No Rest For The Wicked.

CHAPTER SEVENTY THREE , NO REST FOR THE WICKED

a/n : I am SO SORRY

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The Winchesters all stood in the room, silence drowning throughout the room. Athena was sitting at the table with her own gun in hand, and her leg was bouncing uncontrollably. Just thinking about finally being here. The day Dean was "supposed to die" made her sick to her stomach. Despite her speaking to Dean and despite her forgiving him. She still felt like there was so much she could do with her brother.

But there wasn't enough time. There never was.

"We're just gonna let Ruby rot down there?" Sam breaks the nerve wracking silence.

"That's the idea." Dean hums.

Athena frowns, "I have no issues with that."

Sam looks at his siblings, "Dean, what if, uh...what if Ruby's right? What if I can take out Lilith?"

Another beat of silence settles in the room, but this time it makes Athena uncomfortable. Dean looks at Sam with a look of disappointment and frustration.

Sam shifts, "Quit looking at me like that."

"What, are you gonna do give her the Carrie-stare and Lilith goes 'poof'?"

"I don't know what Ruby meant." Sam admits. "You know, maybe we should just go ask her."

"Sam, you wanted the knife--I got you the knife." Dean lets out a tired chuckle. He then walks away from the table.

Sam's jaw clenches, "Dean, just listen to me for a second." he says. "Last time Lilith snapped her fingers and out thirty demons on our ass, and all we got's one little knife? I mean, like you said, we go in smart or we don't go in at all."

Dean looks at his siblings, "Well, this ain't smart."

"Okay, guys." Athena stands up. "I know there's not a lot of time left, but...we got one shot at this." she looks between her brothers. "Just one."

Sam and Dean look between each other and Athena pulls her brows together. "What?" she pushes herself off the table. "Why'd you two give each other a look."

Sam slightly opens his mouth, "Thena, Dean and I were talking and..."

Athena squints her eyes, but they quickly widen. "You don't want me to come?"

"It's too dangerous--"

"I don't care."

"Well, we do." Dean speaks.

Athena snaps her eyes over to him. "Last time I stayed behind Sam died." she states. "I know it wasn't forever, but..." her voice gets caught in her throat thinking about that night. "I didn't get to say goodbye. What if..." she looks at the ground. "What if this night doesn't go the way we want it to?"

Sam and

She bunches her shoulders and shakes her head. "I don't want to see one of you gone again without saying goodbye."

Athena wipes at her eyes. Dean walks over to Athena and touches the top of her head. "If you come with us and you get hurt, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

Athena slowly nods her head, "Well, I hate to do this..." she lets out a breath. "But if you don't take me, I'm telling Bobby."

Dean raises his brows, "Excuse me?"

"I. Am telling. Bobby." Athena emphasizes.

"Bobby would agree with us."

"That's true, but I would also tell him that you're planning on leaving him behind too."

Sam and Dean's faces both drop. A smile ghosts Athena's lips. She won.

Dean looks back at Sam, who shrugs. The last thing these two wanted was Athena and Bobby pissed at them.

Dean hangs his head low, "Fine. You win."

"No surprise there." Athena snorts.

"But, guys..." Dean stands up, his entire demeanor shifting. "We are not gonna make the same mistake all over again."

Dean had said that earlier, but never clarified. Athena was sure she knew what he was talking about. She remembers yelling at him the day she found out he sold his soul.

"You said that, but what does it even mean?" Sam inquires.

Dean walks away from his siblings, his back toward them. "Don't you see the pattern here?" he lets out a breath. "Dad's deal, my deal, now this? I mean every time one of us is up the creek the other is begging to sell their soul. That's all this is, man." he shakes his head. "Ruby's just jerking your chain down the road. You know what it's paved with and you know where it's going."

He turns back around and walks over to the table. No longer being able to keep himself up with the weight of what felt like the world, he leans against the table.

"Dean..." Sam shakes his head. "What do you think is gonna happen? This is me, I can handle it."

Dean stops fidgeting with his gun and shakes his head.

"And if it'll save you--"

"Why even risk it?" Dean questions.

"Because, you're our brother." Athena speaks. "And you'd do the same thing for us." she then points at Sam. "You have."

"I know...and look how that turned out." Dean softly huffs. "All I'm saying..." his voice gets caught in his throat. "You two are my weak spot."

All Dean does is think about his younger siblings. He eats, sleeps, and breathes worrying about them. It's them over him. That's the deal.

Athena looks down at her boots when Sam's own words get caught.

"You don't mean that. We're...we're family." Sam whispers.

