Dead Weight.

What is this?

Terre Haute, Indiana.

At a local diner, a man sat by himself eating dinner. He had a heavy plate of steak with french fries and lots of ketchup, mostly eaten. Despite this he looked fit. The man wore overalls with a Carhartt over them. He had on a John Deere hat. He wore his reading glasses as he scanned the local paper. He was one of only 5 or 6 people at the diner, staff included. The man looked up when the door opened. His wife strolled in.

"How was bingo?" The man asked his wife.
"I won $200," she replied.
He nodded his approval and stood up so they could go home.

They walked out to their car. As they made their way through a muddy parking lot, the man heard what sounded like angry dogs barking behind him. He turned to look and the noises stopped. Confused, the man scanned the area. It wasn't well lit. He couldn't see anything. His wife was already inside their truck and tapped on the window. The husband dismissed the oddity and got in.

They drove home. Bedtime prep. His wife was brushing her teeth. The man was finishing his paper in the study. He sat in a recliner by an open window. He heard it again. Dogs. Snarling. Barking. The man looked out the window. Nothing. Then, a crash in the kitchen, startling him. As he got up to take a look his doorbell rang.
He ignored the crash in favor of the front door. The man opened it.

"Jeff, hey," his neighbor Doug said. "Listen, have you seen any dogs around here? Mine got loose."
"I didn't know you had dogs, Doug." Jeff replied.
"That's probably because you've never seen them," Doug said, his eyes flipping beetle black. A demon. "They are invisible after all."

Jeff backed away in fear and heard another crash behind him. And growling. His wife came trotting down the stairs.

"Is someone at the door?" She asked.
Doug looked past Jeff."Oh, there you are," demonically enhanced Doug said. "Bad dog. You hungry? Come and get 'em."

The hellhound launched itself at Jeff as the demon watched. It sank its teeth in and splattered blood over Doug's face. Jeff's wife screamed as another hellhound latched onto her. Doug watched the couple get torn limb from limb.
"Another bloodline taken care of," the demon said.

******

Lawrence, Kansas.

Sam was subconsciously chewing on his nails. He was sitting in a local diner over breakfast which he of course was barely eating. The newspaper before him revealed part of the source of his nervousness. The dateline was 1983. Baby Sam Winchester was five months old. Adult Sam Winchester wanted to curl into the fetal position. It was about 4 weeks before the night his Mom would be killed. Sam was pretty sure Castiel had sent him here -- why? For a chance to stop things? Dean had tried once and it didn't work. To see it happen? To kill the yellow-eyed demon? Sam wasn't sure.

Sam still hadn't seen his brother, at least not adult Dean. Young Dean had gotten him a glass of water the night before and asked after Sam's awesome kicks. In the diner Sam stared off into space. What should he do? Sam had no idea where Castiel was or how to even contact him. Were the Enochian symbols still on Sam's ribs? He didn't know. Bobby didn't know the Winchesters yet, Harvelle's Roadhouse wasn't built yet and even if it were who knows if Ellen would be there. Jo wasn't even born yet. Would Ash be at MIT now? Sam had no clue. There were no cellphones, the Internet didn't exist yet and baby Sam's highest brain function included sucking his thumb. Adult Sam stared out the window. Was the yellow-eyed demon in town? No headaches yet. No visions. Would those still happen? The waitress came by to refill his coffee and snapped him back into reality. If you could call it that.

Sam hadn't noticed but a girl was watching him from the bar. Unable to hold out any longer she slid into the booth bench opposite him.

"Scuse me," she said. "I couldn't help but notice -- you're not from around here. And you look like you have a lot on your mind. Everything OK?"
Sam looked up and locked eyes with a pretty girl about his age. He managed a small smile back. "Sorry, I'm not really in the mood for chatting," he said.
She smiled back fully in return. "No problem," she said. "But I think you need some company."

She slid the newspaper out from under Sam's hands and opened it, starting to read. Sam bitchfaced, but knew he had a talking partner whether he wanted one or not.

"You're gonna think this is crazy," he finally said after a few minutes. "But have you ever had a dream so real you felt like you were living it?"
The girl tipped down just a corner of the paper. "Sure, all the time. I dream about me and Rick Springfield, married with two kids. A boy and a girl. Me living the life in Los Angeles." She stared off for a moment. "But then I wake up."
"Well," said Sam, "What if you don't wake up?"
She laughed. "You a zombie or something?"

Sam half smiled. He hadn't considered it -- was he? No, no. That seemed unlikely.

"I guess I'm just confused." He finally relaxed a bit."My name is Sam. Sam...Hagar."
"Hee, like the singer? That's pretty funny." She held out her hand. "Joey Woodson. Nice to meet you."

Sam shook the outstretched hand. His shoulder still stung a bit."Woodson, how do I know that name?" He searched his brain's archive.
"Oh, probably because of Woodson's garage. My Dad used to own it. He died a few years back though. Now John Winchester runs the place. He kept the name though, such a sweet guy."

Sam bit his lip as he remembered. If time was holding up at all it was Anna who'd killed this poor girl's Dad. Yet another life the Winchesters were responsible for ending. But that was then and this was...also then. But a more recent one. A plan clicked in Sam's college boy head.

"Hey, you know, I met John Winchester last night. Seems like a cool guy," Sam began. Joey nodded. "I'm new in town and I need a job. I saw a sign in the garage window. Think you could help me get hired?"

Joey thought about it. "You any good with cars?"
"Yeah sure, I know all about tuning carburetors and calibrating wheels and stuff," he lied.
Joey seemed bemused. "Uh huh. Well, lucky for you I know John's so desperate for help he'd probably take a guy with no hands at this rate."

Sam let the slight pass. He asked Joey if they could head over right then. She agreed. Sam dropped a few dollars on the table and they headed to the shop.

Another person had been watching him from the counter. And as Sam and Joey left the diner the counter dweller watched him go. His eyes flipped beetle black.

******

Fort Collins, Colorado.

Dean arrived while it was still dark out. He stopped at a gas station to refill. A group of kids were also there and from the looks of it they were causing trouble. Dean grimaced and rolled his eyes as he saw them trashing the inside of the store. He went to pop the trunk where he was hiding the supplies from Bobby. He grabbed a small automatic loaded with rock salt shots more out of habit than anything. Then he strolled towards the store. Outside one of the bikers sat on his bike, arms crossed. As Dean approached the college kid stared him down. Finally as he got close Dean watched his eyes flip beetle black. Dean didn't know how he knew but he'd known. Just can't get away from it. He tightened his jaw and walked in, ignoring the demon outside for now. He pretended to avoid the confrontation at first, instead heading back towards the beverage center. He grabbed a 2-liter of water, opened it, said a quick prayer and dropped in a rosary. There were three of them. Dean calculated, he plotted. And then he walked up front.

The demonically enhanced teens backed away to let Dean approach the register, where Dean paid for his gas. He met the frightened cashier's eye and winked. When Dean turned around he'd been swarmed by the three. He smiled.

"Hey guys," he said calmly. "Looking for something?"

The demons shot confused looks at each other. Dean looked at each of them and tried to decipher what they were thinking. Were they confused because they recognized him? Or confused because he was so calm? After a few seconds one of them stepped forward.

"What are you doing here?" The demon asked.
"Oh, you know, just topping her off and refilling," he said, pointing to the water he was cradling in his arm.
"Oh?" said the demon. "Funny, we're refilling too..."

And with that he took a swing at Dean, who ducked to avoid it. Another demon sucker punched Dean from the side causing him to drop the water. It rolled away from him down the aisle. Dean swung back quickly, grabbing the snack display off the counter and hitting one of the demons with it. It staggered back as the other two swooped in to take its place. Dean clocked the second demon with a right jab and pushed it back into the demon behind it. Then he scrambled for the holy water. He shook the water bottle and flipped off the lid. He sprayed the water at the demons and watched as they backed away in pain. Once he was confident they were incapacitated Dean started Latinating. The fourth demon ran in just as he was beginning -- perfect timing. He completed the exorcism spell as quickly as he could. He was surprised to even remember it. Finally their mouths flew open as streams of dark black smoke exploded out of their mouths and towards the ceiling. It swarmed until Dean was done and then it disappeared into the night. The kids all collapsed, fainted.

