Long-Distance Call.

CHAPTER SEVENTY , LONG-DISTANCE CALL

a/n : hello worlddd

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Athena hated understanding how her brothers felt. It was obvious that Sam and Dean had unspoken words that had been eating away at them. Ever since Ruby told Athena and Dean about Sam keeping the truth about Lilith coming after him and Athena, it's almost like no one was telling the truth.

Which annoys the hell out of Athena, since all she's been doing is telling everyone the truth.

"Dude, I'm telling you that zit is going to explode, go pop it." Athena gags while holding a hand out to Dean's face.

"No!" Dean covers his chin. "If I pop it, then it'll scar."

Athena rolls her eyes, "We get scars all the time."

"Not on the face..." Dean trails off his sentence, and he curses when Athena turns to him, making her bandaged eye visible. "Never mind."

Athena chuckles menacingly into her coffee cup. "I win."

Dean rolls his eyes. He takes a bite out of his hot dog. "Why didn't you go with Sam inside the building?"

Athena pulls her cup away from her lips. "Because they wouldn't allow this guy into the building," she looks at Gil, who was sitting between her and Dean on the bench.

"I swear to god, he's everywhere." Dean groans and looks to the side.

Athena raises his brows, "Well, yes. He is my son." she then looks at Gil, who looks at her. "He's a bit of a dumbass, sometimes."

"Hey!"

"Wha--it's true!" Athena bunches her shoulders.

Out of nowhere, Gil jumps on his two feet and grabs the hot dog from Dean's bun. Dean's mouth drops open, and so does Athena's, but she lets out a loud cackle. "What the fuck?!" Dean shoots up from his seat.

"Oh, I'm gonna pee!" Athena grabs at her stomach and leans over with tears in her eyes. "I wish I could've recorded this!"

"You owe me a new hot dog!" Dean snapped, and devastation was written across his face. Athena waves her hand at Dean. "Yes, that's fine. This was so worth it."

Dean's phone rings and he answers it while Athena continues to laugh. "Gil, you get 5 hours of TV time, holy shit." She sits up and wipes her eyes.

Athena looks at Dean as his phone call ends, and she lets out a satisfied breath. "What did I miss?"

Athena and Dean look at Sam, who was staring at the two weirdly. He noticed that Athena had teary eyes while Dean still had a pissed off expression. Simultaneously, Athena and Dean point at the cat that was eating the hot dog. Sam looks at Dean then Gil and it clicks. He laughs, "Dude, he--"

"Yeah, I know what he did--I was there!" Dean flails his arms.

Athena giggles again and points at Sam. "So, what'd you find out?"

"The professor doesn't know crap." Sam sighs.

Dean shoves the hot dogless bun into his mouth. "Shocking. Pack your panties, Sammy. We're hitting the road."

Athena giggles and lightly pats her thigh as she stands up. Gill follows the girl as she follows Dean. Sam pulls his brows together, "What? What's up?"

"That was Bobby," Dean states. "Some banker guy blew his head off in Ohio, and he thinks there's a spirit involved."

Sam blinks, "Wait, so you three were talking a case?"

"Just them two." Athena points at Dean.

"Thanks for the support." Dean mumbles.

"Yeah, of course." Athena brushes him off.

Dean looks back at Sam. "No, we were actually talking about our feelings and then our favorite boy bands--yeah, we were talking about a case."

Sam scoffs, "So, a spirit--what?"

"Yeah, well, banker was complaining some electrical problems at his pad for, like, a week--phones going haywire, computers flipping on and off." Dean holds his hands out. "Huh?"

Sam blinks, "Uh-huh..."

"This not bringing your bell?" Dean urges.

"Sure, isn't ringing mine." Athena sputters. "I wanna find Bela and kill her."

Dean points at the girl. "If you can find a lead, then sure."

Athena folds her arms and huffs. She looks down at her cat and squints her eyes. "If I could find a lead, I would."

Sam shifts, "Well, sure, but, Dean, we're on a case," he says.

Dean glances to the side, clueless as ever. "Whose?"

"Dumbass." Athena points at her eldest brother.

"Yours." Sam seethes.

