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Hunting Humanity VII	By : greenwizard11 Category: Supernatural > Slash - Male/Male Views: 1262 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Supernatural universe. No money is being made from this story.

Chapter List
- 15
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- 17
Dean came back inside from taking a bunch of garbage out. “Well, that was… mass chaos...”

Sam leaned against the counter, looking very worn out. “Yeah, but John enjoyed it. He’s now officially four years old. My god, it won’t be long until he’s starting school. How did this even happen? It’s like… Natalie told me she was pregnant with him, and I blinked, and here we are.”

Dean gave a little shrug. “That’s life. You’ll blink again and be giving him his first beer.”

“Yeah...” Sam got a far away look in his eye. “And my daughter is coming really soon. And then Nathan turns two. Oh, and Natalie got a letter that Becky is being released. I don’t know what to expect from that. I mean, to her, Nathan was just one part of that happy family she had to have but didn’t get. I can hope that she just won’t care and leave us all alone. Maybe she really got some help, but then maybe she’ll be back to her old tricks.”

Dean put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Breathe. I know your plate is overflowing right now, but let’s take things one a time. We’ll get through it. Look, I know Natalie is bursting at the seems with baby, and that kills romantic notions for you, but why don’t you just spend the night pampering her or something? Liam and I can be on rugrat duty.”

“Yeah, okay,” Sam nodded and gave a little smile. “Thanks.”

Liam came in holding Nathan. “Nathan has had his bath, and is all ready for dinner. Then he’ll probably at least need wiped down again.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to handle dinner,” Dean said to him. “Sam and Natalie are going out tonight.”

“We are?” Natalie came in.

“Yeah. You two deserve a nice dinner out, and a child free evening. Leave the boys to their uncles for the night. We’ll get them fed and into bed no problem.”

Natalie gave them a soft smile. “Wow, thanks. You guys really are a great help when you’re here. I didn’t even have to lift a finger for the party.”

The rest of the evening went pretty quietly. Between the two of them Dean and Liam took care of the boys and tucked them in for bed. They stood outside Nathan’s room watching him sleep for a minute. “You make a great uncle,” Liam commented to Dean. “And I bet you’d make an even better dad.”

“Yeah, well,” Dean sighed and started down the hall.

“Admit it, you do want one,” Liam followed him.

Dean stopped and turned to face him. “Okay, yeah, maybe I do think about it sometimes. Maybe once in a while I even have a dream about it. A kid about Nathan’s age playing on the floor that’s a little bit of me, and a little bit of you. Yeah, I want to have a baby with you, but that’s just not biologically possible. And no, I don’t resent you for it. I have accepted things for what they are. If I keep you, then no baby. I definitely want to keep you, so the only option left is to be the best damn uncle I can be.”

Liam gave a soft little sigh. “I do enjoy taking care of the boys even though they’re not ours. Would be nice if they were though.”

Dean pulled Liam in for a tender kiss. “You know what. How about we drop the heavy subject and go curl up on the couch to watch a movie before bed?”

“Sounds like an excellent idea,” Liam smiled.

Dean came down in the morning and Sam was leaning over the kitchen sink. “What's up with you?”

Sam bolted upright and shut the water off. “Nothing. Why?”

“How did last night go?”

Sam leaned against the counter. “It was good I think. Natalie gets really tired out easily right now, and it was hard to find something besides kids to talk about, but we did reconnect a little bit.”

“Good. Heard from Kevin?”

“Uh, no. Nothing yet.”

Dean sat down at the table. “What's it been, like, three weeks? What's taking that little brainiac so long? It's a book. Read it.”

Sam joined him at the table. “Just a guess, but translating an ancient language with zero help might be more difficult than we think.”

Dean got up to grab himself a cup of coffee. “So, no word from Cas, and Kevin's taking his sweet little time.”

“Well, um…,” Sam picked a paper up off the counter. “I can give you zombies. He was left for dead overnight, guts spilled out all over the road, then gets up and walks away from it.”

