Finding himself in the Red City for the first time, Dean had no idea how drastically his view of life would change after this. Throughout the entire journey through the Red City, Dean kept asking himself what Alex wanted to tell him. And every time he voiced the question that was spinning in his head, Alex gave the same answer: that he would soon get all the answers to his questions.
Hearing the same answer throughout the entire journey, Dean felt only irritation that gradually built up. But soon this irritation was replaced by bewilderment, and in the end — shock, when he saw Amara, who was also in the Red City.
And seeing Amara sitting on the roof of a skyscraper at a table and calmly drinking tea in the company of a girl he recognized as Alex's wife, Dean was completely confused about everything that was happening.
But the shocks for Dean didn't end there, as another portion of stunning information awaited him. Dean learned that Alex and Amara had known each other for quite a long time and had even become friends. Dean was already on the verge of exploding and demanding the truth.
Only the remnants of patience kept Dean in a state where he could control himself. Dean already thought there would be no more shocks. But he was wrong when he saw Castiel, who also came to the roof of the skyscraper and took the last empty chair. And the words that followed next made Dean completely lose his composure. Dean grabbed his head and swore loudly.
Even back then he had felt that the Castiel who had gotten out of Purgatory was different from the Castiel he knew. Back then he and Sam had thought it was all the result of Castiel breaking down because he had caused the Leviathans to escape.
And now, learning that the Castiel he had known for the last few years was not the real Castiel, everything fell into place for Dean. Holding his head, Dean felt a whole storm of emotions boiling inside him. All the shocks of this day piled on top of each other, causing such an outburst of emotions.
Feeling Amara's warm hand trying to comfort him, Dean held onto his self-control with the last of his strength. Taking deep breaths, Dean suddenly felt his raging emotions subside, and the chaos of thoughts in his head was replaced by cold clarity. Dean didn't question why his mind had cleared; he was only interested in the truth about everything.
"I want to know everything… Absolutely everything. Who the hell you are? Who Castiel is? And what this plan to destroy the parasite is," Dean spoke in a cold tone, gripping the edge of the table with his fingers.
"This is going to be a very long story. I hope you're ready for this, Dean," Alex began, leaning on the table with his elbows and folding his hands under his chin.
"I'm not in a hurry anywhere. And depending on the truth you tell me, I'll think about whether I should punch you in the face for all the time you've been lying to me and Sam," Dean said, nodding and leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.
"I'd like to see that, Dean. But as I told you before, you will learn the whole truth when the time comes. And now that time has come… I hope you can handle the truth that follows all this," Amara said in a quiet voice, placing her palm on Dean's cheek.
Dean looked into Amara's eyes and took a deep breath. Feeling Amara's touch, Dean sensed the weight behind her words. And in his head surfaced Alex's words that he had said to him in the elevator — that the upcoming conversation would drastically change his view of life.
But Dean was already mentally prepared for this truth. Exhaling, Dean held his gaze on Amara's eyes for another moment, seeing concern in them, and then shifted his gaze to Alex. With a serious expression on his face, Dean nodded, showing that he was ready to hear everything he was about to hear.
"Since you're ready to listen, Dean. I think we should start with the simplest thing: who I am, what my job is. And why Castiel and I are brothers…" Alex began with a carefree smile on his face, lighting a thin cigar.
Dean almost rolled his eyes when he heard Alex's carefree tone, as if he were talking about everyday things. But noticing how Castiel nodded his head as if confirming that this was indeed where the conversation should start, Dean showed even greater interest in who Alex really was. Without stopping, Alex continued speaking and told Dean that he was literally the first Demon created by the Creator himself.
Hearing this, Dean's eyes widened as he stared at Alex, feeling the absurdity of what he had heard. But Alex didn't stop; he continued talking, pointing at Castiel, who confirmed Alex's words by explaining who the Creator really was. Dean opened his mouth to ask a question but immediately closed it because he didn't even know how to phrase the question spinning on the tip of his tongue.
