Soulbound Ch 30
You Can't Handle the Truth
Soulbound Masterlist
(A/N): I'm sorry that this has taken so long to come out, I started focusing on streaming on Twitch more recently and playing video games. However, even though I'm doing that, I have no intention of discontinuing this book or my Daryl Dixon fic.
TRIGGER WARNING: suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, please text or call 988.
1st Person POV:
Sam has been acting strange lately. It's scaring me honestly. Especially after he let Dean turn into a vampire. We did end up going to Scotland though to find and burn Crowley's bones, so that was a fun experience. However, we didn't burn his bones, he came and took them after he agreed to give Bobby back his soul.
Cas has been MIA since getting the Staff of Moses. It's not surprising with the war going on in Heaven but I miss him. He hasn't even called. So I've just been throwing myself into cases, including Sam's.
"I know what I saw, Bobby." Dean insists, talking to Bobby on the phone, the both of us wandering away from Sam. "He threw me to that vamp. I'm telling you, it's not my brother...Yeah, or it's freakin' Lucifer." Dean replies to whatever Bobby says as Sam grabs us food from the street vendor behind us. "'Course I called Cas. He's not answering. Screw him. I can't wait anymore...Professional? He watched me get turned!" Dean pulls the phone away from his ear long enough to put it on speaker so I can hear. "Tell him."
"What you saw... are you sure that's what you saw?" The voice of my dad, gruff as always speaks through the phone.
"Damn it, Bobby, yes. I know. (Y/N) saw it too." Dean huffs in frustration. When it had happened, the vampire had Dean pinned to the dumpster. I had just rounded the corner of the alley to see Sam just watching, his back to me instead of helping Dean. In my attempt to help, I was gifted a toss into a wall that shattered my phone.
"Well, 'you know' ain't the same as proof. 'Cause we're talking about --"
I interrupt Bobby, "-- we're talking about doing something about this, and fast. It's not just the vamp, okay? He has been different from the get-go."
Bobby sighs, "All right. I'm with you."
"Are you?" Dean asks.
"Yeah. I'll hit the books, hard. Just don't shoot him yet, all right? Watch him. We need facts. 'Cause if it ain't Sam... we don't know what it is. And if we're gonna put him down, we need to know how."
"We don't even want to ride in the same car with him, much less work a damn case." Dean complains, sounding like when we were kids and I stole his snacks.
"Get in the car. He's your case." Then Bobby hangs up the phone right as Sam walks up with a newspaper and lunch in his hands.
"Hey. I was just, uh, I was leaving Lisa a message." Dean lies, holding up the phone.
Sam looks a little confused, "With (Y/N)?"
"Oh, I was trying to call Cas first. Also no answer." I add onto the lie.
"Trouble in paradise. Still hasn't called you back, huh?" Sam asks Dean.
Dean shakes his head, "No."
Sam hands us both a foil-wrapped hot dog, "Sucks."
"Yeah." Dean and I mumble at the same time.
"You okay?" Sam asks, looking at us intensely.
I nod quickly, "Yeah, just worried about Cas, ya know?"
Dean also nods, countering Sam's question, "How are you?"
Sam blinks in surprise, "Me? Great. Here, look. Check this out. Think it might be something." He holds out a newspaper for us to take and look at. "Four people, out of nowhere, all in the last couple of weeks. What do you say?"
"Yeah. Sounds like a plan." Dean replies, handing back the newspaper.
"Let's go."
~~~~~~~
The boys and I end up at the house of a woman named Olivia, the sister of one of the victims of whatever this is. The red-headed woman comes around the corner with a picture of her sister, Jane. "I don't understand. Why would federal investigators be interested in a suicide?"
I clear my throat, approaching Olivia with my hands in my pockets. "Well, um... it's a new, more caring administration."
I can tell she thinks I'm full of crap. "Well, I already told the cops. Jane was having a really bad day, so I-I did what any sister would do." She tucks some hair behind her ear and glances back at Dean as he leans against the doorway. "I... tried to cheer her up, you know? Told her to hang in there."
"You know what a 'tell' is?" Sam asks, a cruel look in his eyes.
"Sam--" I start.