Dean looked at his brother strangely. “I didn’t think you’d be so eager to work a case what with a baby coming so soon.”

“Yeah, well, we still have probably two weeks at least. I don’t think one case will take that long. There are still plenty of cases out there, and we’ve been home for a while. I can see you’re starting to get antsy, and so am I a little bit. I guess it’s in our blood. Do you want to look into this or not?”

“Nothing about brain munching?” Dean gave an answer.

“Remember Bobby's wife? She didn't... munch on any brains.”

“Well, who's the witness?”

“Montana state trooper, twenty year vet. Checked his pulse, saw his insides spilled out all over the place, pronounced him dead with a capital D.”

Dean and Liam were in their bedroom tossing their meager belongings into bags. “I don’t like the way Sam’s been acting,” Dean commented. “Normally he hates leaving his family, and when John was this close to being born...”

Liam gave a little shrug. “It’s probably just stress. Professionally, he’s staring down the barrel of two more trials. We don’t know what they are, but something tells me the first one was the easiest and most pleasant. His personal life is no picnic right now either. Yeah, the baby is very close to being born, but she makes number three. With John he was going to be the one and only, which if you remember Sam was scared then too, but we figured one we could handle. Three little ones is a whole different kettle of fish. So, if you think about it, he’s getting pressed on all sides. Working a case is probably how he’s dealing with that.”

“I hope you’re right,” Dean sighed as he grabbed his bag and headed downstairs.

They made the drive out to where it happened and dressed up to have a little chat with the officer who witnessed the whole thing. “Since when have the Feds started tracking zombie activity?” the officer asked.

“We don't track zombie activity because there's no such thing as zombies,” Dean tried to sound professional. “Why don't you just tell us what you saw?”

“Article said it all, dead as dog poop, guts pecked out, face frozen. People don't walk away from that. zombies do.”

“And you don't think something could have dragged him away?”

The officer shook his head. “One set of footprints, no drag marks.”

“You didn't go after him?”

“That's grizzly country. You couldn't pay me enough to hike those woods, not without a bazooka.”

“Uh, Jack?” the assistant called out. “I got something here. Came across the wire from Livingston.”

They all moved over to her desk and the officer looked at a picture of a dead man who was pretty torn up. “John Doe, presumably mauled by a grizzly. Holy crap, that's him.”

“That's the dead guy?” Dean pointed to the picture.

“Dead my ass. That's a zombie, boys.” He went to his coat rack to fasten on his gun belt.

Sam held up a hand. “Uh, you know what, trooper? Why don't you stay here? We'll take care of this one. We need someone to hold down the fort.”

“You sure?”

Dean nodded. “Yeah, and if things go all ‘Dawn of the Dead’ on us, you'll be our first call.”

They drove over to where the body was and stood over it with the coroner. “No ID on this guy?” Sam asked.

“Fingerprints came up blank, too.”

Sam pulled up the sheet to reveal a large bloody gash on the guy’s side. “What's going on down here?”

“Liver was eaten. Best guess is a bird got at it.”

They walked out into the hallway and Dean sighed. “I got to say, I am a little disappointed.”

Sam shook his head. “Yeah, because you wanted to shoot zombies.”

“Damn straight I wanted to shoot some zombies. Look, man, this is about as open and shut as it gets, alright? Guy gets Mack trucked, goes down for a nap, wakes up, takes a detour into mama bear's den, end of story.”

“Then why would he run?” Sam asked. “He was injured. That trooper could have helped him.”

“I don't know. Shady past?”

“Dean, don't guys with a shady past usually have a fingerprint on file?”

“Whatever it was, the guy's dead now, alright? Remember what Bobby said, hmm? Wood chipper beats everything? Yeah, well, so does grizzly bear.”

“Uh, guys?” Liam pulled on Dean’s sleeve and pointed to the window where the supposedly dead guy was getting off the table and walking away.

