Roads Untraveled ~ Sam Winchester

Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Four - Change

As she strolled down the countless dark stone corridors, one thing was on Eden's mind.
She never got to 'raise Hell' with Lucifer.
So, as she turned into the throne room, throwing the large, black double doors open with a flick of her arm and a little bit of magic, she was planning to do exactly that - on a rather literal scale.
The Demons instantly fell into a defensive stance.
"Who are you?" A tall African-American male dressed in a sharp suit asked.
"Eden, of course. Surely you must have heard of me." She turned up her nose. "The Angel of Darkness?"
"Crowley's dead. You have no business here." The Demon hissed.
"Oh, but that's exactly why I'm here." Eden smiled.
Moving forward, the Demons parted like the Red Sea, itching to attack.
"Lucifer is our new King. We don't need you." Another one of them spoke up.
"Well, I'm afraid that's where you're sorely mistaken, my young urchin. Lucifer died about half an hour ago. Killed by a Michael from another universe. I'm here to take his place." She smirked, turning to face them after she'd run her fingertips along the throne's arms.
A low murmuring came from the dozen or so Demons in front of her, mixed with gasps and wide eyes from the news.
"Aren't you the Winchesters' pet?" The suited Demon asked after a few moments.
"Please." Eden scoffed, touching a hand to her chest. "If anything, they were mine. But alas, all good things must come to an end. Now, shall we discuss terms?"
"What makes you think we'd want to be ruled by you?" A female Demon by the double doors spat.
Eden sighed and snapped her fingers. The Demons turned as the female exploded in a splatter of black goo.
"You're Demons. You're made to be ruled. You're not supposed to just be sitting here drinking tea and twiddling your thumbs like morons." The Dark Angel continued. "I am offering you purpose. A chance to bring Hell back to the glory of what it once was before the Winchesters dug their fingernails into Crowley's... Nevermind. So, ladies, gentlemen and others... What do you say?"
She raised her fingers again, ready to snap as she awaited their answer.
The suited Demon looked amongst his peers, who gave subtle nods.
"Fine." He said. "We accept your offer."
"That's what I like to hear." Eden chuckled lowly, taking her seat on the throne.

Within two weeks, Demon deals had quadrupled. The death count was on the rise. The Hunters no longer bothered them in their antics. Every Hunter, except a small, annoying group led by none other than Sam Winchester. In retaliation, Eden had decided to take a small trip to Earth. Every time she did, she fell deeper and deeper into her old ways - challenging the likes of the massacres during her days in captivity.
She went to the Las Vegas strip and summoned several hundred snakes in from the dessert. Animal Control called it a 'freak tragedy'. Eighty-five people died.
She threw a fireball into a mall in Upper New York City. Police called it a gas leak and cornered off the entire block for a week. Over one thousand people died in the explosion.
She unleashed a Demon pandemic on the city of Detroit. Over fifty thousand Demon deals made. Twenty-five dead. Causes included unprovoked homicide, arson and hit and runs. There also seemed to be a statistical rise in suicides; specifically the ones with no reports of suicidal thoughts, successful lives and families.
It was the subtlest Hell on Earth.

Mary stood in the doorway to the library in the Bunker, watching her youngest son torture himself over Eden's latest diabolical antics. He sat, hunched over his laptop, scrolling through various news articles of mass murders, ritualistic arson and... Banner Elk being rebuilt.
"How is he?" Castiel asked, approaching her from behind.
"Still the same. He won't leave that damn computer alone. Every time he looks at it, something else she's done pops up on the radar. And if it's not Eden he's looking for, it's Michael. I just... I don't know what to do, Cas. If he's not doing this, he's focusing all of his energy on leading this group and it's getting unhealthy. It's been weeks and he hasn't had a thought for himself. It's like... If he stops for even a second, he'll break." Mary sighed, not taking her eyes off Sam.
"I've been thinking about that night since it happened." Castiel confessed. "I'm not sure Lucifer could have done what he did to Eden if it weren't for how fragile she was in that moment. Her losses, plus seeing what he did to Jack... He effectively pumped pure Nephilim power into her to get her to change like that."
"Does it matter how it happened?" Mary cocked a brow, looking to him for the first time since his approach. "It just has and now we have to deal with it, even if that means-"
"You're not seriously implying that we should kill her." The Angel frowned.
"We're not killing her." Sam stated. Looking up from his laptop, but not at them for a few seconds. "You're worried that I'll break if I stop doing all of this? Mom, I'll break if that becomes an option. It can't. I won't let it and neither will Jack."
"Sam..." Mary sighed. "I've seen the articles you've been looking at. I've seen what she's done. If we don't fix her soon then we need to do our jobs as Hunters and take care of the mon-"
"Don't you dare." Her son glared, getting up from his seat to approach the pair. "She's not a monster. No matter what she's done. This isn't her. I know her. And I won't stop until either she's fixed or I'm dead."