"Excuse me?" Olivia replies weakly.
"It's a poker term... for when you're bluffing. Like what you just did with your hair." Sam gestures to his own hair.
Olivia basically shrinks in on herself. "What are you trying to say?"
"You're lying." Sam's accusation makes Dean and I look at each other with surprise.
"What?!" Olivia exclaims.
"Tell us what you did to your sister." Sam presses.
The woman looks to Dean and I for reassurance. Then Sam looks at us, and the cruel expression softens a little like he had to force it. "Okay. You're right. I was lying. I wanted to tell her, 'I love you. I'm here for you.' Oh, but what came out was... 'You're a burden. Just kill yourself.' Who says that?! I-I-I just couldn't stop!" Olivia sobs, while Sam looks rather smug that he got that information out.
We leave shortly after Sam traumatizes the poor woman further. "See anything in the house?" Sam asks as we walk back to the car.
"No hex bags, no sulfur, no EMF. You?" Dean says, glancing at me.
"I got normal family photos and a snow globe from Niagara Falls. Sam?"
Sam shrugs, "A tuba and an issue of Crochet Today. So, what, already kinda suicidal?"
"Right, and then big sis's Taxicab Confession sends her over the edge. Question is, what made big sis open her big, fat mouth in the first place?" Dean adds.
"Yeah, that is the question." Sam replies with an ever-serious tone as he gets in the car. Dean and I both hesitate to get in with him but do after a few seconds.
~~~~~~~
"Hey. You got anything?" Dean asks Bobby on the phone again, peeking out the curtains anxiously, afraid Sam will come back so soon.
"I've been up all night lookin'. Nothing fits." Bobby replies through the speaker phone.
"Awesome." Dean grumbles sarcastically.
Bobby sighs, "You got anything else to go on?"
"Yeah, my skin crawls being in the same room with him. Why don't you look that up?"
"I'm working on it."
I grab the phone from Dean's hand and sit down on one of the beds, "We don't know how much longer we can do this, Dad. You got to figure out what the hell he is and fast."
"I'm trying. But, sweetheart, there's a worst-case scenario." Bobby leads on.
Dean sits down in front of me, adding with even more sarcasm, "What, Satan's our co-pilot? Yeah, we know."
"Well, that'd be the other worst case."
"Well, then what?" I ask, leg bouncing anxiously.
"Maybe it's just Sam." Bobby proposes. I can almost hear the shrug on the other side of the line.
"We gotta go." Dean says suddenly.
"Dean."
"You got a day, Bobby, and then we're handling this." Then Dean hangs up the phone and takes a sip from a beer.
"You really gotta hang up on my dad like that?" I chastise, crossing my arms over me chest.
"Jeez, you sound like Ellen. Stop that." Dean grumbles before Sam comes in, wearing his FBI garb.
"There was another one." He says, with a smile that makes a chill shoot up my spine.
Dean and I both stand up quickly from the beds, "Yeah? What?"
Sam rubs his hands together, "Dentist drilled a guy to death."
"You mean the... non-sexy kind of drilling, right?" Dean asks.
"Ew, Dean." I cringe, swatting at my brother's shoulder.
Sam is as eager as ever, like you just told a kid they were going to Disneyland. "50 bucks says he's mixed up in all the crazy."
"You think?" I retort sarcastically.
"Yeah. Let's go talk to him." Sam says.
Dean looks nervous, stuttering, "Okay. Uh... why don't you go ahead? I'll catch up. I'm gonna do a little research."
"You sure?" Sam asks, surprised at the refusal.
Dean shrugs, "Yeah. We got to know what we're up against, right?"
Sam hesitates for a long time, glancing between Dean and I before relenting. "Yeah. Yeah, good idea."
"I'll go with you." I offer, already going to grab my suit.
"Sweet, I'll meet you in the car." Sam nods once and exits the room.
"Are you crazy?" Dean asks incredulously.
"Dude, can you be any more suspicious?" I counter, "He may not be Sam but he's not stupid. He's totally onto you."
"Oh come on its not that obvious." Dean argues, sipping his beer.
"Add oblivious to the list of adjectives to describe you right now while you're at it." I sass before going to the bathroom to get dressed.
