08x22 - Black Hole Sun - S8FF, Episode 22
Episode Number: 08x22 of Season 8 Fan Fiction (S8FF)
Title: Black Hole Sun
Acknowledgements: Written as part of deancasbigbang 2013
Author: dracox-serdriel
Artist: chargetransfer
Word Count: 8,154
Genre: Season Plot Arc, Character Struggle, Rescue Mission
Episode Spoilers: Through 08x20 "Pac-Man Fever"
Rating: R
Warnings: language, violence, torture
Status: Completed as part of deancasbigbang 2013
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to the characters, universe, and mythology of Supernatural.
THEN:
[08x14 - Trial and Error]
Dean and Sam saved a woman named Ellie from a hellhound.
[ 08x21 - Deep in the Hole]
Castiel broke free of Naomi's connection and battled its encumbrances as he struggled to protect the Angel Tablet. After discovering a DVD he recorded for himself, he sent it to Dean and Sam along with a book of letters responding to Dean's prayers. After being captured by Naomi, then by Crowley, Castiel rescued Kevin and returned to the Winchester in a particularly poor state.
NOW:
Part One: Wash Away the Rain
Part Two: Indisposed, In Disguise
Part Three: Summer Stench
Part Four: A Walking Sleep
Part Five: For Honest Men
Part One: Wash Away the Rain
Dean heated a large pot of soup. He stood in the kitchen, stirring repeatedly to ensure the soup heated thoroughly without burning it. This, as it transpired, was a major benefit of his current activity.
After all, it kept him away from Sam's barking cough, Kevin's inane ramblings, and Castiel's sleep-trance mutterings. The bunker was full of people, and Dean remained the only person capable of stringing a sentence together while walking in a straight line.
He loaded up four soup bowls, even though the angel didn't eat. Knowing he wouldn't get Kevin out of the war room, he grabbed a bowl and spoon on his way out of the kitchen.
"Yo, Kevin," he said. "Got some grub."
"I'm not hungry."
"Kev, you need to eat," Dean said. "Seriously, if I come back and you haven't eaten, I'm taking away all your pens."
Kevin glared at Dean. Perhaps he decided to believe the threat, because he took the spoon and ate.
"Sam - "
"I'm not hungry," Sam cut him off.
"Can I talk to you in the kitchen?"
Sam followed his brother and rolled his eyes at the soup.
"Humor me," Dean said.
"I'm not - "
"Sam!"
"Fine, but if I barf this up, it's on you."
"You find anything?" Dean said, ignoring his brother's comment.
"About Fate doping people? No."
"Cas seemed pretty sure," Dean insisted. "What did this bitch do before?"
"She dealt with thread, Dean, not drugs. Trust me, I looked," Sam replied, forcing himself to eat. "Look, I wanna help him, too. Maybe you should wake Cas up - "
"No."
"He's the one floating the theory," Sam pushed. "He's the one with the answers here."
"He needs to rest up."
"He can rest up without being completely immobile and unconscious," Sam said. "What's going on?"
"He shoulda come to us, Sammy," Dean started, keeping his voice low. "And not just about this crap. Back when Raphael wanted to re-start the Apocalypse, he shoulda come to us but he didn't. No, he teamed up with Crowley. And after all that, with the Leviathan and the declaring himself God's replacement... it's like the stupid bastard hasn't learned a thing."
"Except that's not what's happening."
Dean stopped eating. "What?"
"After you fell asleep I took Cas's book - "
"You read it?" Dean interrupted, annoyed.
"He left it for both of us."
"Right, except all the letters were to me," Dean said. "Isn't that a federal crime? Opening someone else's mail?"
"From what I read, he wanted to come to us, but he couldn't."
"Same thing."
"No, it's not. It's like, cutting ties with Benny or Amelia, we had to. You know that."
Dean didn't want to talk about Benny. "Let's let Cas sleep a little while longer, okay? I'll help you look through the books for an antidote or whatever for Kevin."
Crowley leaned back leisurely in his chair. The Winchesters had one very annoying feature. Well, several annoying features, but one that actually concerned him as King. And that was their ability to do something wildly unpredictable. Crowley was no fool; he knew that Timon and Pumba often came to such things in pursuit of a foolhardy errand somehow squaring off well for them. Fuck, he'd even allied himself with the Wonder Twins to crush the Apocalypse. This all begged the question: where were they? Shouldn't they be barreling down the doors of hell on their next little suicide mission?
He should've killed them when he had the chance. It would have saved him a fair amount of effort. But, then again, this current scenario had its up side as well. He wanted to watch the brothers as they realize that Crowley had done what Azazel, Lilith, Alastair, Lucifer, Michael, and Dick Roman failed to do: Defeat the Winchesters.
His phone rang.
"This is the King."
"Are you free for a meeting?" Kull asked.
"Yes, of - "
Kull appeared on the arm of Therion. Kull dressed in his usual snappy apparel; Crowley liked to think that he took a leaf out of his book. Therion tended toward stable hand in terms of attire, but for some reason today she wore a respectable woman's suit.
"Hello," Crowley said pleasantly, hanging up his phone. He added, "Therion."
She backed off and waited outside the office door.
"I've good news," Kull said.
"The only kind I like to hear," Crowley mused. "Don't keep me waiting, love."
"Naomi has a crew looking for the same target, but they're not having much luck," Kull said. "They've got rituals, and the like, to help locate people like him."
"That so?"
"But he knows about it, and apparently prepared for such incursion."
"This better get good fast, Kull."
"The location ritual requires only a name," Kull continued. "But he's somehow flooded the system. They're pulling up thousands of locations."
"You said good news, Kull," Crowley reminded.
"They haven't been having any luck. Me on the other hand, well, let's just say, I'll be bringing you a present soon."
"And you dropped by to gloat before hand?" Crowley asked. "That's not like you."
"There're two things I need."
"Ah."
"An angel blade - "
"You need an angel blade?" Crowley asked. "What for?"
Kull smiled but ignored the question. He continued, "And an adequate distraction for the winged idiots upstairs. Just in case."
"Huh," the King of Hell sized Kull up. "What's life without surprises?" He materialized an angel blade, and as he handed it off, he said, "Just make sure it's a surprise I want."
"Don't worry about that sir."
"In," Crowley looked at his ridiculously expensive watch, "say, thirteen hours, the God squad will be quite distracted."
Kull bowed his head and left.
Crowley wasn't sure what Kull really wanted. He wasn't in it for a position of power; revenge might be more his cup of tea. The problem was that Crowley didn't know, and Kull was fast becoming more than just his best hired gun. He took his seat again and made a mental note. After destroying the Winchesters, the King of Hell needed to figure out Kull's end game.
At least he knew how his day would roll out.
Part Two: Indisposed, In Disguise
Dean and Sam poured over books, hunter diaries, chronological studies of modern supernatural events, but nothing contained anything about Lachesis's doping materials. Her personal biography named her the appointer of lots in terms of Fate.
Even with his fever spiking, Kevin wouldn't let go of the tablet, which Sam insisted was some kind of robo-prophet behavior that he previously exhibited with the Leviathan Tablet, so Dean let it go. The third trial was on that thing, so if Kevin could sweat his way through the text, then who was Dean to stop him?
Dean began, "Holy crap - "
Dean didn't finish his thought; instead, he caught Kevin before he crashed to the ground.
"Damn it!" Dean cursed.
Sam slipped away as his elder brother fussed over the Prophet. He knocked on the room door, just in case, and when there was no response, he pushed the door open.
Castiel was supine on the bed. He mumbled Enochian in fits and bursts, but otherwise remained perfectly still.
Sam opened the book to the dog-eared page and read out loud. It was a very odd combination of Latin and Enochian, but it did the trick.
"Sam?" Castiel asked weakly.
"Hey, Cas," Sam said. "Sorry to wake you, but we need your help. Kevin's in a bad way."
"Lachesis, she poisoned him."
"Cas, we've looked through everything, everything, and we can't find anything about the kind of drug she uses," Sam pleaded.
The angel looked so weak that Sam empathetically felt tired, but Cas smiled. "There's a reason an entire genus of serpent is named after her."
Sam's eyes went wide with recognition. "She's using some kind of venom?"
"It won't kill him. The withdrawal can be very painful and debilitating," the angel said. "I believe that's why Crowley picked her to do his dirty work."
"What?"
"Angels can't heal some things," said Cas. "Withdrawal from a supernatural drug like hers would be difficult for an angel to heal in the best of circumstances, otherwise I - "
"I know, Cas, you'd've already healed him if you could," Sam said kindly. "So what about an antidote?"
"Not unless you know Asclepius," Cas said. "Or have a bezoar, but that is very unpleasant."
"Asclepius?" Dean asked from the doorway. Sam jolted. He hadn't heard his brother enter.
"Greek deity of healing," Sam replied.
"That's the dude with the serpents and the stick for a symbol?"
"Yes," huffed Cas.
Dean began, "We've got a box with a - "
"Healing stone!" Sam bellowed. Dean balked at the spike in sound. "We've got a healing stone of Asclepius, his iconography, from late first century - "
"It's old," Dean cut him of. "Sammy, volume. Sick people here."
"And angels," Cas tried to joke.
"You count as people," Dean said. "Sam, why don't you check out the healing rock thing, give me a minute here with Cas."
Sam ducked out of the room.
"Kevin said he put together a tablet before you busted him out."
"He did."
"But he's only got Crowley's half the Demon Tablet with him, Cas. So tell me, which tablet did he put back together?"
Cas looked away. "I kept it... inside my vessel in various pieces. I hadn't expected Lachesis. She can delve into the mind, discover - "
"Lachesis?" Dean asked. "That's what you didn't expect?"
Cas didn't understand, so he didn't reply.
"Cas, you went off on your own with the Angel Tablet. You shoulda come to us. You didn't. And you lost it. What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking," Cas said, "Kevin's life was more important than the Angel Tablet. There wasn't time to get him and the tablet. I'm sorry if - "
Dean was stunned; he hadn't expected that answer. He interrupted, "No, Cas, you - you're right. Kevin's life is more important - "
Cas sat up so he could see Dean. He interrupted, "When I left before, I needed some certainty that I was free of Naomi."
"Why? Why couldn't you do that with us at your side, Cas?"
The angel didn't want to tell Dean the truth, but here they were. "Naomi made me kill you. Hundreds of times, until I finally just obeyed. No question. No compassion. Nothing. I killed you over and over and over again. Each time I saw you, I thought it was you, the real you, and each time I killed you. After the connection broke, I was afraid it would reform, or relapse, and I'd - "
"Kill me," Dean said softly.
"If had the choice, Dean, I would've picked you."
"You told me you bolted to keep Naomi off our asses."
"That's why I stayed away," the angel said weakly. "But my initial decision, my fear, my distrust... that wasn't about you, Dean. I just didn't know any of that yet."
Dean saw his angel shaking with tremors.
"Cas? Are you okay?"
"Yes, I uh, used a superficial healing ointment," he explained, "on my vessel. This is one of the side effects."
Sam positioned Kevin on the couch so he could hold the half-tablet to his chest while lying down. He scrounged for Asclepius's healing stone, but before he could return with it, Dean's phone rang.