"I know. And those evil sons of bitches know it too." Dean states. "I mean, what we'll do for each other, you know, how far we'll go? They're using it against us."

"So, what?" Sam shrugs. "We just stop looking out for each other?"

"No." Dean answers. "We stop being martyrs, man. We--we stop spreading it for these demons."

"I'm sorry, what?" Athena cranes her neck.

Dean waves a dismissive hand. "Stop, I'm onto something here."

"Well, can you get off of that something?" Athena scoffs. "That's weird phrasing." she grabs Ruby's knife off the table and holds it out to Dean.

"Okay, fine." Dean grabs the knife. "How about...we take this knife, and we go after Lilith our way." he says. "Not dad's way. Ours."

Athena's expression drops and the tight knot of nerves in her stomach begins to loosen.

"And if we go down, then, we go down swinging." Dean says.

Sam looks at him, still thinking about his words.

"What do you think?"

Sam and Athena look at each other before looking back at Dean.

"I think you totally should have been jamming "Eye of the Tiger" right there." Sam quips.

Dean pushes himself off the table and scoffs. "Oh, bite me."

Athena softly laughs. "I'm sure he rehearsed that."

"Oh, most definitely." Sam agrees.

They both look at their older brother. Dean keeps a stone cold expression while they wait for him to answer. He rolls his eyes, "Yeah, fine. I rehearsed it. You happy?"

Athena pumps her fist, "I'm ecstatic."

...

Bobby, to say the least, was pissed that the Winchesters were trying to hunt Lilith without him. He figured they would do something stupid like that, but he didn't want to assume. So, he took the distributor cap from the car.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Oh, shit." Athena sinks into her seat. "So, I blackmailed you guys for nothing?"

The siblings all get out of the car with shame.

"We got the knife." Dean says.

Bobby looks at eahc of them. "And you intend to use it without me."

"Do I look like a ditchable prom-date o you?" Bobby questions.

"No, Bobby. Of course not." Sam says.

"Anybody would be lucky to take you to the prom." Athena nods her head.

Bobby points at her, "Don't try and suck up to me now. You're on my list too."

Athena lowers her gaze to the dirt. "Sorry."

"Look, Bobby. This isn't on her--"

"Damn right it's not." Bobby says. "You decide to leave me high and dry, but bring the 13-year-old? Do you know how dangerous and idiotic that is?!"

"Yeah..." Athena drags out. "I kind of told them they had to take me or I would tell you that they were planning to leave without us."

Bobby's eyes widen and he looks back at the boys, who were practically ridden with fear.

"Okay, look, Bobby." Dean clears his throat, trying to gain the courage to speak his mind. "This is about me, Sam, and Athena, okay? This isn't your fight."

Athena sucks in a small breath. Dean looks down at his siter, noticing her nervous expression. He pulls his brows together, confused. What did he say wrong?

"The hell it isn't!" Bobby steps closer to Dean.

Dean tenses and his back straightens. That's what I said wrong.

"Family don't end with blood, boy." Bobby spits. "Besides, you need me."

"Bobby--"

"You're playing wounded." Bobby states. "Tell me, how many hallucinations have you had so far?"

Sam and Athena look at Dean with perplexed expressions. Dean glances away from Bobby and looks at his siblings. He looks back at Bobby, "How'd you know?"

"Because that's what happens when you got Hellhounds on your butt, and because I'm smart." Bobby says.

Athena gives him a thumbs up, "The smartest."

Bobby gives Athena a wink and holds the cap out to Dean. Dean grabs the cap and Athena's jaw goes slack. "Wait! Who's gonna watch Gil?"

Dean frowns, "Just take him with us." he then motions to the Impala. "Keep him in the car."

"This is a dangerous--life or death mission, Dean." Athena deadpans.

Dean blinks, "Yeah. Which is exactly why I didn't want you to go in the first place." he then raises his brows. "Unless you want to stay behind and watch your cat?"

Athena sucks in a breath, "I see what you're doing and I have to say...I respect it." she nods her head. "I'll grab my bag and Gil."

☆

There has been a lot of silence these past couple weeks. With Dean's deal weighing over all of them, there hasn't been time to just talk. It was now dark and they were still on the road.

There was something weighing on Sam's chest and he couldn't let it go unsaid before everything went down.

"Hey, Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"You know, if this doesn't—" Sam's voice gets caught in his throat. "If this doesn't go the way we want, u want you to know that—"

"No. No, no, no, no, no." Dean immediately cuts Dean off.

"'No' what?"