~~~~~~~
"Thanks a lot." Sam says to the dental hygienist before we walk across the street. Sam pulls out his phone and calls Dean, putting it on speaker phone.
"Anything from Marathon Man?"
"Not exactly. He hung himself in his cell before we could get to him." I explain, more to let Dean know like 'hey, I'm fine alone with whatever defected version of Sam this is.'
"Yikes."
"But he was definitely involved. Just got the scoop from his assistant." Sam adds.
"Yeah?"
Sam nods, not that Dean can see it. "Yeah. Let's say the stuff that his patient was confessing to -- I'd have murdered him, too." That doesn't mean much nowadays it seems.
"So, root canal and Russian roulette -- both of 'em, it's like they were cursed, right? I mean, people are just compelled to puke the truth all over 'em?"
"Oh, getting hit with the ugly truth, you go postal? I'd call that a curse. Do us a favor -- we're going to the morgue to check out the body. Why don't you take the dentist's office, see what you see?" Sam suggests.
"Yeah. No problem." Then the distinctive click of Dean hanging up the phone.
~~~~~~~
3rd Person POV:
Dean had just got back from a music store, his laptop open to a page about Gabriel's Horn of Truth, it looks exactly like the horn that the shop owner said was missing. The oldest Winchester reaches over for his whiskey and finishes the glass. Then he calls out, "Castiel? Hello? Possible loose nuke down here, angelic weapon. Kinda your department. You hear that, Cas?"
Dean gets up from the bed and turns, seeing Cas leaning against the kitchenette counter, "Hello, Dean."
"Are you kidding me? I have been on red alert about Sam, and you come for some stupid horn?!" Dean exclaims.
"You asked me to be here, and I came." The angel keeps his voice steady.
Dean starts walking towards Cas, "I -- I've been asking you to be here for days, you dick! So has (Y/N)! You're always at her beck and call, what the hell, man?"
"I didn't come about Sam because I have nothing to offer about Sam." Castiel replies, abashed.
"Well, that's great, because for all we know, he's just gift wrap for Lucifer."
Cas shakes his head, grabbing the bottle of whiskey from the counter and opening it. "No, he's... he's not Lucifer."
"And how do you know that?" Dean asks.
The angel pours the amber liquid into the glass, "If Lucifer escaped the cage, we'd feel it."
"What is wrong with him?" Dean presses, tone full of desperation.
"I don't know, Dean. I'm sorry." Cas mumbles.
"What happened to you, Cas? You used to be human, or at least like one."
"I'm at war." Cas turns, placing the bottle back down on the counter with a thud. He leans forward on the counter. "Certain... regrettable things are now required of me."
"(Y/N) needs you." Dean says, hoping it'll get a reaction.
"Is she relapsing?" The angel asks simply, though his concern is obvious. "I have not felt her in distress."
"No. I think. But she's having us taking case after case. And whatever is up with Sam is feeding it. They're both finding new cases not even two days after finishing one." Dean pleads, worried about his siblings, hoping his "brother-in-law" would help. Cas just sighs softly, conflicted. "And Gabriel's Horn of Truth? That's a real thing?"
Cas turns, seemingly disregarding the rest of the conversation. "You've seen it?"
"We think it's in town. Something's forcing people..." Dean trails off, as Cas has disappeared. "Oh, well, you're welcome!" He takes a swig from his glass, nearly choking on it as Cas reappears behind him.
"It isn't the Horn of Truth."
"What are you talking about? You were gone for like two seconds. Where did you look?" Dean asks incredulously.
"Everywhere." Cas replies like it's obvious.
"Right. Well, nice seeing you, anyway." Dean tells the angel bitterly, turning back to the bottle of whiskey.
"Dean."
"What?" He snaps.
"About your brother. I... I don't know what's wrong with him, but I do want to help. I'll make inquiries. And I will pay (Y/N) a visit, make sure she is okay." Then the flutter of wings signals Cas' departure again.
"Yeah. Thanks." Dean says quietly, a little more genuine as he takes another drink.
~~~~~~~
The coroner pulls the metal slab out of the morgue fridge, the rails squeaking almost painfully. I can't imagine hearing that sound all day.
