Alex and Dean continued to sit in the kitchen with Donatello, who had slightly overdone it with the whiskey he added to his coffee. After just a couple of sips, Donatello reached the point where he began comparing his boring life as a chemistry professor with the current events, when he was suddenly told that he had become a prophet.
Being drunk, Donatello complained about everything: about his job as a professor, about how students always sat in lectures buried in their phones. Donatello even started complaining about how everything is now on the internet and no one uses books anymore. He only stopped talking to take another sip of his coffee with a large portion of whiskey, and then continued complaining again.
After finishing complaining about his life as a professor, Donatello moved on to the part where he started complaining about the fact that he had become a prophet, which he hadn't asked for at all. And all of this had to be listened to by Alex and Dean, who simply wanted to have lunch in peace while Chuck was out for a walk.
Exchanging glances with each other, Alex and Dean were thinking the same thing: was it really impossible for them to even have lunch in peace without having to listen to another round of complaints from someone else. Sighing simultaneously, Alex and Dean pretended to listen to Donatello. In reality, they were just trying to finish their lunch so they could go somewhere far away from the elderly professor, who wouldn't stop complaining about his life.
Donatello continued complaining for half an hour before passing out, laying his head on the table. Alex and Dean calmly turned their heads toward Donatello, who was loudly snoring while clutching a mug of coffee and whiskey in his hands, muttering along the way that he didn't want to be a prophet.
"Well, that really hit him hard. Probably shouldn't have let our prophet drink whiskey," Dean said with a chuckle, nodding toward Donatello.
"Maybe he'll feel better after he sleeps it off. He stayed up all night staring at the wall," Alex said, stroking his chin and shifting his gaze to Donatello.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. The main thing for us is to play along in this spectacle with saving the dear son. And then we'll send him home," Dean said in a calm tone, reaching for his coffee.
"I'm not going to do that," Donatello muttered sleepily and started snoring again.
Alex and Dean looked at Donatello again, who was lying face down on the table and loudly snoring. Dean shifted his gaze to Alex and hinted with a look that the elderly professor should be sent to his room. Alex rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, sending Donatello to the room that had been allocated for him. Having solved the problem with the chatty elderly professor-prophet, Alex and Dean decided to drink coffee and just talk.
Sipping coffee and chatting about everyday things, Alex decided to share with Dean his plans for the upcoming vacation. Hearing where Alex wanted to go on vacation with his entire family, Dean made a face, fully realizing the scale of such a vacation. Dean was still trying to come to terms with the thought of who was sitting in front of him.
The fact that the one he considered his friend and family member had literally turned out to be the very first Demon still caused Dean a lot of emotions. But he calmly ignored it because Alex was behaving as usual. Pushing these thoughts away, Dean continued to listen about Alex's upcoming vacation.
"Normal people usually go on vacation to nature or maybe to the sea. But definitely not to another universe," Dean said, shaking his head after hearing Alex's plans.
"Don't be jealous. In the future, you'll also be able to afford a vacation like that," Alex said in a carefree tone, lazily waving his hand.
"With Amara's power?" Dean asked in surprise, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm talking about joining my Guild. I should remind you that Amara can't do this, even after regaining all her power," Alex said, rolling his eyes and tapping his finger on the table.
"Ah, that. Sounds very tempting. Before, Sam and I used to drive all over the country in my Baby… And now I'll be able to do it in other worlds. Heh. I think my Baby could use a little upgrade," Dean said thoughtfully, and a satisfied smile gradually appeared on his face.
"You do understand that I'm not forcing you to do this. You and Sam can calmly retire after all this. No script, no monsters, no driving all over the country. Just a calm quiet life that you wanted so much," Alex sighed, propping his cheek with his fist.
"And how long do you think we'll last? A year? Six months? A month? A week? You yourself said that even without Chuck, all this shit would have fallen on us anyway. And even when this bastard finally dies, nothing will change. And since there's a chance to help someone, we'll do it, as we always did…" Dean said in a hoarse voice, looking at Alex with a calm gaze.
"Killing monsters and saving people," Alex said, finishing the sentence for Dean.
