Roads Untraveled ~ Sam Winchester

Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Nine - Silly, Unconventional Winchester Family

In the War room, Dean went ahead to grab a seat as Castiel hauled Jack to the one he'd chosen at the head of the table.
An exhausted and agonised Nephilim flopped down, the gold glowing cracks around his eye sockets still burning, but he fixed his eyes closed.
"Jack, deep breaths. Just try to focus." The Light Angel said, kneeling down in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder to sit him up a bit. "Try to slow this down if you can."
"What do we do?" Dean panted, looking up at his younger brother with desperation. "What do we do?!"
"I don't know!" Sam replied, hugging his daughter closer to him.
"You have to let me go. Just- just get me outside, I'll try and get as far away as I can." Jack instructed breathlessly.
"No, Jack! No!" Cas shook his head.
"Just leave me... I can't stop this... I'm coming apart. I don't wanna hurt you." He whispered, gradually opening his bright, golden eyes to look into Castiel's. "Don't let me hurt you."
"No. No, we're not giving up on you, okay?" Dean promised, leaning down towards him. "Uh... Magic. Magic! One of Rowena's spells. Come on, we've gotta do something!"
"I think you've done enough." Billie appeared behind him, scythe in hand. "We were so close."
"Chuck saw it coming. Eden went into friggin' labour when he decided to consume Amara. We stood no damn chance! All of it – you're whole plan!" Dean yelled.
"It was doomed." Sam snarled, holding Jorden as close as physically possible.
"Because of you." Death retorted. "It was doomed because of you."
"You led Jack through these trials. You know what's happening to him. You can stop this. Please!" Castiel begged.
"I can't stop it." Billie replied, waving her hand to turn Jack's chair around to face her as she took a few steps towards them. "But there is something I can do."
She placed a hand under Jack's chin, lifting his head up to observe the damage.
And then he disappeared.
"Jack, no..." Jorden whimpered, hiding her face in Sam's flannel shirt.
"What'd you do?" Dean's eyes were wide with fury. "What did you do? Where the hell is he?"
"The Empty." Billie said simply.
"What?!" Cas growled.
"Jack was a bomb, designed to annihilate comic forces. Chuck and Amara are gone. The Empty was the only player on the board that could possibly absorb that impact."
"So, it's done?" Cas was breathless in his panic.
"It's done."
"Is he dead?"
"Maybe."
"You said this was a suicide mission." Dean recalled.
"No. I said taking out Chuck and Amara would be fatal." Death corrected.
"It's a chain reaction..." Cas didn't know where to look as he wracked his brain for anything useful.
Billie hummed her agreement.
"The Empty? It's... Different." She dipped her head slightly. "Not as strong as Chuck or Amara, but... Vast. But if Jack survives, and if the Empty survives, it's gunna be pissed."
"Okay... So the Empty is pissed. What does that mean?" Sam asked.
"The Empty's strong. It's got... Beef with me. Especially after what I just did." Billie replied.
"Oh, well. Poor you." Dean spat.
"Good thing it can't reach me here."
"Yeah, the Empty can't come to Earth. Not without being summoned." Sam nodded.
"But Jack..." The little girl in his arms whispered through tears.
"Yeah. What about Jack? 'If' he's alive?" Dean repeated.
"Then you have to bring him back." Cas demanded.
"Not until I get what I came for." Billie looked to Sam, who recoiled, protectively turning his body to put himself in the way of she and Jorden. "Yeah, Sam. You took something that belongs to me. God's book."
Sam scoffed.
"You were always gunna betray us. Once you defeated God, you were going to take power. That means everyone who got a free pass or a second chance, everyone who was resurrected or came from another world. You were gunna kill them all; Cas, Eden, Dean and me, too. That's the order you want restored. That's always been your endgame!" His voice raised.
"You got me." Billie shrugged.
"You lied to everyone. Even the Empty! You promised it peace and quiet, but you never meant it." Cas sneered.
"Even if I give you the book," The younger brother continued. "What's to stop you from stabbing us in the back? Killing us all?"
"Nothing. But you don't have a choice. This isn't a negotiation. If he's alive, he won't last long. So if you want Jack, you'll give it to me now." Death smirked. "I took your son and threw him into the Empty. We don't know for sure if the Empty still exists after that. I could just as easily put your fresh-outta-the-womb daughter in whatever's left of it. Maybe her mother too if she's not dead already."
Sam instantly looked to Dean and Castiel, his eyes wide.
"I'll go. You get the book." The Angel said, already jogging towards the corridors.