"He means "no mushy gushy"." Athena clarifies.

"Yeah, you're not gonna bust out the misty goodbye speech, okay?" Dean says. "I mean, if this is my last day on earth, I do not want it to be socially awkward."

Sam closes his mouth and looks down at his hands.

"You know what I do want?" Dean clicks the radio on and music blared through car. Athena raises her brows from the music.

"Seriously?" Athens snorts. "I love Bon Jovi. You don't."

"Bon Jovi rocks...on occasion." Dean holds his pointer finger up.

Athena folds her arms and sinks into her seat. She looks over at Gil, who was sitting beside her. "Bon Jovi rocks all the time."

Damn right.

"And I walk these streets!"

Athena jumps from the sudden singing that came from Dean.

"A loaded six-string on my back!" Dean continues to belt.

Athena softly laughs and looks out the window.

"I play for keeps!" Dean looks at Sam. "Come on." he encourages him to sing along.

Athena looks at her brothers and a smile forms on her lips. "Cause I might not make it back!" she sings along.

"There we go, Athena!" Dean beats his hands against the steering wheel.

"I've been everywhere!"

"Oh, yeah..." Sam softly sings.

Athena claps her hands together with excitement.

"I've seen a million faces and I've rocked 'em all." The siblings sing together.

"Cause I'm a cowboy!" Athena belts.

"On a steel horse, I ride!" Dean sings. "I'm wanted--"

"Wanted!"

"Dead or alive!"

Sam and Athena continue to sing their hearts out while Dean grows quieter. The words from the song begin to weigh heavily on him--the song beginning to hit too close to home for him.

...

"We getting pulled over?"

Dean glances in his mirror, "I got a busted taillight." he lets out an impatient sigh. "It's not like we're in a hurry or nothin'."

"I told you to get that fixed." Athena peeks out the window.

"I didn't really see the point." Dean shrugs.

Athena rolls her eyes, "And look at where we are now."

Dean pulls off to the shoulder and parks the car. Sam hands him the registration from the glove compartment. Dean rolls down the window as the officer approaches his window.

"Problem, officer?" Dean asks.

"License and registration, please." The officer says.

Dean rolls his eyes and hands his license and registration to him. The officer grabs the two identifications and looks over them. "Did you realize you have a taillight out, Mr...Hagar?"

Dean glances at the officer's face, but he quickly looks back at the man with a completely horrid expression. Athena pulls her brows together, noticing Dean's reaction.

"Yes. Yes, sir." Dean lets out, recovering. "Uh, you know, I've been meaning to take care of that. As a matter of fact..." he pushes the car door open--slamming it into the officer's stomach.

"Oh, shit!" Athena jumps.

"Dean!"

Dean hurries out of the car and punches the officer across the face multiple times. Athena and Sam stumble out of the vehicle and run over to Dean.

"What the hell?!" Athena shouts.

Dean pulls Ruby's knife from his waistband and thrusts it under the demon's chin. An orange hue lights erupts within the demon's body. The demon drops to the blacktop. Athena and Sam stare in shock at the body.

"Holy shit." Athena snaps her eyes over to Dean. "Holy shit!"

Bobby's car pulls up and he gets out of his car, and runs over to the siblings. "What the hell happened?"

"Dean just killed a demon." Sam says.

"That was badass." Athena smiles. She then pulls her brows together. "Wait, how'd you know?"

Dean looks at his siblings, "I just knew." he then looks at the body again. "I could see its face, its feal face under that one."

Athena raises her brows, "That's...scary." she then winces. "But, kind of cool--can I say kind of cool?"

"No." Dean swallows. "You can't."

Athena rolls her eyes, "Let's just get back on the road, please?" she points at the dead demon. "What do we do about him?"

"We hide him." Bobby answers. "Grab his legs."

"Me?" Athena points at herself.

"No, you." Bobby points at Dean.

"Oh." Athena's shoulders sag and she lets out a breath of relief. "Thank God."

The four hunters had to work fast. They stuffed the demon's body into the squad car and drive into deep into the grassy filled with trees littered everywhere.

Once the car was parked in a secluded area, they all started throwing branches and leaves over the vehicle.

"So, what, now you're seeing demons?" Sam questions.

"I've been seeing all kinds of things lately, but nothing lie this." Dean shakes his head.

Athena couldn't imagine seeing things that weren't there. It would make her go insane and alone.

"Actually, it's not all that crazy." Bobby voices.

Dean snaps his eyes over to Bobby. "How is it not that crazy?"

