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[yummypi314]

November 2020

Jack feels regret the second he takes on Chuck’s powers.

Jack never wanted to rule the world. All he ever wanted was to find a family and a home. Instead, he was born between two worlds, feeling like he didn’t belong anywhere. His life so far has been spent teetering on the edge of an internal battle between so-called “good and evil”, only one misstep away from unleashing chaos and destruction.

However, despite his rough beginnings, Jack found a family and a home. But that’s gone now. The power that he never asked for is now the very thing keeping him from the family he fought so hard to save.  

But he doesn’t have a choice. If he doesn’t take this power, who will?

The great responsibility of the world has been trusted to him, so he must do the best that he can. Jack vows to try and apply all the lessons that his family has taught him but he’s quickly finding out that being an all powerful being isn’t a job meant for someone with a soul. He realizes that the second he takes on Chuck’s powers.

All the prayers, all the pain, all the sadness, everything weights on Jack. He hears all the needs of the world, but more than that, he feels them like they are his own.

“This isn’t a burden that you should carry on your own,” Amara whispered in his head.

Jack understands this. He isn’t alone. They are in this together. But the task of watching over the world will require more than just the two of them. They need help. They need Castiel.

After putting the world back together, Jack goes to the Empty.

Or at least he tries to.

But when he gets to the doorway to the Empty, he can’t go inside. It's like the cosmic key has been changed and the Empty isn’t answering his call.

So Jack calls out louder.

Jack bangs on the metaphorical and metaphysical doorway of the Empty but there is still no answer.

So he keeps calling and calling and calling.

"Jack," Amara's voice patiently states from inside his head, "Jack, we aren't going to be able to get in unless the Empty lets us. I know you can feel the cosmic barrier too."

Frustrated and exhausted, Jack asks, "Why do we have these powers if we can't save those we love?”

Tears prickle in his eyes and Jack feels ashamed about acting like an immature child who hasn't gotten his way.

"I know Jack, but we can't repeat Chuck's mistakes and only act to save a chosen few. We have to think about the whole universe now."

Jack sighs, not wanting to hear reason.

"Jack, what would Castiel want you to do?"

Wiping away his tears, Jack knows that Amara is right. Castiel wouldn't want him to let the universe fall into chaos just to save him. They have work to do and Jack knows where to start; he needs to go to Hell.

But when he gets there, Hell is not what he expects.

All the stories he’s heard have painted Hell as a place of violence and torture. But while the dark stone walls and hidden corridors look ominous, he doesn’t hear the blood curdling cries of agony that he’d been anticipating. What he finds is something different.

He passes through the hallways and glances into the cells where instead of torture devices, there are small clusters of people… talking to each other... about their feelings?

The faint cries he does hear aren't from physical pain; they are cries of grief, remorse and regret.

Jack lets his feet take him where they instinctively lead and he ends up in a great hall. In the middle of the room is his old friend Rowena, surrounded by loyal subjects who are updating her about the conditions of her kingdom. She is a Queen on her throne, easily comfortable with her new role, her actual and metaphorical crown a perfect fit.

Spotting Jack, Rowena’s brow crinkles in confusion. “Jackie, dearie, what are you doing here?”

However, when she really sees Jack, her face falls, like she can read a hidden message written across his forehead. “Oh sweetie, what happened?”

"Amara and I have taken over for Chuck." Jack states plainly, getting quickly to the point.  

Rowena’s tsks in sympathy. “Dearie, that’s a heavy responsibility. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

Jack shrugs a response.  

Rowena eyes Jack skeptically and then waves her hand at her court. She says dismissively, "Leave us.”

The demons surrounding her scuffle off and when they are gone, she pats the chair beside her.

“Sit. Tell Auntie Rowena why you are really here.”

Jack moves tentatively to sit beside Rowena, and while he can hear a muttering from Amara asking him if he’s sure about the optics of God sitting next to the Queen of Hell, he ignores it and decides that for a moment, he will be just Jack, asking his close friend for advice.

“So,” Rowena takes the crown off her head and places it on the table next to her throne. “I’ll ask again, Jackie dear, why are you here?”

“I wanted to see what Hell is like,” Jack pauses, "But.. I don't understand why Hell exists. Why does anyone have to suffer?”

Rowena nods solemnly. “Yes, well, I agree that the idea of a world where no one suffers is more palatable, that isn’t reality now is it? There needs to be a place for the demons and tortured souls who can't go to Heaven.”

Jack doesn’t find this explanation to be enough. ”But what if they could? What if I allowed all the tortured souls here to go to Heaven? Would you let them leave?”

Rowena considers his offer and then nods. “If you would allow it, when they are ready, I will agree to let them go. Most of the souls here, they have made mistakes and they must serve their time. But when that time is up, I would hope that they would be able to move on and either help others here or find peace somewhere else. Just because someone did something wrong, that doesn't mean they need to suffer for all eternity.”

Jack inspects the palace room around him. The setting is cold but not cruel. "This isn’t what I expected. I thought Hell would be violent. Isn't the point of Hell to torture?”

"Dearie, is there any greater torture than facing the consequences of your actions? I don’t need to pick up a blade for someone to suffer.”  

But Jack is still confused. From what he heard from the demon he met on the case with Castiel, he thought there was chaos in Hell. "Everything looks fine here. I thought there was a demon uprising?"

Rowena shrugs, "Some people were more reluctant to change than others. There’s always some friction when a new ruler takes over. But you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Though I did have to swat a few gnats in the beginning to show them whose boss. But it wasn’t anything that I can’t handle.”

On the throne, Rowena seems comfortable, showing no signs of hesitance to lead that Jack feels, so Jack asks, "You seem content here, would you ever want to leave Hell?"

Rowena shakes her head. “No Jackie, I’m where I belong and where I want to be. I always wanted power but now I have a reason for having it and I know how to use it.”

"So everything is good here? No demons escaping? You don't need my help?”

Rowena smiles, ”I’ve got everything under control. You have plenty of other things to worry about. Leave Hell to me.”

Jack nods solemnly. He can’t run everything and from what he’s seen, Rowena does have everything handled, as always. Besides, there are others that need his help.

Because that is what Jack hears all the time. Cries for help. And the noise is deafening.

Of all the prayers that Jack’s hears, perhaps one of the most heartbreaking are Dean’s prayers to Castiel for him to come home. Because the prayers aren’t directed at him, Jack feels like an intruder to Dean’s grief, like he’s passing by a car crash and can’t look away.

Jack wants to tell Dean that he’s trying his best to get Castiel back, that everything he’s doing is for his family. Jack wants to explain that before he can focus on the Empty, he has to set everything else right. But until Jack knows how to get Castiel back, he leaves Dean’s prayers unanswered. Jack needs to bring back a win to Dean because he’s already taken so much for Dean and he must make it right. So Dean’s prayers become yet another voice in Jack’s head he must push down in order to do what needs to be done.

Because Jack knows where they need to go next. They need to go to Purgatory.

Unlike Hell, Jack has no idea what to expect from Purgatory.  Dean and Castiel spent a year fighting monsters here but the details of what happened seem to be a story for only Dean and Castiel alone to share.

Jack finds her in a clearing, where the trees create a canopy that filters sunlight between the branches. Eve is on her knees, all alone, her back to him. Using her hands, she is digging into the dirt, planting seeds with intense focus and concentration.

Sensing his presence, she eyes him skeptically over her shoulder as she says, ”I can tell you’re not one of my children. Who are you and why are here?”

"We are Jack and Amara. We're here to see what it’s like in Purgatory."

"And why is it any of your business?" Eve asks skeptically.  

Jack puffs out his chest. "We took over for Chuck, um, God, so we want to make sure that everything in the universe is running smoothly."

Eve responds dismissively, “Why should you care? The previous God abandoned us, so why shouldn’t you. Leave. This land is mine."

But behind her stern face, there seems to be something in her eyes, a hint of betrayal.

"Is everything alright? Is there something that you need?" Jack questions.

Eve snaps at him. "No. My children don’t need anything from you. Here, they don't need anything at all. Not sleep, not food, not shelter. In this place, there is just one rule, kill or be killed.”

"Kill or be killed? What happens when someone dies here?" Jack questions.

"They come back. Eventually. Hopefully having learned from their mistakes and becoming a better fighter."

Jack weighs his response. "But what about those who don’t want to fight?"

Anger flares in Eve’s eyes and she snaps, "Of course my children want to fight. What monster doesn't want to fight?"

Jack thinks of Garth and his family. He thinks of Mia and others that he’s met who don't want to hurt anyone. He thinks of himself and he thinks of Amara. He thinks of everyone who at one time had been called a monster. So he finally answers, ”I can think of a few."

"Well, I can’t help all my children. If they don’t fight, then this place will eventually destroy them."

Jack pauses, weighing the options. "What if you send those who don’t want to fight to Heaven?"

Eve's eyes flicker. "You would allow them in?"

"Why not?" Jack shrugs.

"The previous God didn’t.”

"Well. We're different.”

Eve studies him, like she is finally see him for the first time. Standing up, she walks over to Jack so that she can look deep into his eye, as if unsure if he is real. Finally, Eve nods. "It'll be hard. Saying goodbye to any of my children. But if they don’t belong here, I will let them go. I only want what’s best for them.”

