Synopsis: Sam Winchester buried his brother on a Saturday. Exactly two years later he returns to the grave and finds it recently excavated. The area surrounding it is blown apart like a bomb went off; the body is nowhere to be found.

Dean is offered two choices, say yes to Michael in heaven or say yes to Alistair in hell. What if, in true Dean Winchester fashion, he says yes to both? What happens when a human plays both sides of the celestial table? What can he become? And what if the soul returned to the body is one that is "out of time"?

Legalities: Supernatural belongs to Kripke Enterprises and the CW. I am not making any money off this, I am simply playing in the brilliant sandbox that Kripke created when he thought of the Winchesters and their supernatural world.

NO SLASH. This is set in an off-shoot of canon and is ultimately based in an alternate universe. Brotherly moments only. Rated-T for violence and mild-language. I will post updates on as quickly as I can, unless I get an enormous response in which case I may post earlier.

Chapter 25

The Darkness

Sam's eyes blew wide at Dean's revelation. The whole world burns…? He couldn't accept that future as a possibility, the world was in trouble sure, but on the verge of annihilation? He sure as hell hoped not. Although everything he and Dean had experienced over the past two years didn't support his, probably, misplaced hope.

Pulling his lower lip between his teeth, he looked over. The limited lighting in the motel room made seeing his brother clearly, difficult. Sam had told him to leave, to save himself and Dean had, as expected, refused. Which didn't surprise Sam, but sometimes he wished that they were capable of doing something selfish; like saving themselves, and yet had their position been reversed, he wouldn't have walked away either. He couldn't have walked away. But what they were facing now was so far beyond the ordinary monsters that they had fought since…well, since forever that it was staggering.

Hell, death was stepping in now?! That was getting into the seriously cosmic arena, so how did he and Dean fit into this new world of angels, demons, gods, and the devil? Unexpected pain rattled through him causing his muscles to twitch involuntarily, Dean must have seen it because he was immediately staring at Sam with those weird eyes and a guarded expression.

Glancing up through the fringes of his eyelashes, Sam took a good hard look at Dean. He allowed his gaze to travel over his big brother's injuries and he was shocked to see the incredibly damaged state of Dean's body. There was a growing splotch of red on his side, which was never a good thing. And then there were the sweat pants. The mere fact that his brother was wearing them indicated something was seriously wrong with one of his legs. That was the only time his macho brother deigned to wear the 'Walmart' designer clothing. At least that's what Dean called it when he was trying to be funny, which was always. In Sam's opinion he was rarely successful.

Clenching his teeth, he shoved until he was resting on his elbows and then slowly threw his long legs over the edge of the bed. His head spun and pangs of regret nearly stole his breath as he continued to stare helplessly in Dean's direction.

The blank betrayed expression tore at him. "I'm sorry." He finally managed.

It was soft, but the subtle stiffening of Dean's shoulders alerted Sam of everything he needed to know. His brother had heard him. Both of the angels had the decency to pretend they hadn't overheard his apology. That's awfully nice of you fellas. He thought with a wince and no small amount of irritation.

Without turning to look at him, Dean asked, "What happened to you?" His voice was rough. Like on those nights he'd spent too much time at the bottom of a whiskey bottle. And yet there was still an honest sincerity that touched Sam.

"I could ask you the same thing." He deflected.

Dean's shoulders shrugged indifferently. "Master torturer of hell. General douchebag of an archangel. Death." He turned toward Sam. "Pretty much a normal day at the office."

Ignoring the spinning in his skull, the younger Winchester pushed himself up and transferred to the other bed. It put him within a few feet of his older brother and gave him unrestricted access to Dean's injuries. The trembling was never a good thing, and they both knew that something would need to be done about them soon. Sam's heart clenched at the sheer volume of damage. "Can't you heal…" He stuttered and waved a hand indicating Dean's damaged body. "This?"

His gaze shifted to the two silent angels, sorta, hiding in the kitchenette searching for an answer from anyone when Dean didn't move a muscle. Castiel pressed his lips together and then shook his head 'no'. Sam's eyes shifted to Gabriel, the question clear, but he asked anyway. "What about you? You're an archangel, doesn't that come with some perks?"

The older angel huffed and then shrugged. "Perks? Yes, but not when it comes to healing demons. No. I can't do that."