Dean scoffs, "Right, yeah. Could have fooled me." he starts to walk away.

"Well, what the hell else have we been doing other than trying to break your deal?" Sam lets out a bitter chuckle.

Athena could feel her spine begin to tense. Gil rubs himself against her leg, and she lets out a small breath through her lips. The arguing was starting up again. This time, Athena wasn't involved in it. Is this how her brothers felt?

"Chasing our tails, that's what." Dean was quick to reply. "Sam, we've talked to every professor, witch, soothsayer, and two-bit carny act in the lower 48. And nobody knows squat. And we can't find Bela. We can't find the colt. So until we actually find something, I'd like to do my job."

Sam knows he shouldn't mention it, but his desperation to save his brother trumped his regret. "Well, there's one thing we haven't tried yet."

It's almost like Dean already knew he was going to bring the idea up. "No, Sam. No."

"Dean, we should summon Ruby," Sam says.

"I'm not gonna have this fight with you." Dean shakes his head.

Athena takes a step toward them. "We shouldn't fight at all, actually," she chuckles. "Let's just. Go to the c--"

"She says she knows to save you!--"

"Well, she can't!"

Athena's head was like a ping-pong ball with this argument.

"Oh, really? You know that for sure?!" Sam shouts back.

"I do!"

"How?"

"Because she told me, okay?"  Dean snaps.

Athena's jaw goes slack. "What?"

"She told me...flat-out that could not save me--nobody can." Dean continues, his voice becoming softer.

Athena pulls her brows together. "What? When...how long ago did she--so, you knew and we've just been chasing our tails for however long?!" her anger flares.

"And you just somehow neglected to mention this to us?" Sam scoffs.

Dean sighs, "Well, you know, I really don't care what that bitch thinks, and neither should you, so--"

"That's not the point!" Athena snaps.

"So what--now you're keeping secrets from us, Dean?"

Dean was quick to snap back at Sam's comment. "You really want to talk about who's keeping secrets from who?"

Athena scoffs, "Both of you."

Sam and Dean look at the girl. Athena's chest heaves, and she couldn't even find words to describe her frustration. "I...tell you everything." She clenches her teeth. "And you continue to keep secrets and lie. That's not fair!"

Despite Athena not being able to explain her words in full detail, her brothers could feel them. The twisting fury that prickled at her skin and the pain of tears welling at her eyes. For the longest time, Athena never thought she would tell anyone about Victor. Sma and Dean supported her and have continued to be there for her, but being left in the dark when she told them what she thought was her deepest darkest secret...

Athena inhales a shaky breath, trying to make sure she can speak her next words without sobbing. "You two better figure your shit out," she exhales. "I'm not trusting either of you if you can't trust each other."

Athena turns and walks away from them with Gil right beside her.

☆

Dean hated helping with research. But Athena had zero patience for either of her brothers. So, Dean thought it would be nice if she could just sit back and let him do all the work.

Dean regretted ever opening his big mouth.

"Linda's a babe..."

Athena rolls her eyes and lifts the string up, Gil lifts his paw to reach for it but the girl lifts it higher with a soft laugh.

"or was."

Sam sits up in his bed. "You find her?"

"Yeah, Linda Bateman." Dean reads off the laptop. "She and Ben Waters were high-school sweethearts."

"So, what happened?" Dean asks.

"Drunk driver hit 'em head-on. Ben walked away." Dean reads.

"So, what, then--dead flame calls to chat?" Sam questions with his brows furrowed.

Athena hums, "Sounds too simple."

"And you're right." Dean nods. "Linda was cremated. So, why is she still floating around?" he stands up from his seat.

Sam cluelessly scoffs, "Uh, you got me."

"What about that caller I.D.?" Athena questions. She brings the string down, and Gil catches it in his mouth.

"It turns out it's a phone number," Sam states.

"It's no phone number I've ever seen," Dean says.

Athena snorts, "Seriously? I figured it'd be something you're familiar with, since you're so ol..." she trails off Dean's trigger word and just coughs instead.

Dean cranes his neck forward, "I-I'm sorry. I'm so what?"

"Olga-fying." Athena snorts. "I meant olga-fying."