Jack smiles. “Heaven's now open for those of your children who need a safe space to belong.”   Jack turns to leave but before he can go, Eve calls out. “Wait."

She walks up to Jack’s side and places her hand on his arm. "You’ll watch over them? Give them the afterlife that I can't?"

Jack nods.

Eve smiles. "Thank you."  

Jack returns her smile.

But any sense of accomplishment Jack feels about his work in Hell and Purgatory is short lived. Because with ever win, he feels the immense pressure of all the other needs of the world.

And Jack is tired. So very tired.

Amara whispers in his head. "Jack, let me take over for awhile. You need to rest."

Jack nods, knowing that this is a responsibility that they must share, their shared existence means that Amara is the voice in his head and he is the voice in her’s. For now, she must take the lead.

So they head to Heaven. When they get there, the lights in the long, empty corridors are flickering and time and space start to dissolve.

Jack asks, "Is Heaven… shutting down?"

Amara inspects up and down the hallway, the edges of the world becoming hazy. "That's what appears to be happening. There isn’t enough power from the few angels left to maintain all these individual heavens. Holding souls in a repeating loop of memories takes a lot of energy."

"So what do we do?"

Amara contemplates all the possible solutions because having the entirety of the knowledge of the universe has its benefits.

But knowing the theoretical concepts of what makes up a soul means nothing if you don’t have the experience of actually having one. Having Jack’s soul shared within her is as close to understanding the human experience as Amara will ever get. When she consumed souls before, she was left with insatiable hunger, driven by greed and anger and revenge. But now, by sharing the experience of humanity, she finally feels whole. It wasn’t what she thought she needed. It certainly wasn’t what her brother thought she needed. But in the ended, while unexpected, learning to love humanity through Jack was exactly what she needed. Perhaps, that was the solution to their current problem.

”What if instead of giving these souls what my brother thought they need, a Heaven made up of only the happiest memories on loop, we give them what they actually need?

Puzzled, Jack asks, ”And what is that?"

Amara brow scrunches, "I don’t know, we will have to let them decide."

"What will happen if we do that?”

Amara almost laughs at the realization. "I don’t know that either. It seems there are some mysteries that even we don't know. I've given a soul what they needed only once before and the outcome was unexpected.”

"What happened?" Asks Jack.

Ah, all roads always seem to lead back to the Winchesters. ”When Dean stopped me from destroying the world years ago, as a gesture of gratitude, I gave him what he needed, which was his mother back. But the result was messy as it wasn't the family reunion that he expected and as you are aware, her life ended in tragedy.”

Amara pauses, understanding she is treading onto a sensitive subject for Jack, who still feels the guilt of causing Mary's death. But she presses forward. "Despite how it ended, I still believe that it was what he needed. He needed to see Mary as a real person, not as an idealized, unrealistic version of a mother and he needed to finally let go of his anger and let others in. From what I’ve seen, he’s done both.”

And it’s true. Despite the pain and the grief they hear from Dean’s prayers, there isn’t the same rage that once consumed him.

”Ok, let’s do it." Jack says with renewed confidence.

"It won't be easy." Amara warns.

"I've learned that the things worth fighting for, never are."

So Amara, who was once the force of destruction creates. She creates a Heaven where the souls get what they need. Gone are the long hallways and the individual, isolated rooms of Heaven. Now Heaven is a wide open space, filled with potential.

"Did it work?" Jack wonders.  

Amara admires the land she has created. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Using their great cosmic powers, Amara and Jack check on the souls of Heaven. Jack knows there are people that the Winchester’s would have wanted him to see, so he asks Amara to take him there.

They see Rufus and Bobby, fishing on a lake and laughing while they share a six pack of cold, cheap beer.

They see Kevin Tran finally reuniting with his father and the look of pride of his father's face when he realizes everything that his son has done for the world.  

They see Charlie exploring the magical realm of The Shire with her mother by her side, preparing to set off on a great adventure.  

They see the souls that have started making their way from Hell and Purgatory, finally getting the ending they deserve.

What Amara and Jack now understand is that what the souls need more than just reliving their happiest memories, is each other and now that Heaven isn’t fighting against what souls truly desire, there’s enough power to keep everything running.

But then comes the unexpected. There are souls that want to help others heal, so they decide to go to Hell to help those in need. There are souls who crave adventure, who decide to go to Purgatory. There are souls who go to the Empty, where Jack and Amara can’t follow. He doesn’t know what they seek there, but many declare a desire for eternal rest or rebirth. He hopes that they find what they are looking for in the unknown.

Surprisingly, there is a free flowing of souls between the planes of the afterlife and while Jack and Amara thought the chaos would put an end to all existence, allowing freedom in the afterlife seems to be the unexpected solution to actually keeping the universe in balance. Soul energy is no longer hoarded between the planes for power but rather the energy is shared by the souls caring out their own free will.

It’s when they are admiring their work that Jack feels it, he can sense that Castiel has been saved and is now back on Earth. There is nothing that can stop Jack from going to see his father. But Amara wishes she could warn him. Because they will not be able to stay on Earth with his family. The longer they are on Earth, the more of a chance of causing a ripple effect and influencing the world they promise to let be. They will have to go and Amara hates that she’s the one that tells him that they must leave.

No sooner do they arrive on Earth, than they have to go, because of course Jack can't get what he wants. But there is something in Heaven that he wants and can have for himself. He can go and see his Mother.

Kelly is waiting for him on her porch when he arrives and she wraps him in a hug and he feels like he has come home.

"You did it Jack," she whispers in his ear, "You created paradise, just like I knew you always would."

Tears stream down his face and he holds her tighter, never wanting to let her go.

Finally having a chance to experience the paradise he helped to create, Jack sits on his mother’s front porch and she tells him stories of his family and he tells her about all that he has done. The pride in Kelly’s smile is something that Amara for the first time in her very long existence can understand.

Sitting with his mother, Jack is convinced that what they are doing is right. While he misses his family on Earth and wishes they were with him, he knows that what he’s doing would make them proud. Though he’s tired and he has trouble balancing the needs of all the pain of the world, he knows that he’s on the right path. Even if he doesn't get what he wants, he’s doing what he should be doing. Isn’t he?

Kelly is telling him a story about the first time she saw the ocean as child, when he hears Castiel's prayer.

Kelly must have noticed his distraction, because she says, "Go Jack. You’ve got work to do and there are others that need you. You can always come and find me. I’ll be here.”

Jack nods and hugs her tightly before he leaves.

Leaving Castiel behind on Earth the second time is no easier than the first. But Jack has to do it. Castiel deserves to finally live a life of his own. But Jack misses him. He misses Dean. He misses Sam. He misses everyone. But he doesn't have time to think about missing anyone. There is still so much to do.

Amara and Jack go around Heaven, inspecting every inch and every molecule to make sure everything is working and making necessary adjustment. But there is one place in Heaven that Jack has been avoiding. Amara tells him gently, that it’s time, that he should go there, that he should finally see her.

Jack finds himself circling the little yellow house on the corner but he doesn’t go in. It’s his mother who during one of his weekly visits, finally convinces him to cross the threshold, to go see Mary.

During the rebuild of Heaven, Jack watched from a distance the creation of Mary’s home, hoping it would be a place that she would love. When they were in Apocalypse world together, she told him stories of how when she was growing up, her family would scour newspapers checking for signs of potential hunts. When they finished searching for clues and the newspaper was casted aside, no longer useful, Mary would retrieve it and skim through the real-estate pages, seeing what homes were for sale and envisioning a different life.

When Mary was a child, the definition of a home sold to her generation was the image of a hard working husband, a devoted wife and 2.5 kids. But as a daughter of hunters, she knew that dream wasn’t meant for her. According to her father, a house was just a temporary base between jobs and the idea of home was a myth.

But to Mary, the home that she wanted was a space of her own, a place where she could live her own life on her own terms. She told Jack that she remembered a small cottage, on the outskirts of Lawrence that they would drive by every time her family would leave on jobs. Sometime when they would pass, the women who owned the house would be out in her garden, tending to the land. Other days, the women would be reading on the swing hung on the large oak tree out front. Still other times, the women would be repairing something, either a leaning fence, a broken window or a missing shutter. But every time that Mary saw the mysterious women, she always seemed so content. That life of peaceful independence became a dream for Mary. So Jack hoped that Mary had finally created the home she always dreamed for herself.

Jack knocks on the blue door, the door design an echo of the one from their shared favorite film. He brought a cheeseburger from Frank’s, because while greasy takeout may not be a customary housewarming gift, Dean taught him to feed the ones you love.

When Mary opens the door, the look on her face is surprised. Not knowing what to do, Jack turns to leave, but before he can, Mary says “Oh Jack, why are you here?”

Stunned, Jack can’t say anything and freezes in place.

Mary grabs his arm before he can walk away. "That came out wrong. Jack, I was hoping that you wouldn't have died so soon. You're still so young."

Jack shakes his head, "I'm not dead."

Confusion overcomes Mary's face, “Then, how are you here?"

"I'm God."

"Oh," Mary is taken aback, "Oh, ok, Um, do you wanna come in?"

Jack shrugs and follows Mary to her living room so he can tell her the complicated story of getting his soul back and his “promotion” to God.