"Dean's phone," Sam said.
"Sam?" said a man's voice. "It's James."
"James?"
"James Frampton."
"Hey, James, what's going on?" Sam asked. "Sorry, I'm just surprised you called."
"I guess you'll believe me then when I say this is important."
"Yeah, of course - "
"You know Truman High? In Indiana."
"Uh, yeah," Sam remembered not only his childhood time there, but also the ghost they torched there only a few years ago. "Why?"
"I was investigating something in the area, and - major demon activity."
"How major?"
"You watch the news?"
"Not lately," Sam said as he pulled up the news on his computer.
"Flip it on," James said. "Because a group of demons possessed some of the students and went on a killing spree in the middle of the school day."
"What?"
"Cops think it was your basic school shooting," James continued. "And if I hadn't've been there, it would be balls to the wall worse."
"James, what did you do?"
"I exorcised them, and that's where it got weird," he said.
"That's when it got weird?"
"Yeah, one of them gave me a message," he said. "For you and your brother."
"A message?"
"He said, if you and your brother don't come out in the open, they'll tear apart every high school, middle school, elementary school you ever attended."
"What?"
"Sam, this demon had more than enough in him to take me on," James said. "He didn't fight back, and the only reason a demon would hold back like that is - "
"He's under orders."
"Sam, what's going on?"
"Dean and I pissed off the King of Hell."
"Fuck, really? How?"
"We thwarted his attempts to kidnap the Prophet of the Lord for one thing."
"Look, I'd love to help, but I gotta be honest, this one's over my head."
"No, James, thanks for calling. I, uh, actually have another favor to ask of you instead."
"Name it."
"There are some people we check in on," Sam said. "We could use a good guy keeping his head down and an eye out for them, you know?"
"I will go with you," Castiel said.
"No," Sam replied. "We need someone here with Kevin."
"You need to stay here," Cas said to Sam. "It's you he's after."
"What am I, chopped suey?" Dean asked.
"Wha - I don't understand," Cas replied.
Kevin shook violently on the couch.
"We should focus on Kevin," Castiel suggested. "You have the healing stone?"
"Oh, right," Sam fumbled for the object, which he'd stashed in his pocket. He held it out to the angel.
"Actually, Dean should do it," Cas said. "This was only made for humans to handle."
Sam passed it off to Dean, who rolled his eyes and went over to Kevin. He examined the healing stone briefly. It was shaped like a caduceus, and as he recognized the symbol, it felt like it slithered in his hand.
Dean normally would throw anything slippery or slithering out of his hands, but this time he grabbed it with opposite fingers and shoved it onto Kevin's forehead.
"Ugh," was his only comment.
The stone hissed steam. Kevin's eyes fluttered opened and closed; then his face went slack. The caduceus returned to its neutral state.
"What just happened?" Dean asked as he jerked it away from Kevin and dropped it on the ground.
"It purged his system of the drug," Cas remarked.
Sam found a pulse. Putting a hand to Kevin's forehead, he said, "The fever's gone."
"You should let him sleep," Cas advised.
"Good, now Sam and I are going to go kill Crowley," Dean said. "You watch the kid."
"Dean, Crowley is calling you out, trying to kill Sam," Cas said.
"And?"
"And he has the Angel Tablet," Cas added.
Dean continued, "But Kevin's the only one who can read it, so - "
Cas interrupted. "I am saying, Naomi's forces have a reason to stop Crowley. If you - "
"I'm not working with that bitch, Cas," Dean said.
"He's got a point," Sam chimed in.
"What? No!" Dean said to his brother.
"Crowley is slaughtering kids, Dean," Sam protested.
"That's why we have to gank his ass!"
"You need only inform one of the angels," Cas said quietly. "Tell them what Crowley is doing. They will help."
"After what Naomi did to you, you're ready to run to them for help?"
"How many people have died already?" Cas asked.
"Forty-one kids died so far," Sam said.
"I think that's enough, don't you?" the angel asked Dean.
"We worked with Crowley to stop the Apocalypse and Dick Roman," Sam began. "We worked with Meg once to stop Crowley."
"And got boned every time!" Dean said.
Castiel stumbled into the nearest wall.
"Cas?" Sam moved to him.
"Something's very wrong," the angel replied. "There's..."
Dean pulled him upright. "Come on, Cas - "
"We have to go," Cas said dumbly. "Right now."
He grabbed Dean by the wrists, and they vanished.
"What the hell?" Sam yelled after them.
"What? What else could you possibly have to report?" Naomi asked, her nerves frayed.
Sapphire spoke, "Sam Winchester is calling."
"He - what?" Naomi asked. "What do you mean?"
"He's calling for 'Naomi or any angel who can hear him.'"
Naomi didn't know if she could spare another angel at this point, but she decided if a Winchester called on her, that was at least a step in the right direction, away from Castiel.
"Go to Sam, see what he wants," Naomi said.
"Very well," Sapphire replied.
Dean and Castiel were stuck in what would normally be a broom closet. Their bodies were pressed together, and Dean suppressed the vivid memory of his dream from the night before.
"Where are we?" he whispered.
"Distress signal brought me here," Cas said. "Listen."
Dean leaned his ear against it.
"Nada."
Cas tentatively opened the door.
Dean got a glimpse of it: a dozen bodies strewn throughout the decimated room with heir eyes burned out of their heads.
"This looks like... angels? Killing demons or monsters, Cas," Dean said as he moved into the room. Cas kept close.
"I think it was."
"Why are we here?"
"Shh!"
"You know, when you're rushing to the aid of someone in secret," a quiet voice spoke, "you should be more subtle. Popping out of a closet? Really?"
A woman appeared from around the corner.
"Therion," Castiel said.
"What're you doing here, angel?" she asked.
"The same thing you are," Cas replied.
"I see we've both failed," she said playfully. "Maybe next draw one of us will hit."
Bang! Bang! Dean shot Therion twice square in the chest. Her eyes flared up, solid green.
"Green?" Dean said. "The fuck?"
"Us old-timers are full of surprises," Therion remarked. She vibrated briefly and suddenly she was healed. "You're human," she said to Dean.
"I'm Dean, nice to meet you, bitch."
"Well, angel-boy here better keep you away from Metatron," she chimed, "because half the people here, they weren't demon at all. Didn't stop him from decimating them, now did it?"
Therion's shadow swept up and around her. She vanished.
"That was new," Dean said.
"That's why I heard the distress signal," Cas said, "if they're trying to capture Metatron, I'd be one of the only angels he'd contact."
"Uh, why?"
"I was a member of the Garrison left to watch over the earth. He wouldn't know that - that most of us are dead."
"We're talking about Metatron, the archangel?"
"Yes."
"Can't he smite the crap outta anything?"
"I don't know," Cas said. "Joshua is far more powerful than I, but he tends a garden. I don't think he smites at all."
"Freaking angels."
"Castiel?" another voice echoed out.
Dean motioned for Cas to wait. He proceeded to check each area of the surrounding rooms efficiently. Meanwhile, Castiel ignored Dean's discretion and teleported toward the voice.
"Nathaniel?" he asked.
"Cas, what the hell?" Dean said as he caught up.
"Did Therion do this?" Cas asked the injured angel.
"No, it was - Gideon."
"Gideon?" Dean asked.
"Another angel," Cas said.
"Naomi - made him - " Nathaniel blubbered.
Cas reached down and touched the angel. Nathaniel started to heal, but soon Cas collapsed.
"I'm sorry, I'm still - I can't heal you," Cas said.
"It's okay," Nathaniel said. "You've already saved me."
Jealousy bubbled up in Dean as he watched the two angels share a brother moment. Nathaniel whispered something to Cas and disappeared.
"Freaking angels."
Part Three: Summer Stench
Kevin woke up.
For the first time in weeks, he felt fully conscious. Like he'd been trapped in a sickbed for a month and finally went home.
Home. The word burned in his throat. He didn't have a home anymore, did he?
"Kevin, you're up," Sam said. "Are you okay?"
"Hungry," Kevin said.
"Sick at all?"
"No, but you look like hell."
"And you sound like yourself again," Sam replied. "That's a good sign."
"You left the tablet on me?" Kevin asked.
"You had a death grip on the thing, dude," Sam replied.
"Oh."
"Let's get you something to eat, huh?"
"Cas, we need to get back to Sam," Dean said.
"Nathaniel must've answered the call."
"Or Naomi sent him."
"No, he's one of the Garrison, he survived in hiding down here with a few others."
"You're sure?"
"For once, yes I am."
"Okay, so what're we doing?"
"Summoning Metatron, of course."
"Sorry, what?" Dean asked.
"He called for help," Cas said.
"But he's a freakin' archangel - "
"Dean, he wrote the tablets. He knows them."
"So?"
Castiel closed in on the hunter, crowding his personal space. "He's an archangel, which means most people aren't stupid enough to go after him, unless they're absolutely desperate."
"Woah, okay Cas!" Dean said. "Calm down."
"You understand this is about Sam?"
"Sam? I thought we were talking about Metatron - "
"If Crowley gets his hands on what Metatron knows, he'll do anything it takes to stop Sam from shutting the gates."
"Awesome. Okay, so we're summoning ourselves an archangel. But let's not do it here."
"You're right. Is there somewhere you had in mind?"
"Actually, yeah. Let's swing by the bat cave and fill Sammy in."
"Sapphire? You spoke to Sam Winchester?" Naomi asked.
"Yes. The Prophet is safe and has the rest of the Demon Tablet."
"Excellent," Naomi replied.
"The Angel Tablet, however, was lost. Crowley has it."
"And Metatron?"
"He remains elusive, but we now have confirmed sightings."
"We need to deal with the Angel Tablet swiftly," Naomi said. "Call in everyone, even the cupids."
"Cupids?" Sapphire asked.
"If their tendency for rumors is any indication, they'll make exceptional spies. Go."
"Sam!" Kevin yelled from the war room. "Sam!"
"Kevin?"
"I've got it!"
"The third trial?"
"Yes. And it's - well. Uh, you have to save a living soul by removing the claim laid upon it by a demon."
"That's it?"
"Well, it uses a really specific indicator, pronoun, whatever," Kevin said. "When it says you, it means you and only you."
"What did it mean before?"
"The other two trials were in commands. Like in English, you say, 'Go away' and the 'you' is implicit. Same thing here. But the third one is more specific, more direct."
"What does that mean?"
"I think it means you can't get a demon to remove the claim. That wouldn't count."
"So no torturing it out of a demon?"
"I guess, but specifically no dealing or bargaining."
"You're saying I have to remove the mark from the soul myself?"
"Mark?" Kevin asked.
"When a claim is made on a living soul, it becomes branded," Sam said, trying his best to remember Castiel's words exactly.
"That's what it means!" Kevin blurted. "I really hope there's a soul tablet out there with that crap on it, because this one glosses over all that."
"All what?"
"It talks about souls the way chemistry books talk about slow step redux - "
"What?" Sam interrupted.
"It's like there's a chapter before this tablet. One that covers souls. Because this tablet references things that don't make sense otherwise."
"A soul tablet? Huh."
"Anyway, that's the third trial. You have to remove the claim upon a living soul."