"Well, you got just over five hours to go? You're piercing the veil, Dean, glimpsing the "B" side." Bobby says.

The siblings exchange a look of confusion.

"Little less new agey, please." Dean's voice was gruff.

"You're almost Hell's bitch," Bobby clarifies.

Athena's eyes widen from the blunt statement.

"so you can see Hell's other bitches."

Dean scrunches his face and a sarcastic smile appears on his face. "Thank you."

"It'll actually come in pretty handy." Sam notes.

"Oh, well, I'm glad my doomed soul's good for something." Dean says.

"Damn right it is." Athena chuckles. "Like I said before. 'Cool, but terrifying'."

"Lilith's probably got demons stashed all over town." Bobby states. "We can't let 'em sound the alarm. If she knows we're here, we're dead before we started."

"Wow, this is a terrific plan." Dean's voice was heavy with sarcasm. "I'm excited to be a part of it."

"Can we go, please?" Dean walks away from the trees and Athena snorts.

"Sir, yes, sir." Athena sends him a salute and rolls her eyes.

☆

"It's the little girl."

Athena grabs the binocular from Sam and looks through the window.

"God, her face is awful."

Athena pushes her lower lip, "She's such a cutie." she tilts her head and clicks her tongue. "So, how are we getting in there to kill her?" she hands the binoculars back to Sam.

Sam nods his head, "Athena's right, we're wasting time." he starts to walk toward the door of the shed they were in.

"Wait!"

"For what?" Sam turns to his brother. "For her to kill the rest of them?"

"Yeah, and us too if we're not careful." Dean states. He points out the small window. "Look. See the real go-getter mailman on the clock at 9 pm?"

"And Mr. Rogers over there."

Athena lets out a breath. She stands back on her pinky toes and looks out the window. "They're demons?"

"Yes."

"Okay, fine, we ninja past those guys, sneak in--"

"And, what, give a Columbian necktie to a 10-year-old girl?" Dean questions, he looks at his siblings then Bobby.

"Look, Dean, I know it's awful--"

"You think?"

Athena sighs, "Well, think of it like this..."

Dean looks at Athena.

"We won't actually be Columbian necktying her--just a you know, a stab through the heart." Athena shrugs. "Unless the knife can't work on her."

"Then Columbian necktie would be the best option."

"Are you seriously joking, right now?" Dean deadpans.

Athena bunches her shoulders. "I'm nervous and I'm just trying to ease the tension." she then holds her hands up. "But in all honesty, this isn't about saving you, Dean. She has to be stopped."

Dean then looks at Bobby, who seemed to be on the same board as Athena and Sam.

"Oh, damn it."

"So, is that a yes?" Athena raises her brows.

Dean rolls his eyes, "Yeah..." he rubs her forehead. "This is the only way, right?"

Athena nods her head, "So, how are we getting in?"

"We aren't." Bobby says. "They are."

"What?" Athena looks at him with wide eyes. She then looks at Sam and Dean, who had the same look as Bobby. "You assholes!"

"Athena--"

"There's no way I'm staying in this hot ass room just to watch you guys die!"

"Keep. Your voice down." Bobby looks out the window.

Athena closes her mouth and grumbles. "Look, we let you come along and that's what you wanted--"

"What I wanted is to help. Which I can!" Athena exclaims. "Just let me--"

"You and Gil are staying here with Bobby." Dean says, his voice stern and measured.

Athena's breathing heavies and her heart begins to beat painfully against her chest. This could very well be the last time she sees her brothers. Sam and Dean could see Athena fall deep into her thoughts and just from the way she grasped at her chest--she wasn't handling this well.

"I'm sorry, Athena." Dean crouches in front of her. "But if--when I get out of this deal, I need to know that you're safe."

Athena shakes her head and keeps her eyes on the wall behind her brother. Dean lets out a small breath, "We will be back for the three of you." he looks down at the black cat and clicks his tongue. Dean pats the top of the cats head and Gil purrs.

"I promise."

Athena finally looks at Dean. Those words. Promises. They were a big thing to her. And to have Dean speak them made her sick to her stomach. She knew he couldn't promise to come back alive.

"I promise, I will do everything I can to get out of this deal." Dean adds. "How can I leave when we just started getting along?"

A tears runs down Athena's cheek and she quickly wipes it. "I'll stay here with Gil and Bobby." she looks at Dean then Sam. "Be careful. Please."

Sam nods his head and so does Dean. Bobby touches the top of Athena's head. "C'mon, kid. We gotta get to work."

