Even in the light of morning, Castiel felt some regret for the fact that he had been unable to track down Ruby last night and banish her to Hell once and for all. If her presence here was extinguished, it would make his own goals that much easier to fulfill. Still, the opportunity had been lost, and he was going to have to go about this in a completely different way; one that hardly came naturally to him.
In response to her comment, Castiel only deepened the glare that he was sending at her, though eventually his body language loosened (as much as it ever could, that is). He still made no attempt to sit down, however, as that would be far too close to amiable behavior. Their last conversation had been spent mostly on their feet, and he wasn't going to change that now.
"I see that you were also unable to escape this place last night." Chances were that Ruby would have left the human form she was taking had she been given the chance. Even if it meant leaving Sam and all of the opportunity that he presented behind, she could have come in and saved the two Winchesters and truly endeared herself to them.
He looked her up and down, trying to decide on the best way to approach the clear tension between them. They had an intense conflict of interest, but Castiel had no choice but to associate with her until he convinced Sam and Dean that she was no good. "Tell me, how are things between you and Dean?"
"What, you mean you didn't hear?" Ruby's expression became smug and she got comfortable in the chair, stretching out and propping her hands behind her head. "As of last night, we're practically Starsky and Hutch." Which, of course, probably meant nothing to him.
Of course, it wasn't the answer he was looking for either way, and her mannerisms made that much clear. They'd worked together the previous night. And on the mission, before. Which means Castiel's failed attempt at turning him against her was about as useful as, well, his Grace. She shook some hair out of her face, watching him a moment longer, before sitting up to elaborate.
"What, you thought your little plan to give my demon-y heritage away was gonna turn him off of me?" She shook her head, tutting his behavior almost like she pitied him. Like he was a schoolboy who'd misstepped. "Not that easy." But, then, her arrogance lessened and her gaze narrowed, more serious now.
"See, Dean understands something that you don't. You hate me. Great. Feeling's mutual. But, this isn't about Heaven or Hell. This is about the fact that you're one red bull shy of doing jack about any of that. So long as we're stuck in here? None of it matters. See, Dean's coming around to a little something called teamwork." She sat back.
"So, until that little fact settles in for you? You might as well kick your feet up and enjoy the ride, 'cause we're getting nowhere."
Castiel didn't miss the fact that Ruby had ignored his comment about her inability to leave this place last night. It was likely because she didn't want to admit to her own weakness, which meant that she was limited much in the same way that he was. So with two opposing forces placed in close contact while unable to obliterate the other, this was what they had to sink to: verbal jabs on her side and his attempts to somehow exorcise her with just a glance from inadequate human eyes.
As she explained herself, Castiel continued to stare at her through narrowed eyes. While there was a chance that she was lying, in this case he doubted that was the case. It would have been too easy for him to check it all over with Dean when he found him next.
Dean had worked with Ruby in the proper timeline, but only as much as had been necessary. Castiel could only assume that was what he was doing here as well, even if the thought bothered him. Worse than that was the realization that if Castiel wanted to pool his resources and ideas with the Winchesters -- if he wanted to keep them safe -- Ruby might have to be involved.
He was going to do what he could to make sure that happened as infrequently as possible.
"Do you even have a plan?" he asked once she'd finished. "You'd like them to believe you have all the answers." He had some idea of how she worked, how she'd lead them along with empty promises until it was too late.
He wasn't going to agree to anything yet. First, he had to make a few things clear. "I'll work with you as necessary, and that's all. But make no mistake. The moment we've left this place, any alliances will be forgotten." He didn't think he had to explain in detail what that meant.
There was a flicker of something resembling genuine surprise in Ruby's face, but it was quickly squashed down. Damn. She'd expected a lot of things out of the stubborn tights standing before her, but actually comin' around, that was out of left field. He musta hated this place almost as much as she did. That, or he was just trying to get in and get an idea of what her plan was, then get out and kill her once he knew.