Dean turned to check on the cashier. He had the phone in his hands to call the police but was frozen in shock. Dean smiled to himself. He found himself in front of the porn rack. Busty Asian Beauties were waiting for him. He picked up a copy.

"Mind if I take this one?" He asked.
"Take it," the cashier whispered.

Dean smiled and waved a thanks. He exited the mart and replaced the gas nozzle. And then he took off for the nearest diner.

******

Ridiculously scenic mountain university town.

Dean pulled into one of the university parking lots and got out of the car. He saw students walking across the large plaza from building to building, some sitting outside in the dry sun. He headed towards the admissions building. At the front desk he spotted a young female college student. A young, hot female college student. Perfect, he thought.

Dashing El Deano flashed the pearly whites. "Hi there," he said in his best drawl. "I'm hoping you can help me. See, my sister, she's a student, and well, Daddy sent me because we haven't heard from her in weeks. I'm hoping you can help me find her."

The girl raised a brow and gave him the once over. She cleared her throat. From a desk nearby, her boss leaned out of his cubicle to do the same. Dean flashed the same grin and waved. The boss bitchfaced but slid back into the cube.

The girl leaned in. "I'm sorry but I can't help you. Colorado State is not authorized to give out information about its students."
Dean leaned in closer yet. "Please," he said. "Help me."
The girl slid a sticky note and a pen towards him. She leaned back. "I'm sorry, sir, but I can't help you." She tapped the pen to the sticky note and handed the pen to Dean. "Sorry."

A little while later, Dean had the girl's address, her schedule and her GPA. He stopped by the girl's dorm room. Her roommate said she was at the library working on a research project. And that she'd be the only one in the library listening area at almost midnight on a Friday.

Dean entered the library and headed up to the second floor. He spotted her from across the floor. She was tall with long dark hair and, as Dean noticed, a nice ass. Dean paused to compose himself. Once ready he went up and tapped her softly on the shoulder. She removed her headphones and spun around. Dean found himself momentarily distracted, just long enough to make the young woman uncomfortable.

"Can I help you?" She asked, flashing a smile.
"Um, yes, sorry. Well this is kind of awkward. Has anyone told you that you're really pretty?"
The girl smiled, amused. "Thanks, but I have a boyfriend."

She turned to put her headphones back on but Dean ducked back into her sight.
"Well, actually, you know your roommate Heather?" The girl nodded. "Well, I have this crush on her. But I'm too nervous to go up to her. And I was kind of hoping you could tell me a bit about her and, you know, help me hook up with her?"

Dean flashed a semi-confident smile at the last part. Playing it smooth as always. The girl weighed this man. Was he a stalker? Just plain crazy? Or a genuine guy? She settled on the last option.

"Heather, huh? I suppose I could help a dude out. For a price," she said, her smile turning sly. "Buy me a beer and I'll tell you what you need to know."

Dean smiled back. Like a charm, it worked.

******

Frat-boy infested bar.

Dean tried to pace himself but the girl, who formally introduced herself as Alexis Parker, drank even slower. Everyone called her Alex she said and Dean should do the same. Except tonight Dean was Keith Richards to cover his ass. He had hoped to get her drunk quickly so he could start unloading his plan on her, but this girl wasn't going to be drunk till next Thursday at this rate. And Dean didn't want to wait that long. He was trying to lie about why he wanted to date Alex's roommate but it just wasn't coming together for him. At all. And Alex was clearly starting to see through it.

She was starting to tire and he was starting to get bored. And then it got worse when a friend -- a male friend -- came up to talk to Alex. Dean bitchfaced. The guy introduced himself to Dean as Greg. When Dean went to shake his hand though, he watched in horror as Greg's eyes flipped beetle black. Dean met his enemy's glare, but Greg's human pupils returned before he turned back to Alex. Dean was now convinced the demons knew who he was.

"Who is this guy?" The demon formerly known as Greg said to Alex. "Chad wouldn't like this. We should get out of here."

Dean watched frustratingly as Alex nodded in agreement. She put the half-drunken bottle back on the bar and stepped down from her stole. Dean grabbed her wrist.

"No, come on, I need your help," he implored.
"Dude, I'm tired and you're boring, so no offense but I'm out," Alex rejected him.

Dean watched helplessly as his vessel target left with Greg. As they walked out the front he slipped out the back and into the car. Dean drove around the block until they made it to demon Greg's car and then followed them back to Alex's dorm. He had watched them get out of the car and head in. He waited outside of the sorta secure facility until a couple of kids came out, then slipped in. He punched the elevator to the 3rd floor. Dean heard the screams before door opened. He ran down the hall to Alex's room and threw the door open. She was inside, demon Greg's hands around her neck. He looked over with a smile.

"Persistent, aren't we?" The demon asked.
Dean brandished his gun. "Let her go," Dean ordered.
It was never that easy though. The demon's smile stayed. "Who? Her? First tell me, Dean Winchester, what exactly do you want with this girl?"
Alex looked over at Dean -- this monster knew him? And called him by a different name?
"She's my cousin."
"Unlikely. You're different too, although I can't say how. We've been following you and your Daddy for awhile now. Your brother too. But it seems like you already knew that. Here's the strange thing though, a couple of my friends are following you and Pops right now in Minnesota. So tell me, how is it that you're in two places at once?"

His grip on Alex's neck tightened and she gagged.
"You want to learn my trick? Fine. But let her go."
"Sorry, can't do that. Not about to let go of something you want so badly."

Alex, having had enough, stomped down on the monster's foot as hard as she could. It caused demon Greg to release his grip just enough so she could fall back coughing. Dean used the opportunity to pelt him with rock salt. The demon staggered back a few steps and reached for stability. Once stabilized he righted himself and ran back into the kitchen.

Dean followed him, gun at the ready the entire way. There was only one place to hide in there -- the laundry room. Dean approached slowly. He took his right hand off the gun and started to reach for the door when the demon launched himself out. Dean fell on his back and scooted a safe distance away as the demon approached with a knife. Dean reached into his jacket and as the demon landed on him Dean caught its wrist with his left hand and sank his own knife into it with his right hand. It wasn't his preference to kill the demon but that's how it ended. The demon's face glowed momentarily before Greg's body slumped on top of Dean. He pushed it off and got to his feet.

Once upright Dean was surprised to see Alex's scared face meeting his own calm look. She rubbed her neck absently. "I figured you were halfway to Denver by now," he cracked.
"Heather's dead!" she cried in return.

Dean ran down the hall to check and sure enough Alex's roommate had been slaughtered sometime since Dean had left. "Crap," he said. He turned back to Alex. "You need to get out of here," he said.

"Oh sure. I'm totally going to go with the creepy guy who lied about his name with the guns and the knives who just shot my friend and was interested in my now-dead roommate. Did I mention the creepiness factor is off the charts here?!?"
"Alex," Dean said. "I know how this looks but I just saved you! And Mr. Cool and Infected over there..." he said, pointing to Greg. "There are more like him coming right now for you. If we don't leave now we might not make it."

She looked into his eyes to weigh the truth. While she was considering it her dorm room door started pounding. And pounding. And then it flew open, with Alex's demonically enhanced floor advisor plus two floormates waiting.

"Alex," the former watchdog said. "It's past floor curfew. All visitors must leave by any means necessary."

The advisor held her hand up and Dean went flying backwards towards the window. It crashed apart as he hit it but Dean fell aside. Alex stumbled back. As the group approached her she gathered all of her strength and pushed a bookcase down on top of them. Then she helped Dean to his feet. They ran back towards the suite-separating door, opened it and ran through.
Next door, her suitemate was making out with her boyfriend on the bed. Dean's primal instinct got the better of him just long enough to stick out his hand to high five the dude. Lucky dude. They made it to the emergency stairs and flew down them.

