"All right. Everybody ready?" Dean looked around the room.
"Yes," Jack said, then looked at his sister as if double-checking. She gave a quick nod.
"He's less than an hour west of us and not moving," Rowena said.
"All right, well, break out the silver blades. Maggie says decapitation is the only way to kill these things."
Monica felt for the hilt of her sword. It was flat and discreet in her jeans.
"But if we cut off their head, then is more creatures gonna crawl out?" Dean asked.
Monica looked at him strangely.
"Wait. Other creatures?"
"I think he's talking about Clash of the Titans again," Monica said.
"We don't know," Dean said.
Monica looked at him. "I'm pretty sure we do."
Rowena handed the antivenom to Castiel. "A few drops of this concoction should counteract any poison. Theoretically."
"'Theoretically.' That's comforting," Cass said.
Monica agreed silently.
"Yeah, well, assuming you're not all paralyzed or eaten off with his head," Rowena added.
Monica and Castiel shared a glance.
Monica slipped in through the back door, her steps swift but slinky. Like a cat.
The gorgon turned to them. "Oh, no fair. You're not human."
"And you're a monster," Jack said.
"Demi-god, technically."
Castiel glared at him. "You stay where you are."
"Hey. I'm a lover, not a fighter."
"Jack, watch him. Monica, help me." Monica went with Cass and struggled to untangle the victim.
"I didn't see you coming, but I see you now," Noah said.
"Just shut it," Monica said.
"Have you ever heard the story of the black snake?"
Monica listened as he told what seemed like an incredibly stupid story. Chickens didn't have stoves. Therefore they can't boil eggs.
"Why are you telling this story?" Castiel asked.
"Because I can't quite tell if he's the chicken or the snake," Noah said, looking at Jack.
"We're done here," Castiel said. He began to fight the thing only to be kissed. Monica watched as he passed out, adrenaline trickling through her veins.
"Cass!" Monica and Jack screamed in unison. Jack attempted to fight only to be hurled across the room like a ragdoll.
Just then Sam and Dean rushed in, looking around frantically.
Glad she was no longer in the spotlight, Monica slid along the walls to her brother.
"Jack," she hissed. "Jack, get up. Come on." She shook him, but he gave no response.
Monica looked behind her to see Sam flung to the ground like Jack and Dean bashed against the wall until he was passed out. She ignored the urge to run after Noah, knowing it wouldn't end well for her. Instead, she took her sword and pressed herself against the doorway, cringing at the sound of Sam being thrown again.
She held her breath and counted the footsteps until the gorgon walked past her, and sliced his head off. She stared at the blood pooling in the marks of Enochian on the glistening blade. Monica went back to Jack to see he had already gotten up. "Check on Cass," Sam said to the both of them. "I got Dean."
"Cass, can you breathe? Hey, hey, hey," Jack said, nudging him.
"Castiel," Monica said, shaking him harder.
"It's not working," Jack said after they gave Cass the antivenom. "Why isn't it working?!" Before she knew it Jack was pressing his hands to Castiel's temples.
"Jack, no!" She screamed, but it was too late.
Castiel opened his eyes and coughed. "Jack, what are you doing?" "You're okay," Jack said.
Monica let out a sigh of relief.
"Wake up!" Sam yelled from the other side of the room. "Hey! Dean? Guys! Hey. Wake up. Dean."
They went home as quickly as possible and put Dean in sickbay.
"W-Why won't he wake up?" Maggie asked. "Is he --"
"It's a head injury," Sam said firmly.
"I'll get ice," Maggie said and hurried from the room. The other hunters followed.
"Cass, do it," Sam said.
"I still can't heal him. I can't even see what's going on inside his head."
Monica looked at her palms again, feeling a new surge of rage. She should have been able to heal him. Make him just like new.
"I can help," Jack said, stepping closer.
Castiel looked at him. "No. Jack. I appreciate what you did for me, but you cannot afford to burn off any more of your soul."
Jack left the room.
Monica watched him go, then turned and looked at Cass with tears in her eyes. She extended her hand as if to touch Dean, then pulled back. She turned and fled the room.
✴✴✴
Castiel went to Jack first, following the whole girls-need-space thing.
When it was time to find her, he checked her room. Nothing.
Which meant she was likely in a bookshelf or under another table.
He closed his eyes and tried to feel for her. She still had her grace, so she still gave off energy. It was just faint and hard to follow.
He found her between two bookshelves, head in her knees.
"Castiel, I'm fine," she muttered without even looking at him. She raised her eyes to meet his. "You should be with Dean."
"There is nothing more to be done about Dean."
"This can't be his end. It just can't be. He can't die from--from hitting his head. This is the guy that's saved the world. I mean...he's stronger than this." She raised her head. "Right? Tell me I'm right."
Castiel sighed and kneeled to her level. "Dean's gonna be fine. You're right. He is strong, he will overcome this."
Monica nodded. "But what about when he doesn't? Castiel, where are we going to be in twenty years? Where will you be? You can't really expect you'll all still be together. Alive. I mean, where am I going to go? What am I supposed to do?"
Castiel blinked. "Monica. You can't--when you live this life there is no guarantee you'll be in existence in any given time. You understand that. But you can't worry about it, either. Because the future will never just come without warning. Every day is a premonition for the next. If you just take it, day by day--you'll never have to figure that out. You'll know what you're doing. Where you are. The questions will answer themselves."
"What if tomorrow you all die?" Her voice was barely even a whisper.
"We won't," Castiel said, then saw that this was clearly not a good enough answer. He sighed. "Then you and the other hunters would burn us. And you would either go with one of them or take off on your own again. You would kill Michael and avenge us and then--maybe you'd go to heaven with the other angels. Maybe you would just live a human life. But you would know."