Having finished his story, Jack notices the absence in the home, "Where's...” he struggles to decide on a name or a title to use, “John?"

“He’s not here. We're not together anymore." She sighs. "We both have our own issues to work out. Just because we are in Heaven, doesn’t mean everything is perfect."

"Are you sad that it's not perfect?"

“No, I'm not. John and I, we weren’t meant to be even if we were meant to be, if that makes sense. In the earlier Heaven, we were together and I guess, we were a version of happy. But, we were also a shallower versions of ourselves. Just sugar coated memories.”

Mary nudges Jack's knee. "You made the right choice. This heaven isn’t perfect but perfect isn’t perfect."

"I wish there was something I could do to fix what’s broken between you and John.” Jack responses.

Mary shakes her head “No, it’s our to fix, on our own. John did a lot of wrong in his life. He was never the father he should have been to my boys. I understand that now. I’m working on forgiving him so I can move on with my life or I guess afterlife, but it’ll take time.”

“Do you think there are some people who should never be forgiven?” Jack asks tentatively.

Mary shakes her head, having read in-between Jack’s words. “Honey, you’ve got to know that what you did was different? John was aware that he was taking away our sons’ childhoods. Deep down, he knew that what he was doing was wrong but that didn’t stop him. Yes, he acted out of grief and pain, but he should have done better and been a better father.”

Mary pours Jack a lemonade and hands him the chilled glass. “What you did, it was wrong. Very wrong. I didn’t deserve to die. But, in the end, it was an accident and I don’t blame you.”

Jack breathes out. “I’m so sorry. I’m so very sorry. I don’t know how to fix what I broke.”

“Jack, you saved my boys and you are one of my boys.” Mary sets her glass down and leans towards him so she can look deeply into his eyes and she holds his hands in hers, “And I forgive you.”  

With those words, a large burden is lifted from Jack. He hadn’t known that he needed to hear her say those words until now. They were words that he couldn’t ask for but words that once given freely, eased a great weight from his soul.

But even with the weight of Mary’s death lifted from him, that didn’t ease the insurmountable burden on him. Hearing all the soul’s cries and pleas, has worn away at his own soul. This concerns Amara as she feels him drawing away.

“Jack,” Amara asks him one day, when the burden seems to be at its worst, “will you be alright?”

“It’s too much today, I want to help but I’m not enough.” Jack says.

They are sitting in a quiet space in Heaven, a diner modeled after the one that he would frequent with Castiel and the Winchesters in Lebanon. The Heavenly version of the diner is a perfect replica, the same red vinyl seats, the same spotted formica tables, and the same plate of chicken fried steak, Jack’s favorite meal simply because it’s like one big chicken nugget. But he hasn’t touch his food, unable to fathom the idea of eating because there is something missing in the diner, a void left by missing company.

Amara studies him, “Jack, you can’t do everything. Even we have our limits.”

“How do you survive with this weight?” Jack asks, gesturing around the empty diner to the unseeable pressure of the universe.

“I don’t have a soul like you so I’m able to be emotionally distant. I can look at the situation more logically. Having the great power and responsibility that we do, requires a distance to be able to keep everything running.” Amara sighs, not wanting to put a voice to the words they have been avoiding, “You aren’t capable of having that separation as long as you have your soul.”

“But I want to help.” Jack pleas.

“And you have,” Amara responds. She thinks about all the good that they have brought to the world and Heaven since taking over. The world wasn’t perfect, but it was better and would hopefully continue to get better.  

“The burden is just too much.” Jack whispers.

"When the burden is too much, let me carry it.”

But as much as Amara wants to, she can’t always carry Jack’s burden. She can feel his soul fading. The bright, glowing light of his soul becoming more of a flicker. She had hoped that they would have more time but they are running against the clock. Jack has a decision to make. Because in the end, it is his decision, not hers.

That decision is why Amara now finds herself sitting across the table from Sam, Dean and Castiel in the bunker's library, a place she vowed to never return.

She had been prepared to be greeted with drawn weapons and untrusting scowls, having always been on the opposing side of the Winchesters. Instead, she is holding a cup of tea that she doesn’t need but was clearly given to her as a symbolic olive branch. She isn’t sure how to react to this unexpected welcoming but she just hopes that she isn’t too late to do what must be done.

In the short time since their visit with Mary, Jack’s vessel has grown even weaker. After arriving back at the bunker, he only managed a few words of assurance to his family before Amara needed to take over their form. With Jack incapacitated, Amara will have to be the one to explain the situation to his family without giving away too many details. Humans shouldn’t know what happens behind the cosmic curtain. There should be some mystery to the afterlife, even for those who have died some many times.

“So,” she states, “This is awkward.”

While this seems to release some of the tension in the room, the looks of concern don’t leave the men’s faces.

“What’s happening to Jack?” Dean asks.

“His soul is fading,” Amara replies.

Dean frowns and leans forward, closer to her, “What, what does that mean?”

Amara places the now cold cup of tea down on the table, “Right now, Jack and I share an existence. We keep the balance of light and dark of the universe. But the burden of being a celestial being, it’s wearing on Jack’s human soul. So he has a choice to make.”

“Great, because choices always work out so well for us.” Dean quips, sliding back in his chair.

“What are his options?” Castiel questions Amara, ignoring Dean.

“Jack will have to decide whether or not to give up being a celestial being or his soul.”

The men glance over at each other, measuring out the weight of Jack’s decision. Amara continues, “If Jack decides to stay a celestial being and a divine power, his soul will eventually fade away to nothing and cease to exist.”

“How can he keep his soul?” Castiel asks.  

“To do that, we will need to split. All the celestial power will be left with me and Jack will become human.”

“What does Jack want?” Sam asks.

Amara leans back in the chair. “He hasn’t decided. He already visited his love ones in Heaven but he wanted to see his family on Earth before he makes his final decision.”

The tension in the room is heavy. Amara stands and walks over to the shelves to absently trace the spines of the books. So much knowledge stored in these pages, but even with the vast amount of resources, this library doesn’t compare to the nearly infinite knowledge that Jack and her share. The same knowledge that Jack would have to give up to keep his soul.

Amara turns back to the men, “I was expecting more resistance. Aren’t you afraid of what will happen if I take over?”

“Jack trusts you and we trust his judgement.” Castiel responses.

Scanning the faces in front of her, Amara responses cooly “Just like that, you trust so easily? What about before?”

Dean stares her straight in the eyes, “Amara, I was the one to betray you before with Chuck. But even after all the shit I pulled, you’re still here trying to do what’s right. You’ve earned and deserve my trust.”

When she doesn’t say anything, Dean continues, “What do you want?”

Amara turns away from Dean and stares back at the books, as if they might contain an easy answer. Amara can still feel the bound she shares with Dean. They were once kindred spirits, both fueled by anger and betrayal. But since being freed from Chuck’s control, they have been able to let go of the rage that at one time dictated their actions. Perhaps now they can finally get the endings they deserve.

Amara turns back to Dean, realizing the answer behind what she truly wants, “I want Jack to be happy.”

Taking a moment, Amara observes Jack’s family. There had been a time when they had tried to destroy her, lock her in a cage and throw away the key. Looking back, she could see what they saw in her. After being freed, she had recked havoc on the world, hungrily eating up souls without remorse. But, in a few short years, less than a blink in her lifetime, she had grown. After having Jack’s soul reside in her, she can no longer recognize who she was before. Now, she’s on the same side as Jack’s family, fighting for the world that she has come to love.

Resigned, Amara know what she needs to do. “Jack and I need some space.”

None of the men try to stop her as the leaves the room.

Amara slowly walks out of the bunker, taking in all the sensations that Jack is feeling. Her mind fills with all his memories, good and bad. Without him, she would feel nothing for this place. But after having him as a part of her, she now sees the world through his eyes and she understands what is means to have a home.

Amara stands outside the bunker to observe the setting sun. The sky is alight with brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red. There are limited times when mortal eyes can look upon the closest star, fleeting moments where the darkness of the impending or fading night allows human eyes to take in the intense brightness and beauty of this world’s life force. As with everything in the universe, there is a balance that must be obeyed. But between those opposing forces, true wonder lies.

“Jack, what’s your decision?” Amara speaks to the silence.

Jack’s voice inside her head responses hesitantly, “I don’t know. I’m not sure in which world I belong.”

Amara understands not belonging, having been cast aside by her brother, who was her only equal and her other half. But through Jack, she has seen that while there are no others like him in the universe, both Heaven and Earth have opened up to Jack and given him home. Jack’s conundrum is not about him not belong in either world. Jack is torn because now, he finally belongs in both.

Belonging. Amara hadn’t realized that that was what she had been searching for all along. Jack’s story had shown her that finding a home is not about finding those who are like you but about being around those who bring out the best in you so that you can bring out the best in them. Since becoming one with Jack, she is no longer defined as the creature of destruction. They are balanced as they bring the light and the darkness together. But light and dark are not good or evil, they are just two parts of a whole. And because of Jack, Amara is now whole and she knows where she belongs. She only hopes that she can give him the strength to do what he needs to do.

Jack’s voice in her head continues, “I don’t want to cease to exist. I’ve lost my soul before and I did terrible things.”