Dean looks at Sam, who was trying so hard not to laugh. "What does that mean?"

"It means you're filled with olganess." Sam shrugs.

Dean clenches his fist above his head. "I don't even know what that means!"

"Probably because you're so old."

Dean points at Athena, and she lets out a mischievous snicker. "That's enough for me tonight." She stands up and pats her thigh. "Come along, Gil."

Athena walks out of their motel room and closes the door behind her. Dean lets out a sharp breath, "So, what the hell does olganess mean?"

Sam bunches his shoulders and presses his lips together. "I have no clue."

Dean's mouth drops open. "What the fuck, dude?!"

Sam laughs triumphantly and lies back in his bed.

...

Athena thought she was going to be sick. The feeling in her fingers became static. She wasn't even sure if this was real.

Maybe it was a nightmare.

Athena grabs her pocket knife and flips it open. Before she could fully realize what she had done, she pressed it against her the pad of her pointer finger--pricking it. Blood spills from her finger, and she tilts her head. This is real.

"I mean, Dad?" Sam looks at the pacing Dean. "You really think it was dad?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Well, what did he sound like?" Sam asks.

Dean turns back to Sam, "Like Oprah."

Sam deadpans.

"It was Dad." Dean urges. "He sounded like Dad. What do you think?"

"What did he say?" Sam questions.

"My name."

Sam blinks, "That's it?"

"Yeah, the call dropped out," Dean answers. He glances at Athena, noticing her staring at her hands. Dean's eyes soften, "Athena."

The girl blinks and looks at her brothers. She swallows the large lump in her throat and pulls her shoulders back. "Fine. I just...how do we even know this is really Dad? Last time we saw him, he just..." She waves her hands in the air. "...disappeared."

"When he escaped the gates of Hell?"

Athena nods her head. "Does that mean he's just...out there? He's always been here, and we had no idea?" The thought made Athena's skin crawl.

"He would've come to us sooner if he were here." Dean motions with his hands around the motel. "Right?"

Sam lets out a breath, "Well, it's not like he was eager for us to find him when you first got me from Stanford."

The siblings all sit in silence. Sam had a good point. "Why would he even call in the first place, Dean?"

"I don't know, man. Why are ghosts calling anybody in this town?" Dean looks away once again. "But I mean, other people are hearing their loved ones. Why can't we? It's at least a possibility, right?"

Athena looks down at her cut finger and lets out a small scoff. "Yeah, sure."

"Okay, so what..." He takes a seat on his bed. "What if it really is Dad?"

"What happens if he calls back?" Dean asks.

Sam and Athena look at each other. "What do you mean?"

Dean's brain wouldn't come up with anything. It was all jumbled. "What do I say?"

Sam shrugs, "Hello?"

Athena lets out a stifled snicker, but she quickly covers her mouth. Dean looks at Athena, then Sam, "Hello?"

"That's what you come back with--Hello?" Dean deadpans.

Athena clears her throat. "You could always try, "Hi, this is Dean. The son you raised as a weapon in an unhealthy environment. How can I serve you today?"

Dean rolls his head to the side and stares at Athena, who has a smug smirk on her lips. "Okay--that's good. But 'How can I serve you today?' That sounds like I'm helping a customer."

Athena looks out the window with a scoff. "Well, with the way he asked acted, he might as well have been a customer."

Having heard enough from his younger siblings, Dean stands up and grabs his jacket. He stops at the door and looks at Sam. "Hello?" He then looks at Athena. She raises her brows, waiting for him to say his piece to her. "How can I help you today?"

Athena breaks into a smile with pride. She holds her hands up, "Funny, though, right?"

Dean scoffs and walks out of the door. Athena frowns, "I thought it was funny."

☆

"I cannot believe this is your best idea."

Dean shushes Athena as they follow the group through the museum.

"And here we have one of the museum's most unique and treasured possessions--Thomas Edison's 'Spirit phone'." The tour guide pronounces with a smile on her face. "Did you know that Mr. Edison, while being one of America's most beloved inventors, was also a devout 'occultist'?"

Athena lets out a small huff and looks to the side.

"What's with the quote fingers?" Dean whispers.