Sam took a deep breath. "Sounds easier than rescuing a soul from hell, doesn't it?"
"Uh, one minor thing."
"What?"
"The tablet is specific on this. Whatever process you use to remove the claim, the person has to live."
"That'd be the preferred outcome," Sam said.
"Right," Kevin replied, "but I think that's the hard part. Saving a living soul and not killing the body in the process."
Channeling Bobby Singer, Sam said, "Balls!"
Metatron was an archangel, but all that really meant was that people wanted more from him than a regular angel. Metatron had always been an introvert. That's one of the reasons that God chose him to be the scribe.
But the most powerful of his brothers abused their authority, threw around their weight. And, for their troubles, all four of them were dead or boxed up. There were other archangels, but they didn't covet control, so their names weren't widely known. That was the trouble with power - it generated and immortalized a name that others knew.
Of course, Metatron wasn't like Michael or Lucifer. He didn't want control of Heaven, and he didn't want a name for himself. He was asked to write things down, so he did. Now everyone knew him as The Scribe of God, all because he had nice handwriting.
He took more ammo with him. Metatron favored a shotgun. He once kept a mean-looking elephant gun, but it made him stand out. He didn't like standing out.
Incidentally, that's how he chose his vessels. He did his best not to keep them longer than a few centuries; he chose this one only a decade ago.
'That's what did it,' he thought to himself, 'the new vessel. That's how the angels knew I was still alive.'
"Metatron," a familiar voice said. "There's really no reason to run."
"You sound so sure, Marcus," Metatron replied to his uninvited guest.
"I just have a message, and it's important."
Metatron pointed the gun at his brother. "Go ahead."
"The Prophet, Keeper of the Word, has awoken on Earth. He has been captured, and we now know the Angel Tablet lies in the hands of demons. Heaven needs your help."
"Heaven's got plenty of help," Metatron said. "Bring a message to the others: stay away."
"But - you're the scribe, this is your work," Marcus pleaded. "You must care - "
"Scribe! I wrote things down! My job's done!" Metatron replied. "Go!"
"As you wish," Marcus disappeared.
"Funny, isn't it?" another voice spoke up almost as soon as the angel disappeared. "You write something down and it keeps coming back to bite you in the ass, huh?"
"Who's there?" Metatron barked.
"Name's Kull," said a smartly dressed young man.
"Kull?" Metatron asked. "What do you want?"
"I've a proposal. We have something in common."
"What's that? You're no angel."
"No, but all I want is some peace and quiet. I went into hiding, just like you. Got myself my own little hideaway. But as soon as Big Daddy got his ass kicked - and sooner or later it was bound to happen - who do they run to?"
"You?"
"Once upon a time I was the best Captain to a powerful General," Kull said. "Honestly, I was more of a, uh, Designer. An Architect, if you will."
"Not anymore?"
"I just want some peace," Kull repeated. "Thought you might relate."
"What do you propose? Riding off into the sunset together?"
"Hardly."
Metatron saw that Kull kept a respectable distance. He pointed his shotgun at Kull anyway. "You have two minutes."
Part Four: A Walking Sleep
"You have something for me? A pressy?" Crowley said.
"Kull is speaking with Metatron," Therion replied.
"Speaking?"
"Yes."
"Gotta give him something for the novelty of it. You're here because - ?"
"Something valuable to report."
"Go on."
"Metatron has yet to reveal the trials to Kull, but he mentioned that the trials merely prepare the individual to slam the gates."
"Did he give any hints as to what that chestnut might be?"
"It's a location. One with only a handful of entry points."
"I'm liking this."
"Today, there are only two places humans can utilize for entry," Therion said. "And one more an angel might use, though humans would not likely survive."
"Ah, but what about odds and ends from Eve?" Crowley asked. "Some of them might still be upset with me."
"That would bring the count to a dozen locations total, assuming I should include dragon travel."
Crowley laughed. A deep, booming, happy laugh that only a once-human-now-demon could have. Therion didn't like it.
"Dragons?" Crowley said finally. "Where were you during the Apocalypse, Therion? I coulda used someone who knew every portal off this earth back then."
She smiled. "Oh, I was around, just like I've always been."
"Is that so?"
"I should go back to Kull," Therion said. "I will return with a report."
Four demons rounded up their meat suits. Together they had three students and one teacher for the middle school they targeted.
"Boss says we can do whatever we want," said Ray, the de facto leader. "I think we should block the exists, have ourselves a little fire."
The conversation quickly spit-balled.
"You plot too loudly."
The person who spoke was, at the time, invisible. The demons didn't know this, so they investigated the room until they found themselves unable to move anymore.
"Ray? I'm stuck!"
"Trapped, is more like it."
Sapphire manifested herself, and she spoke, "Normally I would smite all of you, but I'm under special orders. With the Gates of Hell closing, it's all the same, isn't it?"
"Angel!" hissed Ray. "Our King will just send more!"
She chanted an Enochian exorcism, yanking the demons from the human bodies. She took care to heal all four of them before she left, and she cleared their memories of the possession. They were the first ones she was able to save today.
She closed her eyes for revelation. "Jackson, Tennessee has been cleansed. What is the next target?"
As soon as she heard 'Mayfield, Kentucky' she teleported.
Dean paced the length of the war room.
"Can I have a moment with Kevin?" Castiel asked.
"Uh, sure," Sam said. "I'll go talk to Dean."
The angel pulled the Prophet into the kitchen. "Have you heard from your mother recently?"
"No, I think - Crowley got to her."
Castiel shook his head.
"You've - you spoke with her?" Kevin asked.
"If you haven't heard from her, that means she's still safe," Cas said.
"Why didn't you mention this earlier?"
"Her safety hinges on secrecy. But we are soon to leave, and if I don't see you again, I wanted you to know now that she's okay."
"Castiel - "
"I know you want to see her, but with everything going on, she's safer out of sight. Especially mine."
Kevin's confusion was apparent on his face.
"Okay, so - " Dean said as he and his brother walked into the kitchen.
"We need you to get to safety," Sam completed the thought.
"I thought I was at safety," Kevin protested.
"You are. But with all three of us heading out, Kev, we want some insurance," Dean said.
"In case all of us die," Cas added.
Sam said, "Thanks, Cas."
"Great," Kevin said.
"We've got a few friends, like Charlie, who could check on you here at the bunker."
"But if you're spotted around this area, and people are really looking for you, they'll eventually find this place," Sam said. "So we thought it'd be better to have mobility."
"Could we also get my mom?" Kevin asked.
"Your mom?" Sam asked. "I thought - "
Dean and Sam followed the line of Kevin's sight, which led straight to Castiel.
"Cas?" Dean cut his brother off.
"We could coordinate a, uh, pickup," the angel replied. He asked, "Do we have a vehicle for Kevin? Assuming you meant that a vehicle was involved in the mobility - "
Sam cut him off, "Yeah, Charlie found us a mobile home and tricked it out with hunter stuff and warding. It'd be perfect."
"Perfect?" Kevin asked.
"You can go on the internet, use a phone, without people knowing where you are," Dean said. "Charlie's a hacker."
"And?"
"You could get your GED," Sam said. He realized how stupid this sounded as soon as he said it.
Kevin laughed. "Well, that's, uh, good I guess."
"You can see other people," Dean said.
"Or you could stay here," Sam offered. "We could have Charlie check in on you, bring you supplies, but you would have to stay in here, out of sight."
"The truck sounds better. I mean, it'd be nice to see other people," Kevin said.
"Thought you'd say that," Sam opened his phone. "I'll make the call."
"A friend of ours, Aaron Bass, he's part of the - " Dean realized a history lesson might not be needed, so he switched gears. "He's got a Golem. Seriously hardcore. And not on anyone's radar. Let's just try to keep it that way, okay, prophet-boy?"
"And my mom?"
"I will contact Garth," Cas said simply.
"Garth?" Dean said. "How do you know Garth?"
"I spoke with Kevin's mother, and Garth was with her. I advised them on how to elude Crowley."
"When did this happen?" Dean snapped.
"After... Kevin disappeared."
"What?"
"I wanted to help," Cas explained.
Dean reeled himself in. There was no reason to yell at Cas, especially not in front of Kevin after he just learned the angel saved his mom.
"We'll discuss this later," Dean said.
"I need the muted duotone burner phone," Cas said to Dean. "You usually keep it with your things."
"What? That thing doesn't work anymore, why - "
"Because it's the only device that can reach Garth."
"When did you - " Dean began.
Cas cut in, "I'm sorry. You weren't using it for anything but kept it close, I thought it was the best candidate for this role."
"Freaking angels."
Gideon flew across the room, splintering furniture as he went. A dozen demons, all possessing human children, advanced on him. His orders had been clear: save as many humans as possible. His death would not save these children, so -
As the first demon broke rank to tackle, Gideon darted up and took its head in his hands. Blinding light burst out, and the other demons flinched at its radiance.
The angel kept his radiating energy strong, even after he killed the demon. The demons could not approach him as he chanted an Enochian exorcism.
Eleven out of a dozen humans, that was better than his last school.
Gideon focused his mind on home. "Fordyce, Arkansas is cleansed. What is the next target?"
'Gold Hill, Utah.'
"We should go," Cas said to Dean.
"Someone needs to be here to see Kevin off - "
"I'll do it," Sam said.
"You will?"
"Now I know what the last trial is, I need to figure it out. We both know I'll be voted most likely to cough up a lung in the field, so, might as well stay here."
"All right," Dean agreed.
"Kevin Tran," Cas said. "Be well."
"Uh, sure," Kevin said. "Don't be so serious."
"I'll try."
"Kev," Dean clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll keep the tablet safe for you."
"I'm not worried. Don't die."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Castiel took Dean's arm and teleported to Singer's Lot.
"Cas."
"Yes Dean?"
"When you and Nate we having a moment - "
"Nathaniel?"
"Yeah, the angel. He said something to you I couldn't hear. What was it?"
"He told me that a full break from Naomi's connection was possible. That I was free from her."
"You believe him?"
"He didn't kill me."
"That's it?"
"Had he been under Naomi's control still, he would have at least tried."
Changing gears, Dean asked, "So you do trust me?"
"With my life."
"Then why didn't you tell me about Kevin's mom?"
"If it was Sam, wouldn't you want me to tell you first?"
"That's not the - "
"It is the same. She's his only family."
Cas set up the ritual, careful with every ingredient. Dean watched him work. He didn't even feel self-conscious about it. The angel finished preparations and turned to him.
"Close you eyes, Dean," Cas said.
"Cas - "
"Dean."
"Fine."
He closed his eyes. Dean had had a dream like this once. He, Sam, Cas, and Bobby were outside in Singer's Lot. Cas had been silently elected to convince Dean to close his eyes, so Bobby and Sam could reveal his birthday present. As Cas coaxed him to shut his eyes, he felt like he had a family, and that's when he'd wake up. He hadn't realized, till this moment, that he had never seen what the present was. That never really mattered.
Cas babbled something in Enochian.
Nothing happened.
"Cas, is everything okay?"
"I think you'll need to do this. No, keep you eyes closed!"
"Cas, come on, you want me to summon a dude with my eyes closed?"
"He can appear at any time, and if he does so in true form, you will be blinded, then killed if you see him - "
"All right!" Dean interrupted.