As cosmic beings, they know what could happen to Jack. If he stays with Amara, his soul will not transition to a new plane of existence where he can reclaim it. No, his soul will fade until there is nothing left. All of his essence will be gone and there will be no way for it to be returned this time. Before merging with Jack, she would have been indifferent to him losing his soul. Now, the thought of a universe without what makes Jack who is he, terrifies her.

Jack continues, “But while I’m scared of what could happen to me, I don’t want to abandon my responsibilities. I want to make the world a better place, like how my Mom dreamt I would.”

“Jack, you’ve already created a better world. You can be done and your work can continue through those that you have inspired. You can be free to make the world in a different way.”

Jack’s voice is quiet in her head. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“I know.” Amara understands that she has to let him go because Jack had already made his decision, whether he realizes it or not. “Thank you Jack, for teaching me what it means to be a mother so I could be a mother to all. I will always be with you and you with me.”

“Goodbye Amara,” Jack whispers, as he feels Amara pulling away from him, their bodies separating. What once was one, is now two. He closes his eyes to fight back tears as he feels a set of arms wrap around him.

“Goodbye Jack.” And their embrace is broken.

Jack opens his eyes to find he’s standing alone outside of the bunker. He raises a finger to his face to feel a tear falling down his cheek but he can’t remember why he's here and why he’s crying.

Chapters: 12/12 Fandom: Supernatural Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy & Sam Winchester Characters: Jack Kline, Amara (Supernatural), Dean Winchester, Castiel (Supernatural), Sam Winchester, God | Chuck Shurley Series: Part 3 of The Divine Trilogy Summary:

The tale of the Winchester brothers may have been destined to end in blood but after defeating Chuck, Sam and Dean are finally free to write their own stories. As they begin their new lives, they’re left questioning what they actually want and if a hunter’s journey is ever really over.

Part 3: Devotion

1) profound dedication, especially to religion. 2) earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc. 3) an assignment or appropriation to any purpose, cause, etc. 4) religious observance or worship; a form of prayer or worship for special use.

The members of Team Free Will 2.0 begin to find their own purposes in life but the question remain if they have managed to break from Chuck’s narrative or if destiny is written in stone.

[yummypi314]

Chapters: 12/12 Fandom: Supernatural Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy & Sam Winchester Characters: Jack Kline, Amara (Supernatural), Dean Winchester, Castiel (Supernatural), Sam Winchester, God | Chuck Shurley Series: Part 3 of The Divine Trilogy Summary:

The tale of the Winchester brothers may have been destined to end in blood but after defeating Chuck, Sam and Dean are finally free to write their own stories. As they begin their new lives, they’re left questioning what they actually want and if a hunter’s journey is ever really over.

Part 3: Devotion

1) profound dedication, especially to religion. 2) earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc. 3) an assignment or appropriation to any purpose, cause, etc. 4) religious observance or worship; a form of prayer or worship for special use.

The members of Team Free Will 2.0 begin to find their own purposes in life but the question remain if they have managed to break from Chuck’s narrative or if destiny is written in stone.

[yummypi314]

Chapter 1: What is Love? 

Having narrowly escaped Zachariah’s wrath, Castiel flies Dean to an abandoned road. They are safe, for now. Relief washes over him, but under that feeling is a sense of unease. He is disobeying. What he is doing is wrong.

But why? Why should he think that protecting Dean Winchester goes against God’s plan? Fighting to save the world, that’s an angel’s purpose. As Heaven’s shield, he swore to defend humanity. For now, that means stopping the Apocalypse, even if he must betray his brothers and sisters.

Castiel’s mind scrambles, trying to sort out what is right and what is wrong. The feeling of doubt and uncertainty are still new to him and he is unsure of what he should do. He has to make a choice, having come to the point where he must decide on which path he should take. But the road ahead is unclear, the map long gone. He’s been lost for awhile now, ever since he pulled the righteous man from Hell.

“Perfect timing Cas.” Dean gives him a smile and with that smile, Castiel’s conviction returns. He’s following Michael’s sword. This is his destiny.

“We had an appointment.” Castiel responses as he manages to cling to a glimmer of hope in the future.

Grabbing Castiel’s shoulder, Dean stares intently into Castiel’s eyes. “Never change.”

Dean’s touch generates a rush of feelings, feelings Castiel doesn’t understand and can’t yet name.

But before Castiel can response, a sickening voice comes from Dean’s mouth, “Always so naive.”

Slowly, Dean’s features begin to change. His warm smile morphs into a sinister sneer. From inside his jacket, he withdraws an angel blade and plunges it into Castiel’s side. The pain sears through Castiel and grace oozes from his body. Castiel lets out a loud wail of pain as he grabs at his open wound and collapses to the ground.

Dean cackles and his face transforms into Jimmy Novack, the same face Castiel has come to selfishly think of as his own. Jimmy's mouth spits the words, “So gullible, so willing to believe.”

The scene of the abandoned road fades away and is replaced with nothing. The memories come flooding back. Castiel is back. He is back in the Empty.

On the ground, which isn’t even really the ground, Castiel curls around himself in pain. Tentatively bringing a hand to his side, he feels the tear in his shirt where the blade pierced his body. He draws his hand away and see that he isn’t bleeding, even though he can still feel the dull pain. Surveying his clothes, he spots other tears and he remembers how each tear corresponds to other memories that have turned against him.

The Empty, still wearing Jimmy’s face, lays down next to him and breathes out frosty air on Castiel’s skin. Trying to block out the sensation, Castiel squeezes his eyes shut.

Unfazed, the Empty continues to cackle, “You would think you would have learned by now, your life was never meant to be a love story. But no, you keep making the same mistakes over and over again. You just keep forgetting the lessons I want you to learn.”

The Empty reaches out and lays a hand on Castiel’s cheek and the icy cold burns against his skin. "But don’t worry, I’m a very eager teacher, even if you aren’t a willing student.”

Images flash through Castiel’s mind. Memories infected with deceit and betrayal. It has been months, or years, or maybe an eternity since Castiel submitted to the Empty to save Dean and to save the world. Since then, his memories have been manipulated until he doesn’t know what is real and what is fiction. But through it all, Castiel has clung to his faith in what he believes in and in who he believes in.

Castiel’s eyes open to blank out the false memories and now all he sees is the Empty’s face, mere inches from his own.

“Castiel,” The Empty hisses out his name, drawing out each syllable. The Empty’s voice whispers, not needing to be raised due to the closeness and the silence. “You have become a thorn in my side. Not only did you wake me up. No, no, no, just when I was so close to finally getting some rest, that kid of yours had to make it so loud in here.”

The Empty winces, trying to block out noise that Castiel can’t hear.

“So many things, too many things, are now awake and I don’t know if they will ever go back to sleep.”

With a quick, fluid motion, the Empty stands and picks Castiel up by the throat, “And for that, I am going to make you suffer, in ways you can’t imagine.”

And with those words, Castiel’s vision goes black.

Chapters: 14/14 Fandom: Supernatural Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Kaia Nieves/Claire Novak Characters: Dean Winchester, Castiel (Supernatural), Sam Winchester, Benny Lafitte, Eileen Leahy, Billie (Supernatural: Form and Void), The Empty | The Shadow (Supernatural), Jack Kline, Claire Novak, Kaia Nieves, Amara (Supernatural), God | Chuck Shurley Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Fix-It, Post-Season/Series 15, Season/Series 16, Angst, ties up loose ends, explains the empty, completes character arcs, completes story arcs Series: Part 2 of The Divine Trilogy Summary:

The tale of the Winchester brothers may have been destined to end in blood but after defeating Chuck, Sam and Dean are finally free to write their own stories. As they begin their new lives, they’re left questioning what they actually want and if a hunter’s journey is ever really over.

Part 2: Conviction

1) the act or process of finding a person guilty of a crime, especially in a court of law. 2) a strong persuasion or belief

For a brief moment when Dean returned from the Empty with Castiel, all was right in the world. But as always, the situation is more complicated than it first seems. The question remains if Dean was able to bring back Castiel whole or if Castiel still has more time to serve on his deal with the Empty.

[yummypi314]

Chapters: 14/14 Fandom: Supernatural Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Kaia Nieves/Claire Novak Characters: Dean Winchester, Castiel (Supernatural), Sam Winchester, Benny Lafitte, Eileen Leahy, Billie (Supernatural: Form and Void), The Empty | The Shadow (Supernatural), Jack Kline, Claire Novak, Kaia Nieves, Amara (Supernatural), God | Chuck Shurley Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Fix-It, Post-Season/Series 15, Season/Series 16, Angst, ties up loose ends, explains the empty, completes character arcs, completes story arcs Series: Part 2 of The Divine Trilogy Summary:

The tale of the Winchester brothers may have been destined to end in blood but after defeating Chuck, Sam and Dean are finally free to write their own stories. As they begin their new lives, they’re left questioning what they actually want and if a hunter’s journey is ever really over.

Part 2: Conviction

1) the act or process of finding a person guilty of a crime, especially in a court of law. 2) a strong persuasion or belief

For a brief moment when Dean returned from the Empty with Castiel, all was right in the world. But as always, the situation is more complicated than it first seems. The question remains if Dean was able to bring back Castiel whole or if Castiel still has more time to serve on his deal with the Empty.

