Leaving the Harvard library, Alex led Amara and Castiel to the nearest coffee shop located right on the university campus grounds. Despite the time of year and the fact that it was already evening outside, many students who hadn't gone home were wandering around the campus, along with crowds of tourists and regular visitors. It wasn't difficult for Alex, Amara, and Castiel to blend into this lively, noisy crowd.
From the outside, they looked quite natural: Alex and Amara like a brother and sister who had come to check out the place for future studies, and Castiel like a typical office worker who had been dragged on a tour against his will, although he would clearly have preferred to rest somewhere in peace and quiet.
Slowly strolling around the campus, Alex carefully looked around, observing the people passing by. Lighting a thin cigar, he enjoyed the light aroma of tobacco. Amara had spent enough time among humans to behave naturally, rather than like an ancient goddess thirsting for revenge against the one who wasn't even her real brother.
Reaching the coffee shop on the campus grounds, Alex, Amara, and Castiel went inside. It was packed with people, and almost all the seats were occupied. But they had only come for coffee, so they didn't need to take a table. While Alex was ordering the drinks, he quietly talked with Amara about how her fun time with the so-called "nephew" Lucifer was going and what places she had visited lately.
While waiting for their coffee, Amara began telling in a casual tone how she had been torturing Lucifer, as if it were the most ordinary day in her life. What she didn't hide was that she had drawn her torture methods from Dean's mind, who had once been trained by a demon named Alastair in Hell. Hearing this, Castiel looked at Amara with a thoughtful gaze, to which she simply waved her hand dismissively.
"Just don't tell me you watched all of Dean's memories," Alex said in a dry tone, taking his coffee.
"Fine, I won't say that. But I won't deny it either," Amara replied with a slight smile on her face, taking her coffee from Alex's hands.
Looking at her smile, Alex and Castiel mentally wished Dean luck in the future. After all, it was clear without words that Amara was the type of woman who would keep Dean on a short leash, and he was unlikely to be able to escape from her. But at the same time, Alex couldn't hide the grin on his face, imagining Dean's future family life where Amara would be the one in charge of the house.
Taking a sip of coffee, Amara noticed that evil, satisfied smile on Alex's face. She knew her only friend quite well. And from that smile, Amara immediately understood that he was once again enjoying someone else's misfortune — or rather, the future misfortune of a specific person named Dean.
"Once again I'm surprised by what an interesting friendship you and Dean have," Amara said as she left the coffee shop.
"What's so surprising about it? It's ordinary male friendship," Alex replied carefree, holding the door for Amara.
"I spent half a year among humans… But I still can't understand this strange friendship where you mock each other's troubles, but at the same time do everything to help each other in difficult times," Amara said in a thoughtful tone, raising her head to the sky.
"At first I didn't understand it either, Amara. I observed countless worlds that our Father created… But after replacing Castiel, I began to understand a little what true friendship is," Castiel said calmly, walking next to Alex.
Amara looked at Castiel and slowly nodded. She knew that in front of her was not the Castiel created by her brother — a pocket angel for Dean and Sam, meant to pull them out of trouble and sometimes play the role of the victim who needed to be saved. In front of her was the real Castiel, a real Angel, not a pathetic imitation.
Amara herself did not deny that she had managed to understand a lot about the world and human relationships precisely thanks to Dean. And that was why she had become so attached to him. She liked how Dean valued his family and was ready to go to great lengths to protect those he considered his family, even if it meant making a deal with the greatest bastard in the form of Crowley.
Alex grimaced when the conversation suddenly turned to family values and friendship, and how Amara and Castiel had begun to understand it. Listening to their dialogue, he wanted to remind them why they had met in the first place, and it clearly wasn't to drink coffee and discuss family and friends. Alex even found it quite amusing: three cosmic entities discussing family and friendship.
"For the love of the Creator, what a depressing topic came up. How awful. We're here trying to find the hideout of a manipulative bastard so we can destroy it. And you two are letting your snot flow," Alex said with a look of disgust on his face, looking at Amara and Castiel.