Athena looks at Bobby and nods her head. She and Bobby walk deeper into the shed and Dean lets out a sharp breath. He looks at Sam, both feeling guilty about leaving Athena behind. But it was a good idea, they didn't want her to get hurt or worse.

☆

Athena and Bobby did their job perfectly. They filled the waterline with holy water and turned on the sprinkler system--keeping all the demons away from Sam and Dean.

"Okay, they're in." Bobby says. His eyes squint and his jaw clenches. "Balls!"

Athena tenses, "What--What?" she quickly walks over to him.

Bobby keeps his eyes on the house for another moment before he looks at the girl. "Ruby's with them."

The girl's stomach tightens as does her chest. "What?--No. She's gonna ruin everything." she glances at the door. "Bobby, we have to stop her--"

"No. We have to stay here that's the plan--"

"That was the plan when Ruby was stuck in the devil's trap." Athena snaps. "But she's here now and she's going to play us--I won't let her do that."

Bobby holds his hands up, "Hold on, kid. Ruby, is the least of our priorities. We stay here and wait for them to do their job." He grabs his binoculars and looks out the window again. "We're not going anywhere, okay?"

Athena runs her tongue along her teeth and her hands begin to fidget. She looks down at her watch and her heart sinks into her stomach.

11:57

At this point, she didn't care about the plan anymore. She just wanted to see her brothers.

"I'm sorry, Bobby." Athena sighs, her eyes shift to the door of the shed. "But you're not going anywhere."

"What are you—"

The door slams shut and Bobby turns to see only him and Gil inside. Bobby lets out a low grumble. He stalks over to the door and goes to push it open, but it doesn't budge.

"Athena..."

There was no response. Bobby's eyes widen, "Dammit, Athena!"

Athena sprints across the lawn, passing all the Demons that were staying off the lawn. She didn't even spare them another glance, all she was worried about was getting in the house.

Her heart was racing and she could hardly catch her breath, but she got to the door of the house and opens it. "Hello?!"

"Dammit..." Dean growls. He marches through the house and gets to the front door where Athena was. "I thought we told you—"

"I know and I'm sorry." Athena says. "But Bobby told me he saw Ruby here and I got worried."

"Well, doesn't that just touch my heart?" Ruby rounds the corner and smiles. Athena's jaw clenches. "And here I thought you didn't have one."

Ruby playfully rolls her eyes and retreats into the next room where Sam was.

"I can't believe you brought Gil."

Athena pulls her brows together, "What?" She looks down at the black cat. "How the hell did you...? I locked you in the shed with Bobby."

"You locked Bobby in the shed?" Dean's eyes widen.

Athena looks at Dean, "He was trying to stop me from coming."

"And he was right. You shouldn't have come." Dean runs a hand over his hair.

"Bullshit—where's Lilith, so we can—"

"She's not here anymore."

Athena stops and her brows furrow again. "Wh-what are you talking about? She was possessing the girl."

"And the girl's clean now." Dean states.

Athena opens and closes her mouth, trying to process this information.

"Dean--"

"There's nothing we can be do." Dean crouches in front of Athena.

The uncontrollable tears fill her eyes and she shakes her head. "No, there has to be something else we can do!" her hands tremble. "Where the hell is Ruby?"

"Athena, no—"

"I'm not arguing with you anymore!" Athena snaps. She walks into the room where Sam and Ruby were located. They both turn to the crying girl.

She snaps her eyes over to the demon. "Do something—Help him!"

Sam's eyes widen, "Tell me what I have to do."

"What do you mean?" Ruby questions.

"To save Dean." Sam states. "What do you need me to do?"

Dean entered the room with enough time to hear what Sam asked. He grabs at Sam's jacket. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Just shut up for a second." Sam shrugs him off. "Ruby."

"You had your chance." Ruby replies. "You can't just flip a switch. We needed time."

Sam's voice begins to shake and desperation controls his every move. "Well, there's got to be something. There's got to be some way. Whatever it is—I'll do it."

Dean grabs Sam's arm and Sam pushes him off. "Don't—Dean! I'm not gonna let you go to Hell, Dean!"

"Yes you are!"

Silence fills the room and Athena could feel her body start to grow heavy. She felt as if she was going to sink into the floor and become one with it. None of it felt real but Athena knew it was going to in a minute."

"Yes, you are." Dean's eyes fill with tears. "I'm sorry, I mean, this is all my fault. I know that."

"But what you're doing, it's not gonna save me." Dean states. "It's only gonna kill you."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Sam asks, tears building in his eyes. "Keep fighting. Take care of Athena"

Athena shakes her head and looks at the ground, her throat becoming tight.