"Because she knows this is also bullshit," Athena whispers back. "She doesn't want you to think this shit is real."

"Is there something interesting going on back there?"

Athena and Dean look at the tour guide and the entire group that was staring back at them. Both siblings open and close their mouths, trying to come up with something to say.

"Don't mind them. They never know when to stop talking. It's a problem." Sam says. "I'll handle it."

The tour guide gives Sam a gracious nod and resumes speaking. Athena's jaw clenched, "Is that what it feels like getting in trouble at school? Because--holy shit, I'm glad I was homeschooled."

"Way to rat us out, dude." Dean nudges Sam's arm. Sam groans, "You brought us here--so, listen."

Athena softly snorts, "Yeah, listen." She nudges Dean's leg.

Dean rolls his eyes and tunes back in.

"...his final invention, which he was convinced could be used to "communicate" with the "dead". Pretty spooky, huh?" She takes quickly glance at her watch. "And we're walking." she motions her fingers around while walking out of the room. "We are walking."

As the group follows the tour guide out of the room, the Winchesters stay behind. Athena pulls her EMF from her backpack and turns it on. She waves it around the object and purses her lips.

"Anything?"

"Nada."

"What do you think?" Dean asks.

Athena chuckles, "I hope you're asking Sam, cause you already know what I think."

"Honestly?" Sam sighs. "It kind of looks like an old pile of junk to me."

"It's not even plugged in." Dean says.

"Maybe it doesn't work like that." Sam replies.

Athena softly huffs, "It definitely doesn't work like that." she points at it. "Even if it did have a plug in, it wouldn't require use with a spirit possessing it."

"Maybe it's like a radio tower," Dean shoots out another suggestion. Athena and Sam roll their eyes and look at each other. "you know, broadcasting the dead all over town."

"Could be." Sam voices.

"Or maybe..." Athena looks at Dean with her arms folded. "Dean's grasping at straws."

"I'm not grasping." Dean squints his eyes. Sam inhales a breath and looks at Dean with hesitation. Dean's eyes blow wide, "I'm not grasping!"

Dean points accusingly at the object. "The caller I.D.'s 100 years old. Same time this thing was built."

"Yeah, but why would it all of a sudden start working now?" Sam inquires.

"I don't know..."

Athena winces, "It seems as though you don't know a lot of things."

"Thin ice." Dean points at the girl, his face getting red.

Athena smirks, satisfied with her work.

"As long as the moldy are calling the freshes around here, it's the best reason we got." Dean lets out a shaky breath.

"Yeah, maybe." Sam presses his lips together.

"Maybe it really is Dad," Dean says.

Athena raises her brows, "Yippie..."

...

As soon as Sam and Athena came back from Lanie's house, Dean's attitude gave off: antsy. Athena could feel it as soon as she entered the room.

"What's up?"

"Girl Lanie--her mom's ghost spooked her out pretty bad last night," Sam says.

"That sucks." Dean shifts his eyes to the pile of papers that were on the coffee table. Athena looks down at the papers, then at Dean. "Don't sound too worried about it, Dean."

Dean looks at his siblings, "Sorry, I was in another world."

"Yeah, we can tell." Athena slightly tilts her chin up. "What are you doing?"

"I think Dad's right."

Athena lets out an astonished chuckle. "Said no one ever."

"I think the demon is here." Dean stands up with the papers in his hand. He walks over to Sam and Athena, shoving them into their hands.

"Oh--okay." Athena grabs the papers and looks over them. She blinks a few times, her vision blurred. "I am already getting a headache--take this away from me," she holds the papers out to Dean. He simply grabs them back without a word.

"What are these--weather reports?" Sam questions.

"Omens--demonic omens--electrical storms everywhere we've been for the past two weeks," Dean explains.

Athena frowns, "I don't remember any lightning storms."

"Well, I don't remember you studying meteorology, either." Dean snaps.

"Dude." Sam sighs.

"Yeah, dude." Athena scoffs. "I love storms. You know that," she then points at her head. "You're just not thinking clearly, right now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean squints his eyes, his anger not going unnoticed.

Sam tenses, "No, you guys. We're not doing--"

"Oh, you know." Athena shrugs. "Anytime Dad is involved, you've always been a little eager to believe every word he has says."