Sam growled his frustration low in his throat, and then reached for the discarded pillow. He dumped out of the actual pillow and then carefully began tearing the material into strips.

Dean's eyebrows lifted, "We're not getting the deposit back, are we." It wasn't a question.

Sam snorted. And started wrapping the case around Dean's damaged knee. The magnitude of the injury was frightening; he wasn't even sure how his older brother was conscious, let alone walking around. Glancing up he saw the skin stretch tightly over the bones of brother's face as Dean struggled to control the onslaught of pain.

"Sorry. Sorry." Sam apologized over and over as he pulled the makeshift bandage tighter.

A sharp knock on the door redirected their attention; a fact that Dean was grateful for when the tears dripped unrestrained down his cheeks. Because, well this shit fucking hurt!

Before they could decide whether or not to answer it, a muffled but familiar, grizzled voice told them who it was. "Hey you two idgits, open up." Bobby's request was quickly answered when Castiel unlocked the deadbolt and stepped aside.

The old hunter glared at the angel, "There's more bags in the truck. Think you two can handle that?" Obviously he was including Gabriel in the order. He pushed past the surprised angel and set a backpack down on the table. The rolled up end of something was sticking out the top.

"We will bring them in." The younger angel had already agreed before the other one could decline. Gabriel groaned and hauled himself to his feet and trudged after the retreating form of the dark-haired angel.

Under his breath, "Go fetch the bags. Stop your brothers from destroying the world. Don't eat all the pancakes and syrup." Mumbling grumpily, Gabriel glanced over his shoulder at the Winchesters. "I'm an archangel, this is not the shit I should be doing."

Bobby shook his head before turning toward the brothers, concern darkening his blue eyes. "You boys have looked better."

Dean grunted and shifted his weight so he could see the old hunter more clearly. The lines had deepened beneath his blue eyes and there was drawn quality to his skin that hadn't been there before Dean died. Guilt pounced on him and he quickly tried to redirect his thoughts. "Not lookin' so good yourself, old man." He shot back with a small smirk that reminded the old man of the boy's expressions when he'd been human. That thought sent a jolt of nostalgia racing through him.

Lifting an eyebrow, Sam wisely chose to remain silent but his lips did twitch in amusement at the exchange.

"Shut up. I look great." The response was out before Bobby even thought about it. Dean's eyes shot up at the easy familiar answer, he was looking for any sign of insincerity. When he didn't see anything, he relaxed again. Bobby's gaze dropped to the rapidly spreading crimson stain on his knee. It wasn't the worst injury he'd ever seen, but damn. But it sure as hell wasn't good. Bobby inhaled sharply at the shriveled blackened left arm.

He hated that his boys were suffering and he was helpless to stop it. He moved toward the bed and stared down at the eldest Winchester. "Damn." Happened to be the only thing he could manage.

Dean pulled in a slow stilted breath and looked away from the emotions shining out of Bobby's eyes. The emotions weren't quite as strong as when they came from Sam, but it was as close as he'd felt to that. His multi-colored eyes dropped to the forgotten backpack at Bobby's feet.

"You goin' back to school?"

Bobby followed his eye line and the smirk faded. "Not hardly. Found this in some boxed up texts from a hunter buddy in England. Some old church was being demolished and he found a whole library of stuff he thought might come in handy." Shrugging, Bobby picked it up and set it on the table. "Found something the angels should see."

Almost like they'd seen summoned, the two angels kicked the door open, stepping through with the remaining books Bobby had sent them out for.

Gabriel shoved the door closed and glared his irritation at the three men watching them with wary expressions. "What? I got a booger on my face?"

Castiel let out a slow breath and shook his head at his brother's sad attempt at humor.

Ignoring them, Sam continued trying to care for the wounds that were still bleeding, sluggishly. Carefully he prized the dark t-shirt away from Dean's side before he hissed at what he saw. There was a large chunk of skin and muscle missing; the white bones of Dean's ribs would probably show if the area weren't covered in dark patches of fresh dried blood. "Dammit Dean." He whispered tightly.

His brother lifted pain-bright eyes and then quickly looked away. "Yeah, just like a day at the spa."

"If the spa was bent on picking a person apart piece by piece in order to massage the muscles, from the inside." Sam's response was low, his expression blank of all emotions. But Dean could feel everything his brother was struggling to hide from him. Something he would have given his right arm for when they'd been younger. But now? He wasn't sure that he wanted this much insight into the inner workings of his little brother's mind.

