[SPN] feel the freedom like no tomorrow (3/7)

[tasogareika]

← one: you were saved not in order to live (part b) ←

Two: Try to praise the mutilated world.

“Castiel resurrected me.”

Dean half-chokes on his beer at the instant the words leave Gabriel (the archangel Gabriel, to be precise), and Jimmy can’t help but send a small look of sympathy towards him. They’re in the kitchen of Bobby Singer’s house now (the owner of the house himself is currently away, apparently), Gabriel having put them all here after the initial round of shock and surprise from both the Winchesters and confusion from Jimmy’s own end. As Dean busies himself with getting his breath back, Sam only rolls his eyes at his brother before he turns to the archangel. “So, uh… he sent you here, or something?”

Gabriel snorts aloud at the question but doesn’t respond immediately-instead he takes a bite out from the chocolate bar he had snapped into existence earlier, munching and gulping it down before he does speak. “I really appreciate the faith you guys have with me,” he says, and the sarcasm is practically dripping from his words. “I really do.”

Sam puts on an expression of annoyance, but Dean’s the one who puts two and two together. “So you came here alone,” he states, punctuating his words by pointing at Gabriel with the mouth of his beer bottle.

“Not only that, but I also resurrected Jimmy-boy for you as well,” Gabriel adds on with a smile, and now it’s Jimmy’s turn to choke on his food, caught off-guard by the revelation.

Sam moves once he notices Jimmy’s reaction, reaching out to helpfully thump him on the back and does his best to ensure that Jimmy is able to breathe again before he looks at Gabriel once more to ask the question that’s in his mind-and most likely theirs as well. “Okay, not that we don’t appreciate it… but why? No, wait, actually-” The younger Winchester pauses then to glance over at Jimmy with both eyebrows raised. “You were dead?”

Dean seems to be able to put something together with the question too, because he also pauses in his drinking to send a wide-eyed look over as well, looking just as lost as Sam is. It finally occurs to Jimmy now that after all this time, the Winchesters had no idea that he had actually been dead-considering the first and last time they had seen him was the whole clusterfuck with his family, Jimmy supposes he can’t wholly blame them for their misconception.

Jimmy takes a moment to get his breath back first before he replies to the question, nodding. “Yeah. Ever since Raphael killed me and Castiel.”

He hears Dean suck in a breath and sees Sam’s eyes widening as realization hits them both; on the other end, Gabriel’s letting out a low whistle and making loud ‘tsk’ sounds while he shakes his head. “Man, Castiel is one sorry son of a bitch. No wonder Raph isn’t around now.”

The younger Winchester looks up at Gabriel then, his eyes questioning. “You didn’t know?”

Gabriel rolls his shoulders in a shrug. “How could I know? I was gone.” A bitter edge slips into his answer then, one that Jimmy can manage to identify; whatever it is that Gabriel has, Jimmy has a feeling that it’s something he isn’t going to touch even with a ten foot pole. Castiel had enough issues as it is, and Jimmy had only spent a year with him. He doesn’t need to know another angel’s issues, let alone an archangel’s. Castiel’s were bad enough, and Jimmy isn’t exactly willing to know anything worse than that.

Both brothers remain silent after that, and Jimmy figures it’s up to him to move this conversation along, as awkward as this would be. “So, uh,” he starts slowly, lowering the half-eaten burger that Gabriel had conjured up for him earlier and turning to the archangel in question. “Why did you resurrect me?”

“You mean aside from giving Dad-wannabe the biggest ‘fuck you’ in existence?” Gabriel returns, arching up one eyebrow. Jimmy can’t help but blanch a little from having just seen and heard an archangel of Heaven swearing like that because if anything Castiel has most certainly never been like that and-yeah, it is a little unnerving, not to mention totally… you know.

Dean picks up from where Jimmy left off. “Cut to the chase, Gabriel,” he snaps out.

The archangel rolls his eyes. “Fine, fine, belittle all the sacrifices I’ve made in the name of Team Fuck You Destiny, take two.” He takes another bite of his chocolate bar after that before speaking up again. “You guys intend to stop Dad-wannabe. I am here to help. Jimmy-boy here-” Gabriel pauses to gesture at him with the half-eaten chocolate bar in his hand “-is the key to do that, along with getting Castiel out when we stuff the souls back into Purgatory.”

A pause settles within the group after those words.

“Say that again?” Dean eventually speaks up, his attention now truly in place, and Gabriel rolls his eyes once more.