"Now, I'd actually like to see all the suicides that came in this week, not just Dr. Giggles." Sam requests, then notices the hesitation on the coroner's face. "Is that gonna be a problem?"
"Well, they're -- they're already gone." The man explains, a little nervous about it.
"As in transferred?" I ask for clarification.
He continues to be very vague about what happened. "Yeah, not exactly."
"Would you like to tell me what's going on here, or should I have a little chat with your supervisor?" Sam threatens.
The coroner steps closer conspiratorially, "They're gone."
"As in... gone gone?"
The coroner just nods and pushes the metal slab back in the freezer with the same agonizing squeak.
~~~~~~~
I call Dean as Sam and I walk into the building of a woman who died in a car accident before the rest of the suicides, her body was also missing from the morgue.
"Hey, what's up?" My oldest brother's voice comes through.
"All the bodies are gone." I explain, Sam walking a few steps ahead of me. Weird, normally he slows his pace for those who are...vertically challenged.
"What do you mean, they just vanished?"
I shrug, even though Dean can't see it, "That's what the coroner said. But we got a lead. One of the missing bodies, she died a whole week before everybody else."
"Suicide?" Dean asks.
"Reported as a car accident, but no reason it couldn't have been."
"So then that would make her our patient zero, right?"
I sigh softly as Sam and I start to ascend the stairs, "I'm thinking maybe. Whatever got this whole curse thing rolling started with her. We're at her place now, corner of Burnham and 159th."
"Yeah, give me 10." Then he hangs up and Sam and I continue up to this woman's apartment.
~~~~~~~
3rd Person POV:
Dean starts to walk to the Impala after leaving the bar, his phone up to his ear as he calls Bobby. "Hey, anything you're itchin' to tell me?"
"Not really. Sorry to disappoint."
"Ah, that's all right. I'm just testing a theory." Dean explains as he walks down the street.
"Well, I'm here hittin' the books while drinking a nice glass of milk, while watching 'Tori & Dean'."
Dean's eyebrows furrow in confusion and he stutters, "Wh-- wait, w-who and Dean?"
"Tori Spelling." Bobby replies like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm a huge fan. Girl's a real talent."
"Oh, I guess it does work over the phone." Dean says quietly to himself as he starts to get in the Impala.
"You know what else? I get a pedicure once in a while -- this nice Vietnamese joint."
"Okay. Okay, please stop."
"This one gal, Nhung Phuong -- her name means 'Velvet Phoenix.' Tiny thing, but the grip on her. She starts on my toes, and I feel like I am gonna --"
Dean puts a stop to that immediately, exclaiming, "Whoa, whoa! Hey, come on, ma-- now I'm scarred for life. Thank you."
"I never told anyone that. Why am I telling you? Maybe 'cause you're my favorite, besides (Y/N) of course. I dunno, it's different, maybe 'cause she's a girl. Although, Sam's a better hunter. Lately, anyway. Whoa. Why the hell am I tellin' you this?!" Bobby yells.
Dean can't help but be smug at being the 'favorite'. "Because I'm cursed."
"Cursed?"
"Yes."
"How is it... that half the time you clean a mess, you end up dirty?" Bobby chastises.
Dean just smiles, "Actually, this might be the best thing that's happened to me in a while."
"What do you mean? Dean... Dean, what damn fool move are you about to --"
"I gotta go." Dean interrupts, but before Dean can hang up Bobby continues.
"Okay. But did you know my first girlfriend turned out to be a --"
Dean then hangs up quickly to save himself from being traumatized, shaking his head, "No, no! Mnh-mnh. Mnh-mnh." Then he dials Sam's number.
"It's Sam. Leave me a message."
"Sam, it's me. Listen, I'm on my way to you, but if you get this before then, give me a call back. There's a few things I want to ask you."
~~~~~~~
1st Person POV:
After texting Dean the apartment number, Corey's roommate lets us inside the apartment they shared before Corey's "car accident".
Her roommate is looking at a picture of the two of them in her hands. "So, why is there an investigation for a car accident?"
"It wasn't an accident. Corey committed suicide." Sam replies, rather bluntly, not sugar coating a word.