[yummypi314]

Chapter 1: Turn the Page

“Heaven”

At last, it’s over. It’s finally over. After a long, lonely, aimless drive, Dean can tell that it's time for him to pull over and take in the view. Staring out over the gently gurgling river, he stands on an empty bridge; a bridge that it has taken him his whole life and countless deaths to reach.

Leaning against the railing, he senses his brother’s presence. He would know the sounds of Sammy’s footsteps anywhere.

Turning, he faces his brother, who is older and yet somehow younger than the last time he saw him all those years ago on that tragic night.

Reaching forward, Dean pulls Sam into a warm embrace that feels like he is being welcomed home.

That’s when the camera zooms out and we are left with an image of the lone pair on the bridge. Together now and forever.

And with that final scene, we fade to black.

Los Angeles, California, April 2021

Finishing his pitch, Chuck takes a deep breath and a bow. With his head still lowered, he peers up expectantly to study the faces of the people across the table from him, trying to gauge their reactions.

The setting before him is a mostly vacant conference room with a table too empty and too large to feel welcoming. Staring back at him are the bored, disinterested faces of executives who have the power to ruin him or to save him from despair.

Unfortunately for Chuck, scenes similar to this one have become the unwanted and ever present backdrop to his life for the past five months. Chuck hadn’t even bothered to learn the names of the strangers before him, knowing he’ll likely be rejected yet again, so why even put in the effort. He’d already spent too much of his dwindling cash supply on the giant poster board behind him, which features a blown up picture of a lone shadowy figure leaning against the silhouette of a classic car, with the words “Carry on by Carver Edlund” scrawled across the image in large, blood red lettering.

The room is silent. Too silent.

“I love it,” says the middle aged man in the comic book t-shirt, finally breaking the silence. “It’s so dark. The brothers after fighting so long, tragically end up in an isolated Heaven that we aren’t sure is real. It’s so awful and twisted and I love it.”

“What are you talking about?” Argues the women next to him, “It’s beautiful. The brothers finally end up at peace. The show wraps around by concluding how the books started. It’s about the brothers, so it should end with the brothers.”

“Are you kidding me?” Interrupts a man with spiky brown hair and square glasses, whose sitting on the women’s other side and shaking his head in frustration. “It’s awful. They spent so long fighting for what they thought was right, only for the older brother to what? Just give up in the end? And he’s killed by a freakin’ juggalo? And what happened to the angel character?” The man flips violently through the script, as if he can find some sort of clue for a different ending.

But the women just rolls her eyes, “He doesn’t matter. The story is about the brothers. It was always about the brothers.”

The forth person sitting at the table, a man with ginger hair offers, “Well, maybe it was just about the brothers when the story started, but what about all the other characters that Mr. Edlund said he was going to bring into the story? Why bring in those characters to only have them mean nothing in the end?”

Chuck sighs but tries to keep his thoughts to himself. He’s fed up with the exhausting process of pitching “Supernatural: The TV Series” and if he wasn’t so desperate he would have given up months ago. But he needs the money and getting the series financed seems to be his only option. Unfortunately, according to everyone that he’s pitched to so far, to get the series greenlit, he needs an ending and as he’s learned, endings are hard.

If he was his true self, he won’t be in this situation. He could snap his fingers and all his problems would be solved. But he’s not who he use to be. Not anymore.

So instead, Chuck tries to blank out the sounds of the executives arguing amongst themselves.

He gets that the ending he pitched isn’t the best. It’s kind of, well, blah. It’s far from his favorite, but it’s good enough. He’s already tried pitching different endings to other execs around LA, but he’s been turned away each time, their responses ranging from the ending being “too dark and depressing,” to “feeling unfinished,” and worse of all, “expected”.

Chuck tried to argued that there is something to predictability, like walking a worn down path that is well traveled for a reason. However, the people in charge don’t agree. They want something flashy, something sexy, and something that’ll get people talking.

Reluctantly, Chuck goes back to studying the people in front of him and attempts to mask his disgust behind a forced smile. He needs these people, these stupid, awful, idiotic people, to buy his pitch, because for the first time he has to worry about asinine trivialities like money and housing and food. Shit, being a human sucks. Why had he even bothered with creating life? What the hell had he been thinking? Perhaps Amara had been right all along.

A throat clearing brings Chuck’s attention back to the conference room and the bickering.

“Settle this for us Carv,” asks Mr. Comic Book with a smug smile on his face, “is the ending tragic or happy?”

Mr. Comic Book leans against the back of his chair like he already knows the answer to his question and the answer is exactly what he thinks to be true.

“Why can’t it be both?” Chuck responses with a shrugs, which earns him an unexpected nod of approval.

But Four Eyes still hasn’t stopped shaking his freakin’ head since Chuck finished his pitch and he interjects, “But there are still so many unanswered questions. I don’t understand why we never see the angel again. What was his name… Cashmere or something like that?”

“Castiel,” responses a young women whose been standing in the back of the room the whole time. The stack of papers she’s holding hint that she’s in some sort of support role at the studio but the intense look in her eyes makes it clear that she feels it’s beneath her abilities. If she hadn’t spoken up, Chuck would have completely forgotten her, but there’s something familiar about her bobbed haircut and focused expression. Chuck can’t put a finger on it. It’s so frustrating no longer being omnipotent. Curse his stupid, faulty mortal brain.

Now he’s truly pissed off. Not only does he have to be around these worthless beings, he’s suddenly expected to become one.

Four Eyes slaps down the script. “Right, him, Castiel, what happened to him and everyone else?”

“It’s obviously left open to interpretation.” Girl Boss replies smugly.

“It’s lazy writing” Retorts Four Eyes.

Trying to prevent the arguments from coming to blows, Ginger Spice-less interjects, “Look, no offense, Mr. Edlund, my daughter’s a big fan of your book series and I get that your work has quite a cult following online, especially since your mysterious disappearance.”

There’s a pause and Chuck knows what Ginger Spice-less will say before he even says it, having heard the same thought from everyone else he’s met with so far.

Drawing a breath, Ginger Spice-less says, “But, we can only ride the hype of the surprise that you’re still alive and willing to turn your books into a TV show for so long. Shows are getting canceled right and left and we need staying power.”

Casually flipping through Chuck’s proposed look book for the series, Ginger Spice-less continues, “I see that you have some, um, interesting ideas on how to continue the series from where your books left off, but we can’t take your work to screen without there being a good clean ending prepared in advance. We don’t want to head into this project without a plan. We need to know that there is a good ending that will wrap everything up nicely and satisfy all the fans because I for one don’t want this to turn into another Game of Thrones type situation.”

With this comment, all the people in the room shutter, except for Chuck who thinks, it wasn’t that bad, was it? He kinda liked it. In a way, he had help write it.

Girl Boss nods begrudgingly, “I think we’re going to have to discuss your pitch amongst ourselves and have our people reach out to your people with what we decide.”

That would be a no… Great.

That’s not good news. Chuck's quickly running out of liquid assets and he desperately needs to sell a script or a book or something fast. Because if he doesn’t, well, he didn’t want to think about having to look up one of his fallen children and beg to crash on their couch while he figures out the next step. Maybe he could pitch some kind of spin off?

Damn it, why do endings have to be so hard?

In desperation, he pleas, “I’ve got other pitches, I can keep going. Toss some ideas around. We can brainstorm?”

But Ginger Spice-less just responses patronizingly, “I think we’ve heard enough. It was nice meeting you. We’ll let you know what we decide.”

Damn it.

“Thanks for your time." Chuck responses as pleasantly as he can.

Chuck refrains from slamming the door as he swiftly leaves the conference room, huffing his way to the parking lot while fumbling with the over sized poster board and mumbling expletives under his breath.

Great, another bad pitch meeting that he couldn’t afford to mess up. Rejection is awful and he’s never felt so small, so useless and so hopeless. Anger and maybe some other unnamed emotion builds in his chest. He’s never felt so… human.

Lost in his own thoughts, it isn’t until Chuck’s almost to his car, a beat up Corolla he managed to free from its previous owner, that he realizes that he’s being followed, alerted by the sound of loose gravel skidding across the concrete. Adrenaline courses through his veins and the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.

Attempting the element of surprise, Chuck whirls around, fists raised and ready to strike at his attacker.

But, he’s shocked to see that his supposed assailant is the young women from the conference room, who is now shaking in front of him, holding up a worn paperback book in front of her as some sort of defense. Chuck recognizes the cheesy image of two shirtless men with unnaturally chiseled torsos and perfectly tattered jeans on the front cover. The book is one of his own

Lowering the book, the women squeaks out, “I’m so sorry Mr. Edlund, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Dropping his clinched fists, Chuck rolls his eyes. He’s not scared. His heart is only racing because of all the walking. And the stairs. There had been a lot of stairs.

Finding her voice, the women continues, “I’m sorry Mr. Edlund. I just had to meet you. I’m Marie, I…I um, wrote, directed and starred in a musical production of Supernatural. I’m a big fan of yours.”

Ah, yes, that’s why he recognized her. His memory isn't as bad as he thought. Better yet, given that she doesn’t remember their first meeting, the memory wipe he performed on her and the rest of her high school after the chaotic “Supernatural, The Musical” performance also seems to still be holding. Score 1 for small victories.

Trembling, Marie hesitantly holds the book out to him. “I was wondering… would you mind signing my book?”