They all chased after him, catching him in the hall wrapped in only a sheet. Dean pressed the barrel of a gun to his neck. “You better start talking. What are you? If you say zombie I swear...”

“What? No, I'm not anything,” the man insisted.

Dean rolled his eyes. “Look, two minutes ago, you were room temperature. You're something.”

“Look, I don't know what I am, okay? I don't know who I am. All I know is all I do is die, so if you want to shoot me, shoot me. Just promise me you finish the job because I can't take this anymore.”

“All you do is die? What's that supposed to mean?” Sam asked.

“Once a day, for as long as I can remember. After a few hours, I'm back.”

Dean gave him a funny look. “What are you, like a real life Kenny?”

“Who? No, my name is Shane.”

Dean backed up a little bit. “Alright, well, listen, Shane. We're not gonna find out what the hell you are in here, so you're gonna come with us, okay? We're gonna run a few tests, make sure everything's kosher.”

“Tests?” Shane looked a little nervous, but followed them out.

They went and found motel rooms. Shane sat on the bed and Dean took a silver knife and cut his upper arm. Shane grimaced while blood dripped down his skin. “Seriously? This is FBI sanctioned?”

Sam handed him a flask of holy water. “Drink.” Shane sniffed it before taking a sip. Nothing happened.

“All right, so, uh, how long has this dying thing been going on?” Dean asked.

“As long as I can remember, but my memory only goes back a few years.”

“Wait, so now you have amnesia? How do you know your name?”

“My real name isn't Shane. It was given to me because... I don't know, people had to call me something.”

“Okay. So, then, what happened to you?” Sam asked.

“Got pulled off a mountain in Europe. They said that I got caught in an avalanche. I don't remember anything from before the rescue. When I realized my condition, I knew I couldn't be around other people, so I built a little cabin, learned to hunt, kept to myself. Seemed easiest that way. Then a couple pot growers grew nervous with me being so near their crop. Shot me twice. I figured it was time to move on.”

“Right into the grill of that pickup,” Dean commented.

Shane looked up at them. “You think maybe I could clean up?”

“Yeah, man. Knock yourself out,” Dean motioned to the bathroom. Shane got up and headed in as Dean turned to his companions. “Well, he's definitely something.”

Sam looked at the door with soft features as he tucked his flask back into his coat pocket. “Yeah, but maybe he's not the monster. Maybe he's the victim.”

“You thinking curse?” Dean looked to his brother.

Sam nodded. “Could be looking for a witch, yeah. You know what? He's parked here. He's safe.”

Dean sighed. “Alright, but you're the one going full cavity for the hex bag.”

Sam took Shane to his room to sleep with him for the night, and was woken by a fight. A pretty woman with dark hair dressed in leather was going after Shane with a knife. He seemed to be pretty easily fending her off. Sam tried to step in and help, but he was knocked right out of the door. Liam and Dean came running. When Dean stepped toward her his legs were knocked from under him, but in the struggle she lost her blade. Liam snatched it and went after her next. The two slammed each other around for a bit until the blond had her in a prone position against him with the tip of the blade pressing to her throat. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“Now I'm your worst enemy,” she growled as she quickly reached to grab the knife again and disappeared.

“Who the hell was that?” Dean asked as he picked himself up.

“She said that she knew me,” Shane looked confused.

“Yeah, how?” Sam closed the door.

“I don't know, but, uh, I could have sworn that she was upset I didn't know her back.”

Dean shook his head. “This is, uh, this is a lot more than a curse, man. You've got like some tiger blood. Where did you learn that kung fu?”

Shane suddenly grabbed his arm and sank to his knees. “Hey, buddy, you okay?” Sam asked with concern.

“Yeah,” he panted. “Yeah, I just need a minute. I've never been in a fight in my whole life.” He started jerking around like he couldn’t breathe.

When Shane flopped on the floor Dean looked a little shaken. “Hey, whoa. Is he having a heart attack?”

“Yes,” Liam answered.