In the lot, Dean pulled Alex towards his car. He started it and peeled out just as the demons ran out the door. They tried to follow for a bit but quickly gave up their chase. Alex watched until the demons disappeared from view and then turned to face forward. She stared blankly as the past hour's events caught up with her. Then she turned to Dean.

"Who are you?" She insisted. "And what the hell just happened?"
"My name is Dean Winchester," he replied. "And I'm a demon hunter. Those were demons. And I saved you from them." He quickly glanced over at her. "You can thank me later."
She scoffed. "OK, why were they after me?"
"I'd love to sit here and have story time but I think we should find someplace less likely to get us both killed first. Is there somewhere we can go?"
After a moment she nodded. "My parents live just outside Omaha. Get on I-25 North, then take 80 East."

******

Lawrence, Kansas.

Sam's hands were covered in slimy blackness. Oil, to be more specific. He was bleeding a car jacked up above him as John Winchester watched. Sam could only hope he remembered how Dean had shown him to do it. Once the oil stopped dripping he grabbed the filter. It took some jimmying but he eventually got it out. Then Sam slid in the replacement filter, replaced the drain plug, filled the oil back up to the proper level and sealed up the reservoir.

"Ahem," John said. "Not the most graceful oil change I ever saw but you did the job." He smiled. "I think I can work with ya. Didn't your Daddy ever have you working on cars?"
Sam managed a weak smile. "No, sir. My father was a road warrior. Didn't see him much."

No sense in lying on that front. John nodded. He patted Sam on the back. "We'll have you up to speed in no time, Sammy." Sam could only chuckle.

Over the next few days John taught Sam some of the basics from changing tires to replacing spark plugs to setting new brake pedals. It was a simple joy Sam had never known. His Dad was unlike Sam had ever seen him -- content and at peace. The youngest Winchester spent his off-time getting to know the town, buying up farmer's almanacs and listening to the farm reports at night for omens. He was staying above the Woodsen's house garage in a bachelor unit. It wasn't glamorous but it was home. Plus, Joey and her mom felt safer having a big strong Ginormotron around.

Sam's mind was on only one thing: stopping Azazel from killing his Mom. Stopping him from dripping demon blood into baby Sam's mouth. Phase one of the plan was earning the Winchester family's trust. So far, so good. Mary and John had both asked Sam if they'd met before, but Michael had kept his promise to wipe their memories of the events of Sam and Dean's last time traveling adventure. Mary brought the boys lunch every day. Dean occasionally tagged along. Sam enjoyed seeing his youthful brother -- a clear Mama's boy but so much more innocent then he would be just a month later if Sam didn't succeed. He had to succeed.

At night Sam wondered about adult Dean. He wondered about the Apocalypse. Had Lucifer won? Was this the aftermath? Who sent Sam back here? And was everything the same as Sam had heard about it? What point in the stream of time did he land in? Was Dean dead? Or was he too somewhere lost in the right place, wrong time? Would Sam ever see his brother again?

Sam had checked out a few books from the Lawrence library: Le Voyageur Imprudent by René Barjavel, Minds, Machines, and the Multiverse by Julian Brown and The Quantum Mechanics of Minds and Worlds by Jeffrey A. Barrett. Every book he'd read cautioned against changing past events for fear of destroying known futures. But Sam couldn't think of one future event that justified letting his past remain as it was -- not reuniting with his brother, not meeting Jess, not anything. If his parents stay alive and together, Dean and Sam grow up like normal kids. Maybe Sam still meets Jess. Maybe not. The risk was worth it to him. Worth it if it all works out to a normal life. No more hunting. No more brooding. Just a nice, nuclear family.

Sam settled into bed. Through the skylight he could see hundreds of stars above Kansas. Childhood tales came back to him. He wondered if he knew any of those stars.

******

Sam snapped awake when he heard the door slam. It was the house door first. Then the door to his apartment. He sat up in bed, and watched the door intently. A shotgun purchased at the local hardware store was loaded with rock salt and sat an arm's reach away. Sam heard light footsteps. The incoming air shifted his ajar bedroom door slightly. Then a hand pushed it open. Sam's eyes widened.

And then they relaxed as he saw it was Joey. "You shouldn't be here," he admonished her. Joey looked away, then down, then back at Sam. She was in her nightgown with a light robe over it. She smiled ever-so-slightly and tip toed closer to the bed.

Sam smirked and looked away. "Joey," he sighed.

She sat down next to him on the bed. She smiled at Sam. He started to smile back but then realized something was not quite right. Sam started to reach for the gun but Joey pushed him back against the wall, holding him by the neck. Her eyes filled in black.

"What's the matter? Don't you want company Sam Winchester?” The demon in Joey smiled.
Sam waited, expecting the eyes to flash yellow. They did not."Who are you?" Sam snarled. "Ruby? Meg?"
The demon laughed. "No, no. Not Ruby. Certainly not Meg. Definitely not Lilith. And not bad old yellow eyes either. You can skip the guessing Sam, because you have no idea who I am. But I know you. And your brother. Now you just listen to me. A long time ago there was this demon who went around to all the little baby rooms and gave darling infants drops of demon blood to drink. The plan was to raise up a new army for Lucifer. Thing is, Lucifer already had an army in waiting. It just needed a leader. I didn't know the first time around. But now..." the demon trailed off.

"Now I've seen how things could unfold and I know I can do it one better. So you go ahead and stop Azazel if you want. In the end it won't change a thing. Lucifer will rise whether it's your brother that breaks the first seal, your Dad, you, or some other 'righteous' nut. Things are either gonna turn out badly for you Sam, or they're gonna turn out worse."

"I'm here with a choice Sam. You can help me lead this army like you were destined to do. Help me bring on the Apocalypse -- now -- and we can save all this dragging out over the next 20-whatever years. Or you can try, by yourself, to stop every demon that's trying to free Lucifer." Her voice turned lower. "Which is, by the way Sam, every demon. You can kill us but no matter how many of us you stop there will always be another one ready-in-waiting." She stood up and turned away.

"So how about that Sam? You end up back here and you're right back in the same hole. How's it gonna end this time?" Demonic Joey turned back towards Sam to meet a barrel in her face.
"I don't care what you say," Sam said, "and I don't care how many of you there are. I will take down every one of you until there is no demon left on this Earth." He cocked the gun.
"If you shoot me, I kill the host." Said with a shrug.
"Yeah?" Sam replied, "So?"
He brought the gun up to aim. "Sam, you're more ready than I thought!" The demon cheerfully replied.

And then, just as suddenly as it had arrived, the demon exited its host, leaving Joey collapsed on the floor. Sam rushed to her once the demon was gone. Her eyes fluttered back to life.

"Sam?" She asked, confused. "How did I get here?"
"Sleepwalking, I guess," Sam replied. It was clear she remembered nothing. "Let me take you back home."
"I was having a horrible dream," Joey continued, "I was awake but I couldn't control my body."
"You're OK now," Sam reassured her. "It was just a nightmare. A bad one. Sometimes I have them too."
Joey was looking over into the corner of the room. "What is that?" She asked, motioning towards Sam's charged cellphone.
"Just a fancy walkie-talkie," he said. "Come on, let's get you home.” Sam guided her down the steps.

Displacement.

The world was spinning, and Dean Winchester had the biggest headache of his life. He was disoriented and everything looked blurry. The scenery slowly refocused and Dean found himself not in a city but in a forest. He stumbled to his feet and found himself in a three-foot crater, surrounded by shockwaves from what looked like a meteor strike and himself planted in the epicenter. Strangely, a tree stood next to him completely intact and in full bloom.