Which meant her next response was gonna have to be purely based on a leap of faith. Ironic, in its own way. Who'd have thought a demon would be trying to place her trust in an angel? But, the fact was, she was his last hope just as much as she was the Winchesters'. Which meant it was a damn good thing she had some ideas.
"What, you mean you haven't figured it out yet?" She shook her head, chiding him. "Plan's the same as it's always been, Cas. Sam is the plan. That kid's got more power in his pinky than I've got in my whole damn existence, and he hasn't even begun to tap into it. You pool what he's got with what we do after the lights go out, and you're looking at some serious firepower."
Then, of course, there was her hope to figure out what was responsible for the power suppression in the first place. It had been interfered with last night, which meant it could be interfered with again, and if they really wanted to get out, they'd have to bulk up and then pull a hail mary to, ideally, pull that off again. But some things she was still keeping close to the vest -- after all, if Castiel here got any ideas about raising his power level, he might just try an use it to set Ruby's ass on fire. Not high on her to-do list.
She was shocked. She had good reason to be. Demons and angels working together was tantamount to treason regardless of what side you were on, and Castiel knew that. Lucifer was the only one who would let himself commune with demons, and that was because he had created them. Ruby seemed to think that her loyalty to him would get her somewhere, but it wouldn't. What she didn't understand was that all Lucifer could do was hate and destroy; he was a tainted thing, something that was beyond being saved.
Even if Ruby had survived long enough to see Lucifer's return, he wouldn't have bothered with her. Her efforts would have earned her nothing. Castiel might have pitied her, but in the end he could only feel disdain for Ruby. In the end, the only reason he was even considering an alliance was because he had no other choice, because the Winchesters were forcing his hand.
More than that, even if he did choose to work with her, it would be on very tentative terms. He was sure that she understood that, though. Castiel imagined that she was already searching for a way to stab him in back, right between the shoulder blades. He would be on his guard.
But Ruby was still set on Sam. That wasn't a surprise, but it didn't mean that Castiel approved of it. While Sam had managed to regain control of himself even after ingesting such a large amount of demon blood, it had not been an easy road for him. Seeing what it had led to in the end, Castiel knew that he could never support such an idea. He had followed orders the first time and let it happen, but not now.
"You thought I would accept that?" The boy with the demon blood. It had been given to him in infancy, but he did not need to fall prey to it. There was no such thing as fate. "With how weakened my abilities are -- and yours, for that matter -- do you truly believe he could ever grow strong enough?" Maybe outside of this place he'd had the power to kill Lilith, but not here. It was impossible.
More than that, Sam had become something more than a pawn. He was a friend, and he was Dean's brother. Castiel would not let him fall into this trap again.
"I think between the three of us, we've got a hell of a lot more chance than just you and me. Sam's stronger than I am -- or, at least he can be. I'm not asking you to like it, but the fact is, you don't have to accept it. He already has." She hoped to hell that he didn't let that slip to Dean before Sam decided to share it, because she knew damn well that it would mean bad news for the whole plan.
"Face it. You're still here, which means even last night's power boost wasn't enough for you to bail with Batman or the Boy Wonder. Desperate doesn't even begin to cover it." She crossed her arms, stubborn, at this point just trying to get him to see reason. "You know as well as I do that nobody's leaving without the whole brady bunch. We want enough power to do that, we need everything we can get. Sam's got that kind of power if he'll just tap into it. You may not have faith in him, but I sure as hell do."
That admission got a flicker of something in her eyes but she quashed it quickly. Faith in him. Weird thought. Last she checked, she was pretty sure the only thing she had faith in was Azazel's master plan. In Lucifer.
But, somewhere along the way, she hadn't just gotten under Sam's skin. He was in hers. And at its basest level, that meant she wasn't gonna just bail and leave him there, even if she did find a way, which meant finding a way to get him, Dean and Cas all out with her. More specifically, it meant he was her own personal savior, same as she was his.
Talk about reversal. The fact that she was really starting to feel something about that, that it was becoming a bigger and bigger problem, was unsettling. And it made her blood burn.