"I'm preparing the summoning ritual for you," Cas said.
Cas guided Dean a few steps then cut his forearm.
"Cas! What the hell!" Dean shouted, but he kept his eyes shut.
"I need your blood. Now repeat after me."
Dean listened and repeated each word. Or, whatever sounded like a word to Dean. He didn't know Enochian that well.
Pop!
"What?" a man's voice asked.
The sound of a barrel cocking snapped Dean's eyes open. Before him stood a very average man with a fair deal of scruff.
"We're answering your distress call," Castiel said.
"Who's that?"
"Me? I'm Dean. Dean Winchester."
The gun swung in his direction. Cas moved between them.
"Please, brother, he's with me."
"You are?"
"Castiel."
"This is Metatron?" Dean said to Castiel's back.
"Gotta problem with that?"
"No," Dean said. "You remind me of Gabriel. But with a gun."
"Why are you the only one who answered?" Metatron asked.
"The Garrison - "
"Leviathan killed them off, after the Apocalypse fell apart," Dean said. "Look, you called for help. We're here. What's up?"
"Snarky," Metatron said. "I was attacked by demons who had an angel in their ranks."
"An angel?"
"Simanvian. Of course I'd rebel too if Dad gave me that dumb a name. He's dead, in case you're wondering."
"We gotta place for you to hide out from the God squad and the demons," Dean cut in. "Till we slam the gates."
"What do you want?"
"Sorry?" Dean asked.
"For helping me."
"Uh, don't spill the beans on the trials," Dean said.
"And the Prophet would like to meet you," Cas added.
"That's it?" Metatron pointed the gun here and there. "You expect me to believe that?"
"You called for help, we're answering, and we've got shit to do, so do you want our help or not?" Dean said.
"He's impatient," Castiel clarified.
"Now, now, now," drawled a man as he appeared from behind a few cars. "He's got good reason to be."
Red eyes. Black eyes. Demons were everywhere, like they just crawled out of every crack in creation, slithering to the junkyard.
"Mr. Metatron," drawled the demon, "you have an invitation to meet the King."
Dean grabbed the nearest sucker and stabbed it with the demon knife.
Castiel joined him in the hacking and slashing. Over all, the demons were lousy; usually they'd beat the crap out of him in the process. But most of them went down without much of a fight.
Wings echoed everywhere. Half a dozen angels perched here and there around the wrecked cars.
"Not good," Dean said. "Metatron, in or out?"
Castiel toppled onto Dean and covered him as the angels obliterated the demons with blinding light. Even as they did so, more demons flowed in like rain.
Benjamin pulled Cas off of Dean. "Looks like we have two things for Naomi."
Dean scrambled to his feet ready to fight -
Another demon knocked Benjamin over, throwing him into a nearby car. Dean pulled his angel back, away from the fray, to assess. All the demons were down, except for the one fighting Benjamin.
"You must be old," Benjamin said as he traded blows.
"Name's Kull."
Cas teleported Dean to Metatron. "We need to leave," he said to the archangel.
Benjamin thrust his blade through Kull's back. Suddenly angels surrounded Metatron and Castiel, and Dean found himself on the ground in front of Cas.
Part Five: For Honest Men
"Amber, report our good news," Benjamin said.
Amber disappeared.
"My work here is done," Gideon said to Benjamin, who nodded. Then Gideon, too, disappeared.
Benjamin continued, "She'll be delighted to finally know what you know Metatron."
"You're a good little bitch aren't you?" Dean asked as he got to his feet. "Naomi says go fetch, and you do."
Benjamin drew Dean uncomfortably close. "I have a duty," he said, "and I know my place. You certainly never learned yours."
"Let him go, Benjamin," Cas demanded.
"I don't take orders from the likes of you, Castiel."
Crowley felt a chill.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, sir," Therion said.
"News?"
"The third trial is to remove a brand from a living soul," she reported.
"That's impossible, unless a demon does it."
"So is freeing an innocent soul from hell," Therion said.
"You think they'll succeed?"
"I don't know, but Kull is dead."
"I figured it was something like that. When there's a bee in your bonnet, everyone can feel it, love."
"You seem unphased by this news."
"Your reports have given me a game plan," said Crowley. "And I have another task for you."
"Which is?"
"Thing One and Thing Two will make their move soon. That's when they'll move the Prophet. He'll be vulnerable, but that's fine, because they'll assume that everyone is out for their blood. I need someone with your skill set to monitor the wave lengths for our charming little Prophet."
"And should I see him?"
"Capture," Crowley said. "Maiming is okay. Just keep him alive and sane."
"And until then?"
"I need your eight legs in the shadows, love, sorry."
"The shadows. That's my best feature."
"Castiel is twice the angel you ever were," Dean said to Benjamin. "I know an inferiority complex when I see it."
"Dean - "
"You speak to this human as if he were your equal," Benjamin said to Castiel, throwing Dean on his ass. "You are a disgrace to your own kind - "
Benjamin stopped. He writhed as black lines pulsated throughout his body. Black goo exploded out of his eyes and mouth.
Kull smiled at Dean as he dropped the angel. "Thanks for this by the way," Kull said as he pulled the angel blade out of his own chest and threw it into an angel flanking Casitel. "I always wanted a pair."
Kull produced another angel blade and began to disappear and re-appeared abruptly.
Dean tackled Metatron; Cas took the opportunity to teleport them away from the skirmish.
Kull obliterated the remaining angels; their bodies burned wings across the ground.
"Nice," Therion commented.
"Ther," Kull said casually. "You're early."
"I've got it," she said.
Dean and Castiel were inside of an old junker not far from the pair. Again, their bodies were pressed together, and Dean's dream flooded his brain with endorphins.
There was no way for him to know that the same thing was happening to Castiel.
He forced himself to focus on anything else but Castiel. "Isn't she a demon?" Dean asked.
Cas nodded, then touched his lips with one finger. At least his proficiency at sign language was improving.
Kull pulled Therion into a luxurious, and rather hideous, kiss. Dean's gag reflex kicked up as he saw two spider legs appear, right out of her back. Clapped between the two hairy members was -
"Is that a tablet?" Dean whispered.
Cas covered Dean's mouth with his hand.
"Crowley gave it to you?" Kull asked.
"'Gave' might be a strong word," Therion crooned. Her legs, or whatever they were, disappeared again. "The King assigned me a special mission. I like to think of this as appropriate tribute."
Dean felt himself teleported away.
Metatron sat in what had to be the smallest cottage he'd ever seen. Or was it a cabin? He wasn't sure.
Castiel appeared with his human sidekick.
"Is this your idea of helping me?" Metatron asked.
"This place is warded from everything," Dean said.
"Why here?"
"It's what we had on such short notice," Dean replied. "We don't have a lot of hideaways that Crowley hasn't found. Or Naomi."
"Well, then, thanks, I guess."
"Call us if you have a problem," Dean tossed him a cell phone. Metatron caught it with a single hand. Maybe he was less of a nerd than he looked.
"Can I ask you something?"
"I suppose."
"You could've smote the crap out of every demon in the lot. Why didn't you?"
"Do you know what it means to be an archangel?"
"No."
"Power, sure. Duty. Everyone wants something from you. Raphael, Gabriel, Lucifer, even Michael, they all had..."
"Enormous egos?" Dean suggested.
"They enjoyed their positions," Metatron said. "They wanted power. They liked giving orders. They were made for it. Literally. Me? I have nice handwriting. I never wanted to give orders or answer big questions."
"You're an archangel," Dean said, "so doesn't that mean you're built for it, too?"
"We all had jobs. If Joshua is still alive, I'm sure he's still tending the garden."
"He is."
"I'm glad. He has exactly what I want: a simple job with a continuous mission. I took down the word of my father. But that was finite. There aren't anymore words."
"So you hibernated?"
"Knowledge is power," Metatron said quietly. "I didn't want power, and I couldn't let others abuse the knowledge I had. Which meant I needed to disappear."
"This was to protect the tablets?" Dean asked.
"To keep their secrets, until humanity discovered it. Read it for themselves."
Castiel put his hand on Dean's shoulder. "Would you give me a moment with him, please?"
"Well, uh, thanks I guess," Dean said to Metatron. He left the two angels alone in the room.
"Let me guess, you have questions," Metatron said. "About Heaven and Hell and Earth and humanity and the great big why. Right?"
"I do have one question," Castiel admitted. "But not about any of those things."
"What was that about?" Dean asked. Castiel had teleported them somewhere in Brooklyn as part of an effort to throw anyone off their trail before returning to the bunker.
"I asked him about my father," Cas said quietly.
"Ah, God crap?"
Dean saw sadness in Castiel's face.
"You're father raised you," Cas said. "I've never had a relationship with my father... not like that. I've felt his presence like I've been in his shadow. But I've never seen his face or heard his voice. Only a few angels have. I've never had occasion to ask."
"Now you know?"
"I have an idea," Cas replied.
"You glad you asked?"
"Very."
They landed back in the bat cave to find Sam's head in a book.
"Little brother's still nerdy, always a good thing," Dean commented.
"How did it go?"
"Four dozen demons. Six angels. One Leviathan. And a weirdo creepy demon with spider legs who has the damn Angel Tablet. Otherwise, Metatron has been stowed for now."
"It wasn't the Angel Tablet," Castiel said.
Dean and Sam both looked at Cas.
"I wanted to see what Kull was doing, working with the demons... I thought... I thought it would be okay..."
"Start at the beginning, Cas," Sam said.
"I hid the Angel Tablet. It's safe. But I knew it was only a matter of time before Crowley or Naomi caught up with me, and if I ever wanted to get away, I had to... let Mothra and Godzilla fight."
Sam laughed, "Really?"
"That was how you two saved Anna," Cas admitted quietly.
"Okay, if the Angel Tablet is locked away on the moon or whatever," Dean said, "What do Kull and Therion have?"
"The Leviathan Tablet," Castiel answered.
"Where did you get that?" Sam asked.
"Roman Enterprises in Chicago."
"That place fell apart - "
"The building's still there. It was hidden in a wall."
"Okay, but if you wanted a ringer, couldn't you just scratch up a regular rock?"
Castiel tilted his head in thought. "That didn't seem a wise option. Kevin reassembled the Leviathan Tablet in front of Crowley. He was convinced it was the Angel Tablet."
"And Crowley can't read it to double check," Sam said. "Smart."
"Why do you look so glum?" Dean asked.
"I didn't know Crowley had Leviathans working for him! Now Kull has the tablet - "
"He can't read it, Cas," Dean reminded him.
"And Kevin is safe," Sam added.
"You did good, Cas," Dean patted the angel on the shoulder. "Still wish you included us, but I understand."
"And we're gonna need your help for this, Cas," Sam said. He pointed to the books. "I need to figure out how to remove a claim on a living soul without killing the body."
"Can you - " Cas began.
"No one can help. It has to be me doing it."
Castiel took a deep breath. "That's... unpleasant."
"Not something we can do trial and error on, either," Sam said.
"I'll say," said a woman Cas had never met before.
"Cas, this is Ellie. Ellie, this is Castiel," Sam introduced.