"Are you serious right now?" Amara asked, looking at Alex with a blank gaze.
"Of course I'm serious. What kind of stupid question is that. After we pull Chuck's underwear over his head and break all his toys, you can discuss family and all that… But first, business. The clock is ticking," Alex said, tapping his finger on his empty wrist.
Amara looked tiredly at Alex, who was tapping his finger on his wrist as if he had a watch there. Sighing, she finished her coffee and threw the empty cup into the trash. The next moment Amara disappeared in the middle of the street, and Alex and Castiel disappeared right after her. Passersby walking nearby didn't even notice that someone had just dissolved before their eyes.
The next moment, Alex, Amara, and Castiel appeared at the top of the Empire State Building in New York. Sitting on the edge, Amara dangled her legs down and began telling them where she had followed the trail that had led her to the Harvard library. Sitting down next to Amara and lighting a thin cigar, Alex explained what path they had taken before ending up at the Harvard library.
After listening to Alex's story, Amara snorted irritably, unable to hold back a comment that Chuck, as always, was behaving like a coward. After all, in the past, when she was not yet in the Cage and thought Chuck was her brother, Amara had noticed more than once that he behaved far too secretly and cautiously. But she had realized this too late: all that secrecy was connected to the fact that Chuck wanted to lock her in a Cage and slowly suck out the remnants of her power while continuing to write his great script.
Alex and Castiel quietly listened to Amara's story as she continued speaking. Hearing what path Amara had taken, Castiel thought for a moment and quickly understood how they could find Chuck without revealing their powers and without letting him realize that his plan to confuse the trails hadn't worked.
"I'll go check the other trails. Chuck knew you would try to track him," Castiel said, standing up from the stone railing and looking at Amara.
"Even if you find his hideout now, we still won't be able to do anything until he crawls out himself," Alex said, looking at Castiel.
"I know… But in order for your villainous plan to work, we need to find Chuck's hideout," Castiel said, shrugging slightly as he stood on the edge of the railing and looked down at the streets of New York.
"Don't call my plan villainous… I just want to see the look on Chuck's face when he realizes that even his hideout has been destroyed and he has nowhere to run," Alex said in an offended tone, folding his arms across his chest.
"That's exactly why it's called a villainous plan," Amara said, shaking her head and looking at Alex's offended face.
Castiel chuckled slightly and took a step forward from the top of the Empire State Building. Alex and Amara watched as Castiel fell down and then disappeared. Left alone, Alex and Amara began talking about everyday topics while Castiel was busy searching. And so they wouldn't get bored sitting there, Alex went and got food and drinks — hot dogs and beer.
Seeing what food Alex had brought, Amara couldn't hold back a sarcastic remark that at least it wasn't those strange burgers that Dean eats. Alex couldn't deny that a burger consisting of pancakes instead of buns, with a patty poured with spicy sauce in the middle and maple syrup on top, sounded insane even to him. But Alex himself didn't hide the fact that he had eaten that strange burger prepared by Dean a couple of times, and he had actually liked the taste.
"Where are you going to go after all this?" Amara asked, opening a bottle of beer.
"Where else? On another family vacation… I wish I could say that," Alex said wearily, biting into his hot dog.
"And what's stopping you from going on vacation? Does the son of the Creator himself really have so much work?" Amara asked with interest, holding a hot dog in her hands.
"There are two worlds I have to visit afterward. And in both worlds, children are used as weapons. And I'm going to have a nice chat with those people," Alex replied in a carefree tone, as if he wasn't going to commit genocide but really just wanted to talk.
Hearing Alex's tone, Amara noticed that although he spoke in a very ordinary manner, his eyes were completely cold. And she became interested in what kind of worlds these were that the one she considered her friend had decided to destroy everything there. Hearing Amara's question, Alex fell silent for a moment and decided to tell her about the two worlds he had to visit.