The roommate's voice breaks, starting to cry softly, "You know... I wondered. I-I'm sorry. I just..."
I hand her a box of tissues with a sympathetic smile, "So, you had some idea Corey might have taken her own life?"
"Well... she had been going through a bit of a hard time lately... at school. And then, um, her cat, Mittens, had just ran away." She explains, sighing softly. "But, really, it was her boyfriend. She was sure that he was cheating on her. But he was just very good at covering his tracks. Which, of course, made her completely obsessed with --"
"-- finding out the truth." Sam finishes her sentence.
The woman nods and sniffles, "Yeah."
"You mind if we check out her room?" I ask gently, not wanting to upset the woman further. The roommate nods and leads us down the hall to Corey's bedroom, letting us in and closing the door so we can look. Sam rifles through the dresser drawers then opens the closet.
I kneel down and grab a box out from under the bed. I place the floral-decorated box on the bed and open it, eyebrows furrowing in concern as I see the cat skull inside. Sam comes over and leans down, hands on his knees as he eyes the skull. He picks it up and examines it, then he sighs, "Sorry Mittens."
We don't stay much longer after that, leaving the apartment and going down the stairs just as Dean was coming up, in his normal clothes and looking distressed.
"Hey, where you been? I found something." Sam asks Dean, holding up the box in emphasis.
"It can wait. We got to talk." Dean replies, turning to walk down the stairs with us again, his tone serious.
"Yeah. What's up?" Sam asks with furrowed brows, opening the box again to look inside.
"There's a few things I want to ask you, and, uh, you're gonna tell me the truth." My oldest brother demands.
Sam turns to Dean as we reach the bottom of the stairs, "Uh, yeah, Dean. Of course. What are you talking about? Whoa. Are you saying you're..."
"Dean are you sure this is the best time to--"
Dean just interrupts me, eyeing Sam. "I asked for the truth. And you know what? I'm getting it. So, like I said, I have a few questions for you. When that vamp attacked me, why did you just stand there?"
Sam falters for a moment, and I can see the expression on his face change to puppy dog eyes, like someone flipped a switch. "I-I didn't. I froze."
Dean doesn't believe him for a second. He glances at me briefly, then back at Sam, "You froze. You have been Terminator since you got back."
Sam shrugs, his voice pleading slightly. "I don't know. Shock? And then it was too late. I feel terrible about it. Believe me. Dean... I can't lie here. Do you really think I would let something like that happen on purpose? You're my brother. H-how could you even --"
"Okay." Dean interrupts softly, still not fully believing but for the sake of arguing. "Okay. Sorry. I...I thought -- I thought I saw something. I... I guess I was wrong. It's just been a really, really bad day."
Sam nods, "Hey. It's okay. I got your back, all right? I always have."
"We both do." I emphasize, Sam usually including me in conversations like this. I give Dean a pointed look, one that asks if he believes this crap.
Dean nods subtly and rubs his forehead, his voice cracking slightly. "Thanks, guys."
Sam nods and turns, heading out to the car.
"That's not Sam." I tell Dean quietly.
"Yeah, no kidding."
"Are you okay?" I ask as we start to follow Sam out.
Dean sighs, "Lisa called back."
He doesn't need to say anything else. "Oh Dean I'm sorry." My hand finds his shoulder.
"It's for the best. We put them in danger." Dean reasons, like he doesn't know if he's trying to convince me or himself.
"That doesn't mean you're not allowed to feel." I argue gently as we approach the Impala. He doesn't answer, just gives me a slightly grateful look and gets in the driver's seat.
~~~~~~~
Dean tosses a dish towel on the counter of the motel room's kitchenette, holding the skull of the cat in his hand with furrowed eyebrows. "So this was the chick's pet?" He asks as he walks over to the dining table Sam and I were sitting at.
Sam types away on his laptop, "Well, she was obsessed."
"I think you mean crazy." Dean corrects, making me laugh softly.
Sam takes the cat skull from Dean, holding up each ingredient as he reads them off, "All right, so cat skull, uh, grains-of-paradise seed, devil's shoestring. Mix 'em well, you got yourself a summoning spell."