Where the hell am I? He thought, and tried calling out "Hello," as he stumbled to his feet. No voice though -- and the headache suddenly increased into a daydream of sorts where he remembered a blinding light, calling out for his brother Sam and angel mentor Castiel and something about the end of the world. The last flash he remembered is Cas grabbing his arm as his brother, playing prom dress to Lucifer, fell dying. As the vision faded Dean whipped around, instinctively looking for his younger brother. "Sam," he hoarsely called out. "Cas? -- Anyone?" Nothing. Either option was unlikely. Sam had given himself over to Lucifer and Castiel was Heaven-bound. There were just birds, a gentle breeze, and Dean in the middle of somewhere. He checked his arm and found the same painful hand print as the one that raised him from Perdition. Had he died? Again? Had Sam? Again? Where was he?

Then metal scraping on metal and the sound of kids yelling. Dean made his way towards it and found himself in a park, a playground occupying children as watchful parents and nannies sat nearby. He shook the dust off and considered talking to someone before thinking better of it. He turned and walked to the nearest road. He found a hotel and stumbled into the lobby.

"Well, you look worse for the wear," said the front desk jockey, amused.
"Room," Dean cave-manned. He handed over one of his many credit cards. The jockey went to run it. The beep of failure rang out from the machine, once, twice. The jockey looked at the card and smirked.
"Buddy, what do you take me for?" He asked. "This card's valid from date ain't til 2008."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so?"
"Yeah, so, wanna give me a card that is actually valid before 3 years from now?"
Dean shrank back a bit. "Excuse me?"
"Look pal, cash or no room."

Dean angrily reached into his pocket and took out a fistful, tossing the money over the counter. "Just give me the damn key!" The receptionist hesitantly obliged. Dean stumbled down the hall and into an all-too-familiar room with two double beds. For the first time in years, one would be empty. He collapsed in a heap on the bed and slept.

******

Daylight, just like Dean had fallen asleep in. He knew it was 2:55 but he had no idea what day, what month, or -- given the last conversation he'd had -- what year. He sat up on the bed and took out his cell. No service. His stomach rumbled. He freshened himself up quickly and sauntered out the door. Eventually he stumbled into nearby suburbia and the nearest drug store. Dean grabbed a water from the cold beverage center and went up front to pay.

"What the hell is this, Monopoly money?" The cashier tossed back the $5 bill Dean had passed over.
"Where the hell you been -- under a rock?" Dean shot back.

He had no patience for this crap again. The cashier opened the drawer and produced a bill...the way $5 bills looked before the Treasury redid them. "Here in the USA the money's still green," the cashier snarked. Confused, Dean pulled a couple of ones out of his pocket. He started to walk away when a whistle stopped him. "Hey, your change...?" the cashier asked, tossing it on the stack of newspapers.

Dean returned to grab the change, but something in newsprint caught his eye. He grabbed the newspaper under it instead. The dateline. His eyes grew wide. Two thousand and five. 2005. "What. The..." He gasped, mentally trying to process everything. He looked through the rest of the papers in disbelief -- was this some kind of joke?? 2005, 2005, 2005. Same dateline on all of them. He walked out with the paper, down the step, onto the sidewalk, and almost into the path of an oncoming car. Ignoring the driver's recourse he found the nearest bench and continued to scan this too-old paper. He looked around. He took his cellphone out of his coat and flipped it open. No service. He spotted a man on a bench not too far away.

"Hey buddy, what's up with the service in this town?" He asked.
"Oh yeah, only one tower around here," the man said. "Hey -- that's a fancy phone you got there." The man took his own out. It was a big, solid one-piece, not the small flip Dean kept.
"Where'd ya get it?" Wide-eyed, Dean could not reply. He got up instead and took a walk to process things. He went to the nearest parking lot and tried to play it off as though he was looking for his car.

2005, he thought. Two-thousand-and-frickin-five. Dean tried to remember. Hunting. With Dad. Sam. At college. Jess. Azazel. It was all slowly coming back. Dean met up with Sam again late fall -- around Halloween. Dateline of the paper said October 14. It was before. Everyone was still alive, except Mom.

Castiel. He did this. He sent Dean back. But why? And Sam. What had become of him? And where was Castiel? Dean needed help. He spotted a nearby phone both. He dumped in change and called Bobby. Was Bobby still alive? If this was 2005 then yes. Answering machine. "Bobby!" He growled. "It's Dean...call me back the second you get this." He slammed the phone down, only to realize that he would not get Mr. Singer's return call. "Stupid," Dean muttered to himself. He wracked his brain. Sam? Missing. Castiel? Same. Bobby? Not home.

Deeper memories. Ellen? She'd be alive now too. When did he meet Ellen, Jo and Ash? Not yet. They'd know John but not him. Should he head to the Roadhouse? No -- too many questions would come out of it. He needed someone else, someone who could help him figure out not only where he was but when, and why. Pamela? He flipped through the phone book again and realized where he was. Or rather -- who he was closest to in his formerly shrinking but now large Apocalypse Tragic Theater. Castiel had planned it well, if this whole deal was his doing. Dean had someone else he could talk to. Someone nearby. Someone who could help him figure things out.

He needed a ride. Suddenly missing his baby, he scanned around the lot for something appropriate. He found it -- a 1967 Chevelle SS was taking up a lonely spot in the back of the lot. Unlocked -- even better. Dean slipped in and hotwired it. As the engine turned over the radio came to life, joining Bachman Turner Overdrive's "Let it Ride" mid-verse. For the first time all day a smile made an appearance on Dean Winchester's face. Not the Impala but almost like it was meant to be.

******

Tragic Bachelor Pad Of Lousy Yet Remarkably Accurate Writing.

Dean rapped on the door insistently. "Open the door," he growled. The door opened just a creak, chain still attached. "We need to talk," Dean growled.
"Who are you?" came the voice from the other side. "Please just go away."

Adrenaline-pumped Dean pushed on the door, breaking the chain off. "I'm selling Girl Scout cookies," he joked. "Samoas? Or Tagalongs?" He made his way into the messy house.

"You can't be here," Chuck Shurley, aka Carver Edlund, aka a Prophet of the Lord, aka Potentially the Lord himself, replied. His eyes were bloodshot and he was holding a bat unconvincingly. Not that he was going to use it anyway.

"Do you know who I am?" Dean asked. Chuck was muttering -- this is not real, this is not happening. "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" Dean said again.
"You -- you're --" Chuck sputtered. "Dean. You're Dean. I don't know how though."
Dean nodded. Good. "Chuck, I need you to listen to me. You're a Prophet. The headaches? The manuscripts? It's God's word, straight from heaven to your cracked out brain, to that ancient typewriter you keep in that lousy excuse for a dining room."

Chuck glanced back to said lousy excuse for a dining room. This Dean guy was remarkably accurate. Chuck dropped the bat and collapsed against the nearest piece of furniture. "Sonofabitch."

"You're just going to have to go with it," Dean continued, barking like a marine. "Because I don't have time to explain. I need your help."
Chuck nodded. "Want a beer?" He asked. Dean relaxed ever so slightly.

Couch, a few minutes later. Chuck used his arm to drag a pile of books and papers off of it to give his guest a place to sit. "So," Chuck said nervously. "You're Dean. And...you got...sent back here."

Dean leaned forward. "OK, so...so I did travel back in time?" He couldn't believe the words even as he said them.

Chuck shrugged. "I don't understand it either," the gangly Prophet said.
"When did you start..." Dean began.
"Getting headaches? Seeing things? Feeling compelled to write ridiculous, angst-ridden stories about people I don't even know?" Chuck ranted, his voice increasing with every word while his arms flailed about.
"Yeah, that." Dean said.
"About two months ago. You and your brother are a real barrel of laughs so far."
"Sam? Where is he?" Dean wondered.
"Not sure," Chuck said slowly. "I'm only seeing pieces right now. I was writing a different book until two days ago. You and Sam looking for your Dad. Then it was like you fell out of the sky or something. Almost like no one knew you were here at first. I had to start a new book."
Dean rubbed his forehead. "Great. The big watchtower in the sky had no idea where I was but someone dragged me here. That doesn't leave too many options."
"I don't know who brought you here, if that's what you're asking," Chuck demurred. "Not yet, anyway."

Dean tried to think of a reason why a demon would bring him back to this point. He wasn't even sure a demon could do this.