"Yeah, killing monsters and saving people. It'll just be on a different scale and with more dangerous monsters. I think Sam will also agree with this. And he'll probably be pissing himself with excitement when he learns the whole truth," Dean said with a grin, extending his fist toward Alex.
"Then welcome to the family in advance… Although no. We're already family," Alex said, bumping fists with Dean.
Bumping fists, Alex and Dean laughed. For Alex and Dean, nothing had changed in their relationship — they were both adults, not whiny teenagers who could start drama over every little thing. Deciding to change the topic of conversation to something more everyday, Dean was interested in hearing a couple of funny stories that Alex began to share after all this.
Alex himself didn't see any reason to hide it and began telling about funny things that had happened to him. Alex decided to start with something simple and told about the funny duo of perverts in Orario who constantly run into problems. And when Dean started listening to this, he realized that one coffee wouldn't be enough, and went to the refrigerator for beer.
Returning with beer, Dean comfortably settled on the chair, stretching out his legs and putting them on the neighboring chair, leaning his back against the back of the chair. While Alex and Dean were chatting about simple things, the script that Chuck had planned was moving as he had planned. Except for minor changes that didn't really worry Chuck. After all, everything was still going the way he wanted.
Time continued to pass, and several hours had passed since Sam had gone to talk to Chuck after the autobiography that Metatron had shown them. By this time, Alex and Dean had moved to the main hall, taking beer with them. Dean wasn't worried about Sam going alone to talk to Chuck, after Alex's assurances that he was watching everything.
Rocking on the chair, Dean held a beer in his hands, chuckling at what he had heard from Alex. He clearly hadn't expected that Alex's daughters would decide to kidnap an army of minions from another universe just because they thought these creatures were funny. And what really made him laugh was that Alex had to deal with all of this. Imagining this sight, Dean couldn't stop laughing.
Especially when Alex told about how the minions began tossing him in the air, chanting that he was their Big Boss. And then they began to mournfully cry when they dropped him on the ground, thinking they had killed him.
"For all that is holy, stop. I can't laugh anymore. I, of course, understand that these yellow freaks in overalls are quite peculiar creatures. But this is already too much," Dean said with difficulty, raising his hand to stop Alex and barely holding back his laughter.
"And imagine what it was like for my family. They had to deal with the minions for a whole week. I'm surprised these yellow ones didn't destroy all of Orario," Alex said, shaking his head and chuckling slightly.
"Ugh… I don't envy them. And so, what did you do with these minions? Sent them back? Or couldn't the kind daddy refuse his daughters?" Dean asked with a grin, handing Alex a new bottle of beer.
"I, of course, couldn't chase them away… So I had to settle them on the orbital station that I stole… That is, received as compensation for moral damage," Alex said in a carefree tone, taking the bottle of beer from Dean.
Rocking on the chair, Dean froze in place and looked at his bottle of beer, thinking that he had already drunk enough and that he must have started hearing things that weren't actually being said. Blinking in surprise, Dean removed his legs from the table and lowered them to the floor. Looking at Alex, Dean wanted to know if he had really heard about the stolen orbital station that Alex had stolen.
Alex carelessly opened the bottle of beer and nodded his head, confirming that he had said exactly what he meant. Setting the bottle of beer aside, Dean rubbed his eyes, once again rethinking the scale of Alex's actions. At that moment, the thought spinning in Dean's head was how huge this orbital station was that it could accommodate an entire army of minions. And the second question was how Alex had managed to move something so huge literally to another universe.
Seeing Dean's confusion, Alex showed him several photos of the Helios orbital station, which at that time was hovering near the Moon and could be seen from Orario. Dean snatched the phone from Alex's hands and carefully looked at the photo, trying to assess the scale. But what he was sure of was that this orbital station was damn huge.
"And who did you steal something like that from?" Dean asked, returning the phone to Alex.
"From one idiot who considered himself a villain and all that. It's a very long and funny story. But that's for another time. Our prophet woke up," Alex said, putting the phone back in his pocket.
Dean was genuinely intrigued. He really wanted to know the details about the idiot from whom Alex managed to steal an entire orbital station as compensation for moral damage. Right now Dean felt exactly the same as when he had to wait a whole week to find out the continuation of his favorite series. He even mentally cursed Donatello, who had woken up at such an inopportune moment.