"Demon?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.
Sam turns his laptop towards Dean and I so we can see the screen. "God. Corey was so desperate for the truth about her boyfriend's cheating heart, she went digging around. Nothing panned out, so she went looking for a different kind of help."
"Opened a door she couldn't close." I conclude.
Sam nods, scrolling the browser page, "Yeah. Now anyone in town who asks aloud for the truth invokes Veritas. And she doesn't just give it to you. She slams you with it until you kill yourself and she gets her tribute."
Dean's eyebrows raise in realization, "So, all that 'tribute' vanishing from the morgue. What do you think, uh, Soylent Green situation?"
I shrug, leaning back in my chair and fidgeting with a pen in my hands. "Gods got to eat, too. Which means we got to take her out or you're on the menu."
"All right, well, what do we know, besides crazy cat lady?" Dean asks with a sigh.
"Well, dogs are her Achilles heel."
"Naturally." Dean and I say at the same time.
He gives me a look, pointing at me like he's offended. "I hate when you do that."
"That's why I do it." I stick my tongue out at him, shoving his shoulder with my foot.
Sam rolls his eyes, calling to get our attention. "Children, children. And she was a pretty hands-on goddess back in the day. Her thing was coming down from the mountain to speak truth to the masses. She wanted more than tribute. She wanted to be worshipped."
"An attention whore." Dean concludes.
Sam chuckles a little, "If you want to put it that way."
Dean leans back in his chair with a small huff, "And what is the 21st-century version of speaking truth to the masses?"
~~~~~~~
Later that night, Dean pays a guard at the tv station to let us in and steal information from the television host that's been everywhere in this town, Ashley Frank. After stealing a computer tower, Sam puts it in the trunk of the Impala, and we take it back to the motel room.
We sit at the foot of the beds, Sam's laptop hooked up to the computer tower and it sitting on a chair in front of us.
Sam hits a few buttons on his laptop and a clip plays on the screen. "I'm Ashley --" The woman clears her throat into her fist. "I'm Ashley Frank, bringing you 'Frank Talk.' Let's do that again."
There is several hours of footage. At one point, Dean gets food. I swear I fell asleep after about four hours.
"Okay, still rolling." A voice off screen says, the sun shining through the motel room curtains.
"I'm Ashley Frank, bringing you 'Frank Talk.' Again. I'm Ashley Frank. Are organic fruits and veggies really worth the cost?
Dean sips from a cup of coffee, a half-eaten donut in his other hand. "She's creepy. I mean, the hair alone. I don't know, man. Maybe there's nothing here."
Sam increases the speed on the video. "Maybe."
"She's at least boring as Hell." I grumble, taking a donut from the box in Dean's lap.
More time passes. We all have changed clothes, Sam is still watching the footage, on hour thirteen. Dean is at the table eating a slice of pizza while I lay on my stomach on the bed, watching with Sam and also eating a slice of pizza.
Ashley Frank still speaking, still on fast-forward. "Are we -- we're spinning? Do the new rent-to-own prices...A recent trend in furniture stores...But think twice before you decide to buy --Before you make that big purchase...Okay." Sam returns the footage to normal speed as it shows Ashley outside the studio, reporting on something in front of a white picket fence. "...We'll ask the councilman ourselves." A dog on the other side of the fence barks at her repeatedly, and the woman is clearly nervous and antsy. "Are we still rolling?"
"Hold on. Check this out." Sam calls Dean over as he rewinds the video.
"Zoom in on that." Dean points to the screen. Sam complies, zooming in on Ashley's face to show an inhuman, blue glow as she glares at the dog.
~~~~~~~
We follow Ashley as she drives her red convertible out of the parking lot of the studio, all the way to her expensive ass house. It's very modern, something I could never hope to afford in this life or the next. Seems like someone should be taxed more.
"Looks pretty normal, right?" Sam asks, almost hesitantly.
"I'm sure inside it's chock full of creep." Dean grumbles as the house lights up with Ashley's arrival. Dean holds up two knives and Sam holds up a third one in one hand. "Ready?"
Sam nods, his other hand holding a jar of dark liquid, "Yeah."
