at Athena, "What?"

"The cylinder release. That's what you're holding. In your hand. Right now." Athena speaks slowly.

Bobby chuckles, "I thought you didn't care?"

Athena snorts and she shrugs a dismissive shoulder. "I don't." She looks to the side and taps her water bottle against her lips. Athena moves her eyes back over to the Colt and she inhales a breath when Bobby tries to force pieces into place.

Then her finger twitches.

"Bobby..." Athena turns back to him. "You can't do that."

"Do what?" Bobby blinks. "Tinker?"

"You're not supposed to be tinkering." Athena chuckles. "You're supposed to be fixing!"

Bobby smirks as Athena starts to get amped up. She rounds the desk, "You know what? Move."

"What?—"

"Mooooove." Athena flicks both her wrists, telling him to scoot. Bobby scoots his chair and Athena sits in the chair next to him. "I can't believe this...you didn't even know what the cylinder release was, Bobby!"

Bobby smiles triumphantly as Athena works on the gun like she hasn't lost a beat.

Even though Athena was a genius.

Bobby has been alive far longer than she has.

☆

Sam and Dean were shocked by the sight before them. Athena was still at Bobby's desk working on the Colt. Gil was sitting on the chair next to Athena. Athena was softly murmuring to herself, her concentration not breaking despite her brothers being there.

"Oh, hey, boys."

Sam and Dean turn to Bobby, who is sitting on the couch.

"Bobby, how did you get her to—"

"I played dumb." Bobby shrugs. "Pretended like I didn't know what I was doing—"

"And that drove her nuts." Dean slowly nods his head. He looks back at Athena and a smile forms on his lips. "God, she hasn't looked like this in years."

"What, happy?"

"That too." Dean nods. "But I meant relaxed. Not worried about anything other than making EMFs."

Sam couldn't stop the smile from forming on his lips. "Yeah, it's nice."

Bobby notices the file in Sam's hand. "That don't look like food."

Sam looks down at the file and chuckles. "Yeah, no. I might've found some omens in Ohio."

"Dry Lightning. Barometric-pressure drop."

"Sounds thrilling." Athena voices, her eyes still glued to the Colt.

"Plus, some guy blows his head off in a church." Sam adds. "And another goes postal in a hobby shop before the cops take him out. Might be demonic omens."

"Or could just be a suicide and a psycho scrapbooker." Dean voices. He holds his hand up. "That's what I told him."

"And I told you, it's our best lead since Lincoln." Sam retorts.

"Where in Ohio?" Bobby asks.

"Elizabethville." Sam answers. "It's a half-dead factory town in the Rust Belt."

Dean clicks his tongue. "There's got to be a demon or two in South Beach."

"Sorry, Hef." Sam presses his lips together. "Maybe next time." He looks over at his little sister.

"How's it going, Athena?"

Athena sighs, "Slow." She looks at Sam. "But, faster than when Bobby was doing it."

Bobby laughs, "Yep, I had no clue what I was doing."

Athena stops working and watches as the three men laugh. She then looks at Gil with her eye twitching. "Those bastards—you bastards!" She snaps. "You pretended like you didn't know what you were doing?!"

Athena scoffs and looks at the ceiling. "You know what? Let's go to Ohio." She drops the screwdriver and stands up from the desk. Athena grabs her leather jacket and slips it on. "I'm sure you have the rest of this handled, right, Bobby?"

"Yeah, you think you can have it ready by this afternoon?" Dean asks, a smile on his lips.

Sam snorts. Bobby looks at each Winchester and clenches his jaw. How did they all gang up on him so fast? "Well, it won't kill demons by then, but I can promise you it'll kill you."

Athena raises her brows and frowns. "Sending him to Hell early, I see? You know I'm game."

"Athena..."

"What? Makes the waiting less painful." Athena pats Dean on the back. She looks at Bobby, "Watch Gil, please—unless you can't handle that."

Bobby squints his eyes at the girl and she quirks a brow, challenging the man. Sam and Dean look between them.

"I can handle your cat just fine."

Athena frowns and holds her hands up. "Well, all righty then." She walks over to Gil and scratches under his chin. He closes his eyes and tilts his head up, purring loudly. Athena chuckles and walks away, "I have a list on the fridge about Gil's schedule for everything."

"And I follow that list every time you leave him here," Bobby speaks.

Bobby really did follow that list. He even played with Gil every hour as it stated. He even turned the television on for Gil. The cat always enjoyed watching Cartoon Network.