Amara calmly listened to what Alex was telling her, continuing to drink beer at the top of the Empire State Building without asking a single question. Listening to Alex, Amara understood that she was not the one who should give him advice on how to act. But Amara also agreed with Alex that these children needed to be saved and given a new place to live. While Alex and Amara continued talking, Castiel appeared behind them, with his hands in the pockets of his beige coat.
Silently tracking all the trails Chuck had left to hide from Amara until the start of the finale he had written, Castiel had crossed the entire world and eventually ended up in a place he hadn't expected. And reaching the last place, Castiel couldn't help but think that Chuck had a terrible sense of humor.
"How did it go?" Alex asked, turning his head back and looking at Castiel.
"I found it… And you won't believe where he set up his hideout," Castiel said, standing on the edge of the stone railing and looking down at the streets of New York.
"And where is this idiot hiding?" Amara asked, leaning forward to look at Castiel.
"In an old abandoned bar called The Dead Center Bar at 214 Commercial Street," Castiel said in a dry tone, shifting his gaze to Alex and Amara.
Alex looked at Castiel with a surprised gaze, asking if he had made a mistake or reached another dead end again. Castiel only shook his head, showing that he had definitely confirmed Chuck was hiding in exactly that place. Alex's eyes widened for a moment, and then he burst into loud laughter, clutching his stomach. Amara frowned slightly, not understanding why the name of that street had caused such a reaction from Alex.
But Alex himself was genuinely amused by the fact that Chuck had decided to hide in plain sight. Alex knew that old abandoned bar very well. The sign had long faded and was covered in dust and dirt. The windows and doors were boarded up with old planks, and the nails had already rusted. The bar had been closed for decades, and no one had ever bought that plot of land.
Alex knew that bar well because he had driven past it very often with Dean when they went out for drinks in town or during shopping trips to the supermarket. Castiel looked calmly at Alex and knew that this exact reaction would come from his brother when he learned where Chuck had been hiding all this time. After all, he himself hadn't expected Chuck to be hiding so close to them.
Stopping laughing, Alex narrowed his eyes and gripped the stone railing with such force that the balcony itself began to tremble beneath him and crack. Along with this, a strong wind rose at the top of the Empire State Building, blowing away the remaining hot dogs and beer bottles. Seeing what was happening, Castiel sighed slightly, and the cracks healed while the wind stopped.
"Brother, don't overdo it. There's no need to get angry just because the rat you were chasing turned out to be in the neighboring house," Castiel said calmly, placing his hand on Alex's shoulder.
"Oh, no… I'm not angry. I'm just amused by what Chuck did," Alex said, raising his gaze to Castiel.
"Since you've calmed down… Maybe you can explain where this cowardly bastard is hiding before you destroy the building and ruin my hairstyle again," Amara said, brushing her hair back, which had become disheveled from the strong wind.
Alex smiled and turned to Amara. Taking a map of America out of his inventory, Alex placed it between himself and Amara. Seeing the map in front of her, Amara raised her gaze to Alex with a silent question about what this was supposed to mean and why he had taken out a map.
Alex simply smiled and poked his finger at the very center of the map, right where the state of Kansas, the town of Lebanon, and that very street with the bar were located. Amara still didn't understand what Alex was getting at. All she could understand was that Chuck was hiding very close to the Bunker where Dean was. But she didn't understand the reason for Alex's laughter in this situation.
"To put it simply. Chuck still prefers to stroke his own ego, even while hiding from everyone. He is sitting in the very center of the country. And even the name The Dead Center Bar was not chosen by accident," Alex said, raising his gaze to Amara.
"Indeed… That's funny. And very irritating. As always, he loves to be at the center of all events. And even now is no exception. That disgusting bastard… He ruined my whole mood," Amara said with a look of disgust on her face.
"That doesn't matter anymore. When he crawls out, I'll leave him a little gift in his hideout. So that he definitely won't be able to run away and hide. Creatures like Chuck always have the same habits. They always leave themselves escape routes if things start to smell like trouble," Alex said, lighting a thin cigar.
"Nice to hear… Since we're done here, I'll probably head back, because I'm afraid my dear little nephew will get bored without me," Amara said, preparing to return to the abandoned factory.