At that very moment, Donatello entered the main hall. He was swaying quite a bit. He looked like a man suffering from a severe hangover and severe lack of sleep. Rubbing his forehead in an attempt to cope with the headache, Donatello on shaky legs approached the table with the map and, leaning on the edge, heavily sank onto the chair.
Grabbing his head with his hands, he desperately tried to untangle the crazy tangle of thoughts that was raging in his head. Alex and Dean silently watched Donatello, who was already, for the third time, facing a severe identity crisis, trying to realize who he was now.
"Here, drink this. I don't know if you drink beer or not. But this will help with the headache," Dean said in a calm tone, handing a bottle of beer toward Donatello.
"Now, apparently, I do… I haven't drunk alcohol for thirty whole years… I think nothing will happen if I start drinking again… In any case, we're all doomed… If, um… Chuck doesn't make peace with his sister," Donatello said, snatching the bottle of beer from Dean's hands.
Opening the bottle of beer, Donatello took one big sip, almost choking. However, he didn't care right now. Everything that had fallen on him in the last few days forced him not only to rethink his life, but also to soberly admit: if nothing works out, the world will come to an end.
As a pragmatist, he had already calculated all the options and was fully preparing for the worst outcome. And since the finale was inevitable, Donatello saw no reason to deny himself anything, including alcohol. After all, he had lived a long enough life that now he could spend the rest of it on unnecessary worries. Taking another sip, Donatello burped loudly and took a deep breath.
"It seems like you feel better? As I understand it, only a little," Alex said with amusement, watching Donatello.
"I don't know. Maybe… Not every day you find out that you're a prophet. And also… God, he… I don't know if I should say this. But your plan…" Donatello said in a heavy tone, spinning the bottle of beer in his hands.
"We ourselves aren't sure if Chuck will support us…" Dean said, shaking his head and putting the beer aside.
"Aren't sure? But what about… Well… Death?" Donatello asked in bewilderment, looking at Alex.
"In this plan, my hands are tied. And all I can do is help a little," Alex said in a calm tone, spreading his hands.
Donatello looked at Alex, trying to understand what he meant by these words. For him, all of this seemed very strange and incomprehensible, so every answer to his questions caused him even more questions. After all, only until yesterday he had been an atheist who was told that he had become God's prophet, in whom he didn't believe.
And what was important was that all the monsters he considered only fiction had also turned out to be real. Shaking his head, Donatello looked at Dean with a silent question about what Alex had meant by his words. Dean just took a sip of beer, showing that it wasn't worth asking about.
"That's why we need you, Donatello. If we can find Amara's hiding place with your help, then we can save Lucifer as additional force. Maybe then Chuck will agree to cooperate," Dean said, explaining to Donatello the reason why they needed his help.
"I thought they kind of hated each other," Donatello said in surprise, not understanding the reason why Chuck might start helping after saving Lucifer.
"Oh yes. They hate each other very much. Like a dad who went out for milk and a son who wants to break all his dad's toys in revenge," Dean said in a dry tone, taking a sip of beer.
"Wow. It was so good to be an atheist," Donatello said, being stunned by what he had heard.
"And now you're part of this whole family drama. Want a candy?" Alex said with a chuckle, taking a strawberry candy out of his pocket.
Donatello looked at the candy extended to him and was slightly afraid to take anything from Alex's hands, considering who he really was. But he couldn't refuse either, because he thought that he would definitely die if he behaved rudely toward Death. Torn by contradictions inside himself, Donatello reached out and took the candy from Alex's hands.
Thinking that something bad would happen to him if he didn't eat this candy, Donatello quickly unwrapped the wrapper and put the candy in his mouth. At that same moment, Donatello felt the strawberry sweetness on his tongue and relaxed. Watching Donatello's behavior, Alex couldn't help but look at Dean with a silent question: was he really that scary. Dean grinned back at Alex and shrugged slightly, hinting that it might be something else.
Rolling his eyes at Dean, Alex realized that this was connected with the fact that he had to work as Death in this universe. And for ordinary people, it was normal to be afraid of Death. Alex had become so unaccustomed to such a reaction that he was even surprised by Donatello's behavior. Thinking that he should calm Donatello down and explain all the nuances to him, Alex heard the sound of the bunker doors opening.