Castiel knew that Sam had accepted the plan, and he realized exactly where that took him. The circumstances now were different, but Castiel had no doubt that the moment they left this place Ruby would try to convince Sam to start the Apocalypse all over again. Granted, there were a series of other questions that had to be pondered before they could even get to that point. Seeing how the four of them were all from different points in time (and with Gabriel, after his own death), what would happen if they did manage to escape? Would everything revert back to the way it had been before? And if that was the case, what was the point of all this?
He was getting ahead of himself. He wouldn't know what escape would bring until that happened, which unfortunately meant that he needed to focus on that one task. He would be ready to handle whatever followed that once he reached that point.
But that did not mean that Sam ingesting demon blood was the solution. When Ruby decided to use the word "faith" for her feelings regarding Sam, Castiel pulled a face. If he'd been human, he might have snorted at that.
"It has nothing to do with faith. You know that. You are leading Sam Winchester down a dark path, and the choices he's foolishly making now he will come to regret in the future." As far as Castiel was aware, Sam had no lingering feelings of fondness for the demon who manipulated him into starting the Apocalypse. Why would he?
"Right now, power isn't the key. We need to outsmart our captors, rather than relying on brute force." He would have thought a demon could understand that kind of approach, but apparently he'd been wrong.
In response to her comment, Castiel only deepened the glare that he was sending at her, though eventually his body language loosened (as much as it ever could, that is). He still made no attempt to sit down, however, as that would be far too close to amiable behavior. Their last conversation had been spent mostly on their feet, and he wasn't going to change that now.
"I see that you were also unable to escape this place last night." Chances were that Ruby would have left the human form she was taking had she been given the chance. Even if it meant leaving Sam and all of the opportunity that he presented behind, she could have come in and saved the two Winchesters and truly endeared herself to them.
He looked her up and down, trying to decide on the best way to approach the clear tension between them. They had an intense conflict of interest, but Castiel had no choice but to associate with her until he convinced Sam and Dean that she was no good. "Tell me, how are things between you and Dean?"
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Of course, it wasn't the answer he was looking for either way, and her mannerisms made that much clear. They'd worked together the previous night. And on the mission, before. Which means Castiel's failed attempt at turning him against her was about as useful as, well, his Grace. She shook some hair out of her face, watching him a moment longer, before sitting up to elaborate.
"What, you thought your little plan to give my demon-y heritage away was gonna turn him off of me?" She shook her head, tutting his behavior almost like she pitied him. Like he was a schoolboy who'd misstepped. "Not that easy." But, then, her arrogance lessened and her gaze narrowed, more serious now.
"See, Dean understands something that you don't. You hate me. Great. Feeling's mutual. But, this isn't about Heaven or Hell. This is about the fact that you're one red bull shy of doing jack about any of that. So long as we're stuck in here? None of it matters. See, Dean's coming around to a little something called teamwork." She sat back.
"So, until that little fact settles in for you? You might as well kick your feet up and enjoy the ride, 'cause we're getting nowhere."
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As she explained herself, Castiel continued to stare at her through narrowed eyes. While there was a chance that she was lying, in this case he doubted that was the case. It would have been too easy for him to check it all over with Dean when he found him next.
Dean had worked with Ruby in the proper timeline, but only as much as had been necessary. Castiel could only assume that was what he was doing here as well, even if the thought bothered him. Worse than that was the realization that if Castiel wanted to pool his resources and ideas with the Winchesters -- if he wanted to keep them safe -- Ruby might have to be involved.
He was going to do what he could to make sure that happened as infrequently as possible.
"Do you even have a plan?" he asked once she'd finished. "You'd like them to believe you have all the answers." He had some idea of how she worked, how she'd lead them along with empty promises until it was too late.
He wasn't going to agree to anything yet. First, he had to make a few things clear. "I'll work with you as necessary, and that's all. But make no mistake. The moment we've left this place, any alliances will be forgotten." He didn't think he had to explain in detail what that meant.
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Which meant her next response was gonna have to be purely based on a leap of faith. Ironic, in its own way. Who'd have thought a demon would be trying to place her trust in an angel? But, the fact was, she was his last hope just as much as she was the Winchesters'. Which meant it was a damn good thing she had some ideas.