"Just don't kill him. I still need him," Alex said before Amara left.
As she left, Amara simply raised her hand without turning her head and waved slightly, making it clear that she understood. Amara didn't ask why Alex needed the living Lucifer, and that was no longer her concern. All she wanted was for Chuck to die and for her to get back what belonged to her. Castiel looked at Alex, wondering what plans he had for this fake if every time he barely restrained himself from killing the fake Lucifer.
Alex, seeing his brother's gaze, was not going to explain why he needed the fake Lucifer. Standing up from the stone railing, Alex stepped forward and disappeared. Castiel only shook his head after Alex disappeared and disappeared right after him.
Alex returned to the bunker and first of all was going to visit Dean, because he wanted to talk. Approaching Dean's room, Alex opened the door and looked inside. Looking into Dean's room, Alex saw that Dean himself was already sound asleep. Not wanting to wake him, Alex closed the door and went to his room to the girls.
Returning to the room, Alex talked with the girls about what he and Castiel had managed to find out. Hearing that Chuck was literally hiding in a bar they drove past every few days during shopping trips, the girls expressed their emotions in different ways.
But mostly they simply didn't care, and they preferred to start getting ready for bed instead of thinking about the idiot who considered himself the greatest writer. Laughing at the girls' reaction, who made it clear that they didn't give a damn about Chuck, Alex began getting ready for bed.
Only two calm days had passed since the search for Chuck's hideout. Two days later, Alex decided to talk to Dean, wanting to find out what important situation had arisen right after he left the bunker. After that, Dean pulled Alex aside to talk and explained that he had heard Amara's voice not in a dream, but directly in his head. At that moment, Alex looked at Dean with the blankest gaze he was capable of.
In the end, Alex explained to Dean that this was a consequence of Amara regaining most of her power, and the connection between them had become even stronger, which would ultimately allow them to communicate with each other at any moment. Learning the reason why he had been able to hear Amara's voice, Dean fell silent for a moment and simply nodded.
"So now I'm going to have a woman's voice sounding in my head?" Dean asked, poking his finger at his temple.
"Big deal, another voice in your head. I have a lot of those voices in my head, and I'm not complaining," Alex said in a carefree tone, simply shrugging his shoulders and starting to leave.
"What are you even talking about?" Dean asked, looking at the departing Alex.
"Next time we go to a bar, I'll tell you everything. For now, I need to check if Rowena has found the spell I need. And don't forget about our plans for today," Alex replied, lazily waving his hand before leaving.
"I remember. I've already packed everything," Dean said after the departing Alex.
Dean could only watch the departing Alex, completely bewildered by such an answer. And when Alex left, Dean tried once again to talk to Amara, and this time she answered. But, as always, she said that they would meet soon. Once again, Dean sighed wearily and decided to simply drink so as not to think about other things, because another trip awaited him.
By this time, Alex was already in the room where Rowena had settled. Despite the fact that Rowena had asked to live in the bunker so as not to die at Amara's hands, she lived in the bunker as if it were her home. The room was decorated in Rowena's characteristic pretentious style, including a rare witchcraft table that she had obtained from who knows where.
Being in Rowena's room, Alex ignored her advances and immediately got down to business. He needed a spell for his plan. Seeing that Alex was not reacting to her flirting, Rowena only rolled her eyes and placed a sheet of paper with writings and a list of rare ingredients needed for this spell in front of him.
"Hmm… I have this. I can find this… And this I'll have to take by force," Alex said, reading the list of ingredients that Rowena had given him.
"I would like to see how you're going to take an archangel's grace… But I would still prefer not to be present during that process," Rowena said in a carefree tone, leaning on her table.
"He'll give it himself, whether he wants to or not… Anyway, thank you, Rowena. Here's a small payment for your efforts," Alex said, taking an ancient bottle of wine out of his inventory.
"Oh, darling… Château Filhot from 1901? You do have taste. Unlike these boors who can only kill," Rowena said, taking the bottle of wine that Alex had given her.