Dean's chest tightens. The shock and hurt were evident on his face. "Not. Anymore," he seethes. He was different. But nearing the deadline for his soul and hearing his dad's voice ringing through his ears made him begin to panic. Everything was slipping through his fingers so fast--too fast.

Athena let out a bitter breath that made her skin burn. "Only because he's dead." She shakes her head, and tears of fury fill her eyes. "God!" She grabs her backpack. "As soon as you find an inch of anything that involves dad, you just--forget everything else--"

"I am trying to find a way to get out of my deal!" Dean says. "Shouldn't I listen to what Dad is telling me, if it means I'm saved?!"

Athena tangles her hands in her hair. "I..." She could feel the ball of rage in her stomach, and it traveled to her chest, then to her throat. "I'm not doing this. You want to entertain this 'dad' bullshit, then be my guest," she throws her backpack over her shoulder. "But leave me out of it."

Athena walks out of the door, slamming it behind her. Sam closes his eyes and flinches, "Well...that went well."

☆

Athena had been laying on her bed with her eyes on the ceiling since she left her brothers room. Heavy metal blasted through her room while Gil was lying on her stomach.

She wanted to sink into the bed and disappear. Athena was so angry. But she also felt guilty. She knows Dean is under a lot of pressure with his deal getting close. But she just couldn't stop her anger.

Athena's eyes mist with tears of guilt. Even after 2 years of him being gone, her dad still had a traumatizing effect on her.

Before Athena could even process her feelings even further, there was a rapid knock at her door.

Both, Athena and Gil jump up from the bed. Athena's chest heaves and her heart races. "What the fuck?"

"Athena!"

The 13 year old deadpans at her brother's voice. "Sam, what the hell?!" She stands up and walks over to the door. Athena pulls the door open and before she could even throw out a smart remark, she saw the look of worry on his face. Her blood runs cold.

"What?" Athena's entire body turns into steel. "What is it?"

"These aren't spirits." Sam explains, out of breath. "And that sure as hell isn't Dad."

Athena tilts her head, "Then what is it?"

"A Crocotta."

Athena lets out a sharp breath. "Of-fucking-course..." she runs a hand over her hair. "I can't believe I didn't see it before."

"You can say I told you so, later." Sam motions his head to the parking lot. "We gotta go."

Athena nods her head in agreement. She turns and points at Gil, "Don't throw up. I saw you ate your food too fast."

Athena knew from the way he glanced away from her, that he was absolutely annoyed. She closes the door and follows after Sam. "Did you already tell Dean?"

"No, I was just about to call him." Sam says.

Athena pulls her brows together. "He's not here?"

Sam shakes his head. Athena snaps her eyes together the boy's motel door. "Then where the hell is he?"

"Knowing Dean, he probably went Rogue." Sam says.

"Shouldn't we be finding him then?!" Athena's breathing quickens. "What if he does something he regrets—what if he's falling right into the crocotta's trap?!"

Sam slowly nods his head when he sees Athena's mind racing. He crouches down in front of her. "That's why we need to find the crocotta. Dean is god knows where right now."

Athena swallows and looks down at the ground. "This'll all be over when we get the crocotta."

Sam cracks a smile, "Yes. Exactly." He then raises his brows. "Are you in?"

Athena meets Sam's eyes and nods her head. "You got a car?"

...

There have been far too many times Athena has found herself bound to a chair with Sam in the same predicament in the chair next to her. She's never once been taken hostage with Dean by her side.

What exactly does that say about this duo?

Athena's eyes follow the Crocotta that was posing as the boss of a phone company.

"I-I'm sorry, Clark." The man bound to the chair across from them was crying frantically. "I'm sorry for whatever I did to you. I'm sorry, please!"

The Crocotta walks around the man with a stake in hand. He stands behind the man and raises the stake. Athena's eyes widen and she pulls at her restraints. "No, leave him alone."

"You're not a killer, Clark." The man whimpers. "There's a good man inside of you. I know it."

The Crocotta looks at the older Winchester. "What do you think, Sammy?" he flits his eyes to the girl. "Athy?"

