Winchester In Wonderland

Chapter 8

Dean continued down the trail, and he soon came upon a tree that had a door in it. He wasn't sure if he had ever seen anything like that before, but he decided rather quickly that this would be the best option on what he should do next.

Opening the door, he stepped through, and realized rather quickly that he was back in the building where he started. This made Dean want to scream in frustration until he realized that the vent was no longer closed off and he should be able to get inside.

"Well I'm not going to make the same mistake twice," Dean said and when he bent down to enter the vent, he avoided the pressure plate that had previously triggered the lever.

He crawled the length of the narrow tunnel unscathed, and when he got to the other side, he cautiously peered out. Unfortunately, his view was completely obstructed by books. Which was odd, but what wasn't in this place?

Dean edged out, careful not to disturb the books, and slid along the wall until he found a clearing. Dean looked out into the garden, and took in quite a sight. While he was definitely in a garden, it also looked like a library. Rows of book shelves lined the fences, and long tables were covered with books in the middle. Amongst the spread, was a true cacophony of panic. Angels ran to and from the shelves, dispersing books, then replacing them. Some angels ran in circles, others collided into eachother, and one sat one the ground wailing.

Dean reached out and grabbed an angel as she ran past him, and yanked her back behind the rows of books. Turning her to face him, Dean was surprised to see it was Anna.

"Dean!" She exclaimed and then looked away from him blushing furiously.

"Anna, what the hell is going on out there?"

"Oh it's terrible," Anna wailed. "Metatron asked for his books to be placed in chronological order by author and we...and we..." Her voice broke as large tears spilled out from her terrified eyes. "We put them in order by title!" She wailed and then broke into open sobs. Dean pulled Anna back into the clearing and watched as the other angels scrambled about.

"I don't understand why this is such a big deal," Dean said matter of factly.

"He'll cut off our wings!" One angel hissed as he scampered by and Anna cried even louder.

Just then, a loud horn blared from places deeper within the garden and all the angels wailed. Some tried to flee, while others simply cowered on the ground.

Suddenly Metatron was there with a flourish of his smoking jacket, and Gadreel followed close behind him. Oddly, Meg was there as well, looking very hard to be pleased to be in such company, and Eve and Dick trailed at the end. All of them filtered in and watched as Metatron spit and sputtered over the state of his books.

"What...what is this?" He roared and the angels all fell to the ground if they weren't there already. Dean scowled at the rudeness of the guy. He took the opportunity to plant his foot squarely on a stack of books, and he kicked them over.

The books tumbled into eachother and suddenly a whole side of the stacked books were falling over themselves. All eyes turned to Dean.

"What good are these book?" He asked, "when there are no girly pictures or...decent conversation."

"What are you doing here?" Metatron asked carefully.

"I could ask you the same thing," Dean said, "you're not even dead."

"I might as well be!" Metatron roared and he stepped forward to kick a nearby angel in the ribs. "Rotting in that cell day in and day out... it's like I'm dead already."

"Hey!" Dean shouted taking a step forward, "can't you see they are afraid of you?"

"It's better to be feared than to be loved," Metatron said with a crooked grin, and he kicked the angel again.

"Well you got a point there," Dean said with an edge of snark, "it's easier to find someone to fear you than to find anyone to love you any day of the week." Metatron's mouth dropped open in fury.

"What did you say to me?" He roared, then he threw his head back and screamed "off with his wings!"

"Metatron," Gadreel muttered, hurried and hushed, "he doesn't have wings. He's a hunter." Metatron lowered his head and studied Dean once more. Calmness seemed to return to his stormy nature.

"Oh that's right," he mused. Then he waved at the angels cowering on the ground. "Off with their wings then, the hunter comes with me."

"No!" Dean shouted, but already Metatron was strolling back into the garden and Dean was being whisked along to follow. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Anna watching him; her fingers on one hand slowly waving goodbye.

Dean turned around and grabbed at Meg who cried out when his hands closed in her hair.

"Make him stop," Dean seethed and Meg barked a short laugh.

"Stop what, punishing those dead angels? You better worry about saving your own skin, hunter. You are here for the Knave not them."

"What the hell is a Knave?" Dean asked and Meg blinked in surprise. She glanced at Metatron, who was out of earshot, but lowered her voice anyway.

"You're telling me you don't know? What have you been doing this whole time I've been sitting here?" She asked and it was Dean's turned to look surprised. As far as he could tell, they were still in the same day they started in. Or was that yesterday? He was certain he's not the person he was then.

"How long have you been here?" Dean asked.

"Forever," Meg said with a groan.

"Well, how long is forever?" Dean pressed and Meg turned to look at him with a smile.

"Sometimes, just one second."

"Enough!" Metatron barked and Dean realized the procession had stopped. They had entered a vast clearing of lush greens and adorning shrubbery, and the entire area was decorated with billiard tables. There had to have been a dozen from Dean's estimate. "Now!" Metatron said with his crooked teeth bared. He rubbed his hands together in a short of giddy glee. "The hunter will participate in the tournament to spare his life. If he fails, I will cut off his head."