“Do we call 911?” Sam seemed at a loss.

Dean looked to his brother. “And tell them what? That the dead guy we stole from the morgue is alive and having a coronary?”

They laid Shane’s body out on one of the beds and sat side by side on the other just waiting for him to revive. Sam ran a hand through his hair. “We need to think. Dean, what do we know of that has Jason Bourne fighting skills, dies a lot, and has a history with violent women?”

“I don't know, you?” Dean joked.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Dean got up with gun in hand to peek out the window to see who it was. When he saw it was a woman with a little boy he opened the door slowly. “May I help you?”

“Agent Bonham?” the woman looked at him hopefully.

“And you are?”

“This is gonna sound really strange, but I'm looking for a corpse that went missing today.” She was holding the same zombie article Sam had picked up. “The coroner said that you were the last one to see it. I'm Hayley.”

Dean opened the door a little wider. “Uh, this is Agent Jones, and Agent Finnegan,” he motioned to Sam and Liam.

“Why are you looking for our John Doe?” Sam asked.

“Well, his name is Shane. At least, that's what I called him.” She looked down at the child. “I'm the mother of his son.”

“Hey,” Dean gave the kid a little smile and bent down to his level. “Why don't you, uh, slap me some skin, huh?”

The kid turned toward his mother. “He's shy. It's okay, Oliver.” Her eyes widened a bit when she saw Shane’s body over Dean’s shoulder.

Dean shot back up. “Oh, you weren't supposed to see...”

“It's okay,” she assured him and pushed past him into the room. “Stay with the nice FBI agents, Oliver.” She moved to Shane’s side.

After a minute they all sat outside with her at a picnic table while Oliver played on a swing set. “When I was younger, I had friends that wanted to climb this mountain in Europe, and I thought it sounded exciting, so... I joined them,” she started telling the story.

“The avalanche?” Sam guessed.

“He told you? What else did he say?”

“Just that he doesn't remember how he got there.”

“My friends were gone, and when I found him, his clothes were torn off, his eyes were frozen solid, but he was still alive. I just knew there was something off about him, the way that he would...”

“Die every day?” Dean finished the sentence.

“Yeah. I thought it was from exposure or shock. Maybe he was unconscious. We were both in bad shape. And I know I couldn't have made it down the mountain if it weren't for him. And when we got to the bottom, we, um...realized that it had become something else, and we spent the night together, and while we were, you know... He had a heart attack.”

“Awkward,” Dean commented.

“So, I called 911, and they couldn't save him. And I had to go down to ID the body...”

“He popped up again. Alive,” Sam guessed.

“I freaked out and I ran. And nine months later, I had Oliver.” She sot a sad look at Oliver over on the swing. “I hired a private investigator. I really tried to find him, but when they gave up, I gave up. Until a couple of months ago.”

“Now, what made you look again?” Sam asked.

“The worst thing.”

Just then the motel room door opened and Shane stood there. “Hayley?” he looked very surprised to see her.

“Hello, Shane.” She stood and waved her son over. “Oliver, come here, honey.” The boy ran over to her. “I thought it was time you two meet. This is Oliver.”

Shane went with Hayley to talk about things while Sam went inside to do some research. Dean and Liam watched Shane while standing by the door. “It’s always tough when there’s a kid involved,” Liam said while he took a sip of coffee.

“Yeah,” Dean nodded in agreement. Sam came back out to stand with them. “Did you find anything?” Dean asked his brother.

Sam nodded. “Well, uh... Looks like we were right about that curse thing. From what I can tell, we're looking at a titan.”

“A titan? What is that, like, a god?”

“More like a proto god, like the gods before the gods. They ruled over Greece before Zeus and the rest of the Olympian gods overthrew them.”

“Chronos overthrew them,” Liam corrected Sam. “And then there was this whole thing and Zeus overthrew Chronos, or so the story goes.” Sam and Dean gave him a funny look. “Hey, I just like to have the record kept straight.”