“I said, Dean-o, that Castiel’s vessel here is going to be the key to putting Dad-wannabe back in his place and rescue the real Castiel out from all the souls that’s got him locked down inside of them,” Gabriel repeats himself in a drawl, but the words still ring clear and Jimmy has to pause, because 1) he still had no idea what happened to Castiel and 2) just what exactly does he have that can accomplish something like what Gabriel had just said?

Sam seems to pick that fact up as well, as the younger Winchester turns his head to look at Jimmy for a few beats before returning his gaze to Gabriel, frowning. “Is there something about Jimmy that’ll help us?” he asks.

A distinctly unimpressed look crosses Gabriel’s features. “For all your smarts, Gigantor, you sure are slow sometimes,” he remarks, and Sam scowls back in return.

Jimmy quickly cuts in again before anything can happen, anxious as the Winchesters themselves are to resolve the situation they had on their hands. “What do I have that’ll accomplish this?”

“The fact that you’re Castiel’s vessel, for one,” Gabriel answers, breaking his gaze at Sam so that he could look at Jimmy properly, a serious look on his face as hazel eyes bore into his own. “Up until your passing Castiel shared your body with you for a whole year-that means your soul’s practically saturated with his Grace; at this point, you’re almost pretty much Castiel-adjacent.”

“He’s an angel?” Dean blurts out from the side.

Gabriel rolls his eyes yet again. “No, genius,” he returns in another drawl. “He’s just feels like one, but he isn’t one. Still-” he pauses, debating for a moment. “-you’re pretty much as close to angelic as a human can get, Jimmy-boy. That helps, at least.”

The question comes out from Jimmy before he can stop himself. “Help for what?”

Gabriel hardly seems perturbed by the question, at least. “The plan,” he answers simply.

Sam cuts in this time, voice sharp and demanding. “What plan, Gabriel?”

There are a few moments’ worth of pause before Gabriel lets out an annoyed sigh and bites another piece out from is chocolate bar. “Geez, have you guys even listened to me?” he starts, sending unamused looks at all three humans. “It’s the plan to save Castiel and seal Purgatory right back up.”

“We figured that out, genius,” Dean retorts right back, impatience seeping into his voice. “But you haven’t told us how.”

“In time, young grasshopper,” Gabriel smoothly returns, holding up his free hand before either of the Winchesters can properly protest. “Too much information will overload poor Dean-o’s brain, so we’ll take it slow. First thing we need to do is to get a link on Dad-wannabe, and then we can proceed with part two of my grand master plan.”

The three humans pause, not quite sure what to say in response-but Sam tries anyway, letting out a breath through his nose and talks. “And I suppose you have an idea how?”

“We’ve already got our telephone,” the archangel answers, gesturing at Jimmy once more. “Now what we need to do is to establish the reception properly and make sure we get to the end.”

Jimmy is the one who asks tentatively. “…to Castiel?”

The question sets Gabriel’s lips into a pursed, thin line. “The real Castiel,” he corrects after a beat of silence, quickly following up with an explanation before anybody else can cut in. “As I've said earlier, right now the Castiel you guys and the rest of the world currently see isn’t Cas at all. The souls are messing him up or something, I think-I’m hardly familiar with how Purgatory works myself.” Gabriel stops then, letting the words sink into all of them as he finishes up the last of his chocolate bar and moves on, gesturing with a hand this time. “But anyway, what I do know is that Castiel’s buried somewhere deep inside all those souls he swallowed. The connection with Castiel is pretty strong still, so hopefully that’ll put things in our favour. Still, regardless-as long as we get Castiel’s body physically here with the souls in tow, then we’re set. And for that to work, we’re going to need Jimmy-boy here.”

Dean looks none too convinced by the archangel’s words and sends a glare right at him, but Sam is frowning and apparently thinking, attempting to link everything up in his head and trying to see the link that Gabriel is establishing to the brothers-and after having thought it through, the younger Winchester speaks up, asking. “How is this going to work?”

“Like I said, first we’re going to have to establish and ensure that the link between Jimmy-boy and Castiel is viable,” Gabriel starts, turning his head slightly to glance at Jimmy. “Being conscious won’t do much to make it happen, so you’ll need to be asleep to do this. Of course,” he pauses, a sardonic look now crossing his face, “I’m sure you’ve experienced it before already, Jimmy.”

That’s when it does finally click in Jimmy’s head when Gabriel says that, and his eyes widen to show the realization that’s settling in his mind. “So my dreams-”

“Mmn-hmm,” the archangel returns in a hum, the smile stretching wider. “Congrats, Jimmy-boy, you’re the one human with a direct mind-link to our new ‘God’.”