Athena was already out of the house, but before the brothers could leave; Bobby called out to them.

"You three run into anything—anything—you call me."

Sam and Dean nod their heads.

"And if she is still a pain in the ass when you get back...don't come back.

That caused the boys to laugh.

"Bobby, come on. She's still gonna have an attitude."

Bobby clicks his tongue. "Yeah, I know..."

☆

"Uh, who the hell is this?"

Athena keeps her finger pointed at the man in a blue fedora. "Can I have your hat?"

"This must be Athena, right?" Richie laughs. "And no, you can't."

Athena clicks her tongue, "So, I repeat. Who the hell is he?"

"This is Richie." Dean introduces. "I worked with him on a case years ago."

Athena slowly nods her head. "So, are you here for this case or just for funsies?"

"Both." Richie laughs.

Athena rolls her eyes, "Are all men gross?"

All three men open their mouths to answer, but Athena holds a pointer finger up. "I already know that answer."

"Okay—let's just say the demons are possessing people in this town." Sam continues with the topic of the case. "You know, raising Hell."

"Yeah, but why would a demon blow his brains out?" Dean asks.

"For fun?" Richie suggests. "He wrecks one body, moved to another."

Athena snaps her fingers. "Like taking a stolen car for a joyride."

Richie points at Athena, "Exactly!"

"No—no." Sam points at Richie.

"What do you even know about stealing cars?" Dean looks at Athena.

Athena doesn't answer, she just stares at him like he should already know the answer. Dean then nods his head, "Grand Theft Auto."

"There we go..." Athena nods her head. She then looks at Richie. "Does anybody else that fit the profile—nice guy-turned-dick that's still breathing?"

"There Trotter."

"Who's that?"

"Well, he used to be head of the Rotary Club," Richie informs the siblings. "And then people said he turned bastard all of a sudden. Brought in the gambling, the hookers. He practically owns this whole town."

"You know where we could find him?" Sam asks.

"Oh, he'll be at his bar in a few hours."

Athena then stretches, "All right, imma take a nap. Call me when you need me." She then waves at Richie. "It was...nice meeting you." She rolls her eyes and walks out of the room.

...

"So, why am I here, exactly?"

Athena walks down the sidewalk with Sam. "With you?"

Sam softly chuckles, he looks around the corner at the man they are following. "So, what? You'd rather be helping Dean?"

"I'd rather be sleeping." Athena folds her arms and looks to the side.

"Well, sorry to disturb your nap. But I thought it'd be good for you to...y'know...move." Sam shrugs. "Okay, he's crossing the street. He continues down the pavement, shifting his gaze to the man across from them every few minutes.

Athena pulls her brows together. "I move." She bunches her shoulders. "Why would you think I don't? Because I stay in my room at Bobby's all day?"

"Yeah." Sam nods. "He's entering the building."

"Gil and I were just caught up in the game." Athena waves a dismissive hand. "It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" Sam chuckles. "You bed rot every chance you get."

"Isn't that better than going out and selling my soul?" Athena snorts. She crosses the street without looking both ways. Sam's eyes widen and he quickly catches up to her. He grabs her hand, but Athena pulls back.

"Please, don't embarrass me." Athena snaps. "God, all of you think I'm some kind of child—"

"You're 13, Athena."

"Them I'll be 14!" Athena turns to him. "And I've been through some shit. Shit that would make me an adult! But you guys can't see past the stupid height difference, the stupid voice, and the...s-stupidness."

Sam pulls his brows together. "What?—"

"I don't know—Leave me alone." Athena waves a hand. "Which building?"

Sam looks at his little sister for a moment. Her fingernails dug into her arms.

"Athena, we don't think you're stupid," Sam says.

Athena rolls her eyes, "Yeah, whatever—I was just saying words, okay? I know, I'm awesome!"

"Athena—"

"What?" Athena's tone was sharp.

Sam presses his lips into a small smile and Athena's hard expression slightly softens. "You're the best of us." He walks past her and into the building.

Athena stands there for a moment, letting the words sink in. She'd never heard someone speak those words, yet she couldn't help but feel a wave of deja vu hit her. It was enough to make tears burn in her eyes. She turns to the building that Sam walked into, wipes her tears, and shakes her head. Get it together.