"Am I a good man?"

Athena's jaw clenches when the Crocotta leans over the sobbing man's shoulder. "Let him go."

The Crocotta flips the knife in his hand. "I would. I really would." he stands up. "If only I'd had more than a salad for lunch."

"See..." He raises the knife, and Athena's mouth drops open. "I'm starving."

"Please, don't!--"

He drives the knife down into the man's chest. Athena squeezes her eyes shut and turns her head away, only hearing the painful groans of the man's life slipping from his fingers. The 13-year-old could feel her chest tighten and her eyes burn with tears despite having them closed.

"My last call with Dean..." Sam scoffs. "that was you. You led us here."

The man rolls his neck, cracking it. "Some calls I make, some calls I take."

"But you have to admit, I had you fooled for a while." The Crocotta teases. "All that Edison phone crap..." he laughs.

"That was the best you could come up with?"

Sam and the Crocotta turn to Athena. She lifts her head, the tears in her eyes revealing her rage and disgust. "That Edison phone crap is exactly what you said it was...crap." She lets out a scoff. "If this is all you can do--play with phones...then I have some news for you."

"It's going to take a lot more than that to take any of us down."

The Crocotta laughs, silencing the Winchester. "Oh, you don't think I know that?" he circles both siblings' chairs. "You don't think I know what you three are capable of?" He crouches in front of Athena, and the girl's body tenses.

"Get the hell away from her."

The Crocotta keeps his eyes on Athena's, hoping to crack her in any way. Despite her wanting to scream and tell him to get away from her, she clenched her jaw and kept her eyes on his. She wasn't going to back down. To her, he was just another monster that needed to be put down.

The Crocotta cracks a menacing smile that almost has a look of pride embedded in it. Athena truly was a child that anyone would find impressive. He stands up and walks over to the control panel against the wall. Sam looks at Athena with his eyes wide, "Are you okay?"

Athena lets out a sharp breath, hoping her goosebumps would go away. "Yeah, I-I'm fine." she looks at her brother. "Thank you."

Sam and Athena look back at the Crocotta. "What are you doing?"

The Crocotta turns to the siblings, a smug smile across his face. "I'm killing your brother." he then furrows his brows. "Or maybe I'm killing another guy. We'll just have to see how it goes."

It wasn't long before the Crocotta pulled his hands from the control panel and lets out a satisfied breath. He walks over to the man's deceased body, who still had the knife embedded in his chest. Blood slowly dripped on the floor, the puddle growing larger by every second. The Crocotta pulls the knife from the man's chest.

"You know, mimicking Dean's one thing." Sam starts. "But our dad--that's a hell of a trick."

"Well, once I made you three as hunters, it was easy." The Crocotta simply replies. He rolls the man's body away, and Athena closes her eyes and lets out a small breath from the thud of his body against the wall.

"Found Dean's number, then both of your numbers, then your father's number, then to e-mails, voicemails--everything." The Crocotta then makes his way over to Sam and holds the bloodied knife in front of his face. As the Crocotta continues to monologue about his work, like every movie villain, Athena begins to tug at the wires that were cutting deep into her wrists.

"You see, people think that that stuff just gets erased. But it doesn't." The Crocotta teases. "You'd be surprised at how much of yourself is just floating out there, waiting to be plucked."

"Dean's not gonna fall for this." Sam defends his brother.

Athena wiggles her wires, feeling them come undone. She just hoped that Sam kept him busy long enough for her to get free.

"He's not gonna kill that guy."

The Crocotta shrugs, "Then the guy kills him."

Like hell.

The Crocotta begins walking around the room again. "Technology..." he walks over to Athena and raises the knife towards her face.

"Hey!" Sam barks.

"...makes life so much easier." He uses the knife to move her hair out of her face. Athena's jaw clenches, and she looks to the side.

"I'm gonna kill you." Sam seethes; he yanks at the wires. The Crocotta turns Sam and laughs. Athena looks at her brother. "He's doing this on purpose," she says. "He's just trying to get into our heads."

"Am I?" The Crocotta hums.

"Yeah, you are." Athena snaps.

The Crocotta was normally the thing that saw through everyone. So, having this little girl see through him...