Because right now, Sam Winchester was royally pissed. The rage boiled just beneath the calm exterior searching for any sort of outlet. His head had started thumping in time with his heart and his own body ached from his 'training' trip with the angels, but this wasn't about him anymore.

At least that's what he thought until Dean spoke again. "Cas, what happened to my brother?"

Surprise coursed through him at the question. Sam had assumed that Dean would only be concentrating on himself, I should know better than that. He wasn't sure why he ever would've assumed that before Dean had died. Maybe the time apart had repressed some of that knowledge?

Gabriel shrugged with indifference, "Training. I already told you that." There was nothing repentant in that angel's tone and it set Dean's teeth on edge. His eyes flickered around the room, landing on the pack. Something about it caught and held his attention for several moments before Dean questioned him again.

"What type of training?" he bit out.

Bobby stepped out from the older Winchester and narrowed his eyes at the blonde angel. He really wanted to know what the hell these two were talking about. But no one seemed inclined to let him in on the secret squirrel code they were all speaking in. A hiss from behind redirected his attention, and he grimaced at the pain etched into Sam's face.

Sudden pain ping-pong'd inside Sam's skull and his stomach clenched. His head was doing its level best to split apart. Biting his lower lip, Sam shoved it to the back of his mind. They had more binding to do on Dean. He hoped that it would actually help. This was new territory for all of them. He lost track of the time as he slowly and methodically sutured, cleaned and wrapped each injury.

By the time he glanced up again, the rising sun had painted a hazy glow of light around his brother's still form. The spikey blonde hair almost looked like a halo of light as Dean sat outlined against the coming day. The distinct contrast of shadow and light had Sam holding his breath in surprised concern. Not only was Dean injured but he was also casting off something almost feral and angelic at the same time. The black-green of his brother's eyes were always searching for immediate threats, his body always poised on the brink of battle. Sam shifted to alleviate the cramping in his back and noticed that the mattress was lumpy and uncomfortable. Huh, wonder why I didn't notice that before? His brother had gone silent for so long that he'd started to think Dean was sleeping, apparently not.

"Sammy?" Dean's eyes lifted, barely meeting his brother's concerned gaze. "What did they do to you?" Apparently his brother wasn't going to forget his quest for information.

The two angels were sitting at the table, Gabriel was wearing a scowl and Castiel's expression was blank. Bobby pointed at something they had rolled out on the small metal piece of furniture that acted as everything from a desk to a breakfast nook.

Dean's gaze followed the shift in his brother's attention. He glared daggers at the two unrepentant angels. He redirected his question, "What did you do?"

Glancing up when the brother's attentions were suddenly on them, Castiel inhaled, this should be fun. He thought silently.

"We needed to motivate him." Gabriel said easily, he leaned against table and folded his arms across his chest, defiance clear in every part of his posture.

Sam's eyes widened at the instant rage swirling chaotically from deep inside Dean.

A primal growl worked its way up and out of his chest; Dean lurched to his feet, his own pain completely forgotten. His intensions were very clear as he threw away the shaky barriers inside his mind and lashed out at the archangel. Gabriel's body was suddenly frozen in place as the muscles went rigid and pain sparked in his golden eyes. His reaction was overshadowed by the shocked gasp of the younger angel and the old hunter.

Castiel stared with rising concerned silence for several moments longer than he would have normally; not to mention another person had never caught him off guard. Plus Dean shouldn't be able to attack the angels, particularly an archangel. But one look at his angelic brother's pained expression and Castiel knew that Dean was definitely affecting him. Gabriel was going to be extremely pissed when he wriggled loose of Dean's power.

Sam could only watch for a few moments before he was trying to stop his brother from doing something monumentally stupid. Oh don't misunderstand, he was still pissed as hell at the angel's training tactics, but he didn't want Dean hurt any worse. And frankly they just didn't know enough about the archangel to risk a possible change in allegiance.

"Dean, I don't like it, but I can handle it." He finally added to the increasingly tense atmosphere of the room.

His brother's wary eyes shifted in his direction, "No, Sammy. There's a better way." The barely restrained anger was so potent that he could nearly feel it in the room. He took a breath and retracted his power. Dean wasn't expecting it to lash back at him like a boom-a-rang. It snapped around him and his body felt like it was being crushed under the weight of it. Several moments later, or years he wasn't sure, the pain lessoned and he could breathe again.