Athena walks into the building and walks up the stairs. She continues down the hall, her eyes on her shoes. Suddenly, someone grabs her arm and pulls her behind the wall. Athena lets out an audible gasp. Her free hand moves her sheath and grabs the hilt of her knife. Athena turns to the person behind her, but she instantly relaxes when she sees her brother.

"Do you just randomly grab people, like a weirdo?" Athena scoffs.

"Only people who are going to blow our mission." Sam harshly whispers. He points down the hall and into the room. Athena peaks around the corner and sees the two men they are following. She makes an 'O' with her mouth. "Right...my bad."

Athena peaks around the corner again, keeping an eye (hehehe) on the two men. Sam's phone rings, causing the siblings to jump. Athena snaps her eyes over to Sam and she clenches her jaw. "Are you shitting me?"

"Sorry, Sorry," Sam answers the phone. "Dean?"

Athena rolls her eyes, she peaks around the corner again to see the man walking out of the office. "He's coming."

After Sam finishes his phone call with Dean, he grabs Athena's arm and guides her further down the hall until they get to another door. Sam opens the door and they stand in there in silence.

Once the men left the office, Athena poked her head out and frowned. "Clear...I think." she steps out of the room and walks down the hall. Athena looks into the office and nods. "Yeah, clear." she sends Sam a thumbs up.

The siblings walk into the office. Athena watches as Sam roots through every drawer and paper.

"What are you looking for exactly?" Athena crosses her arms.

"Anything that screams supernatural."

Athena frowns, she pulls open one of the drawers to the file cabinet and flips through the manila folders. She lets out a breath and walks over to the desk. Athena looks through the drawers connected to the desk while Sam looks through the papers on top of the desk. "Okay, are you sure you're sam-stincts are right on this one?" she lets out a defeated breath and looks at her brother. Athena's eyes widen, when she sees one of the suited men stalking towards her brother.

"Sam!"

Sam looks up and his body tenses. The man swings his fist and Sam quickly latches his hands around the man's arm and rams his knee into the man's side. Sam then pulls the man's blazer over his head and begins to punch him repeatedly in his side. The other man from earlier quickly enters the room and his gun is already in his hand. Athena reaches for her gun, but the man points it at the girl. She raises her hands and her body immediately goes stiff. "Hey, Sam?"

Her voice had a force behind it, that caused Sam to stop his attack on the man. He looks at the man aiming the gun at his sister, and his heart drops. The man that Sam was beating up wraps his arms around the Winchester, trapping him. The man with the gun stalks over to Sam and presses the gun against his face.

"What are you two doing here?"

"I think maybe you know." Sam retorts.

"Yeah? Well, I think I'm calling the cops."

Sam pulls his brows together, he then looks at Athena who shrugs her shoulders. "Th-The cops?"

"Breaking and entering, assault--you're in a peck of trouble, my friend."

Athena lets out a deep giggle. "Peck."

Sam opens and closes his mouth. "Uh, well, I think I could probably explain it!" he suddenly twists around and grabs the gun from the man. He aims it back at the man. "All right, get back!"

The two men step away from Sam with their hands up. Sam waves his hand over to Athena, telling her it's safe. Athena walks over to Sam and she stand slightly behind him.

"Money's in the safe. Take it and go!"

"I don't want your money," Sam says.

Athena then frowns, "Well, hold on now--"

"Athena."

"Kidding." Athena rolls her eyes to the side.

"We just got to be sure." Sam pulls the flask of holy water out of his pocket. He splashes the water on the men. They both gasp and shake their heads. Sam's jaw goes slack and a large smile forms on Athena's face.

"Oh, man..." Athena giggles.

"What kind of psycho are you?"

"He's a huge psycho." Athena wiggles her fingers.

"Oh, god..." Sam shoves the flask into his pocket. "Uh, sorry." he nervously chuckles.

"He's not."

"Athena, stop talking." Sam murmurs. "I think this was just a minor misunderstanding?"

Sam then slowly nods his head, "Yeah, okay. How 'bout I just leave, cause...you know, I'll take these." he empties the bullets from the gun and places them into his hand. Sam begins to stammer and set the gun to the side. Athena continues to laugh as she and Sam start to walk out of the office.

Sam turns back to the two men and bunches his shoulders.

"Have a nice day?" Sam bashfully chuckles. Athena's laugh grows, "You're such a weirdo, Sam. Just leave." she grabs his arm and drags him out of the office.

☆

"Why would I lie?"

"Demons lie."

The demon softly hums, "Some do."

"Some are true believers."

