Dean
The warehouse was huge, old and abandon. A heavy silence settles over the area as he shuts the Impala off, nervously fumbling with the safety on his gun. This was it. Time to make like a lamb to the slaughter... yep that was not a smart line of thought to go down.
On wobbly legs, Dean climbs out of the car and pats her sleek black hood in farewell. "Thanks for giving me one hell of a ride, old girl."
The walk to the warehouse entrance seemed to stretch on forever. The front door had a broken chain slung across it, the padlock lying useless on the ground. He wondered whether it had been recently unlocked.
Shoving the large metal door open, he winces as the scraping sound reverberates throughout the cavernous space.
Holy heck was this place creepy, Dean shivers as goosebumps appear on his bare arms.
"Deano! How kind of you to join me!"
Dean freezes, because standing in front of him was - at last - his parent's murderer. Only... Dean frowns, blinking furiously. This was impossible.
"Ah, I see you've noticed our surprise guest here," the mad man grin wildly, his teeth flashing in the darkness. "We were just talking about you!"
Dean feels as though the world had dropped from under him. His grip on his gun slackens, in that moment his entire life felt as though it had been flipped on its head. Because sitting in front of him, tied to a pillar, was a man that looked an awful lot like his father, only older.
"Dad?" Dean can't believe it. He had seen his father's body on that night all those long years ago.
Only, he hadn't. Not really. He had only seen his father lying on the ground, they had never seen his body clearly, no they had been too busy fleeing.
"Din din din! Plot twist, am I right?" The man jumps gleefully, "isn't this fun?"
Dean, still too shocked to form a proper reply, can only blink at the bloodied face of his father.
"Oi boy, didn't your mother teach you any manners? Oh wait..."
John growls, tugging at his restraints. His expression livid under the blood and bruises.
"Oh I just love family reunions," the man grinned.
"Who the hell are you anyway?" Dean grips his gun tighter. He didn't know what on earth was going on but he wasn't interested in playing any games.
"Azazel, at your service," the man, Azazel, does a dramatically mocking bow.
Dean let's out a shuddering breath. 11 years later and he finally knew the name of the man that had ruined his life.
"Now, if I remember correctly it was you who killed one of my friends 2 years back, do you remember that?"
Dean tries not to, but standing here now with the weight of the gun in his hand, he can't help but remember the feeling of horror as he watched the bullets hit the man. The sound of his body hitting the ground.
Azazel laughs, "oh I know that look in your eye, you're bloodied boy, haunted."
Dean can't bring himself to look at the man that was his father - a fact he still couldn't believe - blood pounded in his ears. The gun seemed to weigh a tonne in his shaky hands, he couldn't seem to keep his finger on the trigger.
"You're a killer now boy."
"I'm not." Dean gritted his teeth.
"Really? Because I also happen to recall finding another one of my 'friends' dead near Seattle."
Dean shakes his head. He didn't want to remember that.
"How about you put that gun away, before you take a third life huh? Y'know, I could use someone like you..."
Dean grips the gun, trying not to let his shaking show.
Azazel lets out a whistle, still grinning. "And would you look at that! This is one hell of a family reunion. Heya Sammy, how are you?"
Dean felt as though his blood had turned cold. No. Sammy was supposed to back at the motel room, safe and sound.
Glancing back, Dean feels as though his heart had stopped. Sammy, pale with fear, held his knife out with a determined glint in his eyes.
"Now this... this is fun." Azazel claps his hands together, "Gordon, how about you get Sammy settled?"
Before Dean could do anything, another man stepped out from behind some dusty crates and grabbed Sam. Dean watches in horror as his brother is manhandled over to a nearby pillar, Sam was wriggling desperately, his eyes wide in fear.
"Let him go." Dean wasn't letting anything happen to Sammy. "Or I shoot you."
Azazel grins. "Shoot me?"
Dean aims the gun at Azazel, his hands shaking.
"You know what? You have guys kid, I'll give you that."