Continuing to speak, Alex showed Dean several photographs so he could see for himself. Alex took his phone out of his pocket and placed it in the center of the table. With a few finger movements, Alex opened several photos and turned on the projection. Even though Alex had shared some of his memories with Dean, Dean himself still partially denied it, thinking it was just a joke or an illusion. But seeing the photos from Orario, Dean blinked in surprise.
"Wait, that's Babylon… And that's Orario, the city of adventurers. You must be joking," Dean said, looking at the projection of the photos in front of them.
"Amazing, right? When you find out that the world from the anime you watched turned out to be real," Alex said with a smile, showing Dean various photos.
"It's even more than amazing… It's just shocking… Do the worlds from the books Sam reads exist too?" Dean asked, swallowing hard and staring at the photos without blinking.
"Dean, there are countless worlds that are born and disappear in the vast multiverse created by our Father. Any world you can imagine definitely exists," Castiel said, explaining to Dean what and how things worked in the multiverse.
"A world where bacon grows on trees?" Dean asked, swallowing again as he looked at Castiel.
"Yes. That's a very interesting world. In that universe, all food is already ready and grows on trees like fruit. It's so entertaining to watch it ripen…" Castiel said, nodding and looking at Dean with a calm gaze.
Castiel began describing the entire process in great detail — how food grows on trees, how the fruits of those trees slowly ripen and eventually turn into ready-to-eat food like bacon, pudding, and other products. Castiel described it so thoroughly that very quickly such trees lost all their charm.
At first Dean listened attentively too, but soon it became terribly boring to listen to the whole process, as if he had accidentally turned on a video of an old man who loves tending to his garden. Sighing, Alex kicked Castiel under the table to make him shut up. Receiving the kick, Castiel fell silent and looked at Alex with a silent question about what that was.
Sighing, Alex nodded toward Dean, hinting that they weren't here to talk about trees that grow bacon. Alex wanted to finish this conversation while the mind-calming spell was still working on Dean and he could think rationally.
Continuing from where he left off, Alex went on showing Dean photos from other worlds, answering all of Dean's questions along the way. Gradually, Dean became more and more immersed in the conversation with Alex, asking every possible question that came to his mind.
Time passed, Alex told more and more, and Dean was so immersed in it all that he felt dizzy from the sheer amount of information. But what Dean couldn't help but notice was that Alex only casually mentioned some "main villains," as Alex himself called those beings.
For some reason, the thought occurred to Dean that this was exactly why Alex had ended up in this world. And Amara's words that she was not the villain in this story only served as confirmation. Continuing to ask Alex questions, Dean wanted to voice the one single question that was spinning on the tip of his tongue: who the real villain was, who was behind all this, if the main culprit was not Amara.
Dean himself already had an assumption about who was behind all this and who the main villain was. But he understood that it even sounded absurd. Yet the more Dean thought about it, the stronger he felt that his assumption might be correct. And for that, he needed confirmation from Alex, Amara, and Castiel, who knew the truth. When Alex fell silent after finishing another portion of his story, Dean realized it was time to ask the main question.
"Maybe we should move on to the part where you tell me who is really behind all this?" Dean asked, looking at Alex, who was pouring tea into Zhang Ya's cup.
"You already met him. Literally a couple of hours ago. Stupid face, dumb excuses, and someone who thinks he's something more," Alex said, pointing his finger at Dean.
"Chuck…" Dean muttered, realizing who Alex was talking about.
"You guessed correctly, Dean… In reality, Chuck is no god. And he is no brother of mine. He's just a thief and a parasite… All of this started a very long time ago… When this universe was just beginning…" Amara began to speak with a mixture of anger and irritation in her voice.
"Amara, I don't want to interrupt you. But maybe we can skip this whole part about 'once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away, Sith and Jedi fought and all that.' And go straight to the part about what Chuck is and what he's planning," Dean said, not letting Amara start her long story.
Amara closed her mouth and looked at Dean, who was looking at her with a serious gaze, as if he really saw no reason to start the story from such a distant part of the past. A slight smile appeared on Amara's face as she raised her hand and gently placed her palm on Dean's cheek.