Dean humors her, "Believers in what?"

"What, you think humans have an exclusive on a higher power?" The demon inquires.

Dean stops pacing and looks at the demon with an amused smirk. "You have a God?"

"Sure. His name's Lucifer."

"You mean The Devil?" Dean deadpans.

The demon shrugs, "Your word, not ours."

Dean tilts his head to the side, wanting clarification.

"Lucifer actually means 'Light bringer'. Look it up." The Demon starts. "Once he was the most beautiful of all God's Angels. But God demanded that he bow down before man, and when he refused, God banished him."

The demon then quirks a brow, "Sound familiar?"

Dean blinks, clueless as to what she is referring to. The demon knew that Dean was clueless. She just thought it was fun that she was aware of the future while he wasn't.

"Tell me, Dean. How do you like bowing before lesser creatures?"

Dean lets out a chuckle. "Lucifer's really real?" he begins to shake his head.

"Well, no one's actually seen him, but they say that he made us into what we are, and they say that he'll return." The demon explains.

"Oh, yeah? And, uh, you believe that?" Dean inquires.

The demon shrugs, "I've got faith."

Dean hums, brushing her off.

"So, you see--is my kind really that different than yours?"

Dean clicks his tongue, "Well, except that, uh, demons are evil."

"And humans are such a lovable bunch." The demon rolls her eyes. "Dick Cheney."

"He one of yours?"

"Not yet." The demon says. "Let's just say he's got a parking spot reserved for him downstairs."

Dean raises his brows, not surprised that the man got a ticket downstairs. Curiosity and a deep fear he was unwilling to admit he had arose in Dean.

"Hey, speaking of downstairs...what's it like down there?" Dean asks.

"What, Hell?"

"Yeah."

The demon slightly tilts her chin up. "That's right. You booked a one-way ticket with that deal."

Dean smirks.

"You're not gonna like it, Dean." The demon admits. "And, um, judging from the trouble you've caused, I don't think you'll be getting the presidential suite."

"No, it's a pit of despair. Why do you think we want to come here?"

...

"Kind of funny, don't you think?"

At this time, Dean had found it futile to look for a way out; so he ended up just sitting down on the ground. Funny enough, the demon sat down as well. And now the two were just sitting with a comfortable silence between them. It was weird, really.

Dean softly hums.

"You and me sitting here like a couple of regular folk."

"It's hilarious--you know, in that apocalyptic sort of way."

The demon chuckles, "You're all right, Dean."

"The others don't describe you that way. But, you know, you're--you're likable."

"A demon likes me." Dean softly scoffs. "Sorry, I don't know how to respond to that."

"You could say thanks."

Dean chuckles.

"That deal you made to save Sam and Athena--a lot of others would mock you for it, think it was weak or stupid. I don't."

Dean takes a minute to allow those words to soak in. He knew it was weak or stupid, and he honestly didn't care. As long as his siblings were alive and safe--he was going to sleep like a baby.

"It's been kind of liberating, actually." Dean admits. "What's the point in worrying about a future when you don't have one, huh?"

"Still, a year left." The demon says. "You're not scared?"

"Nah."

"Not even a little?"

Dean didn't like the small scared voice in his head screaming "YES". "Of course not."

☆

"So, insurance investigating..."

Sam softly hums while Athena scoffs.

"You enjoy the work?" The priest looks at Sam.

Sam slowly nods his head, "Yeah, I...like being able to help people."

"Ever think about doing anything else?"

Athena pulls her brows together. "Lawyer?"

Sam softly chuckles. He looks at the Priest, "Like what?"

The priest shrugs, "Mm--Anything."

"You seem like a pretty smart kid. Somehow I see you in front of the pack." The priest admits. "You could do some great things."

"I don't know..." Sam softly speaks. "I like doing what I'm doing, I guess."

"Well, it's your life."

A small silence settles in the car and Athena lets out a breath.

"Does, uh...Dean?"

"That's his name." Athena sighs.

"Does he find trouble often?"

Sam and Athena share a laugh.

"Yeah. Yeah, Dean finds his fair share." Sam nods.

"Well, it's a good thing he has you--his brother's keeper."

Athena wrinkles her nose. "Wow, I'm so glad I was forgotten in this conversation." she then chuckles. "Don't really want to be known as my brother's keeper."

...

"Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"I'm an open book."

Dean clicks his tongue, "So, the gate opened. The demon army was let out."