"What do I do next?" He asked. "Why am I here?" Chuck, staring at his time-displaced visitor, didn't speak. Then he realized Dean was looking at him expectantly.
"Oh, uh, you mean, literally, what do you do next."
Dean raised a brow to confirm the duh.
"Well...you, uh, find an angel."

"Castiel?" Dean was excited by the prospect -- the nerd angel was alive, and somewhere around.
"No, not Castiel. Don't know who that is. The angel I'm writing about is Raziel."
Dean groaned.
"Another damn angel. How many of these clowns am I going to have to go through?" Chuck nervously ticked. As this visit went on the only person's whose sanity he doubted more than his own was Dean's.
"So where do I find him?" Dean asked, surly.
"Not a him. It's a her -- she's a her -- you know what I mean. And it's just her vessel right now. She's a grad student."
"Where?" Dean asked, getting up to leave as soon as he had the next tidbit. "Tell me where."

******

Lawrence, Kansas.

Sam Winchester's remarkably broad forehead was pounding as his eyes snapped open. He found himself slightly below ground level in a sandy crater. He sat up. He blinked a few times. He noticed that though all the earth around him had been blown out of its roots, one tree sat fine next to him, still in bloom. Mounds of earth were above and around him. He crawled out of the crater. Sam heard the unmistakable lows and moos of cows. He smelled that not-so-fresh smell on manure. He spotted one Angus, and then another, and then another.

"Dean?" He asked, looking around. His brother was nowhere to be found. "Castiel? Bobby? Anybody?" Only cows. He rotated his right shoulder, suddenly feeling pain. He looked down to see a handprint branded into it. It was a mark he'd seen before. Had he been dead? Was he in hell? Heaven?!? Sam tried to recall a memory in a cow pasture but came up blank.

A tractor circa-1978 rolled up to him. "Son, you alright?" A man called down to him from the tractor. Sam just nodded. "You look like you fell out of a plane. Or space, maybe. You an alien?" Sam shook his head. "You talk, boy?"
"Yeah, sorry -- where am I?"
"Kansas. You're in Kansas."

Great, Sam thought. Back where it all began.

******

A little while later Sam was sitting at the farmhouse table, the wife and son of the place staring at their strange new visitor. "You have funny clothes," the son, who was 10 or so, blurted out.
"Don't be rude!" admonished the wife. Sam slumped in his chair, bitchfacing a bit.

"You didn't see anyone else here -- a guy, a little older than me? Shorter hair? Angry-looking, maybe?" They all shook their heads no. Sam heard static and his attention transferred to the family TV, a brown box with faux-wood paneling and two rabbit ears that made him smile. On the TV was an episode of "Dallas."

"Oh, hey, I remember this one!" Sam said. The father smiled.
"Yep, family's favorite show."
"Man this is an oldie," Sam continued. "Before Bobby died."

He stopped when he realized they were all staring at him as though he were crazy. "Son, whatever are you talking about? Bobby's been alive this whole time." Sam looked confused.
"No, no, he died in like '85. I saw the repeats. Then he came back. You know."
"Eighty-five?" The father asked, more than a little freaked out. "Where exactly did you say you were from again?"

Sam clamped up. He rolled his jaw, suddenly just as wary of this family as they were of him. "California," he answered slowly, cautiously. "Palo Alto." He looked around the house more. He saw the clues. The green countertop. The magazine covers. This family clearly hadn't gotten out since about 1983. Or had they not been human since then? He squinted, looking for beetle-black eyes.

Sam stood up quickly, the family echoing his moves. Their eyes never left Sam's. "You know what, I should go. You have been way too kind to me already and my family is probably worried about me." "I thought you said you were from California," the father said, slowly. Purposefully. "Yeah, they are, we're here visiting my aunt Joan. And I don't want her to think I'm a runaway too." Sam shuffled towards the door. "Thanks though!" And with that, the younger Winchester ran out the door and into the field. He sprinted as his adrenaline allowed, and when he finally felt he had enough space between him and the house he turned around. Sam expected to see demons with knives but instead he only saw the family standing in their doorway looking confused. Sam was confused too. He slowed to a walk and continued out to the county road.

******

A couple of hours later, in the middle of the night, Sam found himself in town. Maybe because he was unsure and just needed some grounding, or maybe because of morbid curiosity, Sam found himself walking towards the house that the Winchesters used to live in. He got to the road and turned towards the side where house number 1841 sat.

From a few houses away he saw it. The unmistakable silhouette of Metallicar. Dean must have headed here earlier, Sam thought to himself. Way to wait for me. Something was different though. The license plates weren't right. They looked...different. Maybe Dean had swapped them. Sam stopped a house away in the middle of the street. He could see on an angle that the Impala's window was down. He approached it, and popped the trunk. But the trunk was empty -- and missing some important contents. Sam unhinged the false bottom. But instead of artillery he found a spare tire. And then he heard a gun cock too close to his head.

"Step away from the car," a voice said. A familiar voice. "Nice and slow. Don't want to start trouble." Sam put his arms up and took a few steps back. The man kept the gun pointed at Sam's head.

"I don't want any trouble either," Sam said. "I know this car."
"You the old owner or something? I bought it from a guy in town -- legally, I might add." Sam's brow furrowed. He knew the voice. It clicked. He tried to see the man through his peripheral vision but couldn't. After a few seconds he slowly turned it. The face that greeted him caused his face to turn to shock.

"...Dad?" Sam exhaled. "Is that you?" The barrel stayed focused on him, but he chuckled. "My boys are 4 and 6 months, so unless you're Dean after one hell of a growth spurt..."

Six months? Did John Winchester, Sam's dead-but-now-alive-again Dad, say six months? Sam rushed to put the pieces together.

"Sorry, sorry, I, uh..." he stuttered. "Look, I used to live here. And I had a car that looked a lot like this one. I had to sell it before leaving. I guess I just thought..."

John grimaced. He decided the kid was no threat and took the gun down. "Alright, well, you look like a big but harmless fellow. You need to use our phone?"
Sam exhaled. "Yeah, yeah, that would be great."

John nodded for Sam to follow. He did. He saw a small silhouette in the doorway. Once closer he knew it was Dean. Sam's older brother Dean, age 4. Sam didn't know where his contemporary brother was but now Sam knew where he was. The only question was...

"John?" A female voice this time. "Who is it?"

"Some kid, Mary. Get him a glass of water, would ya?" Sam tried to fight them back, but his eyes welled up with tears. His mom. Alive. Which meant baby Sam -- himself -- was upstairs. Did John say 6 months? Was Sam turning 6 months old tonight?

******

Lush Coastal Rainforests of Central South Dakota.

The Chevelle roared into Singer's Scrap Metal Yard as Dean slid it into a spot. From his usual perch atop a blue truck, Rumsfeld the dog lifted his head to let out a lazy woof. Dean got out of the car and headed towards the house. The dog tracked his every step but couldn't be bothered to get up. Dean headed inside.

"Bobby?" He called. And from the next room Robert Singer appeared, bound to no wheelchair. And his soul appeared intact.
"Dean Winchester," he said, frowning in a non-menacing way. "Where's your Dad?" Dean blinked. Dad.
"He's, uh, out on a hunt," Dean quickly improvised. "Sent me here to get a few things." Dean strolled over to Bobby and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You look good, Bobby. Better than ya have in awhile."

Bobby's face twisted. "Dean, ya idjit. I seen you what, five times this year?"
"I don't know Bobby, you've just...always struck me as a great guy. A role model even."
"Son, you been drinkin'?" Bobby asked, smelling the air.
"No." Bobby glanced back at his desk where an empty shot glass sat with a bottle of whisky nearby.
"You want to?"

******

A couple shots down, Dean stared into his empty shot glass. It refracted what he saw -- his hands, Bobby, the room. Maybe time and space. He closed his eyes and shook his head wondering if Speed Racer would re-appear. But no, Bobby was still alive and walking. Dean plotted. He had to keep a cover for now until he had things sorted out. Play things close to the chest. But he needed answers too.