Gently stroking Dean's cheek with her fingers, a slight smile was on Amara's face, which disappeared a moment later. Stopping stroking Dean's cheek, Amara simply pushed him off the chair. Dean didn't have time to understand what had happened before he felt the sensation of falling followed by pain in his back from hitting the roof's surface.
Lying on the floor, Dean looked at Amara, who had turned away without changing her expression. Sprawled on the floor, Dean blinked in surprise and heard suppressed laughter. Raising his head, Dean looked at Alex, who had buried his face in Zhang Ya's shoulder and was laughing. Dean's gaze slid to Castiel, who had also turned away with shaking shoulders.
"Is this funny to both of you?" Dean asked irritably, getting up from the floor along with the chair.
"I can only say: welcome to the club, Dean," Alex said, holding back laughter and barely restraining himself from laughing again.
"What club, damn it?" Dean asked, frowning as he sat down on the chair and stared intently at Alex.
"What do you mean what club? The henpecked club… Or do you think you have freedom now? Oh, Dean, my boy… Do you really think you can avoid such a fate… I don't want to upset you. But your bachelor life has come to an end at this moment… I'm so proud of you. Let's keep being friends," Alex said in a pretend tone, wiping fake tears from his eyes and extending his hand toward Dean.
"What the hell are you even talking about? How did the conversation about Chuck being the main bastard turn into me being signed up as henpecked?… And get that damn hand away from me, I'm not joining any club," Dean said in an irritated tone, pushing Alex's hand away.
Alex smiled in response to Dean's words and withdrew his hand. Alex's gaze shifted to Amara, who was drinking her tea with a serene expression on her face. Dean looked at Amara, who responded with a serene gaze. But in Amara's eyes, Dean saw something that made cold sweat run down his back.
Dean didn't know why, but he felt that he would never escape Amara again. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Dean slowly looked away from Amara. And looked at Alex with a plea to continue the conversation. Alex smiled slyly and asked Dean to extend his hand. Dean didn't understand why Alex was asking him to do this, but he still stretched out his hand. Alex touched Dean's hand, and at that moment his gaze clouded over, and he lost consciousness.
Dean's head hit the table with a dull thud, nearly knocking over the teacups on the table. Amara looked at Dean and sighed heavily. Setting her teacup on the table, Amara gently stroked Dean's head. She understood that when Dean opened his eyes, everything would change.
"I hope he can accept the truth about his life," Amara said in a quiet, concerned voice, stroking Dean's head.
"He'll manage. As always. He's not a little child or a whiny teenager. And knowing Dean, it will most likely be a long stream of insults at the whole world, at Chuck, and at his entire life in general," Alex said, lighting a thin cigar.
"I agree that he'll manage. Dean has always managed. No matter how terrible the situation, Dean always got up and kept moving forward," Castiel said, nodding his head in full agreement with Alex's words.
Amara could only nod and sigh heavily. Thanks to her connection with Dean, she had seen everything he had gone through in the past — all the losses and trials. Having begun to understand people better, Amara realized that anyone in the place of Dean and his brother Sam would have broken long ago from such a number of losses of loved ones and the trials they had gone through.
Removing her hand from Dean's head, Amara once again thought that perhaps not only because of fate, but also because both of them had been manipulated by Chuck, she and Dean were so close to each other, and that was why the connection between them was so strong. Alex looked at Dean and took out his pocket watch to check the time.
Understanding that Dean would need about an hour to absorb such a large amount of information, Alex decided to pass the time in his own way. Taking Zhang Ya's hand, Alex began playing with his wife's fingers to pass the time. Zhang Ya looked at Alex with a calm gaze and then turned away, allowing him to do what he wanted. Castiel took a book out of the inner pocket of his coat and began to read slowly.
Time continued to pass, and soon a whole hour had gone by. Dean, lying on the table, twitched slightly and slowly opened his eyes. Slowly getting up, Dean felt heaviness in his head not only from the large amount of information he had received, but also from the truth he had learned.