"What now, huh?" Dean inquires. "I'm not seeing a big, honking plan here."

"Honestly, there was a plan." The demon replies. "Azazel was a tyrant, but he held us all together." she sits up.

"Azazel?"

"What, you think his friends just called him Yellow Eyes? He had a name." She sucks her teeth. "After you did him in, it all fell apart."

"Sorry about that." A smile was on Dean's face. "So, what? No chain of command."

"There was. It was Sam."

Dean could've sworn he felt his heart drop.

"Sam was supposed to be the grand pooh-bah and lead the big army, but he hasn't exactly stepped up to the plate, has he?"

Dean lets out a small breath, "Thank God for that."

"Again with God." She chuckles. "You think this is a good thing? Now you've got chaos, a war without a front, hundreds of demons all jockeying for power, all fighting for the crown...most of them gunning for your brother."

"For the record, I was ready to follow them."

Dean snaps his eyes back up to the demon. "Them...you're talking about Athena too?"

The demon shrugs. "Maybe, then again...does it matter?"

Dean raises his brows, "That's a joke, right?"

"You made a deal to leave Athena out of anything we have planned." The demon states. "And they were ready to follow that deal...as long as Sam fulfilled his destiny as leader."

Dean tenses, "And now?"

"Now...let's just say some demons who won't be happy if they come across your baby sister and brother."

☆

The Priest slows to a stop and he puts it in park. They all get out of the car.

"Dean?!"

Sam and Athena walk to the front door with the priest. He bangs his hand against the door. "Dean!"

Athena knits her brows together and she turns to the priest. She stares at him for a moment and he waves at her. Athena turns back to the door. Sam turns to the priest, "Check that way. We're gonna go over here."

Athena and Sam walk away from the priest.

"Dean!" Athena calls out. "Come out, come out wherever you--"

"Athena?!"

Athena and Sam stop. The girl frowns, "That was easy."

"Dean?" Sam calls out.

"Guys, down here! The basement caved in!"

Sam and Athena follow his voice, they find a light shining in the ground and make their way over to it. Sam peaks through the small gated space and Athena waves a hand. "Looks like someone's stuck..."

"Dean. Hey, hold on, okay? We're coming." Sam assures.

"Yeah, who knew a father could be of help in a situation like this?" Athena holds her hands up.

"What? A father?" Dean questions.

"The father," Athena says. "Who, I have to say, I wasn't trusting at first--but now--"

"Guys, be careful." Dean quickly says.

Athena stops her words, "Oh...so I was right--we shouldn't trust him." she sighs and looks at Sam, who looks at her.

Sam and Athena walk back around the house. The middle Winchester pulls his flask of holy water out of his pocket. Once they get to the front of the house, they are greeted with the Priest standing there. Athena grabs Sam's arm and the siblings stop.

The priest flashes solid black eyes and Athena slumps her shoulders. "A demon possessing a priest is kind of twisted..."

The demon begins to stalk over to the siblings until a gun fires off. A bullet hits the statue as a warning shot and Athena flinches. The demon looks over at Bobby who was holding the colt in his hand. Bobby pulls the hammer back, ready to fire it again. The demon swipes his hand to the side, forcing an invisible force to hit Bobby; he flies back with a shout.

The demon turns back to the siblings and a phantom force sends the two siblings flying back. Sam's body comes into contact with a car window, smashing it. Athena's back slides against the gravel and she lets out an audible gasp. A small groan slipped from her lips and she could feel the tears form in her eyes.

Sam rolls off the car and his knees come into contact with the gravel. He groans and looks around, his eyes land on Athena's body and he could see her shallow breathing.

"A-Athena?" Sam forces himself back onto his feet and quickly makes his way over to her. "Hey."

Sam grabs her wrist and inspects her hand which was now seeping with blood. "Shit--okay, let's get you up--"

"Go help, Dean." Athena wheezes.

Sam hesitates, "Athena--"

"Dude, I'm fine. Just go--seriously." Athena breathlessly urges.

Sam swallows and he reluctantly nods his head. "I'll be back, okay?"

Athena weakly nods her head, "Okay, okay--go."

Sam stands up and walks over to Bobby. The man hands Sam the colt and Sam runs into the house, rushing to help his brother.

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author's note.

I didn't really know how to end this chapter...I just know I needed to end it 😭😭

But anyway, the Lucifer mention??? I'm not excited about the plots and ideas I have for him in this story (yes, I am).

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