"What, you mean you haven't figured it out yet?" She shook her head, chiding him. "Plan's the same as it's always been, Cas. Sam is the plan. That kid's got more power in his pinky than I've got in my whole damn existence, and he hasn't even begun to tap into it. You pool what he's got with what we do after the lights go out, and you're looking at some serious firepower."
Then, of course, there was her hope to figure out what was responsible for the power suppression in the first place. It had been interfered with last night, which meant it could be interfered with again, and if they really wanted to get out, they'd have to bulk up and then pull a hail mary to, ideally, pull that off again. But some things she was still keeping close to the vest -- after all, if Castiel here got any ideas about raising his power level, he might just try an use it to set Ruby's ass on fire. Not high on her to-do list.
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Even if Ruby had survived long enough to see Lucifer's return, he wouldn't have bothered with her. Her efforts would have earned her nothing. Castiel might have pitied her, but in the end he could only feel disdain for Ruby. In the end, the only reason he was even considering an alliance was because he had no other choice, because the Winchesters were forcing his hand.
More than that, even if he did choose to work with her, it would be on very tentative terms. He was sure that she understood that, though. Castiel imagined that she was already searching for a way to stab him in back, right between the shoulder blades. He would be on his guard.
But Ruby was still set on Sam. That wasn't a surprise, but it didn't mean that Castiel approved of it. While Sam had managed to regain control of himself even after ingesting such a large amount of demon blood, it had not been an easy road for him. Seeing what it had led to in the end, Castiel knew that he could never support such an idea. He had followed orders the first time and let it happen, but not now.
"You thought I would accept that?" The boy with the demon blood. It had been given to him in infancy, but he did not need to fall prey to it. There was no such thing as fate. "With how weakened my abilities are -- and yours, for that matter -- do you truly believe he could ever grow strong enough?" Maybe outside of this place he'd had the power to kill Lilith, but not here. It was impossible.
More than that, Sam had become something more than a pawn. He was a friend, and he was Dean's brother. Castiel would not let him fall into this trap again.
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"Face it. You're still here, which means even last night's power boost wasn't enough for you to bail with Batman or the Boy Wonder. Desperate doesn't even begin to cover it." She crossed her arms, stubborn, at this point just trying to get him to see reason. "You know as well as I do that nobody's leaving without the whole brady bunch. We want enough power to do that, we need everything we can get. Sam's got that kind of power if he'll just tap into it. You may not have faith in him, but I sure as hell do."
That admission got a flicker of something in her eyes but she quashed it quickly. Faith in him. Weird thought. Last she checked, she was pretty sure the only thing she had faith in was Azazel's master plan. In Lucifer.
But, somewhere along the way, she hadn't just gotten under Sam's skin. He was in hers. And at its basest level, that meant she wasn't gonna just bail and leave him there, even if she did find a way, which meant finding a way to get him, Dean and Cas all out with her. More specifically, it meant he was her own personal savior, same as she was his.
Talk about reversal. The fact that she was really starting to feel something about that, that it was becoming a bigger and bigger problem, was unsettling. And it made her blood burn.
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He was getting ahead of himself. He wouldn't know what escape would bring until that happened, which unfortunately meant that he needed to focus on that one task. He would be ready to handle whatever followed that once he reached that point.
But that did not mean that Sam ingesting demon blood was the solution. When Ruby decided to use the word "faith" for her feelings regarding Sam, Castiel pulled a face. If he'd been human, he might have snorted at that.
"It has nothing to do with faith. You know that. You are leading Sam Winchester down a dark path, and the choices he's foolishly making now he will come to regret in the future." As far as Castiel was aware, Sam had no lingering feelings of fondness for the demon who manipulated him into starting the Apocalypse. Why would he?
"Right now, power isn't the key. We need to outsmart our captors, rather than relying on brute force." He would have thought a demon could understand that kind of approach, but apparently he'd been wrong.
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