Dean slams his beer bottle down then, eyes narrowing as he turns to glare daggers at Gabriel. “So what, he’s got some weird Vulcan mind-meld thing going on with Cas now?”

“More like a Harry Potter thing,” Gabriel corrects, wagging a finger. “Although our Dad-wannabe doesn’t really know how to work it in the way Voldy did in the books. He’s got too many souls inside him-far too chaotic to handle anything at all. That’s the only reason why Jimmy-boy here still’s sane of mind.”

That really wasn’t a comforting thought, Jimmy thinks to himself there and then as he gulps; the Winchesters look far less assured about it than Jimmy himself is, and he watches the brothers exchanging looks towards each other once more, communicating with each other in a language that words could never properly convey. Frankly, sometimes Jimmy finds himself amazed at the level of understanding the brothers have with each other-it’s something most brothers would never have. Then again, Sam and Dean Winchester weren’t exactly your average brothers.

“Anyway,” the archangel starts again, drawing the attention of all three humans back to him. “Before Dad-wannabe does figure out how to work his Voldemort thing, we’ve got to get the jump on him first. That means acting as quickly as we can.” He looks at Jimmy again, and the man doesn’t exactly like the look that’s on Gabriel’s face now as he speaks. “So, Jimmy-boy, are you ready to take the swan dive?”

Jimmy is willing to help, he really does-after all, it’s not like he can do anything else now-but before he says yes he has to know, needs to have his mind at ease before he can do this wholeheartedly. “I have a condition.”

Gabriel blinks at that, but he tilts his head after a pause and speaks. “Name it, kid.”

“My family-Amelia and Claire-take care of them for me, if anything happens.”

“Already done,” Gabriel says, grinning. “I got them out first before bringing you back to life, actually, so you do actually owe me one.”

Jimmy can’t help but sag in relief when he hears that-sure, Gabriel might be pretty strange for an angel, but it is a fact that he is an archangel, so if anything he knows they’ll be safe under his protection, as long as Gabriel can manage that. “Okay,” he goes, nodding, and takes a deep breath to steel himself before he continues. “So what do I need to do?”



This time, he wasn't standing on the edge of the world.

Instead, Jimmy found himself standing on the edge of a tranquil lake, its waters too silent and calm for it to be real. Above him the trees rustled in the gentle breeze while the sky remained easy and carefree, devoid of any clouds or even the scorching sun. The landscape around him stretched for miles without end, lush meadows and rolling hills going on and on and Jimmy was pretty sure that there would never be an end to them if he did attempt to find it.

Bringing his gaze down from the sky Jimmy glanced around, looking along the edge of the lake and blinked as he recognized the faint shape of a pier. Standing upon it was the figure of somebody vaguely familiar, and without thinking twice Jimmy started to walk towards the figure, letting his feet take him to his destination. The wind whistled in his ears as he walked, fresh grass and moist earth pressed under the soles of his cheap leather shoes as Jimmy moved closer, the figure taking on a much more distinct form that made Jimmy's heart pump faster, his breath escaping him in catches as he hastened his pace, anxiety suddenly blossoming within him. He knew that form-he knew it like the back of his hand because how could be not know?

He broke into a run near the end, eyes never taking away the sight of the ends of the overcoat that currently flapped in the breeze. The figure became more and more detailed as he neared it, and Jimmy had to stop entirely once he was close enough to reach out and touch the person, not certain what to do or to say. What could he say, really? It’s been three years since they last seen each other, last talked to each other-he was supposed to move on, but yet here he was, back on Earth. Three years and so much had changed; Jimmy wasn’t sure how he could even begin now.

Jimmy cautiously took a step closer, slowly raising a hand to reach out for the shoulder closest to him, but then the figure whirled around to see him and even though he already knew, Jimmy couldn't help but step back at the unnaturally similar features on the other's face-exactly like his, almost as if he was staring into a mirror. Then again, Jimmy knew that he would never be putting on such a stoic expression, not in the way that this being could and always had.

“Castiel?” he slowly ventured, the name falling out familiar-foreign on his tongue.

The angel blinked once, almost as if surprised by the call of his name. Unnatural blue eyes flickered up and then down Jimmy's form, pausing to stare at his face for a few beats before speaking. “Jimmy,” he went, voice quiet and almost pained, an apologetic expression crossing his features. “You are back.”

Jimmy pushed down the lump in his throat and nodded back in return. “Yeah,” he croaked out, a wry smile tugging on his lips. “Never planned on it, but here I am, I guess.”

Castiel smiled back weakly-the ghost of a smile-and stared down at his hands as he spread them out, wringing them absently. His eyes flickered for a moment before the angel lowered his head, bowing it slightly as a means of apology. “I had never intended to force this on you, or make your family suffer… I apologize.” A pause. “Even if it cannot change things.”