Dean allowed his face to slip into a crooked, drunk smile.
"Can I ask you something," he asked, trilling his voice a bit. Bobby, who was a good 3 or 4 shots ahead of Dean, looked up slowly with bloodshot eyes.
"Wut?" Dean knew he had to sell past Bobby's skepticism. Drunk or not.
"Me and Dad were on this hunt a week or two back. This guy -- he claimed he was an angel. Said he'd taken over a host body. You ever heard of anything like that?"

Bobby leaned back in his chair. "I've heard of demonic posession. But angels? I don't know."

Dean stared towards the ground so Bobby couldn't see the lie. "This guy said he was chosen by the angel. He called himself a vessel. Said he was on a mission. The angel asked him to do things so he did them -- trials of a sort. Then once he passed enough tests the angel said the guy was ready, and told him all he had to do was let the angel take over his body. And his friend said they'd performed some kind of ritual to get the angel there. You ever heard of something like that?"

Bobby chewed on it. His brow furrowed. He shook his head. Dean expected to be thrown out.

"About 10 years ago I was on a hunt in some town in the middle of nowhere. Someone claimed there were all these miracles happening. Checked it out. There was a guy, like your nutjob, who claimed he was touched by an angel. There were signs around the town -- electrical storms, crops dying -- the usual."

Dean gulped. This was not looking good.

"So I finally manage to corner the guy in a bar. I went to take him out back when these three guys grab us both and drag us out into the woods. They had been possessed. By demons. Never seen anything like it. But what's nuts is this next thing. They shine a light on the guy, and I swear I saw a 20-foot set of shadow wings behind him. And when the demons tried to stab him his eyes went all white and he blasted them the hell outta there."

Dean leaned forward again.

"Never told anybody about it. Stopped hunting the guy too. Just left town. So do I believe in angels? Hell, there's crazier stuff out there. Demons, ghosts, spirits, whatever. Angels seem to fit right in."

Dean nodded, as though he was taking in all this for the first time. "I did take a souvenir though," Bobby continued. "The guy's friend, he gave me this amulet. Said it was like a geolocator for God. I gave it to your brother a ways back. Seen it around your neck a few times." He nodded over in Dean's direction. Dean went to clutch it. The amulet wasn't there though. He inhaled, eyes wide. The amulet. He'd thrown it out. That complicated things to say the least.

"You got any books on this stuff," Dean started carefully. He tried to throw a look of ambivalence, shrugging. "How to summon an angel? Stuff like that?"

Bobby chuckled. "Yeah I got some. Looking for a little nighttime reading?"
"You could say that."

Bobby chuckled again and shook his head. He went over to the bookcase and grabbed two old, dusty books. "Here ya go," he said, plopping them in Dean's lap. "You planning on summoning some angels?"

"Yes," Dean said, looking straight at Bobby. Telling the truth but playing it off as a bold-faced lie. Once a few seconds had passed he laughed. "Naw," Dean reproached. "I just want to know what it's all about."
Bobby laughed too. "Alright kid. It's getting dark. You wanna crash here tonight?"
Dean nodded. "Can you help me with my car too?"
"The Impala? What's wrong with it?"
"No, not the Impala. I had to hotwire something. Need to switch out the ignition for something with keys and get new plates on it."
Bobby smiled. "No problem. He put out his arms like a tv spokesmodel. "Take your pick!"

******

Dean had planned to spend the night reading but he was exhausted, what with time traveling and making his way across states and time and such. Bobby shook him awake the next morning. "Breakfast?" He asked, handing Dean a cup of coffee. Dean accepted.

A little while later he was putting the heavy books into the Chevelle's trunk and getting ready to hit the road. Bobby gave Dean a few supplies Dean had faux-requested on his father's behalf -- including a new cellphone. He gave Bobby a man hug.

"See ya around, Bobby," Dean said.
"Yeah, sure Dean. You stay safe out there, alright? And say hello to your Dad for me."

Dean half-smiled. He was so tempted to just drive til he found his Dad. But with only fuzzy memories of where the man might be and unable to shake the info from Chuck, he was sticking to his still-forming plan for now. "We're split up at the moment on hunts, me and my Dad," he said. "But when I do catch up with him I'll let him know." And I will catch up with him, Dean thought to himself. Just not yet.

Dean slipped into the car and turned the key in its new ignition. It turned over. With a wave out his window and a return one from Bobby in the rearview Dean was off.

Bobby shook his head as the young Winchester sped away. Angels? Crazy talk. He heard one of his phones ringing so he headed back inside. He grabbed one of the few unlabeled phones in his kitchen. "Hello?" He said, listening to the response. "Oh yeah, no problem. I got plenty. Head on over when ya have a chance. Where are you? Oh yeah? Sounds like a party," Bobby conversed. "Oh, hey, John, Dean just left...yeah Dean..." Bobby's face slowly fell as John told Bobby Dean was with him. "Whaddya mean with you? He just left, not even 5 minutes ago. No, I don't know where he was going...well then who the hell was that..." Bobby's voice trailed off. "John, let me call you back."

Bobby hit the connector in the cradle. He started to dial out to the cellphone he'd just given to whoeever that was that just left but thought better of it. Whoever this guy is, Bobby thought to himself, at least I can track him. He wondered what kind of man (thing?) stops by asking about angels. He turned back towards his desk and strolled over to the almost empty whiskey bottle. He splashed the last of it down his throat straight from the bottle and winced at the sour taste. "Sonofabitch," he said out loud to no one in particular.

What is this?

The Cheat Sheet/Character Guide

For anyone unfamiliar with Supernatural but reading this story (thank you!), this is a sorta brief overview to characters and important terms from the show mentioned in this collection of novella episodes. (Warning: show spoilers abound within.) Just to reinforce the disclaimer in the sidebar, I don't claim ownership of any of these characters. This post is just to help you out until you become as loyally addicted to the show as I am.

Let's start with the main characters:
Dean Winchester - main protagonist, older of the two Winchester brothers. Dean has been spirit/ghost/demon/monster hunting with his dad ever since his mom was killed by Azazel. He's intuitive, stubborn and bossy but also self-sacrificing and surprisingly mature when he needs to be. He's a master at suppressing his emotions until they finally come out in one big ball o'the ANGST. Family means everything to him; women not so much. No matter how bad the situation Dean has the uncanny ability to just keep going. Dean harbors tons of guilt because his dad traded his own soul and life to save him. He has a propensity for suicide missions, including trading his soul to bring Sam back to life in S2. At the end of S3 that bill came due and Dean went to Hell. Dean's fate came into play in S4, when Heaven brought him back to life from Hell in order to fulfill his fate as archangel Michael's vessel. Dean has never accepted that fate and is strictly Team Free Will.

Sam Winchester - main protagonist, younger of the two Winchester brothers. Sam has been out on the road with his brother Dean and dad practically since his mom was killed; Sam was just 6 months old at the time. He grew up with a strong desire to be normal and escaped his family at the first chance he got: college. Unfortunately fate has written a far different story for the poor guy: turns out he's been watched and groomed by demons since he was a baby to be Lucifer's vessel on Earth. In addition to his mother being killed by Azazel, Sam's erstwhile fiancee Jessica met the same fate in the show's pilot. Not to mention that his brother went to Hell as part of a deal bring Sam back to life. This has left with Sam a huge case of the ANGST. Sam is a big guy who's very intelligent and thoroughly analytical but has developed a terrible temper that sometimes causes him to make bad choices. And sometimes REALLY bad choices. This temper is in part caused by his brother who still sees him as a young kid that needs protecting. (Although in the last episode of S5 they had a nice little heart-to-heart about it and maybe Dean is over it. Maybe.)

And everyone else (alphabetical):
Adam Milligan - Sam and Dean's half-brother (son to John Winchester), who the boys first found out about through a call to John's cell. Unfortunately Adam had been killed by a demon taking his place which brought out the ANGST. Even more unfortunately Zachariah yanked Adam out of Heaven and convinced him to take Dean's place as archangel Michael's vessel. Which worked out about as well as you'd expect.