Reluctantly, Chuck takes the book she offers. While she digs in her bag in search of a pen, he thumbs through the pages, reading over the words that he wrote over a decade ago, when things were simple and he was still in control.

Marie lets out a shout of triumph when she finally finds a pen and Chuck regards her excited face. Being as she’s an actual fan, he’s got to ask. “What did you think of the pitch?”

Cocking her head to the side as she hands over the pen, she says, “Self inserting yourself into the narrative as not only the writer but also as God and then making God a villain- it's a bold choice and has a lot of potential.”

“And the ending?” Chuck takes the pen that she hands him and starts signing the inside page, “To my biggest fan.” When he glances up, her lips are pursed shut.

“That bad?” Chuck responds handing her book back.

She shrugs. “Not exactly what I expected, but somehow, what I expected.”

Chuck rolls his eyes. Yeah, he knows.

Despite his visible displeasure with her opinion, she forges ahead. “Don’t get me wrong, it would have been a good enough ending to a different story. But, it just wasn’t the right ending to Supernatural. It just felt kind of… safe?” She digs the knife of truth in further. Twisting to ensure maximum damage.

“Just trying to give the people what they want.” He offers as he shoves the poster board into his car, moving aside the button up shirts he hung up in the back seat as his last attempt to win a losing battle against wrinkles, the cheap motel iron his inadequate and only weapon of choice.

“But what people are you trying to please?” Marie asks earnestly.

Chuck spins around, “What do you mean?”

“Like, who are you really writing for if it isn’t for yourself?” Reading his confused expression, Marie continues, “Pretend that you didn’t have to write for anyone but yourself. If you were writing the ending for only you, what would it be?”

Chuck looks at Marie. For the firsts time, he really looks at her. She seems genuinely curious, which would make her the only person since he came to the Hell Hole that is LA who is actually interested in how he wants his story to end.

But, what did he want?

If he still had full control, he knows exactly what he would do. He would give the brothers the ending that they deserved after everything that they had done to him. They’re the reason that he’s in the situation that he’s in right now, so they should get everything that is coming to them.

Chuck smiles.

Yes, the executives hadn’t bought the pitch. In the end, that didn’t matter because they didn’t have any say over the real narrative. He’d been pitching the TV series for so long, he’d almost forgotten about the real story. The story that is still his.

For as long as there had been time, he was in control of everything and he’d planned out all kinds of endings for the brothers. He’d devised hundreds if not thousands of way for them to suffer and he’d laid the ground work for his vision.

Yes, Chuck just needed to be reminded that while he isn’t sitting on the throne right now, that doesn’t mean that his influence is completely gone. He’d done the grunt work and now his plans just need time to unfold.

Because the ending he just pitched, it’s only the beginning.

Chapters: 15/15 Fandom: Supernatural Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy & Sam Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Eileen Leahy, Castiel (Supernatural), Jody Mills, Max Banes, Garth Fitzgerald IV, God | Chuck Shurley Additional Tags: Post-Season/Series 15, Season/Series 16, Post-Canon Fix-It, Fix-It, Slow Burn, ties up loose ends, completes character arcs, explains the empty, fixit fic, Post-Canon, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Three part series, still in denial Series: Part 1 of The Divine Trilogy Summary:

The tale of the Winchester brothers may have been destined to end bloody but after defeating Chuck, Sam and Dean are finally free to write their own stories. As they begin their new lives, they’re left questioning what they actually want and if a hunter’s journey is The tale of the Winchester brothers may have been destined to end in blood but after defeating Chuck, Sam and Dean are finally free to write their own stories. As they begin their new lives, they’re left questioning what they actually want and if a hunter’s journey is ever really over.

Part 1: Redemption

1) the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil 2) the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.

Freed from Chuck’s influence, Sam and Dean start to write their own stories. Sam reluctantly and then willingly becomes a leader of a newly established hunting network. Meanwhile, Dean tries to find peace in a life without hunting but he has one last mission to complete where he might have to pay the ultimate price.

[yummypi314]

Chapters: 15/15 Fandom: Supernatural Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy & Sam Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Eileen Leahy, Castiel (Supernatural), Jody Mills, Max Banes, Garth Fitzgerald IV, God | Chuck Shurley Additional Tags: Post-Season/Series 15, Season/Series 16, Post-Canon Fix-It, Fix-It, Slow Burn, ties up loose ends, completes character arcs, explains the empty, fixit fic, Post-Canon, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Three part series, still in denial Series: Part 1 of The Divine Trilogy Summary:

The tale of the Winchester brothers may have been destined to end bloody but after defeating Chuck, Sam and Dean are finally free to write their own stories. As they begin their new lives, they’re left questioning what they actually want and if a hunter’s journey is The tale of the Winchester brothers may have been destined to end in blood but after defeating Chuck, Sam and Dean are finally free to write their own stories. As they begin their new lives, they’re left questioning what they actually want and if a hunter’s journey is ever really over.

Part 1: Redemption

1) the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil 2) the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.

Freed from Chuck’s influence, Sam and Dean start to write their own stories. Sam reluctantly and then willingly becomes a leader of a newly established hunting network. Meanwhile, Dean tries to find peace in a life without hunting but he has one last mission to complete where he might have to pay the ultimate price.

[yummypi314]

Chapters: 14/14 Fandom: Supernatural Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy & Sam Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Eileen Leahy, Castiel (Supernatural), Apocalypseverse Charlie Bradbury, Stevie (Supernatural: The Rupture), Apocalypseverse Bobby Singer, Jody Mills, Max Banes, Garth Fitzgerald IV Additional Tags: Post-Season/Series 15, Season/Series 16, Post-Canon Fix-It, Fix-It, Slow Burn, ties up loose ends, completes character arcs, explains the empty, fixit fic, Post-Canon, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Three part series, still in denial Series: Part 1 of The Divine Trilogy Summary:

The tale of the Winchester brothers may have been destined to end bloody but after defeating Chuck, Sam and Dean are finally free to write their own stories. As they begin their new lives, they’re left questioning what they actually want and if a hunter’s journey is ever really over.

Part 1: Redemption

1) the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil 2) the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.

Freed from Chuck’s influence, Sam and Dean start to write their own stories. Sam reluctantly and then willingly becomes a leader of a newly established hunting network. Meanwhile, Dean tries to find peace in a life without hunting but he has one last mission to complete where he might have to pay the ultimate price.

[yummypi314]

Ok, I did it, finished the last chapters. 

Did I just write almost a 100,000 words because I was pissed about the Supernatural finale? Yes, yes I did. For those of you who were also pissed about the ending, enjoy :) 

[yummypi314]

November 2020

Jack feels regret the second he takes on Chuck’s powers.

Jack never wanted to rule the world. All he ever wanted was a family and a home. Instead, he was born between two worlds, feeling like he didn’t belong anywhere. His first few years on Earth were spent teetering on the edge of an internal battle between so-called “good and evil”, only one misstep away from unleashing chaos and destruction.

However, despite his rough beginnings, Jack found a family and a home. But that’s gone now. The power that he never wanted is now the very thing keeping him from the family he fought so hard to have.  

But he doesn’t have a choice. If he doesn’t take this power, who will?

The great responsibility of the world has been trusted to him, so he must do the best that he can. Jack vows to try and apply all the lessons that his family has taught him but he’s quickly finding out that being an all powerful being isn’t a job meant for someone with a soul. He realizes that the second he took on Chuck’s powers.

All the prayers, all the pain, all the sadness, everything weights on Jack. He hears all the needs of the world, but more than that, he feels them like they are his own.

“This isn’t a burden that you should carry on your own,” Amara whispered in his head.

Jack understands this. He isn’t alone. They are in this together. But the task of watching over the world will require more than just the two of them. They need help. They need Castiel.

After putting the world back together and then removing the hunger for human flesh that the creatures crave in order to give the hunters he still sees as his family a head start, Jack goes to the Empty.

Or at least he tries to.

But when he gets to the doorway to the Empty, he can’t go inside. It’s like the cosmic key has been changed and the Empty isn’t answering his call.

So Jack calls out louder.

Jack bangs on the metaphorical and metaphysical doorway of the Empty but there is still no answer.

So he keeps calling and calling and calling.

“Jack,” Amara’s voice patiently calls from inside his head, “Jack, we aren’t going to be able to get in unless the Empty lets us. I know you can feel the cosmic barrier too.”

Frustrated and exhausted, Jack asks, “Why do we have these powers if we can’t save those we love?”

Tears prickle in his eyes and Jack feels ashamed about acting like an immature child who hasn’t gotten his way.

"I know Jack, but we can’t repeat Chuck’s mistakes and only act to save a chosen few. We have to think about the whole world.”

Jack sighs, not wanting to hear reason.

“Jack, what would Castiel want you to do?”

Wiping away his tears, Jack knows that Amara is right. Castiel wouldn’t want him to let the universe fall into chaos just to save him. They have work to do and Jack knows where to start, he needs to go to Hell.

[yummypi314]

Crawker City, Kansas, September 2021

Dean stands in the grocery store aisle, scrutinizing the shelves of flour. Too many choices, why are there so many choices? Bleached, wheat, rye, he just wanted to buy some stupid flour. For the third time, Dean consults the list that Jack gave him.