He didn't like it.

He wanted to shut her up.

The Crocotta turns to Sam with his knife raised. Athena's eyes widen when he bares his fangs. She grits her teeth and yanks at her wires, then finally snaps off. Athena takes a huge risk and dives out of her chair, wrapping her arms around the Crocotta's waist. She pushes him forward, his back hitting the wall. Sam's heart drops into his stomach when he watches the Crocotta throw an elbow into Athena's back.

Hearing the pain-filled cries from his sister's was something he would never get used to. "No, Athena!"

The Crocotta grabs a fistful of Athena's hair and throws her to the side, her back hitting the wall. Athena lets out a cry and crumbles to the floor. The Crocotta turns to her, "Fucking bitch."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Athena groans, clutching at her side. The Crocotta kicks her, and her head snaps back. Sam finally frees himself from his binds and runs toward the Crocotta. He tackles him to the floor. The knife falls out of the creature's hand. Sam crawls for the knife, but the Crocotta stands up and grabs the back of Sam's jacket and yanks him back, shoving him into the metal gate.

The Crocotta grabs the knife and turns to Sam. He runs toward Sam, but out of nowhere, Athena jumps onto the Crocotta's back and grabs the wrist that was holding the knife. "Get him!"

Sam runs forward and grabs at the Crocotta's knife. Athena grabs the Crocotta's head and bites it. "Bald ass fucker!"

The Crocotta screams and punches Sam across the face. He throws his elbow back, hitting Athena in the face. He throws her off his back and she slams to the ground. Athena coughs and groans, her vision blurring.

Sam stands up with the Crocotta standing across from him. Athena holds a thumbs up, "You can handle the rest!"

As soon as those words finished, Sam and The Crocotta ran towards one another. The Crocotta swings the knife at Sam, but he blocks the knife with his arm and grabs the Crocotta by his shirt. He spins the creature, pushing his back towards the wall. Trying to take the knife from the creature's hand was futile, but Sam spotted a metal peg behind the Crocotta. Without sparing another second, Sam pulls his hands off the being and uses the ball of his palm to hit the Crocotta's nose--the impact forcing his head to snap back and hit the metal peg.

The Crocotta's hands drop to his side and blood spills from his mouth and onto the floor.

Athena slightly lifts her head and she softly chuckles. "Knew you could do it."

Sam turns to his little sister, who was still laying on the ground and his eyes widen. "Athena!" he runs over to her and falls to his knees. Sam winces from the blood leaving her nose. "You okay to stand?"

Athena inhales, "Yeah! Yeah, totally!" she sits up, but Sam was quick to grab her hand and help her onto her feet. Athena stumbles for a second, but she regains her footing. She tilts her head up and looks at the bruising and blood on Sam's face. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I mean, we got the Crocotta." Sam exhales.

Athena clicks her tongue, "No, just you."

"No, we," Sam says. "You distracted the Crocotta and helped me debilitate him."

Athena hums with a small smile ghosting her lips. Sam touches the top of her head. "Let's get out of here."

Athena's eyes shift to the man's body and her smile falls. "Can we give him a burial? Or call the cops first so they can find him?"

Sam follows her gaze and his eyes sadden. "Yeah, of course." He looks at her and the ends of his mouth twitch. "You're a good kid, Athena."

Athena wipes her nose and lets out a small breath. "Tell me something I don't know."

☆

After Sam and Athena came back to the motel, they saw Dean caring for his own wounds from whatever mission he was on.

The three ended up having a small heart to heart. Discussing Dean's deal and how close his deadline was. They were all terrified and each sibling showed it well.

But, Athena didn't want them to see her terror for too long. She could feel the lump in her throat grow larger and more painful, so she excused herself to her room, wanting to cry by herself.

As Athena was walking towards her motel room, she saw the door cracked open. She always locked her door.

Athena's heart drops, "No, no, no." She runs towards her room. "Gil?!" As soon as she stops in the doorway she's met with the blonde demon.

Athena's jaw clenches and her hand tightens around the door. "Where's my cat?"

"I put him in the bathroom." Ruby answers.

Athena squints her eyes and the Demon sighs.

"Gently."