Alex and Dean turned their heads and saw Sam entering the bunker with a tired expression on his face. Already thinking about what had caused such fatigue on Sam's face, Alex and Dean very quickly got the answer to their question. Metatron followed Sam in.
"Sam, I understand that in the past you wanted to get a pet. But we don't have an animal shelter for homeless former angels here," Dean said, looking at Sam, who was descending the steps.
"I had no choice. He was hanging around the entrance… And let's make it quick, Metatron. And don't touch anything," Sam said wearily, shaking his head and turning to Metatron.
"Fine," Metatron drawled lazily, descending the steps.
Metatron's answer only made Sam sigh heavily. He just wanted to return to the bunker after talking with Chuck in the park, and in the end he had to deal with Metatron, who didn't want to leave. Dean also didn't understand why the hell Sam had dragged this chatty midget into the bunker if he wasn't needed for their plans.
Watching Metatron, Alex thought again about using Metatron as a librarian in the guild. After all, it was better to use him for good rather than just let him die when all his usefulness was exhausted. Metatron, meanwhile, descended the steps, and a grin appeared on his face, as if his plan had succeeded.
"Dean… And Mr. Death. Thank you for inviting me to your humble abode," Metatron said with a brazen smile, approaching the table.
"Invited? Should I remind you how you were hanging around the entrance like a stray dog? And I'm not even talking about your stupid messages that you sent me throughout the night," Sam said in an irritated tone, opening a bottle of beer.
"Really? I was just thinking that you needed a conversation partner, Sam. After everything you've learned," Metatron said in a carefree tone, lazily changing the subject.
"If you don't want to end up on the street again, then get to the point," Dean said, interrupting Metatron's latest tirade.
"Oh. Donatello! Nice to meet you. Metatron, the scribe of the Lord," Metatron continued changing the subject, approaching Donatello and extending his hand for a handshake.
"Former scribe. Now a homeless angel without grace, whom every angel wants to kill," Alex said with a gentle smile, correcting Metatron.
The smile on Metatron's face faltered when he heard Alex's words. Seeing how Metatron's expression changed, Dean and Sam snorted, chuckling slightly at this. Metatron, however, smiled tensely and shook Donatello's hand. Donatello alternately looked at everyone present, not understanding what was happening.
And who was shaking his hand right now. And Metatron didn't stop at a simple handshake and began telling how he had written the names of all the prophets on the eyelids of angels. Attributing all possible merits to himself, Metatron walked around Donatello and placed his hands on his shoulders, continuing to tell how he had been the closest to God, writing down every word of His.
Continuing to tell how much he had done, Metatron reached for the bottle of beer in Donatello's hands. And before Metatron could take the bottle of beer from Donatello's hands, he received a kick in the side from Dean. Receiving the kick, Metatron crashed to the floor, nearly dragging Donatello with him. Hearing the sound of the fall behind him, Donatello turned his head and looked at the fallen Metatron.
"He scares me," Donatello said in a nervous tone, trying to move as far away from Metatron on the chair as possible.
"Yeah, he's creepy. Get used to it… And now you, Gollum. You said you wanted to help. And what can you offer us besides your damn foolishness?" Dean said, calming Donatello down and shifting his gaze to Metatron, who was getting up from the floor after the blow.
"Oh, nothing at all… After all, I only wrote the angelic tablets and know all the spells. I know what drives Amara. And I spent an entire eternity in the company of you-know-who. Shall I continue?" Metatron said in an irritated tone, sitting down at the table and grabbing a bottle of beer from the pack.
Alex watched Metatron, who was boasting about his knowledge, and didn't deny it. But everything was spoiled by his nasty character and his demonstration that he was smarter than everyone. Alex thought that if he was going to take Metatron as a librarian, he would first need to knock all this nonsense out of the head of this former scribe of the Lord.
Dean began massaging his forehead after hearing this nonsense. He didn't believe at all that any spell from Metatron's head could somehow harm Amara. But since this was moving the plot in the right direction, Dean could only resign himself, even though he was already tired of dealing with all this.