"Any work needs to be paid for. And your services are not as expensive as they might seem," Alex said, shrugging carelessly as he prepared to leave Rowena's room.
"Don't you want to share a glass of wine with a lonely woman? I just happen to have a free minute," Rowena said with a coquettish smile.
"Sorry, but no. I promised Alessa to go to an ancient cemetery somewhere in Europe," Alex said, waving his hand and opening the door.
"And what's so special about that cemetery that your daughter wants to go there?" Rowena asked with interest, folding her arms across her chest.
"Alessa wants to find the remaining parts of Thing's body," Alex replied in the same carefree tone, as if it were the most ordinary day in his life.
"Ah, that foul-mouthed hand…" Rowena said thoughtfully, not feeling any particular emotions toward the living hand that could only express itself vulgarly at every opportunity.
Alex snorted and left Rowena's room, leaving the stunned ancient witch who tried to flirt with him at every opportunity. Entering the library, Alex saw Dean and Alessa, who were waiting only for him. Alessa was wearing a black tracksuit, and she had a headlamp on her head.
Thing was sitting on Alessa's shoulder, immediately beginning to gesture with his fingers, asking why it had taken so long. Dean, on the other hand, was dressed in his usual outfit: a denim jacket, a flannel shirt, worn jeans, and leather boots. And next to Dean's feet lay a bag from which shovels and flashlights were sticking out.
"We were just waiting for you. I never thought I'd have to search for parts of a living hand's body," Dean said, picking up the bag and slinging it over his shoulder.
"What are you complaining about. You decided to come with us yourself. Because you were curious who Thing is," Alex said, pointing at Thing, who was sitting on Alessa's shoulder.
Dean just snorted, making it clear that he wasn't the only one curious about who Thing was. After all, even Wednesday herself didn't know who Thing was and where the rest of his body parts were. And somehow Alessa had managed to find out the presumed location where another part of Thing's body might be.
Alex was also curious why part of Thing's body was somewhere in Europe and not in America or Britain. Alex snapped his fingers, and his home clothes changed into a black tracksuit consisting of black shorts, black leggings, and a sports jacket. Zipping up the sports jacket, Alex was ready to head to the abandoned cemetery located somewhere in Europe.
"Oh, you're still here. Good that you haven't left yet," Sam's voice sounded behind Alex and Dean.
"Oh no, not this," Dean groaned upon seeing Sam with a tablet in his hands.
Alex, Dean, and Alessa understood: since Sam had appeared, their trip to Europe might be canceled. Alessa immediately frowned because her trip with her father and uncle had been ruined by another uncle who couldn't sit still without work. Sam hadn't even said anything yet, but Alessa had already added him to the list of people who ruin everything.
Acting preemptively, Alessa walked up to Dean and took the bag with shovels and flashlights from his hands. Dean only lowered his gaze to Alessa, who dragged the bag along the floor after her. Passing by Sam, Alessa raised a cold gaze at him, causing Sam to smile strainedly. Snorting, Alessa kicked Sam in the leg and dragged the bag with shovels further.
After all, if Dad and Uncle weren't going, she would go with her moms to search for Thing's body parts. And Alessa knew that none of her mothers would refuse. After receiving a kick in the leg, Sam hissed in pain, grabbing his leg and nearly dropping the tablet. Alex and Dean exchanged glances, thinking that they should have left before Sam opened his mouth. But Alessa was already offended, and they couldn't change anything now.
"What was that?" Sam asked, rubbing his leg after Alessa's kick and watching the departing Alessa, then shifting his gaze to Alex and Dean.
"That's what happens when you ruin a family trip for your niece. You really messed up here, Sam," Dean said in an irritated tone, pointing his finger at Sam.
"Wait. Are you talking about yesterday's conversation about the trip to Europe? About searching for remains and all that," Sam asked, frowning and still feeling pain in his leg.
"Yeah… And now spill it, why did you come. Before the girls tear you apart for ruining Alessa's mood," Alex said, nodding and sitting down on a chair.