<<< Previous Episode:
08x21 Deep in the Hole
Next Episode: >>>
08x23 Turnaround
Primary Post: Trials of Hell and Heart
or Season 8 Fan Fiction (S8FF)
Title: Black Hole Sun
Acknowledgements: Written as part of deancasbigbang 2013
Author: dracox-serdriel
Artist: chargetransfer
Word Count: 8,154
Genre: Season Plot Arc, Character Struggle, Rescue Mission
Episode Spoilers: Through 08x20 "Pac-Man Fever"
Rating: R
Warnings: language, violence, torture
Status: Completed as part of deancasbigbang 2013
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to the characters, universe, and mythology of Supernatural.
THEN:
[08x14 - Trial and Error]
Dean and Sam saved a woman named Ellie from a hellhound.
[ 08x21 - Deep in the Hole]
Castiel broke free of Naomi's connection and battled its encumbrances as he struggled to protect the Angel Tablet. After discovering a DVD he recorded for himself, he sent it to Dean and Sam along with a book of letters responding to Dean's prayers. After being captured by Naomi, then by Crowley, Castiel rescued Kevin and returned to the Winchester in a particularly poor state.
NOW:
Part One: Wash Away the Rain
Part Two: Indisposed, In Disguise
Part Three: Summer Stench
Part Four: A Walking Sleep
Part Five: For Honest Men
Part One: Wash Away the Rain
Dean heated a large pot of soup. He stood in the kitchen, stirring repeatedly to ensure the soup heated thoroughly without burning it. This, as it transpired, was a major benefit of his current activity.
After all, it kept him away from Sam's barking cough, Kevin's inane ramblings, and Castiel's sleep-trance mutterings. The bunker was full of people, and Dean remained the only person capable of stringing a sentence together while walking in a straight line.
He loaded up four soup bowls, even though the angel didn't eat. Knowing he wouldn't get Kevin out of the war room, he grabbed a bowl and spoon on his way out of the kitchen.
"Yo, Kevin," he said. "Got some grub."
"I'm not hungry."
"Kev, you need to eat," Dean said. "Seriously, if I come back and you haven't eaten, I'm taking away all your pens."
Kevin glared at Dean. Perhaps he decided to believe the threat, because he took the spoon and ate.
"Sam - "
"I'm not hungry," Sam cut him off.
"Can I talk to you in the kitchen?"
Sam followed his brother and rolled his eyes at the soup.
"Humor me," Dean said.
"I'm not - "
"Sam!"
"Fine, but if I barf this up, it's on you."
"You find anything?" Dean said, ignoring his brother's comment.
"About Fate doping people? No."
"Cas seemed pretty sure," Dean insisted. "What did this bitch do before?"
"She dealt with thread, Dean, not drugs. Trust me, I looked," Sam replied, forcing himself to eat. "Look, I wanna help him, too. Maybe you should wake Cas up - "
"No."
"He's the one floating the theory," Sam pushed. "He's the one with the answers here."
"He needs to rest up."
"He can rest up without being completely immobile and unconscious," Sam said. "What's going on?"
"He shoulda come to us, Sammy," Dean started, keeping his voice low. "And not just about this crap. Back when Raphael wanted to re-start the Apocalypse, he shoulda come to us but he didn't. No, he teamed up with Crowley. And after all that, with the Leviathan and the declaring himself God's replacement... it's like the stupid bastard hasn't learned a thing."
"Except that's not what's happening."
Dean stopped eating. "What?"
"After you fell asleep I took Cas's book - "
"You read it?" Dean interrupted, annoyed.
"He left it for both of us."
"Right, except all the letters were to me," Dean said. "Isn't that a federal crime? Opening someone else's mail?"
"From what I read, he wanted to come to us, but he couldn't."
"Same thing."
"No, it's not. It's like, cutting ties with Benny or Amelia, we had to. You know that."
Dean didn't want to talk about Benny. "Let's let Cas sleep a little while longer, okay? I'll help you look through the books for an antidote or whatever for Kevin."
Crowley leaned back leisurely in his chair. The Winchesters had one very annoying feature. Well, several annoying features, but one that actually concerned him as King. And that was their ability to do something wildly unpredictable. Crowley was no fool; he knew that Timon and Pumba often came to such things in pursuit of a foolhardy errand somehow squaring off well for them. Fuck, he'd even allied himself with the Wonder Twins to crush the Apocalypse. This all begged the question: where were they? Shouldn't they be barreling down the doors of hell on their next little suicide mission?
He should've killed them when he had the chance. It would have saved him a fair amount of effort. But, then again, this current scenario had its up side as well. He wanted to watch the brothers as they realize that Crowley had done what Azazel, Lilith, Alastair, Lucifer, Michael, and Dick Roman failed to do: Defeat the Winchesters.
His phone rang.
"This is the King."
"Are you free for a meeting?" Kull asked.
"Yes, of - "
Kull appeared on the arm of Therion. Kull dressed in his usual snappy apparel; Crowley liked to think that he took a leaf out of his book. Therion tended toward stable hand in terms of attire, but for some reason today she wore a respectable woman's suit.
"Hello," Crowley said pleasantly, hanging up his phone. He added, "Therion."
She backed off and waited outside the office door.
"I've good news," Kull said.
"The only kind I like to hear," Crowley mused. "Don't keep me waiting, love."
"Naomi has a crew looking for the same target, but they're not having much luck," Kull said. "They've got rituals, and the like, to help locate people like him."
"That so?"
"But he knows about it, and apparently prepared for such incursion."
"This better get good fast, Kull."
"The location ritual requires only a name," Kull continued. "But he's somehow flooded the system. They're pulling up thousands of locations."
"You said good news, Kull," Crowley reminded.
"They haven't been having any luck. Me on the other hand, well, let's just say, I'll be bringing you a present soon."
"And you dropped by to gloat before hand?" Crowley asked. "That's not like you."
"There're two things I need."
"Ah."
"An angel blade - "
"You need an angel blade?" Crowley asked. "What for?"
Kull smiled but ignored the question. He continued, "And an adequate distraction for the winged idiots upstairs. Just in case."
"Huh," the King of Hell sized Kull up. "What's life without surprises?" He materialized an angel blade, and as he handed it off, he said, "Just make sure it's a surprise I want."
"Don't worry about that sir."
"In," Crowley looked at his ridiculously expensive watch, "say, thirteen hours, the God squad will be quite distracted."
Kull bowed his head and left.
Crowley wasn't sure what Kull really wanted. He wasn't in it for a position of power; revenge might be more his cup of tea. The problem was that Crowley didn't know, and Kull was fast becoming more than just his best hired gun. He took his seat again and made a mental note. After destroying the Winchesters, the King of Hell needed to figure out Kull's end game.
At least he knew how his day would roll out.
Part Two: Indisposed, In Disguise
Dean and Sam poured over books, hunter diaries, chronological studies of modern supernatural events, but nothing contained anything about Lachesis's doping materials. Her personal biography named her the appointer of lots in terms of Fate.
Even with his fever spiking, Kevin wouldn't let go of the tablet, which Sam insisted was some kind of robo-prophet behavior that he previously exhibited with the Leviathan Tablet, so Dean let it go. The third trial was on that thing, so if Kevin could sweat his way through the text, then who was Dean to stop him?
Dean began, "Holy crap - "
Dean didn't finish his thought; instead, he caught Kevin before he crashed to the ground.
"Damn it!" Dean cursed.
Sam slipped away as his elder brother fussed over the Prophet. He knocked on the room door, just in case, and when there was no response, he pushed the door open.
Castiel was supine on the bed. He mumbled Enochian in fits and bursts, but otherwise remained perfectly still.
Sam opened the book to the dog-eared page and read out loud. It was a very odd combination of Latin and Enochian, but it did the trick.
"Sam?" Castiel asked weakly.
"Hey, Cas," Sam said. "Sorry to wake you, but we need your help. Kevin's in a bad way."
"Lachesis, she poisoned him."
"Cas, we've looked through everything, everything, and we can't find anything about the kind of drug she uses," Sam pleaded.
The angel looked so weak that Sam empathetically felt tired, but Cas smiled. "There's a reason an entire genus of serpent is named after her."
Sam's eyes went wide with recognition. "She's using some kind of venom?"
"It won't kill him. The withdrawal can be very painful and debilitating," the angel said. "I believe that's why Crowley picked her to do his dirty work."
"What?"
"Angels can't heal some things," said Cas. "Withdrawal from a supernatural drug like hers would be difficult for an angel to heal in the best of circumstances, otherwise I - "
"I know, Cas, you'd've already healed him if you could," Sam said kindly. "So what about an antidote?"
"Not unless you know Asclepius," Cas said. "Or have a bezoar, but that is very unpleasant."
"Asclepius?" Dean asked from the doorway. Sam jolted. He hadn't heard his brother enter.
"Greek deity of healing," Sam replied.
"That's the dude with the serpents and the stick for a symbol?"
"Yes," huffed Cas.
Dean began, "We've got a box with a - "
"Healing stone!" Sam bellowed. Dean balked at the spike in sound. "We've got a healing stone of Asclepius, his iconography, from late first century - "
"It's old," Dean cut him of. "Sammy, volume. Sick people here."
"And angels," Cas tried to joke.
"You count as people," Dean said. "Sam, why don't you check out the healing rock thing, give me a minute here with Cas."
Sam ducked out of the room.
"Kevin said he put together a tablet before you busted him out."
"He did."
"But he's only got Crowley's half the Demon Tablet with him, Cas. So tell me, which tablet did he put back together?"
Cas looked away. "I kept it... inside my vessel in various pieces. I hadn't expected Lachesis. She can delve into the mind, discover - "
"Lachesis?" Dean asked. "That's what you didn't expect?"
Cas didn't understand, so he didn't reply.
"Cas, you went off on your own with the Angel Tablet. You shoulda come to us. You didn't. And you lost it. What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking," Cas said, "Kevin's life was more important than the Angel Tablet. There wasn't time to get him and the tablet. I'm sorry if - "
Dean was stunned; he hadn't expected that answer. He interrupted, "No, Cas, you - you're right. Kevin's life is more important - "
Cas sat up so he could see Dean. He interrupted, "When I left before, I needed some certainty that I was free of Naomi."
"Why? Why couldn't you do that with us at your side, Cas?"
The angel didn't want to tell Dean the truth, but here they were. "Naomi made me kill you. Hundreds of times, until I finally just obeyed. No question. No compassion. Nothing. I killed you over and over and over again. Each time I saw you, I thought it was you, the real you, and each time I killed you. After the connection broke, I was afraid it would reform, or relapse, and I'd - "
"Kill me," Dean said softly.
"If had the choice, Dean, I would've picked you."
"You told me you bolted to keep Naomi off our asses."
"That's why I stayed away," the angel said weakly. "But my initial decision, my fear, my distrust... that wasn't about you, Dean. I just didn't know any of that yet."
Dean saw his angel shaking with tremors.
"Cas? Are you okay?"
"Yes, I uh, used a superficial healing ointment," he explained, "on my vessel. This is one of the side effects."
Sam positioned Kevin on the couch so he could hold the half-tablet to his chest while lying down. He scrounged for Asclepius's healing stone, but before he could return with it, Dean's phone rang.
