Crowley Revisited

Crowley Revisited

A Supernatural story by Ariana @arianaspn61497

Our latest entry in the #SPNWishList fic and art challenge! Ariana responded to the prompt: "Crowley meets Jack in the Empty." This is a great answer to a "What if?" kind of question... both characters sound so very authentic. When I got to the end, I felt like a kid listening to a bedtime story. You will definitely be left wanting more! -- Jennie

Jack is so confused.  He saw Chuck snap his fingers and felt pain, then there was just darkness.

Jack was prepared to die, because he knew Dean couldn’t get over Mary’s death. He understood why Dean wanted him dead, but he didn’t understand why Dean didn’t kill him.

It all happened so fast when Chuck arrived. Something had been going on between the Winchesters and Chuck that Jack didn’t understand. Castiel was there too, and he tried to protect Jack.

Now Jack was alone in what he assumed was the Empty. The entity there had wanted to take him, and now he was here.

Death had spoken to him, but he still wasn’t sure what was going on. He wanted to get back to Cas and the Winchesters. He knew there was something bad going on back on Earth.

Jack closes his eyes and listened around him, hoping to find someone else to help him.

Jack hears the name “Winchester,” and his head turns towards the sound. He opens his eyes and sees a shorter man with black and gray hair talking to Death.

The man’s voice sounds weird to Jack. It’s an accent he hasn’t heard before, and the man sounds confident.

Jack walks towards the pair, tilting his head, listening to a story.

“So there I was, behind a huge rock in another bloody dimension with Moose. We were putting together the spell to close the rift. Squirrel was on the other side of the rock dealing with Lucifer.” The man turns to Jack and looks him over.

Death says: “Hey, Jack. This is Crowley, an old friend of Sam and Dean.” She looks at Crowley, watching with a grin.

“Nice to meet you.” Jack smiles and puts out his hand to Crowley. Crowley just stares at Jack’s hand, brows furrowed.

“Jack... Where have I heard that name before?” Crowley thinks for a minute and then grins before taking Jack’s hand and turning it palm up, looking at the lines with wide eyes.

“I’m not sure, but I know I haven’t met you before,” Jack says, watching his hand while Crowley looks closely at his palm and fingers.

“Bloody hell. You’re Lucifer’s love child! The lines on your skin are all wrong. They don’t look like human hands.

“I saw your name painted on your nursery wall the night you were born,” Crowley continues. “I was just telling Billie here about that night. We were over closing up your door in the other dimension. Not the way I imagined I’d go out, of course, but after three hundred years, things were getting a bit boring.” Crowley watches Jack with curiosity. The boy looks a lot like his lovely mother.

“Yes,” Jack frowns. “Sam and Dean told me about that door, but I don’t remember hearing about you.” He tries to remember if he’s heard of a Crowley before.

“Typical of those two. I saved them, and the world, again, and I don’t even get a part in the story. Here I thought they would be grateful. I bet they didn’t even tell Mother about this.” Crowley frowns, thinking of his struggles with Rowena.

“Mother? Wait, is Rowena your mother? Is your name Fergus?” Jack looks at Crowley with a huge smile.  He liked Rowena, so this man must be someone he would like, too.

“I hate that name. Yes, she is my mother. She left me as a child to go about practicing her witchcraft. We loathe each other, and I bet she’d be surprised I sacrificed myself for those boys.  How do you know her?” Crowley suddenly needs to know everything he’s missed in the time he’s been here.

“She tried to save me when I died the first time. She also tried to help me after I killed Mary.”  Jack sighs to himself. Dean will never forgive him. He still doesn’t know why Dean didn’t kill him.

“Wait, you killed Mother Winchester? No wonder you’re here. It was Dean, I bet.” Crowley chuckles.

“It was an accident. I didn’t want to. She was trying to help me, but burning away pieces of my soul was changing me.” Jack wishes he could go back and fix that. He can see so much clearer here than he could when he was on Earth.

“Well, cheer up,” Crowley pats Jack on the shoulder. “You’re out of the game. It’s no fun here, but at least the world isn’t ending. Lucifer is still in that alternative dimension, I hope. He was getting way too problematic for everyone.” Crowley sees the flash of surprise in Jack’s eyes and is eager to hear everything.

“My father is dead. He came back from that dimension, but when Michael possessed Dean, together they killed Lucifer.” Jack is remembering the pain of feeling human. He was willing to take his own life to save Sam.

“Wait, what are you on about? I didn’t know anything could kill him.” Crowley would have given a lot to be in that room and see Lucifer’s face as he died -- all his bravado gone, and the surprise in his eyes.

“Asmodeus found the archangel blade,” Jack says. “He was trying to take over Hell. He came to the bunker to take Gabriel back from the Winchesters, and he was killed.” Jack smiles, thinking about Gabriel. He didn’t know him for long, but he liked him a lot.