"And that's...?" I trail off, unease creeping up my spine.
"Dog's blood." Sam replies nonchalantly.
"Do I even want to know where you got that?" Dean asks, looking like he needs a shot, or ten.
"Probably not."
Dean and I both cringe. This can't be Sam, he loves dogs, I doubt he couldn't even hurt one out of self-defense. "All right, let's do this." Dean sighs. We exit the car and head up towards the house. Getting inside wasn't an issue surprisingly, but what was weird is that it looks completely normal inside.
The dining room looks minimalist, but expensive as fuck. In the next room was a lounge room of sorts, a lit fireplace on one wall with two cats in front of it. "So where's all the creep?" Sam asks quietly, blood-soaked knife in hand.
One of the cats runs off, and we follow it downstairs. At the bottom is a few cat statues, and a mosaic of Veritas, the same picture Sam showed us on his laptop earlier. The cat goes into the next room, a set of sliding double doors slightly open. Dean opens it further and we continue to follow the cat.
The sight in the room is gruesome. On the right is a gurney with a mangled corpse on it, the cat munching away at some flesh. Across from the door is a headless body on what looks like a meat hook, very Texas Chainsaw. On the left is the body of the dentist, pale and lifeless, but intact.
"You came for dinner." A voice says from behind us.
We turn to see Ashley Frank, or Veritas, standing in the doorway dressed in a goddess' raiment. She waves her hand, sending the three of us hurtling into the hanging body. We land in a large basin, meant for catching blood. My vision blackens around the edges as my head cracks against the tiles, a sharp pain radiating through my skull as I fall unconscious.
Sometime later, the boys and I awake in the basin, tied to handles meant for helping people get out. I watch Veritas put the blood-soaked knives in a drawer.
"Mm. Sit tight. You're up next." The goddess grins before she turns to the corpse of the dentist. Sam gives Dean and I a look while her back is turned. I nod back and glance over at the woman as she pulls something out with pliers. "The tongue... is the tastiest part. It's where the lies roll off." Then she takes a bite out of the fucking tongue. I have to look away, gagging a little but quickly swallowing the bile threatening to spew out. "Mmm. Mmm! I cannot wait to eat yours. I mean, I've seen liars before, but you three? Gold standard." She puts the tongue down and walks away from the corpse.
"Point of professional pride." Dean says with a smirk, distracting the goddess for whatever Sam has planned.
Veritas walks around the basin, standing in front of Dean. "I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you, Dean. You know what happens when you base your life on lies, right? The truth comes along and... So, while you've still got your tongue, God knows you've got an earful." She takes a step closer, sitting down next to him. "I think it's your turn to spill some. How 'bout we play a little truth or truth? What should we ask Dean first, hmm? Maybe ask (Y/N) too. Something... Personal about you?" She looks at Sam. "Hey, Dean, (Y/N), I'm curious. What do you really feel about your brother?"
Dean is hesitant at first, but her power makes him spill. "Better now. As of yesterday, I wanted to kill him in his sleep."
Sam looks surprised but gives no other emotion away. "And (Y/N)?" The goddess gives me a sickening smile.
I swallow thickly, feeling the compulsion taking over my thoughts. "He scares me now. I miss the brother I could go to when Dean got too strict."
"I thought he was a monster. But now I think..." Dean trails off.
Veritas only pushes him further. "Now you think what?"
"He's just acting like me."
"What do you mean?" The goddess presses.
"It's the gig. You're covered in blood until you're covered in your own blood. Half the time, you're about to die. Like right now. I told myself I wanted out... that I wanted a family."
"But you were lying." Veritas grins.
Dean just shakes his head. "No. But what I'm good at... is slicing throats. I ain't a father. I'm a killer. And there's no changing that. I know that now."
The goddess looks at me again and I have no choice but to talk. "I don't know what I want. Whether to continue hunting or get out. My dad wants me out, but my soulmate is a fucking angel, so I doubt that'll happen. And he hasn't talked to me in I don't even know how long. So, I just keep throwing myself into cases, hoping that if I put myself in enough danger, he'll show up."