When Dean's vision cleared, he looked at Alex with one single question in his eyes: was what he had seen in that endless stream of information true. Alex slowly nodded his head, confirming that everything Dean had seen was the pure truth from beginning to end. Seeing Alex nod, Dean closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Exhaling the air from his lungs, Dean opened his eyes, in which there was no longer a drop of calm, only endless rage. Clenching his teeth in anger, Dean let out a loud scream filled with rage, and then flipped the table. Dean threw the table with such force that it simply flew off somewhere into the distance. Dean breathed heavily, but the anger inside him only grew stronger.
Not knowing where to vent all his anger, Dean began destroying everything that was on the roof. Grabbing the chair he had been sitting on, Dean smashed it against the ventilation pipe. With each blow, Dean shouted a new insult at Chuck, fate, and everything else.
Even when the chair broke in his hands, Dean's anger didn't decrease at all. Throwing the broken chair aside, Dean grabbed the ventilation pipe and tore it out along with a piece of the roof. In a fit of his rage, Dean continued to destroy everything he saw around him, as if it were the only way he could get rid of his fury.
Destroying everything around him, Dean thought about the truth he had learned. His father and mother, his friends, Sam's girlfriend, all his loved ones had died only because it was beneficial for continuing the plot that Chuck was writing. And he himself and Sam were nothing more than puppets with whom Chuck had entertained himself.
His entire life, all the deaths of his loved ones and friends were nothing more than entertainment in the eyes of the bastard who just wanted to have fun before devouring this universe. Tearing off another piece of ventilation along with the roof, Dean began hitting it against the floor, continuing to scream. Alex, Zhang Ya, Castiel, and Amara watched as Dean destroyed everything around him, continuing to curse Chuck.
They clearly saw the pain and rage in Dean's eyes — even the mind-calming spell hadn't helped Dean cope with his emotions. Amara wanted to approach Dean, but Alex stopped her, saying that Dean needed to vent all this anger. Amara shifted her gaze to Dean and nodded, understanding that he needed time to calm down.
Dean's angry scream echoed throughout the entire Red City. Dean's anger was not just the anger of a man who had been deceived — it was the anger of someone who had lost almost everything because of one being. All the power that Amara had given Dean burst out, and Dean himself did not hold back this power, using it to the last drop.
Dean's arms and neck became covered with Darkness, and each of his blows caused a shockwave that swept away everything around him. Soon the entire roof of the skyscraper they were on was covered with deep cracks, and everything that had been on the roof had been torn out along with pieces of the roof and thrown somewhere far away.
Dean stood hunched over on the edge of the roof, looking down at the empty streets of the Red City. Dean's anger hadn't gone anywhere and had only become stronger. He had only managed to start controlling his anger, holding everything back to the last drop. Gradually the Darkness receded from Dean's arms and neck as he began to come to his senses after the outburst of uncontrollable rage.
Looking down, Dean took a deep breath, and then exhaled, finally coming to his senses. Taking another breath, Dean felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around. Dean looked at Alex, who had the same smile on his face that rarely left it.
"Feeling better? Or maybe you want to break something else in my wife's city?" Alex said with a light laugh, standing on the edge of the roof next to Dean.
"Aren't you supposed to say something like 'We'll handle everything. You didn't know anything. But now you do'?" Dean said in a sarcastic tone, looking at Alex.
"Do I look like a snotty teenager who's going to wipe your nose? We're both grown men. And we'll solve problems like grown men," Alex said, rolling his eyes and pushing Dean in the shoulder.
"We'll beat all the shit out of that bastard Chuck, and then feed him his own script," Dean said in a cold tone, clenching his fists with such force that his bones cracked.
"Exactly, Dean… But we're not just going to beat Chuck. No-no-no, beating Chuck is too simple. We'll break all the stages he built for his performances. Hell, Heaven, Purgatory, and even his hideout. We'll break all of it, not giving him a chance to escape. And when he realizes that he doesn't even have the opportunity to run, then we'll beat him again and again until your anger subsides," Alex began to say with a growing smile on his face, gripping Dean's shoulders.