She nodded. "Castiel...I think maybe--"
Just then they heard crashes. Screams.
They ran to sickbay where Dean was destroying the place.
"Where is he?! Where is he?!" Dean screamed.
Instantly Monica knew what had happened.
"No, wait! Dean! Dean! No! Stop! Dean, stop it! It's -- It's me! - You're in the bunker!" Sam desperately tried to help his brother.
"I know where I am! That's not --"
"Dean," Sam said, calmer now.
"He's gone. Michael. He's gone."
Monica's heart sped up. The fact that she couldn't feel him only made everything worse. He could be anywhere.
"How?" She asked, taking a careful step towards Dean.
"This is my fault. I let my guard down. This is my fault."
"No, Dean --" Castiel tried, but Dean cut him off.
"I told you! I told you to let me take that coffin ride to the bottom of the ocean!"
"Okay, Dean, j-just --" Sam was struggling to grasp the situation when Maggie ran into the room, screaming.
"Maggie?!" Sam shouted.
"Sam!" Suddenly Maggie glowed with a sickening light. She screamed and slumped to the ground, eyes black voids.
"Maggie!" Monica screamed. Then she saw him. Er, her.
"No," she whispered.
Michael/Rowena flashed her eyes once, that pretty angel blue.
"Hello, boys. Girl." She smirked. "I could've burned them all, but I'm feeling very hands-on."
"Michael," Monica snarled.
"That's right. I thought you'd appreciate this vessel."
"You let her go," Monica said, stepping forward.
"Oh. Please. She's much sturdier than she looks. Must be the hundreds of years of magic."
"Rowena never would have let you in," Monica said, desperate to prove the situation false, a hallucination, a nightmare. Anything but what it was.
"She didn't want to say yes, but...I made her a promise." Michael told them about the choice. "I had no intention of keeping my word, but I think she knew that. If only Dean had used that coffin when he had the chance."
"Never too late for a good idea," Dean said. "Sam, get the cuffs."
"That's not very nice," Michael said. "And if we're not being nice, what if you couldn't breathe?"
Monica watched as Sam, Dean, and Cass fell, gasping for breath. She looked at Michael, then back at herself, expecting to suddenly feel the air ripped from her lungs.
Apparently that's what Michael expected, too, because for a brief moment surprise washed away the cocky smirk. His eyes narrowed, then he must have figured she still couldn't do anything, so he looked to the rest of them. "That's a terrible feeling, isn't it? What if you were also blind?"
Monica's eyes narrowed. "Let them go!" She screamed.
"And what if you just hurt?" Michael, asked, ignoring her. "But fun as this is, I think no more games. This time, you all die. This time, the world burns."
"Michael! Let them go," Jack said.
"You think you can match me, boy? This power you have now -- it's nothing, just a crutch. How dare you! Burning off your soul? You'll run out soon enough."
"It's worth the cost," Jack snarled.
"Jack..." Monica whispered. Michael turned to her.
"What was that, sweetie? And I forgot to ask, how are you?"
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
Monica knew what he was getting at, but refused to give him the satisfaction.
"I am one hundred percent complete and fine."
"Sure you are. That's why you just stand there, helpless, while your friends suffer. Besides, what I did to you? There is no cure."
"There is always a cure."
"You keep telling yourself that." Michael looked at them both. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."
"I feel the same," Jack said.
Michael shifted his eyes to focus on Jack's alone. He took a step forward, his face hardening into a cold, vicious glare. "I am the commander of the host! I am the cleanser of worlds! I will not be challenged by a child!"
Jack stepped ahead of Monica, his face contorting in rage. "I'm not a child! I'm the son of Lucifer. I'm a Hunter. I am a Winchester!"
"Jack! No!" Monica screamed, but it was lost in the sound.
"You won't hurt anyone ever again!" Jack yelled.
Then there was silence.
"Jack?" Monica asked softly.
"Michael -- He's dead," Jack said, turning to look at her. His eyes were wide with exhilaration and shock.
"Jack, a-are you, uh --" Castiel asked.
"I'm me again," Jack said. Light exploded from all around him as he spread his wings, eyes blazing.
✴✴✴
'There is no cure.'
'I'm me again.'
'I will not be challenged by a child!'
Monica dropped her head back into the sink and splashed more water on her face. She was happy for Jack, thrilled.
But if Michael was dead, what did it mean for her?
She looked at herself in the mirror. She reached in her pocket for her knife and held it at her throat. Maybe she didn't have her grace, after all, she just hadn't noticed it was missing. But then wouldn't she be dying, like Jack was? She brushed the thought aside and was about to cut when someone knocked on the door. She dropped the knife and opened it.
It was Jack.
"Um, Jack. I'm in the bathroom."
"We both know what you're doing."
He looked at the knife on the floor. "I'm sorry about your power."
Monica forced a smile. "What? Don't feel sorry for me, Jack. I'm not sorry. I'm happy for you. You're back. You have grace again. I am fine." She slid her hands into her pockets. "And I'm gonna figure something out. Because I know every time someone says there isn't a cure, there is always a cure. Always."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Positive." She stepped out of the bathroom and started down the hallway. "Now stop worrying about me and go do something. Okay?" She left without waiting for him to answer and went to her room.
As far as she had looked. (which was pretty far) there was no spell, no chant or magic ingredients that would fix this.
Suddenly Monica's eyes widened as it dawned on her.
What if Michael didn't take her power away at all?
What if he just locked it up?
✴✴✴
Author Note: Hello, everyone! Is this cheesy? Or kind of dumb? Or needing to be fixed in any way? Please let me know. I would like to make this story as good as possible, and I'm always open to advice and constructive criticism. Thanks so much for reading, it means a lot to me!