Veritas pats Dean on the shoulder and stands up, twirling a strand of my hair as she passes me. "So, Sam walking back into your life must have been a relief. Hmm? The Larry to your Curly and Moe. And how do you feel about the band getting back together? Hmm, Sam?" She then sits next to Sam.
Sam swallows thickly, "Look... what we do... is hard." I can see Dean look over at another hook to my right, his left. "But...we watch out for each other." Dean nods at me subtly before looking at Sam. "And that's what's important. And that's it. That's the truth."
Veritas just looks confused, "No. No, it's not."
"You said yourself -- I can't lie." Sam argues.
"How are you doing that? That's not possible. You're lying to me!"
"No, I'm not!" Sam exclaims, voice rising as he gets exposed.
"What are you?" The goddess asks, then she looks at Dean and I, who are equally confused. "What is he?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Really? I doubt that. I doubt anything that comes out of your mouth right now. You're not human." She insists, looking at Sam like he's dirt under her feet.
"What?" Dean asks in disbelief, his wide eyes meeting mine, both of us in shock.
She looks over at Dean and I. now a little smug. "You didn't know that? Now, that I believe."
It's then that Sam cuts through the ropes, tossing the knife to Dean. Veritas hits Sam once and he goes for the blood-soaked knives in the drawer. He gets hit again before managing to grab the knife and lunge at the goddess. But she knocks him to the floor, sending the knife clattering to the side. She straddles him and begins to choke him. Sam struggles as Dean breaks free, and he puts the knife in my hand, then he grabs the hook.
I cut at my ropes rapidly, Dean approaching Veritas from behind. He swings the hook through her back, making her turn to him as her face becomes something of nightmares, resembling a snake. Big blue eyes and fangs. I manage to cut free, quickly going over and kneeling next to Sam's head and grabbing the knife. I plunge the knife into her chest, making her gasp and her face returns to normal. I grunt and twist the blade for good measure, her body going limp and falling over halfway into the basin.
Dean and I move out of the way as Sam stands up, three scratches on his cheek. Dean has a different blade in his hand, pointing it at Sam. He goes into protective older brother mode, grabbing my sleeve and pulling me away from Sam.
"Dean, it's me." Sam pleads with his hands up.
Dean walks forward, making Sam back up around the basin. Dean's other hand still holds my sleeve while the knife is pointed in Sam's direction. "You are not our brother."
"Just listen."
"What are you?!" Dean exclaims.
"I'm me, Dean. Look, please, just let me explain."
"Why the hell should we believe anything you say?" I demand, pulling my sleeve from Dean's fist.
Sam keeps his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. You want the truth? Here it is. Here it is. God's honest." Then he points at the goddess' corpse. "She was right. There's something wrong with me, really wrong. I've known it for a while. I lied to you. Yeah. And...I let you get turned by that vamp. Because I knew there was a cure, Dean, and we needed in that nest! And I knew you could handle it!"
"Handle it?!" Dean echoes in anger.
"He could've died!" I add. "I knew as soon as I turned that corner that something was wrong with you!"
"I could've killed Ben." Dean concludes.
"And that should stop me cold. But I -- I just don't feel it." Sam sighs, pointing to himself.
"You what?" Dean asks.
"Ever since I came back, I am a-a better hunter than I've ever been! Nothing scares me anymore! 'Cause I can't feel it. I don't know what's wrong with me. I think... I need help." No shit.
I gently pry the knife from Dean's grip as he turns towards me. I set the knife down on a shelf with a small clatter. Dean's green eyes meet mine and I just nod subtly. He turns back around, looking emotional, and Sam sighs in relief, looking hopeful.
Dean hesitates for a moment, before swinging, punching Sam hard enough to send him to the floor with a grunt. Then Dean, grabs him by the collar, punching him again and again, reaching a total of thirteen times plus the initial punch. He doesn't stop until Sam is unconscious and bloody.
Dean pants heavily, then he turns to me, a desperate look on his face. "What the hell is he?"
I wish I knew. I wish I could tell Dean that that is Sam, that he's just different. I wish I could say that it's some easy explanation that can be fixed with salt and iron. I wish I could tell him anything. But instead, I say, "Let's get him to the motel."
Cas where are you?
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