Sam remembered yesterday's conversation during dinner, where Alessa had said she wanted to find the rest of Thing's body parts to figure out who he really was. And in the end, Alex and Dean had agreed to accompany Alessa to search together.
Sighing, Sam understood why Alessa had looked at him with a gaze as if he were the worst person in her life. Realizing that he had seriously messed up by ruining the mood of the one he considered his niece, Sam wearily rubbed his forehead.
"Damn, okay. I'll apologize to Alessa later. Anyway, I found something," Sam said, placing the tablet on the table in front of Alex and Dean.
"I hope it's something worthwhile. Because if not… No one will save you from the revenge of a very dangerous trio," Dean said, pulling the tablet toward himself.
"With a slight stretch. But I think it's connected to Amara… Hope Springs, Idaho. A certain Wes Cooper killed his colleague and then shot himself. The reports say there was no motive. They write that he was the most normal guy… And then suddenly — snap, he lost it," Sam said, snapping his fingers as he explained what had happened.
"Isn't this just the usual work of demons? Their daddy ended up in Amara's hands, and Crowley is that idiot who can't keep them all on a leash. So they're back at it again," Dean said, flipping through the news article.
"Or maybe he was left without a soul," Sam suggested another option.
"Amara is too busy right now to feed on people's souls. I don't think this is our guy… Maybe Wes just got tired and told everything to go to hell," Alex said, leaning on the table.
"I still think we should check it out," Sam insisted, taking the tablet from Dean.
Dean looked at Sam and sighed slightly. Alex, meanwhile, was tapping his finger on the table, trying to remember if this was just a random event or something he had been waiting for. Alex's finger froze over the table when he remembered what was supposed to happen next. Not showing it on his face, Alex smiled mentally.
After all, the events that were going to happen in Hope Springs were exactly what he had been waiting for. Chuck was going to make a spectacular appearance on stage, and for that he had taken care of it himself. And for that, Chuck had taken Wes Cooper's soul so that Dean and Sam would come to Hope Springs to investigate the case.
"What do you think?" Dean asked, looking at Alex.
"We'll go check it out. Before Sam gets torn apart," Alex said, standing up from the chair.
"Since the trip is canceled. I'll go get my suit and the keys," Dean said, standing up from the chair after Alex.
Seeing how quickly Alex and Dean left, Sam quickly followed them. Walking down the corridor, Sam noticed three pairs of eyes looking at him from the cracks in the door. Noticing those gazes, Sam stopped for a moment and felt that those looks did not bode well.
Carefully walking past GIR, MIMI, and Stitch's room, Sam didn't take his eyes off them, fearing an attack from behind. He had seen more than once how Dean had encountered the pranks of this trio, and he definitely didn't want to become their next victim. Quickly reaching his room, Sam still felt their intent gaze on him. Entering his room, Sam quickly closed the door behind him and began packing his things for the upcoming trip.
Alex, meanwhile, was talking with the girls about how they should temporarily move out of the bunker. Alex knew that Chuck, like a leech, would latch onto Dean and Sam to watch everything from the front row after his spectacular appearance. And the last thing Alex wanted was for the girls to be near Chuck. After all, Chuck might suspect something, and that could ruin all the carefully prepared plans.
The girls didn't particularly object to temporarily moving out of the bunker. Alice even suggested going to Forks to visit her family, to which the other girls agreed. While the girls continued discussing where they could go, Alex quickly changed clothes and headed to the garage. After waiting for Dean and Sam, they all headed together to Hope Springs, where the final act of the play Chuck had written would begin.
To be continued...
(So, we're approaching the finale. From now on, I'll try to fit Chuck's appearance into one chapter to move on. As for my decision to have the girls leave the Bunker, I think it's obvious, and I don't need to explain it. And it has nothing to do with their safety. So, I think I wanted to say something else. Hmm... But basically, anything I can say would be a spoiler. So, as usual, I'll keep quiet. And I'll go eat. Peace, love, and yay.)
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