Athena looks to her side at her brothers room door, debating on how fast she could let them know Ruby was here.

"Relax, I'm not here to hurt you." Ruby assures. "I would've done it by now if that was my goal."

"Sure, but you wouldn't have." Athena looks back at the blonde. "If your plan is to gain Sam's trust. Hurting me will lose whatever small trust he still had for you."

Ruby frowns and nods her head. Every second she spent with this kid she grew far more impressed by her. Being surrounded by three men who have sworn their lives to hunting has made her into their very own weapon. And Ruby needed that weapon on her side.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here." Athena steps into her room and closes the door. "After lying to Sam about being able to help Dean get out of his deal."

Ruby inhales, "I understand you're upset—"

"No, you don't." Athena snaps. "You may have given Dean that bullshit reasoning about "remembering what it's like to be human". But I'm not buying it. Everybody has their own agenda, I just haven't found out yours yet."

"You don't understand my anger." Athena seethes. "You wasted so much of our time that we missed out on anymore chances to find something that could help Dean."

"There is nothing that can help him."

Athena scoffs and looks away from the demon, her eyes becoming no teary again. Ruby lets out a small breath and tilts her head to the ceiling. "Athena, I'm not even here to talk about him."

"I'm here to talk about you."

Athena's face doesn't react. "Well, one thing you should know about me, is that I don't like talking about myself. So, I'll pass."

Ruby's jaw clenches. She had zero patience for Athena's humble attitude. So, she just needed to rip the bandaid off.

"You don't get it, do you?"

Athena tilts her head at the demon. The blonde looks to the side, "Athena...your strength. Your power is unlike anything in this world."

"Sam is the one with the powers." Athena states. "Leave me out of whatever—"

"You." Ruby crouches in front of the girl. "Have the potential to be stronger than him."

Athena pulls her brows together. She takes a step away from the demon. "What are you taking about?"

"Your mother, Faye Clarke."

Athena blinks, she then opens and closes her mouth. "You knew her? You knew my mother?"

"Yes." Ruby exhales, like she was reminiscing. "She was apart of my coven."

"She was a witch?" Athena wrinkles her nose. "I hate witches." Her face drops and she snaps her eyes over to the demon. "Does that mean that I'm a witch?!"

"That would make things a lot simpler, but...no." Ruby sighs. Athena's head begins to hurt. "Okay, are you going to explain then?"

"She and I had the same interests." Ruby explains. "The same principles."

"That doesn't make me feel good." Athena folds her arms.

Ruby looks to the side with her arms folded as well. She looks back at the weary girl. How could she tell Athena enough without getting caught? Ruby could feel the dark energy coming from the bathroom and she knew that ball of hair pacing the linoleum floor was growing impatient.

"Look...there's only so much I can say--"

"Why?"

The blonde looks back at the pink haired girl. Athena slowly shakes her head, confused but also frustrated. "Why can you not tell me a lot? Is someone stopping you or something?" she walks closer to the Demon. "Tell me the truth--no one else has and it seems like you have all the answers! So, tell me!"

Ruby's back straightens. All the demon had to do was embed that little voice of doubt in Athena's head. Once she did that, her job was done. "I wish I could kid." she clicks her tongue. "But your brother saw to it, I had to keep my mouth shut."

Athena pulls her brows together. "Which one?"

"Guess."

Athena blinks, "Sam?"

Ruby frowns, "You had a 50-50 chance with that, so I understand you being wrong."

"So, it's Dean." Athena looks at the ground then back at where Ruby was but the demon's gone. Her skin crawls and her jaw clenches. "Fuck, I hate when Demons do that..."

Athena flops her back on the bed and Gil immediately jumps onto her stomach, laying down.

As she lays there and stares at the ceiling a low hum comes from Athena's mouth. Everything was so confusing and she hated being confused. It makes her feel like she's been left out of a joke.

With everything else that the three siblings are worried about, how was Athena going to confront this situation with her brother?

Athena lifts her hand up and stares at the back of it. Her mother being a witch. For some reason, it made Athena smile. Now, she knew a little bit more about her mother. Faye Clarke.

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author's note.

2 episodes left 😟

words : 6442