"And take care of my wheels." Dean's eyes fill with tears. "Sam, remember what dad taught you. He was an ass, who knew what he was doing."

"Remember what I taught you."

The father clock in the room chimes and shakes each hunter to their core. They knew what that meant.

Midnight.

Athena inhales a deep breath and exhales a quick one. Her heart began to race against her ribcage. Dean pulls his eyes off the father clock and looks back at his sobbing sister. Dean's eyes burn with tears. "I'm sorry, Thena." he shakes his head. "I really tried."

Athena wraps her arms around her brother's neck and cries harder. "You were a good big brother. I'm s-sorry we couldn't save you."

Dean shakes his head, he pulls out of the hug and cups Athena's face. "Do not apologize for trying." his own voice trembles. "We did everything and I mean everything we could."

Dean takes his hands off her face and looks down at the chain hanging around his neck. He takes the necklace off and puts it around Athena's neck. She looks down at the necklace that Sam had gotten him for Christmas many years ago. Athena looks at Dean with furrowed brows. "I-I can't take--"

"Yes. You can." Dean nods his head. "Keep it safe, all right?"

He gives her a small trembling smile through his own tears. Athena lightly touches the necklace around her neck and more tears form in her eyes. "I'll take care of it. I promise."

"I'm sorry, Dean." Ruby speaks up. "I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy."

Dean stands up when he hears bone chill growls and snarls come from his side. Athena pulls her brows together and follows his sight, she saw nothing.

"Hellhound."

Athena looks around the room and walks over to her cat. She picks up Gil and keeps him close to her. "Where?"

Dean keeps his eyes on the spot he hadn't looked away from. "There."

Everyone looks at the spot that Dean was staring down at. Despite not being able to see or hear them, Athena's skin began to crawl. Dean touches Athena's back and pushes her through the door. She stumbles but catches herself and starts springing through the house with everyone behind her.

"The study!" Dean shouts.

Athena makes it into the study room—Sam and Ruby slam the doors shut. Dean crouches down and spreads ashes of goober dust across the door line to keep the hellhounds out. He then runs over to the window and does the same thing.

The Hellhounds fall silent and the doors stop shaking. Ruby turns to Sam, "Give me the knife. Maybe I can fight it off."

"What?" Sam's mind was still reeling from the fact that he might lose his brother.

"Come on! That dust won't last forever." Ruby exclaims.

Sam looks down at the knife, he slowly holds the blade out to Ruby but Dean speaks. "Wait."

Ruby snaps her eyes over to Dean. "You want to die

Dean's jaw goes slack and his eyes widen with realization. "Sam, that's lot Ruby—it's not Ruby!"

Sam raises the knife at the blonde, but she swipes her hand—sending Sam into the wall. She then holds her hand out to Dean and he flies back and is pinned against the table.

Athena's eyes find the knife on the ground where Sam had dropped it. She runs over to the knife, but Lilith sighs.

"I don't think so." Lilith backhands Athena and she hits the wall with Gil leaving her arms. Athena falls to the floor with a loud thud and she groans.

"Athena!"

"I'm fine..." Athena groans, blood filling the inside of her mouth.

Lilith tilts her head at the girl. Athena spits a glob of blood on the ground. "God, you hit like my dad." she lets out a groan. "And he was a bitch."

Lilith tilts her head, "Then I won't hit you."

Athena's throat suddenly begins to close up and she grasps at her neck.

"No, Athena!"

"I don't have to kill your brother right away," Lilith notes. "I mean, how fun would it be to have him watch you die first?"

"So, help me god--you let her go!" Dean's voice booms and he thrashes around on the table, trying to fight the phantom force.

Athena's ears begin to ring as she gasps for air that was cut off at a sudden rate. She could hear the muffled voices of her brothers screaming at her to hold on. And she could hear Lilith's grating laughter--like this was fun for her. Athena curls her hands into fists, trying her best to keep herself from collapsing onto the floot.

At least this way she would be resisitng whatever death would be coming for her.

Aside from all the other loud and muffled voices pounding in her head, she heard a clear one. One she hadn't heard in so long. It stayed dormant, so Athena thought she was getting. Guess, she was wrong.

Stand up.

Athena coughs and her arms begin to shake.

Stand--

"Fuck you." Athena gasps out, the pressure around her throat releases. Lilith stumbles, her back hitting the wall. "H-How did you--what are you doing?"

Sam and Dean glance at each other, shock and confusion across both of their faces.