"Dean's phone," Sam said.
"Sam?" said a man's voice. "It's James."
"James?"
"James Frampton."
"Hey, James, what's going on?" Sam asked. "Sorry, I'm just surprised you called."
"I guess you'll believe me then when I say this is important."
"Yeah, of course - "
"You know Truman High? In Indiana."
"Uh, yeah," Sam remembered not only his childhood time there, but also the ghost they torched there only a few years ago. "Why?"
"I was investigating something in the area, and - major demon activity."
"How major?"
"You watch the news?"
"Not lately," Sam said as he pulled up the news on his computer.
"Flip it on," James said. "Because a group of demons possessed some of the students and went on a killing spree in the middle of the school day."
"What?"
"Cops think it was your basic school shooting," James continued. "And if I hadn't've been there, it would be balls to the wall worse."
"James, what did you do?"
"I exorcised them, and that's where it got weird," he said.
"That's when it got weird?"
"Yeah, one of them gave me a message," he said. "For you and your brother."
"A message?"
"He said, if you and your brother don't come out in the open, they'll tear apart every high school, middle school, elementary school you ever attended."
"What?"
"Sam, this demon had more than enough in him to take me on," James said. "He didn't fight back, and the only reason a demon would hold back like that is - "
"He's under orders."
"Sam, what's going on?"
"Dean and I pissed off the King of Hell."
"Fuck, really? How?"
"We thwarted his attempts to kidnap the Prophet of the Lord for one thing."
"Look, I'd love to help, but I gotta be honest, this one's over my head."
"No, James, thanks for calling. I, uh, actually have another favor to ask of you instead."
"Name it."
"There are some people we check in on," Sam said. "We could use a good guy keeping his head down and an eye out for them, you know?"
"I will go with you," Castiel said.
"No," Sam replied. "We need someone here with Kevin."
"You need to stay here," Cas said to Sam. "It's you he's after."
"What am I, chopped suey?" Dean asked.
"Wha - I don't understand," Cas replied.
Kevin shook violently on the couch.
"We should focus on Kevin," Castiel suggested. "You have the healing stone?"
"Oh, right," Sam fumbled for the object, which he'd stashed in his pocket. He held it out to the angel.
"Actually, Dean should do it," Cas said. "This was only made for humans to handle."
Sam passed it off to Dean, who rolled his eyes and went over to Kevin. He examined the healing stone briefly. It was shaped like a caduceus, and as he recognized the symbol, it felt like it slithered in his hand.
Dean normally would throw anything slippery or slithering out of his hands, but this time he grabbed it with opposite fingers and shoved it onto Kevin's forehead.
"Ugh," was his only comment.
The stone hissed steam. Kevin's eyes fluttered opened and closed; then his face went slack. The caduceus returned to its neutral state.
"What just happened?" Dean asked as he jerked it away from Kevin and dropped it on the ground.
"It purged his system of the drug," Cas remarked.
Sam found a pulse. Putting a hand to Kevin's forehead, he said, "The fever's gone."
"You should let him sleep," Cas advised.
"Good, now Sam and I are going to go kill Crowley," Dean said. "You watch the kid."
"Dean, Crowley is calling you out, trying to kill Sam," Cas said.
"And?"
"And he has the Angel Tablet," Cas added.
Dean continued, "But Kevin's the only one who can read it, so - "
Cas interrupted. "I am saying, Naomi's forces have a reason to stop Crowley. If you - "
"I'm not working with that bitch, Cas," Dean said.
"He's got a point," Sam chimed in.
"What? No!" Dean said to his brother.
"Crowley is slaughtering kids, Dean," Sam protested.
"That's why we have to gank his ass!"
"You need only inform one of the angels," Cas said quietly. "Tell them what Crowley is doing. They will help."
"After what Naomi did to you, you're ready to run to them for help?"
"How many people have died already?" Cas asked.
"Forty-one kids died so far," Sam said.
"I think that's enough, don't you?" the angel asked Dean.
"We worked with Crowley to stop the Apocalypse and Dick Roman," Sam began. "We worked with Meg once to stop Crowley."
"And got boned every time!" Dean said.
Castiel stumbled into the nearest wall.
"Cas?" Sam moved to him.
"Something's very wrong," the angel replied. "There's..."
Dean pulled him upright. "Come on, Cas - "
"We have to go," Cas said dumbly. "Right now."
He grabbed Dean by the wrists, and they vanished.
"What the hell?" Sam yelled after them.
"What? What else could you possibly have to report?" Naomi asked, her nerves frayed.
Sapphire spoke, "Sam Winchester is calling."
"He - what?" Naomi asked. "What do you mean?"
"He's calling for 'Naomi or any angel who can hear him.'"
Naomi didn't know if she could spare another angel at this point, but she decided if a Winchester called on her, that was at least a step in the right direction, away from Castiel.
"Go to Sam, see what he wants," Naomi said.
"Very well," Sapphire replied.
Dean and Castiel were stuck in what would normally be a broom closet. Their bodies were pressed together, and Dean suppressed the vivid memory of his dream from the night before.
"Where are we?" he whispered.
"Distress signal brought me here," Cas said. "Listen."
Dean leaned his ear against it.
"Nada."
Cas tentatively opened the door.
Dean got a glimpse of it: a dozen bodies strewn throughout the decimated room with heir eyes burned out of their heads.
"This looks like... angels? Killing demons or monsters, Cas," Dean said as he moved into the room. Cas kept close.
"I think it was."
"Why are we here?"
"Shh!"
"You know, when you're rushing to the aid of someone in secret," a quiet voice spoke, "you should be more subtle. Popping out of a closet? Really?"
A woman appeared from around the corner.
"Therion," Castiel said.
"What're you doing here, angel?" she asked.
"The same thing you are," Cas replied.
"I see we've both failed," she said playfully. "Maybe next draw one of us will hit."
Bang! Bang! Dean shot Therion twice square in the chest. Her eyes flared up, solid green.
"Green?" Dean said. "The fuck?"
"Us old-timers are full of surprises," Therion remarked. She vibrated briefly and suddenly she was healed. "You're human," she said to Dean.
"I'm Dean, nice to meet you, bitch."
"Well, angel-boy here better keep you away from Metatron," she chimed, "because half the people here, they weren't demon at all. Didn't stop him from decimating them, now did it?"
Therion's shadow swept up and around her. She vanished.
"That was new," Dean said.
"That's why I heard the distress signal," Cas said, "if they're trying to capture Metatron, I'd be one of the only angels he'd contact."
"Uh, why?"
"I was a member of the Garrison left to watch over the earth. He wouldn't know that - that most of us are dead."
"We're talking about Metatron, the archangel?"
"Yes."
"Can't he smite the crap outta anything?"
"I don't know," Cas said. "Joshua is far more powerful than I, but he tends a garden. I don't think he smites at all."
"Freaking angels."
"Castiel?" another voice echoed out.
Dean motioned for Cas to wait. He proceeded to check each area of the surrounding rooms efficiently. Meanwhile, Castiel ignored Dean's discretion and teleported toward the voice.
"Nathaniel?" he asked.
"Cas, what the hell?" Dean said as he caught up.
"Did Therion do this?" Cas asked the injured angel.
"No, it was - Gideon."
"Gideon?" Dean asked.
"Another angel," Cas said.
"Naomi - made him - " Nathaniel blubbered.
Cas reached down and touched the angel. Nathaniel started to heal, but soon Cas collapsed.
"I'm sorry, I'm still - I can't heal you," Cas said.
"It's okay," Nathaniel said. "You've already saved me."
Jealousy bubbled up in Dean as he watched the two angels share a brother moment. Nathaniel whispered something to Cas and disappeared.
"Freaking angels."
Part Three: Summer Stench
Kevin woke up.
For the first time in weeks, he felt fully conscious. Like he'd been trapped in a sickbed for a month and finally went home.
Home. The word burned in his throat. He didn't have a home anymore, did he?
"Kevin, you're up," Sam said. "Are you okay?"
"Hungry," Kevin said.
"Sick at all?"
"No, but you look like hell."
"And you sound like yourself again," Sam replied. "That's a good sign."
"You left the tablet on me?" Kevin asked.
"You had a death grip on the thing, dude," Sam replied.
"Oh."
"Let's get you something to eat, huh?"
"Cas, we need to get back to Sam," Dean said.
"Nathaniel must've answered the call."
"Or Naomi sent him."
"No, he's one of the Garrison, he survived in hiding down here with a few others."
"You're sure?"
"For once, yes I am."
"Okay, so what're we doing?"
"Summoning Metatron, of course."
"Sorry, what?" Dean asked.
"He called for help," Cas said.
"But he's a freakin' archangel - "
"Dean, he wrote the tablets. He knows them."
"So?"
Castiel closed in on the hunter, crowding his personal space. "He's an archangel, which means most people aren't stupid enough to go after him, unless they're absolutely desperate."
"Woah, okay Cas!" Dean said. "Calm down."
"You understand this is about Sam?"
"Sam? I thought we were talking about Metatron - "
"If Crowley gets his hands on what Metatron knows, he'll do anything it takes to stop Sam from shutting the gates."
"Awesome. Okay, so we're summoning ourselves an archangel. But let's not do it here."
"You're right. Is there somewhere you had in mind?"
"Actually, yeah. Let's swing by the bat cave and fill Sammy in."
"Sapphire? You spoke to Sam Winchester?" Naomi asked.
"Yes. The Prophet is safe and has the rest of the Demon Tablet."
"Excellent," Naomi replied.
"The Angel Tablet, however, was lost. Crowley has it."
"And Metatron?"
"He remains elusive, but we now have confirmed sightings."
"We need to deal with the Angel Tablet swiftly," Naomi said. "Call in everyone, even the cupids."
"Cupids?" Sapphire asked.
"If their tendency for rumors is any indication, they'll make exceptional spies. Go."
"Sam!" Kevin yelled from the war room. "Sam!"
"Kevin?"
"I've got it!"
"The third trial?"
"Yes. And it's - well. Uh, you have to save a living soul by removing the claim laid upon it by a demon."
"That's it?"
"Well, it uses a really specific indicator, pronoun, whatever," Kevin said. "When it says you, it means you and only you."
"What did it mean before?"
"The other two trials were in commands. Like in English, you say, 'Go away' and the 'you' is implicit. Same thing here. But the third one is more specific, more direct."
"What does that mean?"
"I think it means you can't get a demon to remove the claim. That wouldn't count."
"So no torturing it out of a demon?"
"I guess, but specifically no dealing or bargaining."
"You're saying I have to remove the mark from the soul myself?"
"Mark?" Kevin asked.
"When a claim is made on a living soul, it becomes branded," Sam said, trying his best to remember Castiel's words exactly.
"That's what it means!" Kevin blurted. "I really hope there's a soul tablet out there with that crap on it, because this one glosses over all that."
"All what?"
"It talks about souls the way chemistry books talk about slow step redux - "
"What?" Sam interrupted.
"It's like there's a chapter before this tablet. One that covers souls. Because this tablet references things that don't make sense otherwise."
"A soul tablet? Huh."
"Anyway, that's the third trial. You have to remove the claim upon a living soul."
