Freak of Nature (Destiel)

Chapter 51: The Reprieve

Sam Winchester and his father had little luck in locating Abaddon, but they did stumble upon a man standing alone. The man stood with his shoulders hunched forward, curling away from the tree he was leaning against. He was watching a knife in his hand with interested eyes, unaware that the two Winchesters had come from behind, a makeshift weapon against his throat from John's hunting days. The man let out a small chortle, the knife nicked the surface of the man's skin, to which he let on no sign of pain or dismay.

The man seemed painfully ordinary with his peppered hair and perturbed expression and it made Sam's skin crawl. He moved in front of the man, making brief eye contact with his father in silent permission before opening his mouth.

"Where is she?"

"You have to be more specific, son. No one could find anyone with those kinds of parameters." he said matter-of-factly, leaning his head back on the tree, the knife cutting a thin line in his skin from the movement. No blood, not yet.

"I will gladly let him force it out of you," Sam lied, his tone betraying him.

"I don't think you have the guts, not even to give the orders. It's a tad pathetic, really-"

John shifted the blade to directly on a particularly visible vein in his neck, "He doesn't have to, I'll gladly do it without being told."

"How boring," the man scoffed, "Can we wrap this up?"

"You're with her, aren't you?" Sam asked, taking a deep breath through his nose to keep his wits about him.

"Well, if you haven't figured that out by now, let's cut to the introduction so we can get that out of the way," he took on an air of confidence, "I'm one of the Queen's Horsemen, they call me War."

"Another question then," Sam said aloud, eyes glancing to the blood-caked knife in War's hand. "Whose blood is that?"

"More than one person's, clearly, but the most recent has to have been my favorite so far. That traitor Balthazar needed to learn that forsaking ones own kind does not go unpunished."

"You are so full of yourself, you angel prick. Maybe I should slit your throat right here. Forget the broad and just kill you for sport." John Winchester muttered darkly, whispering in the man's ear.

For a fraction of a second, War's expression showed fear.

"You wanna find her? You'll find her if you follow the dead she is planning to leave in her wake."

..................

Dean Winchester watched the man called Death as his corpse lay askew on the ground. Everything Dean was doing now, it seemed all too easy to kill- to be something monstrous- and more so, it felt like second-nature. The tasks themselves seemed overwhelmingly easy, behind all the legwork he was just following bread crumbs until he reached the end of it all. He wished the thought made him sick, but he felt absolutely nothing anymore.

He hoped that someone else wouldn't find him before he got to Michael, because he didn't want any more colateral damage by his hand. The sound of leaves whispered beneath Dean's shoes as he skirted his way along the treeline. Surely, it would be obvious where Michael was. At least, Dean hoped so.

.................

Castiel found himself at a loss of what to do with Balthazar, who was now stitched, bandaged, and put in bed. Someone had obviously attacked him, and harboring his brother would be a serious danger to the both of them, but Castiel preferred to put his own life in danger than to leave his brother's side. He pulled a chair to Balthazar's bedside and waited. Castiel waited, hand grasping Balthazar's as he slept.

.....................

Michael wandered the now-empty black market, his eyes skirting over the empty hall. He hadn't expected everyone to have packed up so quickly, but it didn't matter much to him now. All he wanted was a place to think. Away from Metatron, away from Abaddon, away from his brothers, he wished to be truly alone for the first time in his life.

Eyes skirting across the walls of the hall, he noticed something that caught his eye. Drawing himself closer he'd seen a stuffed ragdoll made from fabric scrabs. Something in its eyes reminded him of his young pupil, Adam. Michael, after turning it over in his hands for a few seconds in tense observation, eventually came to the conclusion that it was the smile sewn into its face. Done crookedly, the smile had a cocky and boyish look about it. He slid the doll into his pocket and moved to the center of the room and sat down facing the entrance.

"No more running," Michael whispered, "Come on, Dean Winchester. Kill me if you think it'll help."

The walls did not echo, leaving his words to fall flat among the emptiness of the hall.

................

"Sam?" John Winchester asked his son, heading towards the town square in hopes of finding an answer to the hint War had left them.

"Yeah?"

"Dean and that boy- are they?"

"I doubt they are. Not anymore." Sam answered sadly, the image of Dean's smile fading slowly from his memory. He sensed Dean wouldn't smile much more after this day.

"That's good." John whispered, "It's good. He won't get hurt."

"Dean is already hurt-"

"Not Dean, that Castiel boy."

"What?"

"I don't know how Castiel would feel with his lover's father being the murderer of his brother."

"You mean-?" Sam asked, placing a hand on John's chest to stop him from walking. "You killed Raphael?"

"Well, that is the only dead one, isn't it?" John answered dryly. "Regardless, even if Raphael had been adopted, he must have been beloved by Castiel too. I don't know how either of them would take it."

"Not good," Sam supplied, "I could tell you that much."

"Don't tell Dean, okay?" John asked.

Sam nodded limply, he planned on telling Dean with or without his father's consent- Castiel deserved to know and it would be better recieved from Dean than himself. Wherever Dean was, Sam knew that his brother's resolve had definitely solidified by now and that they should get moving.

"Dad, we should hurry. No more chatting."

"Right," John responded, falling back into silence as they searched the streets of Arya for Abaddon- the, soon to be dead, queen.
----
A.N.

I'm moving halfway across the country in the next few weeks so updates may be halted for a month or so. I hope you all understand. Thank you so much for your continued support.
~deathbyinsomnia