Flour is a necessary ingredient in the “Jack Learns to Be Human Again, Again” plan. Since coming back to Earth, Jack’s been feeling like a small part of himself is missing. Whether it’s the void left by Amara or the loss of his powers, no one is sure. For now, Jack’s trying to keep busy and that seems to help. Last month was woodworking and this month, it appears, is artisan bread.

Dean would have complained about having to go on a second grocery run this week, but he’s working on his relationship with Jack, so snide comments are kept to himself. If baking a shit ton of bread will make Jack feel better about the world, then Dean can at least get him the ingredients he needs to do it right.

With time, Jack should be able to get back to normal. After he gave up his God powers, his mind had been wiped of everything that had happened to him since defeating Chuck, which is probably for the best. No spoilers. From what Amara said, the weight of knowing all the world problems is not something a single soul can handle.

After everything that had happened, Jack decided that he needed a break from the supernatural. To everyone’s surprise, Jack said he wanted to alternate between living at the bunker with Sam, Eileen and Cas and the cabin with Dean.  So every other week, Jack stays in Dean’s basement in his “Jack Shack” and everyone acts like it’s completely normal to share custody of the former God. While Dean hadn’t expected Jack to want to live with him, he actually does enjoy having Jack around. Jack is the kid that Dean never asked for but is glad that came into his life.

Dean hadn’t treated Jack in the past right and he’s determined not to let Jack down anymore. Dean refuses to continue the cycle of abuse of his father, which is why he finds himself in the grocery store for the second time this week because Jack wants to make sourdough bread and Dean is trying to be supportive. This is him, being supportive.

Dean listens to the end of "Cat’s in the Cradle” play over the store’s sounds system, like the universe is mocking his attempt to fix his relationship with Jack. He’s already wasted too much time standing here, he should just call Jack to see what he needs.

Dean looks down at his phone and the date flash back at him from the locked screen. It’s already September. How is it already September?

A dead weight drops in his stomach. It’s September. In one week, Cas’s five months will be up and Cas will decide whether or not he wants to stay in Lebanon and Dean is no closer to knowing what Cas plans to do.

Five months have passed and Dean hadn’t done anything to show Cas why he should stay.

A wave of dread washes over Dean and he realizes that Cas could be leaving. Cas hasn’t made any promises to stay after five months and there is nothing Dean can do to keep him here.

Embarrassingly, Dean feels tears start to prickle in his eyes and he has enough awareness to realize that he is about to start crying in the goddamn baking aisle and damn it, is “It’s Too Late” now playing?

Shit, I’m having an emotional breakdown to a fucking Carole King song.

Dean’s knees go weak and he crumbles to the grocery store floor.

Last year at this time he’d been preparing to fight the literal God himself and now he’s sobbing next to discounted baking soda because his best friend might be moving away.

What the hell is wrong with me?

The absurdity of the situation is that Dean is an emotional wreck on the floor for the third time in less than a year. Ten months ago, he was left alone on the cold concrete slab of the bunker having witnessed his best friend sacrifice himself to save the world. Five months later, the same friend had walked out the door and left Dean embarrassingly sodding into his brother’s shoulders. And now? Damn it, people are awkwardly back out of the baking aisle after seeing his breakdown and he can’t bring himself to care what they think.

What is happening to me?

Without putting too much thought into it, he fumbles with the phone in his hand.

He blindly pushes speed dial and after three rings, when the call is answered, he finds himself gasping into the phone, “Cas.”

[yummypi314]

But seriously... why???? I need answers! 

Why "Heaven"?

Somethings been bugging me. if Dean doesn't reciprocate, then why did mr Jensen spend all the conventions leading up to the finale singing "Heaven", where Heaven is having his lover in his arms. Was this like a song he sung a lot before season 15? So many questions.

[yummypi314]

Crawker City, Kansas, September 2021

Dean stands in the grocery store aisle, scrutinizing the shelves of flour. Too many choices, why are there so many choices? Bleached, wheat, rye, he just wanted to buy some stupid flour. For the third time, Dean consults the list that Jack gave him.

Flour is a necessary ingredient in the "Jack Learns to Be Human Again, Again” plan. Since coming back to Earth, Jack's been feeling like a small part of himself is missing. Whether it’s the void left by Amara or the loss of his powers, no one is sure. For now, Jack's trying to keep busy and that seems to help. Last month was woodworking and this month, it appears, is artisan bread.

Dean would have complained about having to go on a second grocery run this week, but he's working on his relationship with Jack, so snide comments are kept to himself. If baking a shit ton of bread will make Jack feel better about the world, then Dean can at least get him the ingredients he needs to do it right.

With time, Jack should be able to get back to normal. After he gave up his God powers, his mind had been wiped of everything that had happened to him since defeating Chuck, which is probably for the best. No spoilers. From what Amara said, the weight of knowing all the world problems is not something a single soul can handle.

After everything that had happened, Jack decided that he needed a break from the supernatural. To everyone’s surprise, Jack said he wanted to alternate between living at the bunker with Sam, Eileen and Cas and the cabin with Dean.  So every other week, Jack stays in Dean's basement in his “Jack Shack” and everyone acts like it’s completely normal to share custody of the former God. While Dean hadn't expected Jack to want to live with him, he actually does enjoy having Jack around. Jack is the kid that Dean never asked for but is glad that came into his life.

Dean hadn’t treated Jack in the past right and he’s determined not to let Jack down anymore. Dean refuses to continue the cycle of abuse of his father, which is why he finds himself in the grocery store for the second time this week because Jack wants to make sourdough bread and Dean is trying to be supportive. This is him, being supportive.

Dean listens to the end of "Cat's in the Cradle" play over the store's sounds system, like the universe is mocking his attempt to fix his relationship with Jack. He's already wasted too much time standing here, he should just call Jack to see what he needs.

Dean looks down at his phone and the date flash back at him from the locked screen. It’s already September. How is it already September?

A dead weight drops in his stomach. It’s September. In one week, Cas's five months will be up and Cas will decide whether or not he wants to stay in Lebanon and Dean is no closer to knowing what Cas plans to do.

Five months have passed and Dean hadn't done anything to show Cas why he should stay.

A wave of dread washes over Dean and he realizes that Cas could be leaving. Cas hasn’t made any promises to stay after five months and there is nothing Dean can do to keep him here.

Embarrassingly, Dean feels tears start to prickle in his eyes and he has enough awareness to realize that he is about to start crying in the goddamn baking aisle and damn it, is "It's Too Late" now playing?

Shit, I’m having an emotional breakdown to a fucking Carole King song.

Dean's knees go weak and he crumbles to the grocery store floor.

Last year at this time he’d been preparing to fight the literal God himself and now he’s sobbing next to discounted baking soda because his best friend might be moving away.

What the hell is wrong with me?

The absurdity of the situation is that Dean is an emotional wreck on the floor for the third time in less than a year. Ten months ago, he was left alone on the cold concrete slab of the bunker having witnessed his best friend sacrifice himself to save the world. Five months later, the same friend had walked out the door and left Dean embarrassingly sodding into his brother's shoulders. And now? Damn it, people are awkwardly back out of the baking aisle after seeing his breakdown and he can't bring himself to care what they think.

What is happening to me?

Without putting too much thought into it, he fumbles with the phone in his hand.

He blindly pushes speed dial and after three rings, when the call is answered, he finds himself gasping into the phone, "Cas."

[yummypi314]

November 2020

Jack feels regret the second he takes on Chuck’s powers.

Jack never wanted to rule the world. All he ever wanted was a family and a home. Instead, he was born between two worlds, feeling like he didn’t belong anywhere. His first few years on Earth were spent teetering on the edge of an internal battle between so-called “good and evil”, only one misstep away from unleashing chaos and destruction.

However, despite his rough beginnings, Jack found a family and a home. But that’s gone now. The power that he never wanted is now the very thing keeping him from the family he fought so hard to have.  

But he doesn’t have a choice. If he doesn’t take this power, who will?

The great responsibility of the world has been trusted to him, so he must do the best that he can. Jack vows to try and apply all the lessons that his family has taught him but he’s quickly finding out that being an all powerful being isn’t a job meant for someone with a soul. He realizes that the second he took on Chuck’s powers.

All the prayers, all the pain, all the sadness, everything weights on Jack. He hears all the needs of the world, but more than that, he feels them like they are his own.

“This isn’t a burden that you should carry on your own,” Amara whispered in his head.

Jack understands this. He isn’t alone. They are in this together. But the task of watching over the world will require more than just the two of them. They need help. They need Castiel.

After putting the world back together and then removing the hunger for human flesh that the creatures crave in order to give the hunters he still sees as his family a head start, Jack goes to the Empty.

Or at least he tries to.

But when he gets to the doorway to the Empty, he can’t go inside. It's like the cosmic key has been changed and the Empty isn’t answering his call.

So Jack calls out louder.

Jack bangs on the metaphorical and metaphysical doorway of the Empty but there is still no answer.

So he keeps calling and calling and calling.

"Jack," Amara's voice patiently calls from inside his head, "Jack, we aren't going to be able to get in unless the Empty lets us. I know you can feel the cosmic barrier too."

Frustrated and exhausted, Jack asks, "Why do we have these powers if we can't save those we love?”

Tears prickle in his eyes and Jack feels ashamed about acting like an immature child who hasn't gotten his way.