Sam took a deep breath. "Sounds easier than rescuing a soul from hell, doesn't it?"
"Uh, one minor thing."
"What?"
"The tablet is specific on this. Whatever process you use to remove the claim, the person has to live."
"That'd be the preferred outcome," Sam said.
"Right," Kevin replied, "but I think that's the hard part. Saving a living soul and not killing the body in the process."
Channeling Bobby Singer, Sam said, "Balls!"
Metatron was an archangel, but all that really meant was that people wanted more from him than a regular angel. Metatron had always been an introvert. That's one of the reasons that God chose him to be the scribe.
But the most powerful of his brothers abused their authority, threw around their weight. And, for their troubles, all four of them were dead or boxed up. There were other archangels, but they didn't covet control, so their names weren't widely known. That was the trouble with power - it generated and immortalized a name that others knew.
Of course, Metatron wasn't like Michael or Lucifer. He didn't want control of Heaven, and he didn't want a name for himself. He was asked to write things down, so he did. Now everyone knew him as The Scribe of God, all because he had nice handwriting.
He took more ammo with him. Metatron favored a shotgun. He once kept a mean-looking elephant gun, but it made him stand out. He didn't like standing out.
Incidentally, that's how he chose his vessels. He did his best not to keep them longer than a few centuries; he chose this one only a decade ago.
'That's what did it,' he thought to himself, 'the new vessel. That's how the angels knew I was still alive.'
"Metatron," a familiar voice said. "There's really no reason to run."
"You sound so sure, Marcus," Metatron replied to his uninvited guest.
"I just have a message, and it's important."
Metatron pointed the gun at his brother. "Go ahead."
"The Prophet, Keeper of the Word, has awoken on Earth. He has been captured, and we now know the Angel Tablet lies in the hands of demons. Heaven needs your help."
"Heaven's got plenty of help," Metatron said. "Bring a message to the others: stay away."
"But - you're the scribe, this is your work," Marcus pleaded. "You must care - "
"Scribe! I wrote things down! My job's done!" Metatron replied. "Go!"
"As you wish," Marcus disappeared.
"Funny, isn't it?" another voice spoke up almost as soon as the angel disappeared. "You write something down and it keeps coming back to bite you in the ass, huh?"
"Who's there?" Metatron barked.
"Name's Kull," said a smartly dressed young man.
"Kull?" Metatron asked. "What do you want?"
"I've a proposal. We have something in common."
"What's that? You're no angel."
"No, but all I want is some peace and quiet. I went into hiding, just like you. Got myself my own little hideaway. But as soon as Big Daddy got his ass kicked - and sooner or later it was bound to happen - who do they run to?"
"You?"
"Once upon a time I was the best Captain to a powerful General," Kull said. "Honestly, I was more of a, uh, Designer. An Architect, if you will."
"Not anymore?"
"I just want some peace," Kull repeated. "Thought you might relate."
"What do you propose? Riding off into the sunset together?"
"Hardly."
Metatron saw that Kull kept a respectable distance. He pointed his shotgun at Kull anyway. "You have two minutes."
Part Four: A Walking Sleep
"You have something for me? A pressy?" Crowley said.
"Kull is speaking with Metatron," Therion replied.
"Speaking?"
"Yes."
"Gotta give him something for the novelty of it. You're here because - ?"
"Something valuable to report."
"Go on."
"Metatron has yet to reveal the trials to Kull, but he mentioned that the trials merely prepare the individual to slam the gates."
"Did he give any hints as to what that chestnut might be?"
"It's a location. One with only a handful of entry points."
"I'm liking this."
"Today, there are only two places humans can utilize for entry," Therion said. "And one more an angel might use, though humans would not likely survive."
"Ah, but what about odds and ends from Eve?" Crowley asked. "Some of them might still be upset with me."
"That would bring the count to a dozen locations total, assuming I should include dragon travel."
Crowley laughed. A deep, booming, happy laugh that only a once-human-now-demon could have. Therion didn't like it.
"Dragons?" Crowley said finally. "Where were you during the Apocalypse, Therion? I coulda used someone who knew every portal off this earth back then."
She smiled. "Oh, I was around, just like I've always been."
"Is that so?"
"I should go back to Kull," Therion said. "I will return with a report."
Four demons rounded up their meat suits. Together they had three students and one teacher for the middle school they targeted.
"Boss says we can do whatever we want," said Ray, the de facto leader. "I think we should block the exists, have ourselves a little fire."
The conversation quickly spit-balled.
"You plot too loudly."
The person who spoke was, at the time, invisible. The demons didn't know this, so they investigated the room until they found themselves unable to move anymore.
"Ray? I'm stuck!"
"Trapped, is more like it."
Sapphire manifested herself, and she spoke, "Normally I would smite all of you, but I'm under special orders. With the Gates of Hell closing, it's all the same, isn't it?"
"Angel!" hissed Ray. "Our King will just send more!"
She chanted an Enochian exorcism, yanking the demons from the human bodies. She took care to heal all four of them before she left, and she cleared their memories of the possession. They were the first ones she was able to save today.
She closed her eyes for revelation. "Jackson, Tennessee has been cleansed. What is the next target?"
As soon as she heard 'Mayfield, Kentucky' she teleported.
Dean paced the length of the war room.
"Can I have a moment with Kevin?" Castiel asked.
"Uh, sure," Sam said. "I'll go talk to Dean."
The angel pulled the Prophet into the kitchen. "Have you heard from your mother recently?"
"No, I think - Crowley got to her."
Castiel shook his head.
"You've - you spoke with her?" Kevin asked.
"If you haven't heard from her, that means she's still safe," Cas said.
"Why didn't you mention this earlier?"
"Her safety hinges on secrecy. But we are soon to leave, and if I don't see you again, I wanted you to know now that she's okay."
"Castiel - "
"I know you want to see her, but with everything going on, she's safer out of sight. Especially mine."
Kevin's confusion was apparent on his face.
"Okay, so - " Dean said as he and his brother walked into the kitchen.
"We need you to get to safety," Sam completed the thought.
"I thought I was at safety," Kevin protested.
"You are. But with all three of us heading out, Kev, we want some insurance," Dean said.
"In case all of us die," Cas added.
Sam said, "Thanks, Cas."
"Great," Kevin said.
"We've got a few friends, like Charlie, who could check on you here at the bunker."
"But if you're spotted around this area, and people are really looking for you, they'll eventually find this place," Sam said. "So we thought it'd be better to have mobility."
"Could we also get my mom?" Kevin asked.
"Your mom?" Sam asked. "I thought - "
Dean and Sam followed the line of Kevin's sight, which led straight to Castiel.
"Cas?" Dean cut his brother off.
"We could coordinate a, uh, pickup," the angel replied. He asked, "Do we have a vehicle for Kevin? Assuming you meant that a vehicle was involved in the mobility - "
Sam cut him off, "Yeah, Charlie found us a mobile home and tricked it out with hunter stuff and warding. It'd be perfect."
"Perfect?" Kevin asked.
"You can go on the internet, use a phone, without people knowing where you are," Dean said. "Charlie's a hacker."
"And?"
"You could get your GED," Sam said. He realized how stupid this sounded as soon as he said it.
Kevin laughed. "Well, that's, uh, good I guess."
"You can see other people," Dean said.
"Or you could stay here," Sam offered. "We could have Charlie check in on you, bring you supplies, but you would have to stay in here, out of sight."
"The truck sounds better. I mean, it'd be nice to see other people," Kevin said.
"Thought you'd say that," Sam opened his phone. "I'll make the call."
"A friend of ours, Aaron Bass, he's part of the - " Dean realized a history lesson might not be needed, so he switched gears. "He's got a Golem. Seriously hardcore. And not on anyone's radar. Let's just try to keep it that way, okay, prophet-boy?"
"And my mom?"
"I will contact Garth," Cas said simply.
"Garth?" Dean said. "How do you know Garth?"
"I spoke with Kevin's mother, and Garth was with her. I advised them on how to elude Crowley."
"When did this happen?" Dean snapped.
"After... Kevin disappeared."
"What?"
"I wanted to help," Cas explained.
Dean reeled himself in. There was no reason to yell at Cas, especially not in front of Kevin after he just learned the angel saved his mom.
"We'll discuss this later," Dean said.
"I need the muted duotone burner phone," Cas said to Dean. "You usually keep it with your things."
"What? That thing doesn't work anymore, why - "
"Because it's the only device that can reach Garth."
"When did you - " Dean began.
Cas cut in, "I'm sorry. You weren't using it for anything but kept it close, I thought it was the best candidate for this role."
"Freaking angels."
Gideon flew across the room, splintering furniture as he went. A dozen demons, all possessing human children, advanced on him. His orders had been clear: save as many humans as possible. His death would not save these children, so -
As the first demon broke rank to tackle, Gideon darted up and took its head in his hands. Blinding light burst out, and the other demons flinched at its radiance.
The angel kept his radiating energy strong, even after he killed the demon. The demons could not approach him as he chanted an Enochian exorcism.
Eleven out of a dozen humans, that was better than his last school.
Gideon focused his mind on home. "Fordyce, Arkansas is cleansed. What is the next target?"
'Gold Hill, Utah.'
"We should go," Cas said to Dean.
"Someone needs to be here to see Kevin off - "
"I'll do it," Sam said.
"You will?"
"Now I know what the last trial is, I need to figure it out. We both know I'll be voted most likely to cough up a lung in the field, so, might as well stay here."
"All right," Dean agreed.
"Kevin Tran," Cas said. "Be well."
"Uh, sure," Kevin said. "Don't be so serious."
"I'll try."
"Kev," Dean clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll keep the tablet safe for you."
"I'm not worried. Don't die."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Castiel took Dean's arm and teleported to Singer's Lot.
"Cas."
"Yes Dean?"
"When you and Nate we having a moment - "
"Nathaniel?"
"Yeah, the angel. He said something to you I couldn't hear. What was it?"
"He told me that a full break from Naomi's connection was possible. That I was free from her."
"You believe him?"
"He didn't kill me."
"That's it?"
"Had he been under Naomi's control still, he would have at least tried."
Changing gears, Dean asked, "So you do trust me?"
"With my life."
"Then why didn't you tell me about Kevin's mom?"
"If it was Sam, wouldn't you want me to tell you first?"
"That's not the - "
"It is the same. She's his only family."
Cas set up the ritual, careful with every ingredient. Dean watched him work. He didn't even feel self-conscious about it. The angel finished preparations and turned to him.
"Close you eyes, Dean," Cas said.
"Cas - "
"Dean."
"Fine."
He closed his eyes. Dean had had a dream like this once. He, Sam, Cas, and Bobby were outside in Singer's Lot. Cas had been silently elected to convince Dean to close his eyes, so Bobby and Sam could reveal his birthday present. As Cas coaxed him to shut his eyes, he felt like he had a family, and that's when he'd wake up. He hadn't realized, till this moment, that he had never seen what the present was. That never really mattered.
Cas babbled something in Enochian.
Nothing happened.
"Cas, is everything okay?"
"I think you'll need to do this. No, keep you eyes closed!"
"Cas, come on, you want me to summon a dude with my eyes closed?"