"Just let my brother go."
"Hmmm, that's gonna have to be a hard no."
Dean realizes that the time for hesitation was over, now his brother's life was at risk and he needed to act. He hadn't kept Sammy safe all these years for it to end here and now. No, this wasn't how Sammy's story was supposed to end.
Gordon had tied Sam up, and was now holding a knife against his vulnerable throat. Whether that was to stop Sammy from struggling or to keep Dean in line, he didn't know, but what he did know was that he couldn't let Gordon hurt his brother.
Three people. That's how many people lay dead by Dean's hand. The gunshot was still ringing in his ears as Gordon slumped to the ground, the knife clattering harmlessly on the concrete. A small line of blood stood out against Sam's pale skin.
"Oh my," Azazel whistles lowly. "Look at you go! Boy you are killing it." He steps over to his dead friend, that horrible grin still on his face. "I honestly did not see that coming."
Dean felt as though he was going to throw up. He hadn't exactly meant to kill the guy, just... hurt him, shoot him in the shoulder or something.
Azazel turns back to Dean. "How do you feel, Dean? Do you feel that rush? The power? It's so beautiful, being able to command such power with such a small weapon."
Dean closes his eyes, sweat beading along his brow. Upon opening his eyes, he realizes that Sam was using his foot to drag the knife closer. He had to keep Azazel busy.
"W...what's to stop me from killing you then? You seem awfully cocky all things considered."
Azazel clicks his tongue. "Ah, I was wondering when you would ask that..." he makes a motion with his hand and another person steps out from the shadows. This time, they have a gun trained on his father.
"You see, kill me and I won't be able to stop my friend here from killing your father, or your brother."
The young woman was grinning, her familiar, pale hair pulled back into a bun.
"Lilith?" Dean finds himself face to face with his old personal torturer.
"You really think they'd let someone as... terrible as my friend here be a foster parent? No, I had to pull a few strings there, but it was worth it because she was able to give you two special treatment."
"But..." Dean's head is a swirling mess, his thoughts drifting and incoherent. Nothing was making sense.
"And now I think poor Dean might need a lie down, what you you think Lil?"
Lilith was smiling cruelly. "Look how big you've grown Dean, but tell me, do you still love small spaces?"
No. Dean felt the panic rising within him. No. His chest tightens even as he turns the gun on her but this time he doesn't get the chance to fire before her. Her bullet doesnt hit him, anywhere vital, but he feels it ripping through his shoulder - causing him to drop his own gun in pain.
"Lil... what did I say about shooting him?"
"It was self defense, he'll live."
Dean grunts in pain, shaking his head to clear his scattered thoughts. He needed a clear head. His gun, it was on the ground. He just needed to...
The pain around the back of his head was nothing compared to his shoulder.
The next thing he was aware of, was the horrifying realization that he was trapped in a space that left him no room to move.
Sam
Finally, he was able to touch the grip of the knife with his fingers. But he doesn't dare look down. Instead he blindly fumbles for it, terrified that at any moment he would send the bladder out of reach.
Dean, looking pale and terrified, was staring at Lilith. He looked like the devil himself had stepped from the dark corner. And, in a sense, he had. Sam was terrified that at any moment he would have to watch his brother die. He wasn't sure that was something he could survive.
Gordon's body lies at his feet, his blood staining the dusty concrete floor and Sam's sneakers. Sam felt sick everytime he looked at the body. Another person Dean had been forced to kill for Sam's sake.
When Lilith's bullet hits Dean, Sam's heart jumps to his throat.
Please let him be alright. Please let my brother be okay.
He repeats these frantic words over and over as he watches Dean stumble and drop his gun.
Oh God they were going to die.
Dean, now knocked out by Lilith smashing the butt of her gun over his head, was dragged off and all Sam could do was watch as tears filled his eyes. He was scared. It felt like such a childish thing to admit, but he was so very scared.
His fingers close around the knife as Azazel turns to face him.