Alistair - The demon who tortured Dean for 40 years in hell (which equates to 4 months on Earth). After 30 years of promising to stop if Dean would get off the table and become a torturer, Dean finally gave in and spent 10 years torturing other souls. He broke the first seal of the Apocalypse when he began torturing. Alistair is a powerful demon who Sam eventually killed while juiced on demon blood.

Anna - an angel who fell from Grace by choice, became human, slept with Dashing El Deano, re-graced herself, and then tried to go back in time to kill Sam in an unwise move. Was at one time Castiel and Uriel's superior. Was tricked by Castiel into getting picked up by the angel police and sent back to Heaven for brainwashing or whatever it is they do up there.

Ash - a brilliant hunter, MIT graduate and mullet man. Helped Sam find other kids like him in S2, died not too much later in a fire at Harvelle's Roadhouse. Demons burned the spot down while looking for the Winchesters, making the boys feel responsible for his death. Dean and Sam later met up with him in Heaven where Ash declared, "I'm cool with it." Which is probably one of the best lines in the series.

Azazel - a demon commissioned by Lucifer to seek out and train appropriate hosts. Among his top choices was Sam Winchester. Azazel visited Sam several times during his life, including at age 6 months to give Sam a first taste of demon blood. Azazel has killed several key figures close to Sam, including his mom, love of his life Jessica and father John. At the end of S2 Azazel pitted Sam against three other potential demon leaders. One of Sam's competitors ended up killing him, leading Dean to make a deal with a crossroads demon to bring Sam back. Azazel is mostly known for his yellow eyes and is alternately referred to as the yellow-eyed demon or the ceiling demon (the latter for the horrific manner in which he kills his victims, slashing them on the ceiling and then setting them on fire. Yikes.) Dean killed Azazel at the end of S2 with the Colt, a gun of importance on the show.

Bella - a bounty hunter who stole countless important artifacts from the Winchester boys, most notably the Colt. A character with little redeeming value but one heck of a daydream sequence from Sam. Died at the hands (paws?) of hellhounds in a cruel twist of fate shortly before Dean did in S3. The fans don't seem to miss her though!

Carver Edlund/Chuck Shurley - Chuck is a prophet of the Lord who writes under the pen name Carver Edlund (a combination of two of Supernatural's writers' last names). Chuck has been writing the gospel of the Winchesters, aka a meta book series on the show which details Sam and Dean's adventures so far. When first introduced in S4 Chuck's book series was cancelled after sending Dean to Hell but he continued to have visions and eventually started writing again. Dean and Sam rely on Chuck to help them figure out their next move is when they get stuck. A little Chuck ex machina, if you will. Potentially God and an avatar for Eric Kripke, the show's creator. (Should that be a capital C-Creator?)

Castiel/Cas - Thursday's angel (appropriate given the night the show aired for seasons 1-5). Castiel was introduced in S4 as Dean's heavenly advisor who raised Dean from Perdition to serve as Michael's vessel. Castiel discovered that members of his garrison and even his superiors were intent not on preventing the Apocalypse but in bringing it on. The angel was understandably conflicted about this and has since gone rogue in the name of Team Free Will. He is a trustworthy and dependable friend to the Winchesters who ends up falling from grace in his quest to help them. He also has just as much of a crush on Dean as the rest of us do. He has been killed a few times (by an archangel guarding prophet Chuck, by an angelic sigil, and by Lucifer) but has been promptly reconstituted each time. Castiel's vessel is a man named Jimmy who has a wife and daughter in Pontiac. It's unclear if Jimmy is still alive in there.

Crowley - the king of the crossroads demons. Crossroads demons are just what it sounds like: demons stationed at crossroads to tempt humans into making dumb deals in exchange for 10 good years, and then claiming their souls for Hell. Guess which Winchester made a deal with one? TRICK QUESTION!! They all did, duh. (Well, Sam tried and was rebuffed. But you get the idea.) If you're Dean you only get one year to live in your deal, and if you're John you get about 5 hours. Anyway, Crowley came into possession of the Colt after buying it from Bela or somesuch and met the Winchester brothers when they came to reclaim it. Later, Crowley reappeared to "help" the boys defeat the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and made a deal with Bobby for his soul in the process. As the end of S5 it's unclear if Bobby got his soul back or not.

Ellen Harvelle - owner/operator of Harvelle's Roadhouse, a well-known hunter gathering spot assumed to be somewhere in Nebraska. Ellen's husband Bill was killed on a hunt with John Winchester but she has forgiven him enough to be an awesome tough-love mother figure to the boys. The Roadhouse burned down in S2 but Ellen survived. She's smart as a whip and a damn good hunter herself. Of all the female characters on this show she is the best-written and most fun. Sadly she died while helping Dean and Sam track down Lucifer.

Gabriel/The Trickster - Originally thought to be a powerful paganlike god by Sam and Dean, The Trickster took a special interest in the Winchester brothers -- specifically in messing with them. Responsible for a few of the funniest episodes in the series and Dean's death by Pig 'N A Poke for which I will forever experience giggle fits. It was revealed in Season 5 that The Trickster was actually the archangel Gabriel in a sweet, sweet mytharc twist. Died while saving the brothers from Lucifer and a bunch of angry gods. Of course "died" is a relative term on Supernatural and this character had already faked his death a few times, so I hope they bring him back anyway.

Joanna Harvelle/Jo - Ellen's daughter. She wanted to be a hunter like Daddy was but Mom Ellen will hear nothing of the sort. She ended up mixed up in a hunt or two with the Winchester boys. Like the rest of us she has a crush on Dean (unrequited) but any potential love connection has raised hell with the audience. Jo's a spitfire like her mom who is also pretty stubborn like Dean. After being attacked by hellhounds she and her mom sacrificed themselves to save the boys.

John Winchester - Sam and Dean's dad. Died in early in S2 when he traded his life & soul in exchange for bringing Dean back to life. John is a former marine and widower to Mary Winchester, who died in a pilot flashback. After her death at the hands of the demon Azazel John became obsessed with hunting and killing the demon. He lifted his two sons from Lawrence, Kansas and became a road warrior for years. Dean learned to be the good soldier who followed Daddy's orders while Sam resented their rootless lifestyle. John wasn't exactly affectionate with the boys but clearly loved them. His actions late in S1 bred resentment in both his sons and the audience.

Lilith - a high-ranking demon who appeared in both child and adult meatsuits on the show. Originally thought to be the leader of Lucifer's army once Sam refused the role, it was later revealed that she was the final of 66 seals to be broken in order to start the Apocalypse. (Dean broke the first one in Hell.) Ruby convinced Sam that Lilith held Dean's deal to stay in hell so Sam became obsessed with killing her to free his brother. Even after Dean returned Sam wanted to kill her, for vengeance. Sam succeeded but thus freed Lucifer from his cage.

Lisa - a one-weekend stand of Dean's who has a son (Ben) that acts an awful lot like Dean. Lisa insisted Ben wasn't his though his age is right to be Dean's son. Dean reconnected with her first in S3 as one of his last hookups before going to Hell (classy!, though the lady refused) and then again in S5 as a refuge from the Apocalypse. At the end of S5 Sam tells Dean to go find her and live a normal life, and as of the last scene it seems as though he did.

Lucifer - on this show, a fallen angel who sets out to bring on the Apocalypse so he can go home. A powerful demon who has his minions evaluate several possible candidates for his vessel before settling on Sam Winchester. Once out of his cage Lucifer initially inhabits a vessel named Nick. Lucifer is also the younger brother to archangel Michael, who is tasked with killing him and once again sending him back to Hell. Invincible against the Colt, Ruby's knife and most other demon hunting tools. Eventually convinces Sam to say yes in S5 in an arc that may continue into S6.

Madison - a tragic love of Sam's. He met her on a hunt while looking for a werewolf. Turns out, she was the werewolf. Sam had to kill her in a very sad but very awesome episode of S2.