“Anyway, so who is this guy?” Dean asked his brother.

“Best I can tell? Prometheus.”

“Seriously? Didn't he steal fire or something?”

“Yep. He, uh, ‘Ocean's Eleven'd’ Mount Olympus and stole the flames of Olympia.”

“For what, kicks?”

“For us, actually. Zeus decided to revoke humanity's ability to make fire so we couldn't cook, couldn't stay warm, couldn't see in the dark.”

“Sounds like a monster's paradise. And this guy made it right for us?”

“Yeah. And in return, Zeus decided to strap him to that mountain and make him relive death every day.”

“Damn. Every day for how long? No wonder the guy's hard drive is fried. Did you figure out who, uh, Xena wannabe was?”

“I'm guessing Artemis, Zeus' daughter. She's been known to carry around weapons like that dagger. They're nasty. They'll kill Immortals dead.”

“Alright. Well, we've never battled a god curse before. Hope we can break it.”

They motioned for Shane to go inside with them, figuring they might as well fill him in. Sam showed him the article he was reading with a very graphic illustration. “This is an eagle chowing down on your intestines. You don't remember that?”

“No.”

“Okay, look, I hate to break it to you, but you are Prometheus.”

Shane let it sink in for a moment. “Well, then, the best thing for me is to get as far away from them as I can.”

Dean narrowed his eyes. “Wait. I'm sorry. You just discovered that you have a seven year old son, and you want to walk away?”

“And I'm a god. And this god and his daughter are hunting me. What chance do I have?”

Sam closed the laptop. “Okay. We're gonna help you, but we need a plan first, and we can't come up with one here.”

“Where are we going?”

“Someplace safe,” Dean answered. The door opened and Hayley carried Oliver’s unconscious body in with a large gash on his forehead. “What's wrong?”

“He fell,” she answered as she laid him on the bed.

“Do I need to call an ambulance?” Dean asked.

“No, don’t.”

Realization dawned on Shane. “He's dying, isn't he?”

“I was going to tell you, I just wanted you to have a chance to adjust.”

“Wait a second, he has your curse?” Sam frowned.

“What curse?” Hayley looked around the room.

“Long story,” Liam got up to gather his things. “We’ll tell it to you on the way to the safer place.”

They drove out to the bunker so they could look through the information there. Hayley carried Oliver inside and they found one of the many bedrooms to take him in into. “Just put him right here,” Dean motioned to the neatly made bed. “This curse was put on you. Why the kid?”

“I don't know,” Shane shook his head.

Hayley was visibly upset. “You keep saying curse. What curse?”

“How long has this been happening?” Sam asked.

“Oh, well, I… Since he turned seven a few months ago. It started with the dying, and then he stopped talking.”

“Wait, seven? Age seven marks one of the first Greek rites of manhood.”

Dean looked to his brother. “So, what? Are you saying the curse is hardwired into his programming? How do you know that?”

“Look at me,” Hayley turned to Shane. “I'm sorry that I ran out on you all those years ago. I was scared. I didn't understand what was going on. But we have a child, and whatever you have, he has. I need to know how to stop it. What curse?”

They took her to the library so Dean could explain everything while Sam looked through the books. “Okay, so Ollie's dad is a Greek god who has been cursed to die every day by Zeus. And you guys are...Ghostbusters. Am I getting this right?”

Dean looked a bit irritated. “Well, you know, due to the fact that your son is currently, albeit temporarily, dead, I'm gonna let that one slide.”

“You have to realize this sounds crazy.”

“It's true,” Shane looked her in the eye. “I didn't believe it myself at first, but it's the only thing that makes sense.”

Dean let out a little sigh. “Look, the faster you wrap your brain around this, the faster we can solve the problem.”

“Solve the problem? I'm just not even sure I understand the problem.”

“What part of you met a cursed Greek immortal and had a kid with him are you not understanding?” Liam was beginning to get a little irritated himself.