"I know Jack, but we can't repeat Chuck's mistakes and only act to save a chosen few. We have to think about the whole world."

Jack sighs, not wanting to hear reason.

"Jack, what would Castiel want you to do?"

Wiping away his tears, Jack knows that Amara is right. Castiel wouldn't want him to let the universe fall into chaos just to save him. They have work to do and Jack knows where to start, he needs to go to Hell.

[yummypi314]

Having narrowly escaped Zachariah’s wrath, Castiel flies Dean to an abandoned road. They are safe, for now. Relief washes over him, but under that feeling is a sense of unease. He is disobeying. What he is doing is wrong.

But why? Why should he think that protecting Dean Winchester goes against God’s plan? Fighting to save the world, that’s an angel’s purpose. As Heaven’s shield, he swore to defend humanity. For now, that means stopping the Apocalypse, even if he must betray his brothers and sisters. His mind scrambles, trying to sort out what is right and what is wrong. The feeling of doubt or uncertainty are still new to him and he is unsure of what he should do. He has to make a choice, having come to the point where he must decide on which path he should take. But the road ahead is unclear, the map long gone. He’s been lost for awhile now, ever since he pulled the righteous man from Hell.

“Perfect timing Cas.” Dean gives him a smile and with that smile, Castiel’s conviction returns. He’s following Michael’s sword, this is his destiny.

“We had an appointment.” Castiel responses as he manages to cling to a glimmer of hope in the future.

Grabbing Castiel’s shoulder, Dean stares intently into Castiel’s eyes. “Never change.”

Dean’s touch generates a rush of feelings, feelings Castiel doesn’t understand and can’t yet name.

But before Castiel can response, a sickening voice comes from Dean’s mouth, “Always so naive.”

Slowly, Dean’s features begin to change. His warm smile morphs into a sinister sneer. From inside his jacket, he withdraws an angel blade and plunges it into Castiel’s side. The pain sears through Castiel and grace oozes from his body. Castiel lets out a loud wail of pain as he grabs at his open wound and collapses to the ground.

Dean cackles and his face transforms into Jimmy Novack, the same face Castiel has come to think of as his own. Jimmy's mouth spits the words, “Always so gullible, so willing to believe.”

The scene of the abandoned road fades away and is replaced with nothing. The memories come flooding back. Castiel is back, he is back in the Empty.

On the ground, which isn’t even really the ground, Castiel curls around himself in pain. Tentatively bringing a hand to his side, he feels the tear in his shirt where the blade pierced his body. He draws his hand away and see that he isn’t bleeding, even though he can still feel the dull pain. Surveying his clothes, he spots other tears and he remembers how each tear corresponds to other memories that have turned against him.

The Empty, still wearing Jimmy’s face, lays down next to him, and the Empty’s breathes out frosty air on Castiel’s skin. Trying to block out the sensation, Castiel squeezes his eyes shut.

Unfazed, the Empty continues to cackle, “You would think you would have learned by now, your life was never meant to be a love story. But no, you keep making the same mistakes over and over again. You just keep forgetting the lessons I want you to learn.”

The Empty reaches out and lays a hand on Castiel’s cheek and the icy cold burns against his skin. "But don’t worry, I’m a very eager teacher, even if you aren’t a willing student.”

Images flash through Castiel’s mind. Memories infected with deceit and betrayal. It has been months, or years, or maybe an eternity since Castiel submitted to the Empty to save Dean and to save the world. Since then, his memories have been manipulated until he doesn’t know what is real and what is fiction. But through it all, Castiel has clung to his faith in what he believes in and in who he believes in.

Castiel’s eyes open to blank out the false memories and now all he sees is the Empty’s face, mere inches from his own.

“Castiel,” The Empty hisses out his name, drawing out each syllable. The Empty’s voice whispers, not needing to be raised due to the closeness and the silence. “You have become a thorn in my side. Not only did you wake me up. No, no, no, just when I was so close to finally getting some rest, your son had to make it so loud in here.”

The Empty winces, trying to block out noise that Castiel can’t hear.

The Empty speaks again, “So many things, too many things, are now awake and I don’t know if they will ever go back to sleep.”

With a quick, fluid motion, the Empty stands and picks Castiel up by the throat, “And for that, I am going to make you suffer, in ways you can’t imagine.”

[yummypi314]

Cawker City, Kansas, April 2021

Dean jolts up in bed, a sharp pain shooting through his back and into his chest. Gasping for air and clutching his heart, he tries to steady his breathing as he takes in his surroundings.

You’re fine. It wasn’t real. It was just a dream.

His eyes begin to adjust as he surveys the dark room. Moonlight streaming in through the window provides enough light to make out basic shapes such as the alarm clock on his nightstand and the worn recliner in the corner. Dean can see the old, leather bound book he was reading, when four hours ago he’d stumbled to bed to rest his eyes. He takes in the rough texture of the wood panel walls of the cabin he now calls home. Sitting up, he rests his head in hands.

It was just a dream.

Or rather, it was a shadow reality. That’s what Sam calls them. Since the brothers and Jack defeated Chuck five months ago, Sam and Dean had been experiencing visions of their deaths. The visions were becoming less frequent, but that didn’t make them any less unnerving when they did occur.

You’re fine, just breathe.

Dean tries to reach around to touch the area on his back where in his dream, he’d felt a piece of rebar puncher his lungs. He had slowly bled to death while his brother watched in horror, unable to save him. Looking down at his hand, Dean half expects to see blood.

It wasn’t real. You’re still here.

When the dreams first started, Dean thought he was losing his mind. But, when he worked up the courage to casually mention them to Sam, Sam confessed he was having them too. Sam told Dean he believes the shadow realities are caused by Chuck’s influences gradually fading. Because the visions are similar to the ones Sam saw when he was linked to Chuck through the equalizer connection, Sam thinks now that Chuck’s control over the world is fully severed, the brothers are glimpsing the last drafts of their final ending. This theory doesn’t provide much comfort to Dean as he lies awake at night, knowing Chuck might still hold some power over him.

Breathe. You’re safe.

Dean takes a deep inhale as his breathing becomes more steady. He tries not to think about what he saw in his dream. Sam says he’s grateful the shadow realities are becoming less frequent but Dean doesn’t want to admit he fears when the visions stop entirely because when he isn't seeing his own death, his dreams are filled with images of all those he’s failed: Jo, Ellen, Charlie, Kevin, Mom, Cas.

Cas.

Dean gets up out of bed, feeling the sudden urge to move. He pads into the small kitchen. The old wooden floor creaks softly, cutting through the stillness of the night. The only other sounds are the rustling of leaves and the gentle snoring of a snoozing Miracle.

Dean reaches into the cupboard to grab a glass and he fills it with cold water from the sink. Shutting off the faucet, the cabin is once again silent and still. That’s why he moved, to find his own sense of peace. He takes one last deep inhale, cutting through the quiet.

You’re safe.

He knows this, he knows he’s safe for now. But he also recognizes that his next mission could be his last.

[yummypi314]

Chapters: 13/13 Fandom: Supernatural Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Kaia Nieves/Claire Novak Characters: Dean Winchester, Castiel (Supernatural), Sam Winchester, Benny Lafitte, Eileen Leahy, Billie (Supernatural: Form and Void), The Empty | The Shadow (Supernatural), Jack Kline, Claire Novak, Kaia Nieves, Amara (Supernatural) Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Fix-It, Post-Season/Series 15, Season/Series 16, Angst, ties up loose ends, explains the empty, completes character arcs, completes story arcs Series: Part 2 of The Divine Trilogy Summary:

The tale of the Winchester brothers may have been destined to end bloody but after defeating Chuck, Sam and Dean are finally free to write their own stories. As they begin their new lives, they’re left questioning what they actually want and if a hunter’s journey is ever really over.

Part 2: Conviction

1) the act or process of finding a person guilty of a crime especially in a court of law. 2) a strong persuasion or belief

For a brief moment when Dean returns from the Empty with Castiel, all seemed right in the world. But as always, the situation is more complicated than it first seems. The question remains if Dean was able to bring back Cas whole or if Castiel still has more time to serve on his deal with the Empty.

[yummypi314]

Chapters: 13/13 Fandom: Supernatural Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy & Sam Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Eileen Leahy, Castiel (Supernatural), Apocalypseverse Charlie Bradbury, Stevie (Supernatural: The Rupture), Apocalypseverse Bobby Singer, Jody Mills, Max Banes, Garth Fitzgerald IV Additional Tags: Post-Season/Series 15, Season/Series 16, Post-Canon Fix-It, Fix-It, Slow Burn, ties up loose ends, completes character arcs, explains the empty, fixit fic, Post-Canon, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Three part series, still in denial Series: Part 1 of The Divine Trilogy Summary:

The tale of the Winchester brothers may have been destined to end bloody but after defeating Chuck, Sam and Dean are finally free to write their own stories. As they begin their new lives, they’re left questioning what they actually want and if a hunter’s journey is ever really over.

Part 1: Redemption

1) the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil 2) the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.

Freed from Chuck’s influence, Sam and Dean start to write their own stories. Sam reluctantly and then willingly becomes a leader of a newly established hunting network. Meanwhile, Dean tries to find peace in a life without hunting but he has one last mission to complete where he might have to pay the ultimate price.