Mary Winchester - Dean and Sam's mom, John's wife who was killed by Azazel when Sam was 6 months old (Dean was 4 or 5 I believe) as seen in a prologue during the pilot. She has appeared on the show in flashbacks, time travel episodes and as a cruel spectral used by the angels to try to convince Dean to be Michael's vessel. Her father was a hunter whom Azazel possessed and used to kill John shortly before he and Mary were married. Mary made a deal with Azazel to bring John back, thus setting poor Sam's fate in motion.

Meg - one of the earliest demons on the show, later revealed to be Azazel's daughter. Introduced herself to Sam as a fellow road warrior but was in fact a demon trying to steer Sam towards his demonic fate. Very nasty with awesome one-liners. She was exorcised by Bobby in S1 (though her host sadly died) and later possessed both Sam (in S2) and Bobby (in S5). Inspired Sam and Dean to get their amulet tattoos which ward off possession. Though why Bobby didn't get one I'll never understand...(so I might just retcon it, you're welcome fake-TV-show-character-person).

Pamela Barnes - a psychic friend of Bobby's who the boys use to contact Castiel. Castiel had not yet joined with his vessel, and since only certain people can see angels' true form Pamela's eyes were burnt out. She later died while helping the boys on another hunt. Dean and Sam saw her in Heaven in the same episode where they saw Ash.

Robert Singer/Bobby - a hunter who owns a metal scrapyard in South Dakota. He's known the Winchester boys since they were little. He's a key ally who provides exposition and knowledge on the show. The Winchesters first learned about tools like Devil's Traps and exorcisms through Bobby. Bobby's also very no-nonsense and smacks some sense into Dean and Sam when they need it (god love him). Bobby was forced to kill his own wife after she was possessed and became a hunter after that (we have only heard about this on the show, never seen it). Bobby was able to shake a demon that possessed him (Meg, S5) but not before stabbing himself and becoming wheelchair bound. He was recently regifted his ability to walk but at an expensive price: his soul.

Ruby - a demon who successfully convinced Sam she was an ally when she was in fact not. Dean was always skeptical of the demon who was cuddling up to his brother. First appeared in S3 in an awesomely snarky host before trading that meatsuit in for a brain-dead walking corpse that ended up becoming Sam's de facto girlfriend in S4. (And yes, it's just as repulsive as it sounds.) Somehow upgraded the Colt to make it more effective. Served as an agent of Lilith, a demon who rivaled Sam to control Lucifer's army. Convinced Sam to start drinking demon blood to increase his Azazel-given powers. Ruby later told Sam he didn't need the blood to use his powers, however whether that was true or not is an unresolved plot point. When Sam discovered Ruby was using him, he killed her with her own knife.

Uriel - a member of Castiel's garrison and one of the angels trying to help bring on the Apocalypse. He killed other members of their garrison and tried to take out Castiel. Not exactly friendly, especially towards Dean. Uriel was the first angel to use a scimitar on the show, which established it as angelic weapon used to kill other angels. Sigh. Killed by Dean in S4.

Zachariah - a higher-level angel (described to resemble a seraphim on the show, though it's never said outright) who is one of Castiel's superiors. The show refers to him as "middle management." Zachariah was tasked with getting Dean to agree to become Michael's host vessel but Dean repeatedly refused. When bribery in the form of cheeseburgers and promises of eternal peace, etc. don't work Zachariah turns to torture and eventually the Winchester boys' half-brother, Adam Milligan. Awesomely evil angel. Killed by Dean in S5. (That Dean -- not a fan of the angels.)


Now for some terms from the lexicon:
Metallicar/The Impala - Dean's car, which he inherited from his Dad. In a time-travel episode we find out Dean actually helped John pick it out. Gets a complete history in the S5 finale. Was smashed to bits after being t-boned by a semi in the S1 finale but Dean completely rebuilt it. Dean is insistent on keeping it real and threw a tantrum when Sam dared to install an iPod dock.

The ANGST - the unfortunate tendency for the show to devolve into chick flick moments, despite Dean's assurances in the pilot that this would never happen. That would be where this blog's URL comes from. This broken promise of course makes him a....

LYING LIAR WHO LIES - A TWOP-coined term for the hilarious way everyone (and everything) on this show lies at one time or another.

Hellhounds - invisible dogs that come to claim human souls at the appointed hour and drag them back to hell. Dean was among their victims during S3.

The Colt - a gun specially crafted by Samuel Colt that is both demon killer and a key to a gate to hell in Wyoming. Successfully killed Azazel but only seems to work against certain demons. Did not work on Lucifer.

Ruby's Knife (aka The Knife) - A knife that kills some demons, including herself. Did not work on Alistair. Currently in Sam's possession.

Demon blood AKA CRACK - Sam started drinking this in S4 because he's dumb like that sometimes. OK, actually he did it because Ruby convinced him he needed it to kill Lilith. Allows Sam to exorcise demons from their hosts without killing the host with what TWOP calls the Hand of Ipecac because of the way meatsuits vomit out their demons. Later on allowed him to outright kill demons. Unless of course he never needed it, which as mentioned above in the Ruby section is still unclear. This practice scared the crap out of Dean.

Scimitar - a silver knife angels use as weapons. Kills angels.

Devil's Traps - circular symbols that trap demons within when they step on, over or under one.

Sigils/Angel B-Gon - a symbol carved in blood that when pressed causes angels to be flung somewhere else via a heavenly beam of light.

Latinating - a TWOP term for performing an exorcism.

Meatsuits vs. vessels - Meatsuits are people involuntarily used by demons as host bodies. Vessels are voluntary hosts who must say yes before an angel (including Lucifer) can take over their body. Dean calls this "wearing [x person] to the prom" or in a less-tactful way, being an "angel condom."

4 Horsemen - War, Famine, Pestilence and Death. Each one has a ring that when combined open up Lucifer's cage.

Croatoan - a virus used by Pestilence/demons to turn people into zombies. Sam is immune.

The Waiting Room - Where Zachariah took Dean (and later Adam) to convince him to say yes to archangel Michael. It's actually a room within an abandoned tire factory in Van Nuys, California. Don't ask.

The Intro

What motivated me to take on this crazy and wee bit fangirl obsessive project? School of course. This little blog is fulfilling the assignment requirement to post our work in a public forum. I'd enrolled in a creative writing course and our final project was to find a book that does not have a sequel and write one for it. While I'm a true book worm I found myself repeatedly wishing I could use a different inspiration: a TV show. Specifically Supernatural. So I asked my professor if I could twist the requirements ever so slightly and after some convincing he agreed. Though my basis is a TV show he asked me to keep the writing in novel style which I've done, comma splices and all! I'll be updating once a week or so with chapters. There are 12 in all.

For those who have never heard of the show the basic concept of Supernatural is two brothers travel the USA taking care of unexplainable entities (i.e. ghosts) which has evolved into two brothers trying to stop the Apocalypse. My research involved watching back seasons of the show thanks to TNT reruns and lots of Google research. So, uh, in case Big Brother is wondering why some chick who's normally searching for the best deal on bags and shoes suddenly started researching angel and demon names and related topics, now you know. And there was much reading of Demian and Raoul's (and Drunken Bee's, and Cindy McLennan's) recaps on Television Without Pity. Those recaps which, by the way, are often just as enjoyable as the show itself.

I made a concerted effort to honor established continuity whenever possible because yes I am that much of a dork. This story does fork off though, somewhere after where the 5th season finale left off. Also? I had a blast. Hopefully I've respected the source material enough to give fans something to enjoy over the summer hiatus in addition to the great fics that are out there. I should mention that if you're looking for the salacious writing style of some fan fiction you're gonna need to look elsewhere. You won't find it here. I didn't make an attempt at backstory within the work either. Though if you want some I highly recommend you go watch the show. Seriously. DO IT. And if any of these ideas do happen to converge with the actual season 6? Consider me a happy LYING LIAR WHO LIES.