Dean stepped between them. “Alright. So, the way we usually handle this is we summon the bastard and we work him over until he undoes whatever it is he did.”

“Summon Zeus,” Hayley looked unsettled by that thought.

“Yes.”

“And if he doesn't want to undo it?”

“Then we take him out,” Sam answered. “And hopefully, the curse dies along with him.”

“This can't be happening.” They heard Oliver coughing up in the room. “This I can handle,” she turned and left.

Dean turned to Shane. “Listen, you can run and hide and die for all eternity. It's your choice. But Sam and I are gonna go after Zeus... with or without you.”

“I’m in,” Shane seemed determined.

They all hit the books trying to find some way to deal with Zeus. “Here we go,” Liam called out.

“What you got?” Sam asked.

Liam handed him the book. “Impressive as always,” Dean kissed his cheek. “You always seem to know where to look.”

Hayley came back in and Dean gave her a little smile. “Hey. How's the, uh... Is the kid?”

“He's fine. Oh, please, keep going.”

“Right,” Liam nodded. “So, uh, Drakopoolos tangled with Zeus back in the day, and the Men of Letters translated his journal.”

“The Men of Letters?” Shane tilted his head a little.

Dean grinned. “It's a secret society. This is actually their lair. We're legacies.” No one seemed impressed. “No big deal.”

Sam read over the entry. “Okay. So, it says here he summoned Zeus into a trap and found out how to kill him.”

“What's that?” Shane asked.

“Wood from a tree struck by lightning,” Liam answered.

“Right,” Sam continued reading. “So, it says we need two things for the summon; frozen energy from the hand of Zeus, and the bone of a worshiper.”

“Frozen energy, you thinking fulgurite?” Dean looked to his brother.

“Well, it makes sense.”

“Alright. You get on the web, see if there's any Greeks nearby that are still worshiping the Old gods.”

“On it,” Sam nodded.

“What about the wood? Is that easy to find?” Shane asked.

“Something tells me that won’t be a problem,” Liam answered.

Hayley was reading the journal over Sam’s shoulder. “Oh. Wait, this journal just ends. I mean, how do we know if Drako whatever survived? How do we know Zeus didn't get to him?”

“We don’t know,” Sam answered.

“How do we know this is going to work?”

“We never know for sure, but these books, they're, uh, they're pretty good,” Dean tried to give her a little comfort.

“So, we're hanging our lives on the writings of a dead man.”

“Alright. Listen to this,” Sam spoke up. “Greek pagans two towns over. Best part? They have an obit page with cemeteries.”

Dean nodded. “Alright. You two are on grave duty,” he motioned to Sam and Shane. “We'll handle the B&E.”

“We'll be in touch,” Sam got up to leave. Dean tossed him the car keys.

Hayley sat down beside Dean. “B&E? You mean, breaking and entering? What for?”

“Well, the book calls for fulgurite. It's a little hard to come by. The last time we needed it, we, uh, stole it from a one percenter.”

“You do know that fulgurite is available in crystal shops all over, right?”

“Really?” Dean looked surprised.

“Yeah. The new age people, they use it to make cheap jewelry.”

Once they had things gathered they drove out to an abandoned warehouse. Dean turned to Hayley. “Listen, I know this all seems a little haphazard, alright? But trust me when I say that me and Sammy have gone in with a lot less and come out on top.”

“I believe you. It's just all this. And I'm about to ask Zeus, the Greek god, to help cure my son.”

“The thing you got to remember is this is not about asking for his help, okay? He's not your friend. It's about getting him to do what's right.”

Liam’s body went limp in the backseat and Astiratu appeared beside his body causing Hayley to scream. “Okay, that hurt my ears. Let’s just get this show on the road, shall we?”

“Who are you?” Hayley asked.

Astiratu let out an irritated sigh. “I don’t have the time or the patience to go through the long version. Short version, you can call me Set, Egyptian god of chaos, war, storms, and all things fun and exciting. I am here right now because I figure since you’re going to piss off a Greek god tonight, you could use an older Egyptian as backup.”