"He can appear at any time, and if he does so in true form, you will be blinded, then killed if you see him - "
"All right!" Dean interrupted.
"I'm preparing the summoning ritual for you," Cas said.
Cas guided Dean a few steps then cut his forearm.
"Cas! What the hell!" Dean shouted, but he kept his eyes shut.
"I need your blood. Now repeat after me."
Dean listened and repeated each word. Or, whatever sounded like a word to Dean. He didn't know Enochian that well.
Pop!
"What?" a man's voice asked.
The sound of a barrel cocking snapped Dean's eyes open. Before him stood a very average man with a fair deal of scruff.
"We're answering your distress call," Castiel said.
"Who's that?"
"Me? I'm Dean. Dean Winchester."
The gun swung in his direction. Cas moved between them.
"Please, brother, he's with me."
"You are?"
"Castiel."
"This is Metatron?" Dean said to Castiel's back.
"Gotta problem with that?"
"No," Dean said. "You remind me of Gabriel. But with a gun."
"Why are you the only one who answered?" Metatron asked.
"The Garrison - "
"Leviathan killed them off, after the Apocalypse fell apart," Dean said. "Look, you called for help. We're here. What's up?"
"Snarky," Metatron said. "I was attacked by demons who had an angel in their ranks."
"An angel?"
"Simanvian. Of course I'd rebel too if Dad gave me that dumb a name. He's dead, in case you're wondering."
"We gotta place for you to hide out from the God squad and the demons," Dean cut in. "Till we slam the gates."
"What do you want?"
"Sorry?" Dean asked.
"For helping me."
"Uh, don't spill the beans on the trials," Dean said.
"And the Prophet would like to meet you," Cas added.
"That's it?" Metatron pointed the gun here and there. "You expect me to believe that?"
"You called for help, we're answering, and we've got shit to do, so do you want our help or not?" Dean said.
"He's impatient," Castiel clarified.
"Now, now, now," drawled a man as he appeared from behind a few cars. "He's got good reason to be."
Red eyes. Black eyes. Demons were everywhere, like they just crawled out of every crack in creation, slithering to the junkyard.
"Mr. Metatron," drawled the demon, "you have an invitation to meet the King."
Dean grabbed the nearest sucker and stabbed it with the demon knife.
Castiel joined him in the hacking and slashing. Over all, the demons were lousy; usually they'd beat the crap out of him in the process. But most of them went down without much of a fight.
Wings echoed everywhere. Half a dozen angels perched here and there around the wrecked cars.
"Not good," Dean said. "Metatron, in or out?"
Castiel toppled onto Dean and covered him as the angels obliterated the demons with blinding light. Even as they did so, more demons flowed in like rain.
Benjamin pulled Cas off of Dean. "Looks like we have two things for Naomi."
Dean scrambled to his feet ready to fight -
Another demon knocked Benjamin over, throwing him into a nearby car. Dean pulled his angel back, away from the fray, to assess. All the demons were down, except for the one fighting Benjamin.
"You must be old," Benjamin said as he traded blows.
"Name's Kull."
Cas teleported Dean to Metatron. "We need to leave," he said to the archangel.
Benjamin thrust his blade through Kull's back. Suddenly angels surrounded Metatron and Castiel, and Dean found himself on the ground in front of Cas.
Part Five: For Honest Men
"Amber, report our good news," Benjamin said.
Amber disappeared.
"My work here is done," Gideon said to Benjamin, who nodded. Then Gideon, too, disappeared.
Benjamin continued, "She'll be delighted to finally know what you know Metatron."
"You're a good little bitch aren't you?" Dean asked as he got to his feet. "Naomi says go fetch, and you do."
Benjamin drew Dean uncomfortably close. "I have a duty," he said, "and I know my place. You certainly never learned yours."
"Let him go, Benjamin," Cas demanded.
"I don't take orders from the likes of you, Castiel."
Crowley felt a chill.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, sir," Therion said.
"News?"
"The third trial is to remove a brand from a living soul," she reported.
"That's impossible, unless a demon does it."
"So is freeing an innocent soul from hell," Therion said.
"You think they'll succeed?"
"I don't know, but Kull is dead."
"I figured it was something like that. When there's a bee in your bonnet, everyone can feel it, love."
"You seem unphased by this news."
"Your reports have given me a game plan," said Crowley. "And I have another task for you."
"Which is?"
"Thing One and Thing Two will make their move soon. That's when they'll move the Prophet. He'll be vulnerable, but that's fine, because they'll assume that everyone is out for their blood. I need someone with your skill set to monitor the wave lengths for our charming little Prophet."
"And should I see him?"
"Capture," Crowley said. "Maiming is okay. Just keep him alive and sane."
"And until then?"
"I need your eight legs in the shadows, love, sorry."
"The shadows. That's my best feature."
"Castiel is twice the angel you ever were," Dean said to Benjamin. "I know an inferiority complex when I see it."
"Dean - "
"You speak to this human as if he were your equal," Benjamin said to Castiel, throwing Dean on his ass. "You are a disgrace to your own kind - "
Benjamin stopped. He writhed as black lines pulsated throughout his body. Black goo exploded out of his eyes and mouth.
Kull smiled at Dean as he dropped the angel. "Thanks for this by the way," Kull said as he pulled the angel blade out of his own chest and threw it into an angel flanking Casitel. "I always wanted a pair."
Kull produced another angel blade and began to disappear and re-appeared abruptly.
Dean tackled Metatron; Cas took the opportunity to teleport them away from the skirmish.
Kull obliterated the remaining angels; their bodies burned wings across the ground.
"Nice," Therion commented.
"Ther," Kull said casually. "You're early."
"I've got it," she said.
Dean and Castiel were inside of an old junker not far from the pair. Again, their bodies were pressed together, and Dean's dream flooded his brain with endorphins.
There was no way for him to know that the same thing was happening to Castiel.
He forced himself to focus on anything else but Castiel. "Isn't she a demon?" Dean asked.
Cas nodded, then touched his lips with one finger. At least his proficiency at sign language was improving.
Kull pulled Therion into a luxurious, and rather hideous, kiss. Dean's gag reflex kicked up as he saw two spider legs appear, right out of her back. Clapped between the two hairy members was -
"Is that a tablet?" Dean whispered.
Cas covered Dean's mouth with his hand.
"Crowley gave it to you?" Kull asked.
"'Gave' might be a strong word," Therion crooned. Her legs, or whatever they were, disappeared again. "The King assigned me a special mission. I like to think of this as appropriate tribute."
Dean felt himself teleported away.
Metatron sat in what had to be the smallest cottage he'd ever seen. Or was it a cabin? He wasn't sure.
Castiel appeared with his human sidekick.
"Is this your idea of helping me?" Metatron asked.
"This place is warded from everything," Dean said.
"Why here?"
"It's what we had on such short notice," Dean replied. "We don't have a lot of hideaways that Crowley hasn't found. Or Naomi."
"Well, then, thanks, I guess."
"Call us if you have a problem," Dean tossed him a cell phone. Metatron caught it with a single hand. Maybe he was less of a nerd than he looked.
"Can I ask you something?"
"I suppose."
"You could've smote the crap out of every demon in the lot. Why didn't you?"
"Do you know what it means to be an archangel?"
"No."
"Power, sure. Duty. Everyone wants something from you. Raphael, Gabriel, Lucifer, even Michael, they all had..."
"Enormous egos?" Dean suggested.
"They enjoyed their positions," Metatron said. "They wanted power. They liked giving orders. They were made for it. Literally. Me? I have nice handwriting. I never wanted to give orders or answer big questions."
"You're an archangel," Dean said, "so doesn't that mean you're built for it, too?"
"We all had jobs. If Joshua is still alive, I'm sure he's still tending the garden."
"He is."
"I'm glad. He has exactly what I want: a simple job with a continuous mission. I took down the word of my father. But that was finite. There aren't anymore words."
"So you hibernated?"
"Knowledge is power," Metatron said quietly. "I didn't want power, and I couldn't let others abuse the knowledge I had. Which meant I needed to disappear."
"This was to protect the tablets?" Dean asked.
"To keep their secrets, until humanity discovered it. Read it for themselves."
Castiel put his hand on Dean's shoulder. "Would you give me a moment with him, please?"
"Well, uh, thanks I guess," Dean said to Metatron. He left the two angels alone in the room.
"Let me guess, you have questions," Metatron said. "About Heaven and Hell and Earth and humanity and the great big why. Right?"
"I do have one question," Castiel admitted. "But not about any of those things."
"What was that about?" Dean asked. Castiel had teleported them somewhere in Brooklyn as part of an effort to throw anyone off their trail before returning to the bunker.
"I asked him about my father," Cas said quietly.
"Ah, God crap?"
Dean saw sadness in Castiel's face.
"You're father raised you," Cas said. "I've never had a relationship with my father... not like that. I've felt his presence like I've been in his shadow. But I've never seen his face or heard his voice. Only a few angels have. I've never had occasion to ask."
"Now you know?"
"I have an idea," Cas replied.
"You glad you asked?"
"Very."
They landed back in the bat cave to find Sam's head in a book.
"Little brother's still nerdy, always a good thing," Dean commented.
"How did it go?"
"Four dozen demons. Six angels. One Leviathan. And a weirdo creepy demon with spider legs who has the damn Angel Tablet. Otherwise, Metatron has been stowed for now."
"It wasn't the Angel Tablet," Castiel said.
Dean and Sam both looked at Cas.
"I wanted to see what Kull was doing, working with the demons... I thought... I thought it would be okay..."
"Start at the beginning, Cas," Sam said.
"I hid the Angel Tablet. It's safe. But I knew it was only a matter of time before Crowley or Naomi caught up with me, and if I ever wanted to get away, I had to... let Mothra and Godzilla fight."
Sam laughed, "Really?"
"That was how you two saved Anna," Cas admitted quietly.
"Okay, if the Angel Tablet is locked away on the moon or whatever," Dean said, "What do Kull and Therion have?"
"The Leviathan Tablet," Castiel answered.
"Where did you get that?" Sam asked.
"Roman Enterprises in Chicago."
"That place fell apart - "
"The building's still there. It was hidden in a wall."
"Okay, but if you wanted a ringer, couldn't you just scratch up a regular rock?"
Castiel tilted his head in thought. "That didn't seem a wise option. Kevin reassembled the Leviathan Tablet in front of Crowley. He was convinced it was the Angel Tablet."
"And Crowley can't read it to double check," Sam said. "Smart."
"Why do you look so glum?" Dean asked.
"I didn't know Crowley had Leviathans working for him! Now Kull has the tablet - "
"He can't read it, Cas," Dean reminded him.
"And Kevin is safe," Sam added.
"You did good, Cas," Dean patted the angel on the shoulder. "Still wish you included us, but I understand."
"And we're gonna need your help for this, Cas," Sam said. He pointed to the books. "I need to figure out how to remove a claim on a living soul without killing the body."
"Can you - " Cas began.
"No one can help. It has to be me doing it."
Castiel took a deep breath. "That's... unpleasant."
"Not something we can do trial and error on, either," Sam said.
"I'll say," said a woman Cas had never met before.
"Cas, this is Ellie. Ellie, this is Castiel," Sam introduced.
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