Not being able to answer, Athena just coughs and falls to the hardwood floor. She wheezes and tears spill from her eyes, trying to catch her breath. Lilith keeps her eyes on the 13-year-old and tilts her head. A fear embeds in her chest and shakes her head. "That's not...f-fair--how did you do that?"

"I..." Athena rolls onto her back and meets Lilith's wide eyes. "...closed my eyes and wished really hard."

Lilith's jaw clenches. She stalks toward the girl and grabs at Athena's hair. Athena lets out a small yelp of protest and attempts to dig the heels of her boots into the floor, to keep Lilith from dragging her. Lilith throws Athena across the room, the girl's shoulder slams first into the wall--popping out of place. Athena cries out as her body slams onto the floor. The 13-year-old gasps and clutches at her arm with a trembling hand.

"Lilith, stop--"

"DON'T" Lilith's voice booms.

The entire house shakes and the brother's fall silent. Dean looks around the room, not being able to see Athena from the angle he was at. But Sam could see her from the wall he was pinned against. Athena was curled into a ball with her hand grabbing at her arm. Her entire body was trembling and Sam didn't know if it was out of fear or pain.

There was a fear in Lilith that caused her to grow angry with every second Athena lived. She knew about the girl's prophecy. But for her to be this strong? Athena didn't even know her own prohecy yet for fuck's sake. Lilith inhales a breath through her nose. "I will deal with the two of you after her."

Her eyes stay glued to Athena. "I want you to show me. Again." Lilith lightly kicks at Athena as if she was a dead body. Athena hisses in pain, "I don't know what you're--"

"Yes!" Lilith snaps and Athena flinches. "You do." she crouches beside the girl, the anger surrounding her caused Athena's bones to ache. It terrified her. "You stopped me from kill you. You're stronger now." her breathing heavies.

Athena shakes her head and Lilith tilts her head. "It shouldn't have happened this fast." Lilith utters. "Show me or I kill you."

Without a second of hesitation, Athena speaks. "Then I guess you're killing me." her eyes shift to Sam then Dean, fear across their own faces.

Lilith hums, a smirk ghosting her lips. "No..." she shakes her head and lightly clicks her tongue. "You. Aren't scared." she wags a finger at Athena. "That will be your undoing."

Athena's breathing quickens as Lilith's eyes drift back to her brothers. Lilith hadn't killed Dean because she was so focused on her. Athena just had to keep it going. "I-I don't know what you want from me!"

The blonde demon turns back to Athena. "I know you don't..." she tilts her head. "But you will. You just need some...motivation."

Athena's stomach turns when Lilith turns to the black cat. Her eyes widen, "NO, DON'T--"

Lilith waves a hand and a phantom force pins Athena to the wall. Athena lets out a cry and hse thrashes against the wall. "Stop it! Please, don't!" she cries out, tears immediately building in her eyes. Her breathing quickens and her heart begins to race. Everything around Athena began to grow blurry except for Lilith and Gil. Lilith pinches the back of Gil's neck, picking him up. Black dots begin to dance in her vision. "I can't help you--I can't!" An uncontrollable sob escapes her lips. "Whatever you think I am--whatever you think I can do, I can't do it!"

"You can't hurt him, please--d-don't."

"I...can't?" Lilith repeats with confusion. She looks at the black cat. She then meets Athena's trembling blue eyes. "I can't?" Lilith breaks out into a smile that would forever be seared into Athena's brain.

"Athena Winchester, I can do whatever I want."

Sam and Dean had never heard Athena scream so loud. Lilith drops the limp cat's body to the ground and slaps her hands together. "I never expected cats bones to be so...loud."  she huffs with a smile. Her eyes shift to the hyperventilating and sobbing 13-year-old. "You can get a new kitty."

Sam and Dean felt powerless. Watching Lilith take away the cat that Athena had grown close to. Gil was like her heart had stepped out of her chest. And now her heart was gone.

"Now, back to the main event--"

"I'm gonna kill you."

Lilith snickers and turns to Athena, "I'm sorry, did you say some--"

"I. Am going to kill you." Athena seethes.

Before the demon could say anything snarky, Lilith sees the heavy waves of rage swimming in Athena's blue grey eyes. And when Lilith squinted, she could've sworn she saw a glint of red wash over her eyes. Lilith hums, "Sorry, kid. Not your destiny."

Athena's eyes look back at Gil's body and she sobs. She couldn't even catch her breath from how much she was crying. Athena knew her threat fell short, but she couldn't care about that right now. She felt like she was dead. Was she?