They all headed inside to a large empty room where they drew the trap on the floor. Dean set a copper bowl down beside it and threw a lit match into it. “Stay calm.”

Thunder rolled over them and a lightning bolt hit the trap, transforming into an older gentleman. He looked down at his feet. “Oh, come now. Can't we do this civilized?”

Dean gave a little shrug. “Well, it depends on you. All we need is to break a curse you put on a little kid. So, how about you say yes and we all go home?”

Zeus looked to Shane. “Nice to see you again, Prometheus. All cleaned up. I've been looking for you.”

Shane swallowed hard. “It's gone too far, Zeus. Break the curse.”

“I agree,” Astiratu chimed in. “And I could easily be described as a giant dick who could hold a grudge till Judgment Day. But not even I would punish an innocent child for something so petty.”

Zeus narrowed his eyes at the half angel. “And what makes this any of your business, Set?”

“Um… My property is in this room. That, and as I said, you’re making me look like I should be considered for sainthood. Things like that don’t tend to sit well with me.”

Zeus turned his attention back to Shane. “It's your child who has the affliction. Interesting.”

“So, what's it gonna be?” Dean asked. “The easy way or we could do this the hard way.”

“Break the trap, dear man, and I'll break the curse.”

Dean shook his head. “No dice. Fix the kid.”

“Going once...”

“Don't be that guy.”

“Going twice...”

“Hey, you can rot here for all I care.”

“Yes, and the child will continue to suffer.”

“Let’s roll,” Dean motioned for them all to leave.

Everyone but Hayley followed. She just stood there with her arms wrapped around Oliver. Zeus turned his attention on her. “He needs me, and you know it.”

“No!” she screamed and ran over to break the trap with her boot.

“Hayley, no!” Dean cried, but it was too late.

“Now save my son,” Hayley demanded.

Zeus stepped out of the trap. “What do you say?” Lightning bolts shot up out of the floor knocking everyone but Astiratu back. “Shall we try this the hard way?”

Astiratu mimicked the action and hit Zeus with lightning, stunning him slightly. “Well, we could have a dick measuring contest, but if you know anything about my history you know I’ll win.” He was about to make another move when Artemis appeared and they both hit him at the same time, stunning and pinning him to the wall. “That’s cheating.”

Zeus smirked. “I trust you've met my daughter. My dear, would you be so kind as to bind him?”

She nodded and moved to shackle Astiratu’s arms behind him. He fought her, but between her and Zeus they tied him up. “You’re making a mistake,” he growled.

Zeus chuckled. “No, you made one when you stuck your nose in where it didn’t belong. Bring forth the child. Please.”

“Hayley, don't do it.” Dean urged her.

“This is the son of Prometheus. And he's cursed to suffer death every day. I must admit, I could never have conceived such a horrible fate for such a beautiful child. Just goes to show, we must all leave room for happy accidents.”

Hayley looked confused. “What does that mean? I don't understand.”

“Well, gee, give her idiot of the year award,” Astiratu grumbled. “The vote was unanimous.”

Zeus ignored the comment. “Tell me, has Prometheus experienced the child's death yet?” Hayley nodded. “How did he take it? Did he hurt?” Hayley nodded again. “Good.” Zeus pointed to Shane who dropped to his knees no longer able to breathe. “Imagine a thousand children all dying in unison. Only then would you understand my pain. But we can't always have what we want, so one will have to do.”

“All this over fire?” Astiratu raised an eyebrow. “You’re fucking kidding me! At least I have real reasons for pulling the shit I do.”

“Enough out of you!” Zeus growled and made the half angel tense and whimper as he squirmed in pain. “Artemis.”

Artemis motioned to Dean and Sam. “Move,” she led them out of the room.

Zeus turned back to Shane. “So, let's see if we can make up for seven years of lost time.” His fist lit up with lightning and he threw it at Shane’s abdomen, causing him to scream in agony. Zeus continued the torture for a few minutes, delighting in it. “Don't pass out on me just yet. I'm only just getting started.”