Seeing this look from Alex, Dean swallowed hard, frightened by the unnaturally wide smile on Alex's face. Dean had never seen such a smile on Alex's face before, and he admitted to himself that this smile scared the hell out of him, especially those sharp teeth and crazy eyes.
But the more Dean listened to Alex, the harder it was for him to restrain his own smile. Dean didn't want to deny it, but Alex's plan sounded simply amazing in his understanding. At that moment, Dean finally realized that killing Chuck would be too simple for everything he had done. Finishing speaking, Alex looked into Dean's eyes, waiting for his answer.
With a wide smile on his face, Dean nodded, agreeing to do as Alex had said. Looking at each other, Alex and Dean laughed like two villains who had united against the main hero. Watching the laughing Alex and Dean, Castiel closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. Amara just sighed heavily and looked at Zhang Ya, who was examining her nails painted black.
"Zhang Ya, can you ask your husband not to turn my Dean into a secondary villain," Amara said with a heavy sigh, pointing her finger toward the laughing Alex and Dean.
"We tried… You need to come to terms with it…" Zhang Ya said in a quiet voice, stopping examining her nails.
Amara looked at Zhang Ya, whose eyes clearly said that she and the other girls had really tried to make Alex stop behaving like a secondary villain, but all their attempts had been in vain. Sighing, Amara heard that theatrical villainous laugh again and looked at Alex and Dean, who were standing on the edge of the skyscraper roof, discussing how they would ultimately ruin Chuck's life.
On the one hand, Amara was glad that Dean had managed to calm his anger. Alex, meanwhile, was carefully watching Dean's emotions and saw that although he was angry, he still maintained self-control.
And what pleased Alex was that Dean had agreed to play along with Chuck's script until the very moment of the finale. Dean had initially wanted to refuse, but when Alex shared his villainous plan on how to make Chuck experience strong humiliation, Dean's opinion changed drastically.
"Alright, we've discussed the plan. It's time to move on to the second part of our plan," Alex said with a smile, looking at Dean.
"What's the second part of the plan?… Is it something like bringing Lucifer back and making them play family?" Dean asked, frowning as he thought about the plan Alex had told him.
"Oh, no. Dean, my boy, you need to become stronger. With your weak little hands, you won't even scratch Chuck. So, as they say, I'll make the fire of your youth blaze with new strength," Alex said, raising his finger to the red sky.
"I'm going to throw up… Can you not say things like that in that tone? It immediately reminds me of that bushy-browed ninja in the green jumpsuit. He's cool and all. But his catchphrases are just something else," Dean said with a look of disgust on his face, taking a step back from Alex.
"Nobukatsu wouldn't say that. Well, never mind, follow me. We're going to make you stronger than you are now," Alex said, beckoning Dean to follow him.
"What about time? Do you think it'll be fine if we disappear for so long?" Dean asked, frowning as he followed Alex.
"Time? What's that? There's no such thing here… You shouldn't worry about time, Dean. But about what awaits you next," Alex said, pressing the elevator button.
Dean mechanically nodded his head upon hearing Alex's answer. He already knew that his friend, whom he saw as a younger brother, was something completely different and very powerful. For Dean, who looked at everything from the point of view of a mere mortal, realizing such things was still difficult.
Dean understood that he himself had partially stopped being human after receiving power from Amara, but compared to Alex there was still a big difference. Pushing these thoughts away, Dean wondered what Alex was going to do and what he meant by his words when he said he would help him become stronger. When the elevator doors opened, Dean stepped inside first.
Turning around, Dean thought they would go alone to wherever Alex wanted to go. But everyone followed him into the elevator. Amara stood next to Dean and looked at him with a smile, to which Dean rolled his eyes, hinting that the truth he had learned was quite shocking. Amara only laughed at Dean's look, reminding him that she couldn't tell him earlier. Alex pressed the elevator button, and the doors smoothly closed.
Standing in the elevator, Alex swayed slightly to the rhythm of the music as the elevator went down. A moment later the elevator stopped, and the doors opened. Alex exited first and walked forward along a long stone corridor. Frowning from the growing feeling of anxiety, Dean followed Alex down the long corridor.
