Chapter 30 But There are Dreams That Cannot Be
They might've stayed like that forever if Crowley hadn't appeared. "Hello, boys. And girl." He purred.
"What the hell are you doing here, Crowley?" Sam hissed.
"Well, you did summon me. I thought you might want to talk."
"You summoned him?!" Hope asked Sam. "After everything he did, he's the one you go to for help?"
"Well, you weren't exactly available." Sam snapped. "You ran off as soon as we got back! What was I supposed to do?"
"Well, not ask for help from the King of Hell, for starters!" Hope yelled back.
"Enough!" Castiel interrupted, stepping between them. He looked to Sam. "If he didn't come right away when you summoned him, what was he doing?" he asked. "And, nor importantly, why is he here now?"
Crowley smiled, pleased. "That's why I like you, Clarence. Always asking the important questions." He let his gaze shift across each of them in turn. "Dean's not dead."
"What?" They all three asked in unison.
"Dean; you know, yea high, green eyes, answers to Squirrel. He's alive." They just stared at him, unbelieving. "Do you need me to say it in Enochian?"
"No. No, no, no, no, no, no. That's impossible." Sam said. "I was there; he--he died." He paused, looking at Hope. "Unless..."
"You think I made a deal?" She asked.
Sam shrugged. "You're the only who could have; I've been here, Cas was in Heaven."
"Well I didn't. I'm not stupid." Hope snapped.
"No one made a deal." Crowley told them.
Castiel looked skeptical. "But Dean is alive?"
"In a way." Crowley said. "There is a...small catch."
"Spit it out, Crowley." Hope hissed. "What do you want?"
"What do I want? How about a thank you, for starters, eh? Without me, Abaddon would still be alive and kicking. Not to mention Metatron."
"Metatron's not dead." Cas growled.
"Oh."
"And because of you, Dean is." Hope added.
"Ah, but he's not dead." Crowley reminded them. "He's a demon."
"What?!" They all cried.
"A demon?" Hope asked.
"Not just any demon;" Crowley corrected her, "a Knight of Hell. He's joined the Dark Side, gang; we have pie."
Sam pinned him to the wall, his arm crushing the demon' s throat. "What did you do to him, you son of a bitch?!"
"Sam!" Hope yelled. "He can't answer if you're choking him."
Reluctantly, Sam loosened hid hold on Crowley's throat. "Thank you, Feathers."
"Don't call me that."
Crowley shrugged. "I didn't do anything; it was the Mark. It didn't let go. It couldn't. So it brought him back. But his soul is dark, twisted. In short; demonic."
"You're enjoying this." Sam hissed, disgusted.
"Not as much as you would think, Samantha." He sighed. "Oh, I thought it'd be fun to have a Winchester in my kingdom, but it's Hell. More so than usual. He's too...wild. It's the Mark, I think. Making him kill. Making him crazy. It's terrifying. That's why I'm here. I need your help."
"Why would we help you?" Castiel hissed.
"Because he wants to change him back." Hope realized.
"Exactly. You're my new favorite, Feathers." He grinned.
"Don't call me that." Hope reminded him.
"As you wish. I need you to keep something for me. May I?" Crowley asked, going to reach into his jacket pocket. Sam released him warily. "Thank you." He pulled out a long, thin package, wrapped in cloth. The First Blade.
"You have the Blade?" Sam asked.
"Yes. And you should be grateful. Your Squirrel is insane enough, I don't want to imagine what he'd do if he still had this in his possession. You need to hide it. And me."
"You? Why do we need to hide you?" Hope asked.
"For protection, obviously." Crowley explained. "Beady-Eyes is coming to get it, and I don't want him to know I have it to you lot."
"Fine." Sam sighed. "Dungeon, now."
"What? Why there?"
"So he'll think we captured you and locked you up before we stole the Blade." Sam explained, irritated.
"Oh, fine." Crowley sighed. Out of nowhere, Sam's fist all slammed into Crowley's face, causing him to stumble back. "What the hell was that for?!" He exclaimed, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Just selling it." Sam said with a small smile. "C'mon."
As Sam led Crowley of to the dungeon, Hope took a deep breath, lowering herself to the couch. Cas followed her. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Fine." She breathed, closing her eyes.
"Your Grace is burning again. You should let me--"
"I'm fine!" She sighed. "You're going to kill yourself, healing me."
"No! No, it's not." She argued. "Not the real Dean, anyway."
"Please let me heal you."
Hope smiled at him, squeezing his hand. "I'll let you know."
"Dean is alive." Cas sighed in wonder.
Hope nodded. "Yeah." She took a deep breath and for the first time in what felt like forever, it actually made a difference to have oxygen in her lungs. "Yeah, he is."