“Lightning? That’s all you got? Seriously?” Astiratu taunted. “Why does everyone lack imagination?”

Zeus frowned at him. “You and your mouth. Do you not understand the position you are in?”

“I understand it just fine. I’m not the idiot. But hey, if I’m going to die or get some ridiculous and over the top punishment, why not speak my mind? What are you gonna do, throw more lightning at me? You damn one trick pony.”

“You’ll see what I can do,” Zeus growled.

Just then the door opened again with Artemis aiming her bow at her father. “This has to stop, father.”

“Stop? I'm only just getting started.”

“You've done enough.”

“I am doing this for us, for our kind. He is the reason we're here and not ruling the world,” he gestured to Shane on the ground. “He's the reason they have forgotten all about us.”

“Lovely,” Astiratu sighed. “Yet again I find myself surrounded by idiots.”

Zeus turned to hurt him again, but he was zapped by a bright flash of light. “Don’t touch my brother for speaking his mind,” an Egyptian woman stepped into the room.

“Isis. This is none of your concern!”

“It became my concern when you ganged up on my brother and chained him up.” She turned to Artemis. “Dear, do you remember what I told you?”

“I do,” Artemis nodded and fired the arrow at Zeus. Zeus grabbed Shane and used him as a human shield.

Zeus laughed in Shane’s ear. “I never get tired of watching you die. Your boy is going on the mountain.”

Shane gave Oliver and Hayley a pained look before shoving the arrow deeper into him as hard as he could so that it pierced Zeus behind him. There was a bright flash and both fell dead. Artemis ran over to kneel beside them. She pulled the arrow out, tossing it aside. With a whoosh both she and Zeus were suddenly gone.

Isis gave Astiratu a little smile. “Long time no see, brother dear. You know, you really do have a bad habit of biting off more than you can chew.”

“I thought you’d be the last person to come to my aid.”

“I can see why you’d think that,” she said as she crossed the room toward him. “You did kill my husband, and fairly recently my son. However, I cannot say that either act was unprovoked. The men in my life messed with the wild bull and they got the horns.” She reached to free him. “And you are still my brother. I really didn’t care at all for your replacement. He was a spineless wimp.”

Astiratu gave her a little smile as he rubbed his wrists. “Yes, I’m hearing that from a few others. I guess our creator didn’t want to make the same mistakes twice.”

“So he made all new ones.”

“I suppose. How did you get Artemis to turn on her own father?”

“We had a little chat, woman to woman. Our cultures are so different, and yet, some things remain the same. But I really must take my leave. It was good to see you.” She leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek before disappearing herself.

Astiratu straightened himself out. “Well, now that my work here is done.” He also disappeared.

Sam and Dean carried Shane’s body outside and they built a funeral pyre for him. Liam joined them. “Leave it to me to nap through everything.”

Dean wrapped an arm around him as they watched the body burn. “I wouldn’t beat yourself up over it. Everything turned out for the best… mostly.”

Once the fire was out they got in the car to start heading home. One stop was made for food because Liam was hungry. They were all quiet for a while after such a long day. “You know, I'm starting to think maybe I was being naive,” Sam spoke up.

“What are you talking about?” Dean was concerned.

“When I said that I could just will myself into coming out of these trials unscathed.”

“No. Stop with the sullen emo crap, alright? That's... you're not gonna die like Prometheus.”

“How do you know, Dean? Bobby, Rufus, now Prometheus, you think any of them chose death? No. The life chose for them.”

“Yeah, well, you promised, okay? You promised to live a long, Clark Griswold life full of prostate exams and colonoscopies, alright? You're not welshing on that deal, not on my watch. If you die, it's gonna be because of something normal.”

“Like a heart attack?” Sam looked at the burger in his hand.

“Exactly. Yeah, eat your burger.”
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Hunting Humanity VII