Following Alex, Dean saw light at the end of the corridor. Reaching the end of the corridor, Dean slightly squinted from the bright light that hit his face. Covering his eyes with his hand, Dean stepped out onto a spacious field. When his eyes adjusted to the light, Dean raised his head and began looking around.
The first thing Dean thought when he saw where he was was that he had ended up in some kind of coliseum. High stone walls with traces of weapons, stone stands.
Dean's gaze slid over the stands until he saw Amara sitting among familiar girls. Seeing that even Alex's girls were present, including Integra, who should have been busy with work at Hellsing right now. And even Alucard had decided to come watch what would happen in the Coliseum.
"Hey, Alex… What's going on here. And why are there even spectators?" Dean said, turning to Alex and pointing his finger toward the stands.
"Didn't I tell you? This is going to be your training," Alex said, taking off his jacket and turning his head toward Dean.
"And what kind of training is this, may I ask?" Dean asked, swallowing hard as a very alarming feeling began to rise from the depths inside him.
"Nothing complicated. You just need to survive… And, of course, fight back," Alex said with a tender smile on his face, putting on knuckle dusters on his hands.
"Just don't tell me… That you're my opponent," Dean said, staring at Alex.
"You guessed it… Unfortunately, it's hard to find a suitable sparring partner at a time like this… But don't worry, I know how to hold back. But it's going to hurt like hell," Alex said, lightly bouncing from foot to foot.
"Maybe we shouldn't do this," Dean said, moving his hand behind his back and gripping the hilt of the Blade of Cain tightly.
"Hmm… How about 'no'… And now grit your teeth. It's going to hurt like fuck," Alex said, leaning forward.
As soon as Alex finished speaking, he disappeared from his spot. Dean's eyes widened at what he saw, and his inner senses began sounding the alarm about danger. Dean felt a gust of wind to his right and turned his head. He saw Alex's fist approaching straight toward his face.
At the very last moment, Dean managed to raise his hands, using the Blade of Cain as a shield to block Alex's blow. Alex's fist slammed into the Blade of Cain, and Dean felt the bones in his arms instantly break.
And in the next moment Dean felt his feet leave the ground, and he was thrown back. Dean crashed his back into the wall, feeling pain from the broken bones again. Falling to the ground after hitting the wall, Dean tasted blood in his mouth and spat red saliva onto the sand.
"What the hell, man!" Dean shouted while the bones inside his body slowly healed.
"Get up, Dean. This is just the beginning. Or are you going to scream at Chuck the same way, who took everything from you… Get up and fight, Dean. Because, as one nameless Warrior said: 'Only in battle do we reborn'," Alex said, slowly approaching Dean.
Dean looked at the slowly approaching Alex with a gloomy gaze, feeling how the bones in his body were slowly healing. The suppressed anger inside Dean flared up with new strength when he heard Alex's words. Instantly Dean's arms and part of his neck became covered with Darkness, and all the broken bones instantly healed.
He knew he needed strength to defeat Chuck, and if for that he had to train in this way, Dean was ready for it. He was ready to take revenge on Chuck not only for himself and his family, Dean was ready to take revenge for Amara too. Getting up, Dean gripped the Blade of Cain tighter, showing that from now on he would fight seriously.
Seeing how Dean's behavior had changed, Alex smiled, glad that his friend had become serious. But what Dean didn't know was that this would be the hardest time in his life, when his bones would break, and he would have to get up again and again to continue fighting.
To be continued...
(So, Dean learned the truth about why his life is so full of crap. Next up is Dean's training, which we'll skip parts of. And then we'll move on to the continuation of the finale. Yes, I promise you, that's what will happen. Because I, too, am already eager to see Alex and Dean beat up Chuck. And it's time to start preparing for what happens after this arc ends. There will be a little jump around to the events that take place before the next arc, but you already know that. Now I'm going to go get some salad. Peace, love, and somewhere in there, your dream will come true.)
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