"Now you see what happens when we don't play by the rules?"
Sam nods, pulling his legs closer in an attempt to hide their trembling.
"Good, now I'm going to see to your brother... then we can have a nice little chat."
Hot treats trickle down Sam's cheeks. Azazel just chuckled and walks away, leaving Sam to his fears.
Calm. He had to calm down. His ragged breathing really was helping though, and with each shaky breath, a sob threatened to escape.
He nearly drops the knife twice as his turns it in his fingers. His hands were cramping and sweat made it had to get a good grip but it isnt long before he was able to feel the blade press against the rope.
Just saw. That was all he could do. He had a horrible feeling of deja vu as he reflected on how similar this was to the last time he had been tied up. Prisoner to a cruel man.
Gritting his teeth, and ignoring the familiar looking man tied up nearby, Sam keeps at his work. Thankfully it doesn't take long before the rope begins to give and Sam works at it harder with renewed hope.
With one final saw, the knife flicks up and the ropes fall away. Hissing in pain as metal bites into his skin, Sam pulls his wrists to his chest. A deep, long cut ran up the inside of his wrist, blood already welling up. It was worth it.
Fearful that his rubbery legs might give way under his, Sam uses the pillar to push himself up.
Dean's gun was lying forgotten on the ground. Azazel had apparently deemed it well out of reach from the two tied up victims and therefore irrelevant. Sam takes wobbly steps right for it.
With no plan in mind, he stumbles back over to his fellow hostage and fumbles with the ropes. After a minute of frustrated pulling and pained moans from the man, Sam just grabs the knife and slices the ropes away.
Now... he needed to find his brother.
He heads straight for the direction Azazel had disappeared in. Sure enough voices could be heard ahead. Azazel and Lilith.
The gun felt heavy and awkward in his hand. Sam more like a boy playing dress up soldier than anything else. He certainly didn't feel like he could save his brother as he stepped around the corner.
"Okay Lil, you've had your fun torturing him and all in there but I do have plans for him." Azazel growls arms crossed.
"Look, leave him in there a while and he'll do anything you want, trust me."
Sam took another step forward, and his foot sends a scrap of metal skittering forward. Crap.
Before Lilith and Azazel had the chance to spot him, Sam was pushed back into the shadows with a surprised yelp.
The man was there, stepping forward with the knife in hand. His eyes were murderous.
"John... now you're supposed to be tied up," Azazel sighs. "Why can't people just do what I fu-"
"Years." The man's, John's, voice was gruff. "For years I have tracked you down."
Sam watches with wide eyes. Was John... but... he shakes his head. If this was their father, why hadn't he come for them? This couldn't be his dad John, because then that would mean... their dad had abandoned them to the harsh foster system. Had let them grieve for years... no one could be that cruel.
"For years I wasted my life searching for you, trying to get you before you got my boys."
"Yes yes, the whole, 'poor me my revenge plan failed' thing," Azazel pulls a gun out, eyes glinting in the low light. "You know, if you keep spouting the same old story people are going to think you're boring."
"I won't let you hurt my children again." John steps forward, knife held out in front of him.
"Yes... well you see John," Azazel pulls the trigger. "We don't always get what we want."
Sam, who was still reeling from the first revelation of this John, felt as though nothing made sense anymore as he watched the man that was his father fall dead to the ground. Just like that. He was there, and then with a mere pull of a trigger, he was dead. It was horrible, abrupt and devastating.
Sam couldn't look away. He had seen this man kill both of his parents in front of him. He didnt think he could survive watching Dean die as well.
It was strange, considering that he had been grieving the death of his father for 11 years, and yet now as he crouched there in the darkness, the fresh wave of grief that hit him was like a punch to the heart.
"Get Dean out of there, we need to finish up with this mess now, this family has a tendency to escape me, and I refuse to let them have the chance."
Lilith huffs, but opens the small hatch anyway. Sam stands. He wasn't thinking, all he could feel was the cold horror creeping down his spine and grief. They were going to kill Dean.