Metatron, having finished his latest tirade about how he was smarter than everyone, sat down on the chair and opened himself a beer, as if expecting to be praised. Sam looked at Dean's and Alex's reactions, and he also didn't want to deal with Metatron. But if he could help, then they should use him.
"Guys… As much as it disgusts me to admit it… He can help us in some sense," Sam said, expressing his opinion about Metatron's help.
"I'm not sure about that. Considering what he did to Cas, he's already lucky that he's still in one piece," Alex said, lighting a cigarette and staring intently at Metatron.
"I think so too. How much shit this asshole threw at us," Dean said, agreeing with Alex's words.
"Hahaha. I admit it. We butted heads quite a bit. But right now you might need any help. Even the help of the last asshole," Metatron said with a laugh, not denying a single accusation against him.
"Since when did you side with God? Weren't you the one who tried to take his place? Weren't you the one who spat in his direction the most?" Sam asked, turning on his chair to look at Metatron.
"In the past, yes… But now he decided to pull a kamikaze trick and throw us to the Darkness. I… I was with him from the very beginning of creation. I believed in him. If I can do something to help save all this… Then… I must do it," Metatron said in a tired tone, showing his true feelings.
"Before we say yes. Answer the last question. Do you want to protect all this?... Or only Chuck?" Alex asked in a calm tone, putting his cigarette in the ashtray.
"I think the first. Despite everything I've been through… and how I have to survive after losing my grace, I was able to see people from the other side. Myriads of amazing destinies that cannot simply be consigned to oblivion. Humanity… it really is unique. I want these stories to continue. So that their children also have the opportunity to live their own lives… I really want to save this world," Metatron replied in a hoarse voice, looking at Alex and showing his true reason for helping.
Finishing speaking, Metatron lowered his head and began thoughtfully spinning the bottle of beer in his hands. In that brief moment, he voiced what he truly felt toward this world. Even though in the past he had been the last scum, manipulating everyone to take God's throne. But now, having lost his grace and tried on the skin of a mortal, he had finally realized how beautiful this world was if you looked at it through human eyes, not angelic ones.
And only now, living such a simple, vulnerable life, Metatron truly understood why Castiel had once without hesitation sided with people. Alex, Dean, and Sam were sincerely surprised by such a revelation. What surprised them most was that this egocentric type had even decided to lay it all out for them and name the true reason for his action.
Dean wearily ran his hand over his face. Even though Metatron's words sounded damn sincere, Dean still had doubts. Past bitter experience wasn't so easily erased from memory. Dean looked at Alex, asking with just his gaze whether this smartass was feeding them another load of crap.
Alex gave a barely noticeable nod, confirming: every word spoken by this former scribe was pure truth. And, apparently, he himself was quite surprised by the fact that in this mess Metatron had decided to side with people rather than Chuck. Sam also noticed this silent question from his brother and Alex's answer. And his view of Metatron changed a little, even if he still considered this former scribe the last scum.
"I never thought I'd say this to you. But you're in… We're planning to save Lucifer from Amara. Our plan is quite dangerous, so we'll need to act quickly," Dean said, leaning on the table and looking at Metatron.
"And what does your plan consist of? Allow me to ask? Going straight ahead as always and hoping for the best?" Metatron asked, wanting to know the details.
"No. Dean will go distract Amara, and I'll cover him. And in case of danger, I'll pull him out. Sam, you and Donatello will go to Amara's hiding place and save Lucifer. When you save him, he'll be able to teleport all of you out of there," Alex continued, explaining their plan.
"And then? After saving Lucifer?" Metatron asked, slowly nodding his head.
"Then we need to reconcile Chuck and Lucifer. So that they can defeat Amara together," Sam finished the explanation, showing that this was their entire plan.
"I should remind you that all of this will be very difficult. Reconciling Chuck and Lucifer is even more difficult than pulling Lucifer out of Amara's hands," Metatron said with slight doubt in his voice, showing that this would be difficult.
"We'll figure that out somehow. So are you in or not?" Dean said, shaking his head and showing that they would think about this after saving Lucifer.
"Well, this plan can't get any crazier. So we can only hope that you manage to distract Amara's attention for a long time… If not, then we're all dead… And so, when do we set out?" Metatron said thoughtfully and then looked around at everyone.