“Wait, Asmodeus, the prince of hell?” Crowley’s eyebrows shoot up.. “He was nothing but a low-level pain in the ass. My throne was up for grabs when Lucifer was trapped, eh. I thought Gabriel was dead years ago, before we avoided the Apocalypse.” Crowley has so many questions now, and Jack doesn’t seem to know how to tell a good story.

“He was pretending to be dead. I heard his story from Sam, and then when Asmodeus captured Gabriel, he started to inject Gabriel’s grace to become more powerful. He sewed Gabriel’s mouth shut.” Jack hadn’t seen it, but from the paleness of Sam’s face when he told him, it wasn’t good.

“Asmodeus was never happy being less powerful than the other princes,” Crowley says. “He wanted power, and I can relate. Where’s Gabriel now?” Crowley thinks he’s beginning to like this straightforward nephilim. He doesn’t keep information hidden; he just tells what he knows.

“Gabriel died again in the other dimension,” Jack says. “That dimension’s Michael killed him. Gabriel was trying to help us. After Gabriel’s death, Lucifer made one last deal to bring that Michael to our world to take over. Lucifer turned on me when I wouldn’t leave with him, and then he stole my grace.” Jack can still feel the fear and helplessness that he felt when he was human. He can see Lucifer’s face when he screamed, then took his grace. Jack had never expected Lucifer to turn on him.

“Gabriel thought he was clever, but any time you help the Winchesters, bad things happen.  If you lost your grace, how did you end up here?” Crowley can feel some juicy information buried here. Maybe even some power he can tap into.

“I got it back when I killed the other dimension’s Michael,” Jack nods thoughtfully. “I took his grace, and it helped me, but by then my soul was almost fully burned away. From then on, I didn’t feel the same.

“I didn’t have the same feelings for the people around me,” the nephilim continues. “I tried so hard to be the person they wanted me to be, but I just kept making it worse. When Nick, Lucifer’s old vessel, was trying to bring Lucifer back, I just killed him without thinking. I hurt him badly and burned him. I was glad that everything was over, but Mary kept telling me what I did was wrong.

“She sounded worried for me, but all I could think of was what Sam and Dean would do if she told them. I couldn’t stop the pain in my head, and I couldn’t make Mary stop talking. I snapped at her and vaporized her. I didn’t mean to, but by the time I realized what I’d done, it was too late.”  By the end, Jack is speaking so softly that Crowley has to lean in to hear him.

Jack feels sadness wash over him, tears pricking at his eyes. He didn’t feel much at the time, but now that he’s in the Empty, he seems to be feeling things again.

“So much power, and no soul at the wheel,” Crowley chuckles. “Sounds like me. If Dean didn’t send you here, who did?” Crowley can feel something big going on, especially with Death here.

“Chuck killed me. I don’t know why it made me wake up here.” Jack turns to look at Death, but she has disappeared. He looks around and can’t spot her.

“Chuck? You mean God? He’s back?” Crowley is trying to process this information and what it might mean to him. This is huge.

“Yes, and I don’t know why,” Jack says. “I didn’t realize he was here until he showed up in the cemetery. Dean was ready to shoot me, and then he wouldn’t do it. Dean threw the gun down, and Chuck got mad. Now I’m here, but I don’t know what made Chuck kill me.” Jack has an idea that maybe Chuck was needed because Jack was so powerful.

“Chuck is a strange one,” Crowley grins. “I met him when he had to come back to deal with his sister.  He seemed hands-off and forced into saving the world. Why would he just appear all of a sudden?” Crowley feels now like he needs back in this game. It’s only gotten bigger since he’s been gone.

“I think it was because of me,” Jack says. “I used my power to make everyone tell the truth. I was so lost after Sam and Dean tried to lock me up in a box. I knew I had to leave, but I didn’t know where to go. I found Castiel looking for me in the cemetery, and we talked. Then Dean came, and he had a strange gun. Dean was so angry, but Sam showed up... and I was ready to die.  Dean decided he couldn’t shoot me, and Chuck killed me.” Jack keeps seeing the cold anger in Chuck’s face just before...

“The strange part is Dean not killing you,” Crowley has a sparkle in his eye. “He always had a bad temper. I just can’t figure out why Chuck would be mad that Dean didn’t kill you. This is a mystery worth digging into.” Crowley feels awake and alive like he hasn’t in a long time.

Jack thinks carefully about the gun he saw, and tries to recall the conversation between Chuck, Sam, and Dean.

Suddenly, Chuck appears at Crowley’s elbow with a smile.

“Hey, fellas. What are you up to?” Chuck’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes.

Crowley begins to wish he’d stayed asleep.

Jack tenses, angry. He’ll do what is necessary to get back to his family.