Stumbling from his hiding spot, Sam held the gun tight in his grip.
Azazel, busy manhandling Dean out of the small space, didn't notice him at first. Lilith did. She swore loudly, wipping out her own gun and aiming it at Sam.
Azazel turns around. "Fucking Winchesters, slippery than eels."
"Maybe I should shoot his brother in front of him, that'd teach him." She turns the gun so that it was pressed against Dean's temple.
Sam panicked. Before he could think of through, he pulls his own trigger. The gun kicks in his hand, the pain from the gash on his wrist is
The world seemed to freeze. The thing Sam was aware of was the pounding of his heart, the rush of blood in his ears that drowned out all other sounds. Lilith fell to the ground, the front of her white shirt had turned a dark shade of red. Then there was the sounds of sirens, and Sam found himself being dragged back by many hands. He watched numbly as Azazel was forced to his knees by armed men. Dean was calling out for him.
All Sam could see were dead bodies. Lilith, Gordon, John. He was distantly aware of the hands hauling him out of the warehouse.
The sound of people shouting, sirens wailing and dogs growling. He could see all this happening, but the memory of shooting Lilith, of being tied up, drowned it all out.
Outside, he was instantly surrounded by people. Medics asking if he were alright, placing a blanket around his shoulders, officers offering calming words, more medics dragging him over to the ambulance.
"Where's my brother?"
Sam looks up from where he had been staring off into space in a daze. Dean was shaking all the hands offering support off him, his glare even making the police officers back up with wary looks.
"Sammy!" Dean had caught sight of him, and immediately ran for him. He wraps Sam in a hug, Sam could feel his legs growing weaker, shakier.
"What were you thinking? Coming after me like that?" Dean was... crying? Sam was shocked to realize that his older brother was actually crying.
"You were both being idjits if you ask me, going after a murderer like that, you could'va ended up dead!" Bobby was there.
Sam wasn't sure when exactly the older man had arrived, or maybe he had been the one to get him our of there. Sam shakes his head, everything was blurry and slow.
"It'll be okay now, he's not gonna chase us anymore," Dean promises. "We're finally free."
Sam couldn't believe it. After all this time, they were finally safe. No more running, they could stop always looking over their shoulder in fear. It felt too good to be true.
Holding on to each other, covered in blood, bruises and scars that went deep into their souls, Sam and Dean finally watched as Azazel was dragged out and thrown into the police car. Before long, the car disappeared from view and with it, the man who had ruined their lives.
Safe. Sam couldn't remember a time were he truly felt safe. There had always been something wrong, someone hurting them. Only, it wasn't over yet. What would the police do with them now? Two runaways who had been cheating the law for years?
"Dads dead." Dean's voice was hallow. It was apparent that neither boy knew how to react, after all they had been mourning for their father for 11 years. Sam was in too much shock to even think about that. It was... it was just too much.
Still, it just added to the question of, what now? What was going to happen to them?
Dean had apparently been thinking the same thing, and voiced his concerns to Bobby.
"Well, I think its about time we went home, isnt it?"
Sam can't afford to let himself believe what he was hearing. The shock must be distorting it because... it almost sounded like they wouldn't be separated after all, and that was too good to be true.
"I think you boys have been through enough, I mean, you guys have been through hell," Bobby glanced over the the forensics team that were arriving. "So my offer still stands, you boys can come live with me, if ya wish."
Home. Sam wondered what that would feel like. All he knew was that it sounded a heck of a lot better than motel hopping. They could be safe, alive and finally have a chance to get their lives back on track.
They were free.
~~~~~
I honestly struggled with the ending of this chapter so much for some reason, I wanted it to be perfect... but nothing was working and so this was my best attempt 😂😂
Oooo I'm looking forward to the ships reuniting... now I need to decide who I want to make canon first
Thank you all for reading this fic!! I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for taking the time to read it and for leaving all your comments and votes!