Lilith walks over to Sam with a smitten smile. As if she didn't just cause irreparable harm. "Hello, Sam."

"I've wanted to meet you for a very  time." she pouts her lip. "I'm sorry for making such a huge mess. I hope this can make up for it." she steps closer to Sam and kisses hm. Sam groans from the burning sear coming from her lips. Lilith pulls away from him, "Your lips are soft."

Sam struggles against her grip. "Right, so you have me. Let my siblings go."

"Silly goose. You wanna bargain, you have to have something that I want." Lilith pouts. "You don't."

"But this one..." she points at Athena, who was checked out with tears were still rolling down her face. "She has everything. She just doesn't know how to give it to me, though. That's what got her kitty killed."

Athena's heart begins to hurt.

"So, is this your big plan, huh?" Dean speaks up. "Drag me to Hell. Kill Sam, use Athena, and then what? Become queen bitch?"

Lilith turns to him. "I don't have to listen to puppy chow."

Athena lifts her head and her eyes widen.

Lilith steps away from Sam and walks over to the doors, her eyes still glued to Dean. She grips the door handle. "Sic 'em, boy."

She pulls the door open. The wind blows the goofer dust away, and all Sam and Athena can see is Dean being pulled off the table. Athena's eyes widen, "NO!"

Dean screams in pain as the Hellhound pulls at his leg and begins to rip him apart. Dean's skin tears and blood spills across the floor and walls. Lilith tilts her head back and laughs from the sound of Dean's screams while Sam and Athena sobs for her to stop.

Blood gushes out of Dean and his agonizing screams continued to ring through his sibling's ears.

Athena could see the moment, Dean wasn't there anymore. His screaming had abruptly stopped and his chest filled with blood. His soul seemed to disappear and that's when Athena knew the demons had won.

Sam must've saw it too, because he leaned forward trying to force himself off the wall. "NO!"

Lilith looks at Sam with a satisfied smile. "Yes." She holds her hand out to him and the whole room erupts in a blinding white light.

☆

Lilith thought with the two Winchesters unaware of their full potential, that meant they wouldn't be immune to her powers.

She thought wrong.

The white light died down and she could see the two siblings sitting on the floor with their hands over their eyes.

Sam pulls his hands off his face and so does Athena. He slowly stands up, his eyes trained on Lilith.

Athena used whatever strength she had in her body to crawl across the hardwood floor, not caring about the blood or any other matter that she came into contact with. She had to get to Dean. She had to.

"Back." Lilith holds her hand out to Sam, but nothing happens. Sam steps closer to her. "I said, back."

Sam grabs the knife from the floor. "I don't think so." He raises it above his head and readies to drive it through Lilith.

Suddenly, Lilith tilts her head to the ceiling and screams—black smoke leaving her mouth. The body now empty, falls to the ground beside Dean.

Sam's eyes shift to Athena and Dean. Athena's forehead was pressed against Dean's shoulder and she was sobbing uncontrollably as if she would never stop. Sam's hand trembles and the knife in his hand drops to the ground. His boots softly thud against the floor as he walks closer to his siblings.

"No, no, no..." Athena hiccups. Sam falls to his knees beside Athena, his own crying growing louder with every second that passed.

Athena lifts her head from Dean's tattered shoulder and her eyes skim across his blood splattered face. His eyes were open, but there was nothing behind them. No life. No Dean Winchester. He was just a body now.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry." Athena chokes out. She inhales a trembling breath and sobs harder than before. She looks down at her hands and clothes that were soaked in her brother's blood and her skin began to grow cold.

Sam cups the back of Dean's head and gently lifts him up. "Dean..."

The adrenaline in her body began to die down and she could feel her shoulder and body burn with pain. But nothing compared to the pain in her heart.

A piece of her got ripped out of her soul when she saw Gil's body hit the floor. And then watching the light leave Dean's eyes...

Athena was dead.

And no amount of revenge or truth would ever change that.

━━━━━━━━━━

author's note.

YALLLLLLL

For this season being the shortest, I think it took the longest for me to write.

Like I said in the before the chapter started—I am SO SORRY!!! Obviously this is supernatural, things that die don't really stay dead...IF YOU CATCH MY DRIFT

Anywayyyy I'm gonna go work on Moodboards for SEASON 4–HOLY SHIT!!!!

The first few chapters I write for season 4 are going to be building up A LOTTTTT of Athena's story and the truth about what she is. I AM SO EXCITED!!!

Thank you for sticking with me through this season—I LOVE ALL OF YOU SO MUCH!!!

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