"Now," Dean said, standing up from the table.
All this time, Donatello had been sitting with a bewildered expression on his face, not understanding anything of what was happening in front of him. And what scared him was that no one had asked for his opinion. He had simply been signed up for a suicide squad that was supposed to save Lucifer himself from the hands of the one who could destroy everything.
Expressing despair on his face, Donatello looked at the bottle of beer in his hand and thought that this might be the last thing he drank in his life. Sighing heavily once again, Donatello finished the beer and thought that whatever would be would be. Having drunk it to the last drop, Donatello loudly set the bottle on the table, attracting everyone's attention.
"I think I know where we can definitely find Amara," Donatello said when everyone turned to him.
"Are you sure about that?" Sam asked, sincerely hoping that Donatello was capable of this.
"I think so. I have some strange premonition. Like something is itching right in the back of my mind," Donatello said, actively gesturing with his hand and trying to choose his words more precisely.
"Well, it's either Amara or a stroke," Metatron inserted, looking at Donatello skeptically.
"Nah, it's too early for him to die. So it's Amara. Since the divine compass has started working, it's time to set out. The faster we do it, the faster we'll return. Well, or you'll all die, and I'll have to drag your asses to the other side," Alex said in a carefree tone, standing up from the chair.
"How nice of you. Now that's what I call service," Dean said sarcastically, standing up from the chair after Alex.
"Don't thank me. I don't charge for my awesomeness, and certainly not for my beauty," Alex said with a chuckle and showed Dean a thumbs up.
Alex and Dean exchanged glances, then both laughed together. They knew perfectly well that the upcoming meeting with Amara was just a formality for playing out a large-scale spectacle, so they weren't worried at all about what would happen next. Sam, looking at this picture, felt a headache starting.
Once again, he caught himself thinking: why couldn't these two stop acting like idiots even for a second in such a serious moment? A moment ago they had been having a heavy conversation about saving the world, and now Dean and Alex had returned to their usual childishness. Ignoring Sam's heavy looks, the two of them cheerfully left the main hall.
"We're all doomed," Donatello voiced his thoughts with resignation, looking after them.
"Well, our chances of survival have significantly decreased. Or maybe increased… I dare to suggest that these two can turn Amara's anger on themselves. And then we'll have more time. Or…" Metatron said carelessly, shamelessly reaching for the bottle of beer that Dean hadn't finished.
"Or what?" Donatello asked, swallowing the lump that had risen in his throat and fearfully turning to Metatron.
"Well, or they'll piss her off so much that we won't be able to do anything at all. Although this chance is quite small. Purely theoretically," Metatron said thoughtfully, quickly calculating the percentages of probability in his head.
"Cut the crap, Metatron. And go to the garage. We need to get ready. Did you understand everything?" Sam said irritably, looking at Metatron with the desire to kick this talkative scribe.
"Silent, silent," Metatron said placatingly and demonstratively ran his fingers across his lips, showing that he had locked his mouth.
Leaving the main hall, Alex and Dean discussed places where they could meet with Amara. Alex suggested a coffee shop in New York where he and Amara had once drunk coffee. Dean wanted to answer Alex that this was definitely not the place. But he heard Amara's voice in his head, who wasn't against meeting in this coffee shop.
Amara made it clear that she wasn't against playing along in this spectacle. But that didn't mean she was going to do it in some remote place if she could sit in a cozy coffee shop and calmly drink coffee.
Hearing Amara's voice in his head and her position on this issue, Dean pursed his lips and looked at Alex, conveying Amara's words to him. Alex grinned, giving Dean a look that said "I told you so." Dean exaggeratedly rolled his eyes and said nothing more.
To be continued...
(For heaven's sake, it's been scorching hot in my city, and it's absolutely terrifying. Not only am I sitting there like a pig, but I've also started getting a headache. It's a real combo. Luckily, there's a trick with a basin of cold water where you can soak your feet and cool down. It really helps, at least for me. Now, onto the plot: Dean and Amara's date at the coffee shop, and it's like Sam's mission is impossible. Heh. Funny. And since we're already close enough to the end, it's time for a snack. Peace, love, and where's my winter?)