Gabriel watched the scene with a smug look on his face before he snorted, "No. There isn't." He'd seen the way Dean's power had rebounded on him, apparently there were still something the hybrid needed to be taught as well. As much as he wanted to crush the man's throat, he wanted to survive the coming war even more. His golden gaze flickered to the scroll and he pressed his lips together. "And you know it." His words were edged in anger and a great deal of aggravation.

Without looking up, Dean's tone dropped and evened out in a very bad way. "I'm gonna need you to shut up." His voice had a slight tremble to it, reflective of the internal battle he was fighting, it was clear to everyone that Dean was on the verge of losing his tenuous control. He finally glanced up and pinned the archangel with an accusatory glare. "Let me try. That was the plan, right?"

Bobby's eyes clashed from person to person, he didn't know what the scroll held, but he knew that it was the key to this whole shebang.

Castiel inhaled sharply and answered with a soft. "Okay."

With a mental sigh, the older Winchester made the easy decision of allowing Sam in. Because what he was about to do would pull down the barrier between himself and Sam, which meant that his brother would know everything. Not an easy ask for someone as closed off as he was. Pushing down the discomfort in his body, Dean slowly reached up and laid his bandaged hand on Sam's arm.

If he'd been at full power then he might have been able to do this without physical contact. But since when had things been easy for the Winchesters. Sam swallowed and gently pushed his brother back onto the bed. He'd seen the trembling in Dean's legs, and knowing the depth of the injuries, Sam was shocked that his brother had managed to stand up at all.

The blinding headache Sam had been fighting for most of the evening ceased to plague him the moment Dean's hands touched him.

The room spun dangerously as the elder Winchester buried his pain and tapped into fathomless depths of power within himself. Introspectively, the hybrid reached inside his own soul. He could see the distinct differences between the demonic and the angelic energies that weaved throughout every living thing. The power was everywhere and in everything. Dean was astonished at the sheer magnitude of power at his disposal. At least it could be available, if I weren't hacked all to hell.

With a wince he felt the magnitudes of sympathy and fear that Sam was trying desperately to hide. The empathy part of this whole thing kept channeling humanity back into him. But Sam's emotions were stronger than anyone else's and they affected Dean at an almost cellular level. He'd always thought that demons were supposed to be unmoved by emotions? Maybe that was a different demon package? Some sort of upgrade maybe? But not for him, every damn thing Dean felt was impacted by the emotions of those around him. This sucks. He thought in irritation.

The peaks and valleys of Sam were stunningly complex. His baby brother was a combination of pure irrational emotion and cold clinical logic. The contradictions radiated along the horizon's of Sam's psyche. Dean observed the changing state of Sam's subconscious when he was struck by something and smashed into the steady calm oozing along below him.

Ignoring the flare of pain, he pushed himself up into a seated position. A hand appeared, as if by magic, in front of his face. Lifting jaded eyes, Dean was rocked back on heels by the Sam that now stood above him. The white suit repelled everything around them, keeping a pristine, untouched presence that stole the words from Dean's lips.

Smirking Sam held his hand out until Dean swatted it away. "What? Did you think I was only a dream? A vision of one possible future?" Inhaling deeply he allowed his hand to drop to his side. The immense size of the man towering over him was more proof that of the two of them, Sam was the one built for battle.

"I am part of Sam. I have always been connected to him in a way you can only dream of." Leaning down, Sam drove his long powerful fingers into the damaged flesh of Dean's knee. A scream of pain was ripped from his lips as awareness flickered dangerously. "And now that I have you, here inside Sam's head. I can show you exactly how your precious little Sammy feels about you."

His mind began to swirl and Dean began slipping deeper into the power. The diminishing feeling of Sam's physical body should have been a warning that he was going too deep.

"Dean?" Sam breathed hoarsely when Dean's eyes rolled up revealing nothing but the deep dark blackness that must be hiding inside him. A single tear leaked past the closed lids of his eye. Something had clearly gone wrong. Ignoring the concerned looks from the angels, Sam focused on trying to get his brother's attention.

"DEAN?!" He called again, panic woven through that one word and immediately alerting the others in the room that something had gone wrong.

TBC…

Author's Note: I realize it's been a couple weeks. Enjoy the new chapter.

Please leave a review if you're so inclined and you're feeling especially magnanimous today.