Jimmy let out a breath he wasn’t even aware he had been holding back; a flicker of rage flashed past his mind, because Castiel’s words were clicking in his head. Right at this moment, the Castiel (not Castiel, the thing outside isn’t the same being who he had shared a body with) outside was going around the world with his face doing whatever the hell it was that apparently made him ‘God’ to the world. A better God, he remembered the tabloids writing out. A God that cared.

Jimmy doesn’t remember when had been the last time he read such blasphemous crap.

He took a step forward, the raised hand now clenched into a fist as he half-hissed, half-snarled out the next words. “I am the Lord your God,” he started, easily noticing the way Castiel half-flinched as he recognized the words that Jimmy was quoting. “Which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other Gods before me.”

Castiel stilled for a moment before his expression crumpled into an expression of shame, his shoulders sagging. “The First Commandment,” he whispered out, his voice silent and haunted even within the still tranquillity of this place.

“The First Commandment,” Jimmy confirmed, taking another step closer towards Castiel as he stared hard into those blue eyes that were his but yet not his. “The First Commandment, and you broke it, Castiel. You broke it and you trampled it under your feet without so much as a second thought.”

“I know,” Castiel replied, and the way he said it-the resignation and the way he just sounds so broken-almost felt like a gut punch to Jimmy, as if he was the man who had just kicked a lost puppy. The angel had his head hung low, empty blue eyes cast down onto the ground, and Jimmy could only watch as Castiel caved into himself. “This is my punishment for attempting to be more than what I am.”

A punishment that I’m suffering under too, Jimmy thought mirthlessly to himself as he sighed and lowered his hand properly, running it through his hair instead in a gesture of irritation. “Look, Castiel, I-” Before he could get the words out the world suddenly lurched underneath his feet, and Jimmy stumbled in surprise, eyes wide as he raised his head to meet with Castiel’s own sudden, frightened look.

“They’re here,” he whispered, already moving to grab Jimmy and raising his other hand, two fingers reaching for him. Above them the sky was darkening abruptly, the winds howling violently and cloaking out Castiel’s voice as the angel reached for his forehead. “Dean-tell him-”

Jimmy strained his ears in a bid to hear what it was that Castiel wanted to say, but the wind was too loud and the fingers brushed against his head and-

“-Jimmy! Hey, Jimmy!”

His eyelids fly wide open as Jimmy bolts right up in bed, gasping, his limbs trembling. His heart is still pounding in his chest, beating so loud that he can hear it echoing in his ears. Absently, Jimmy also realizes that he's drenched in sweat, but that's something a shower can easily solve. Besides, that's not the important thing right now. His gaze slowly focuses back, showing him the sights of the guest bedroom of Bobby Singer's house he had landed in earlier. Night has long since fallen now, the silence of it a contrast to the howling winds that had been roaring in his mind earlier.

A hand lands on his shoulder and Jimmy looks up to see Sam. The younger Winchester gives him a reassuring look, patting him once on the shoulder before he backs off to let Gabriel step in. The archangel is frowning as he steps closer, hazel eyes looking at Jimmy intently and never making an indication to move as he makes it to the bed and cautiously settles at the side.

“Well?” comes Dean's voice from the side, and Jimmy turns his head around to see the elder Winchester standing at the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed over his chest. The man gives Jimmy a brief look with his bright green eyes, jaw clenching as he turns his head towards Gabriel. “What's the verdict?”

Jimmy turns back to Gabriel at the question, who stares at him for a few beats longer before he finally does take his gaze away from Jimmy and directs it towards Dean. “The connection's there. In fact, it’s much stronger than I anticipated it to be.” He pauses then, and his lips twist into a mirthless smile before Gabriel adds on. “That's one thing we've got on our side, at least.”

Sam makes a grimace, not even bothering to hide it as he speaks. “It's better than nothing at all, I guess,” he remarks, eyes flickering at Jimmy and then towards his brother, who Jimmy turns to look at as well. Castiel had wanted him to say something to Dean-that, Jimmy knew. But whatever Castiel had wanted to say had been cloaked out, and when he didn't even know what to say just what exactly could he say? It was obvious that Dean was worried about the angel, perhaps even more than the rest of them were; it wouldn't be fair to leave him with nothing.

Jimmy gives himself a moment to suck in a breath, steadying his heartbeat and his breaths before he properly focuses his gaze at Dean and starts. “Dean?”

The elder Winchester blinks at the call of his name, and there’s a pause before green eyes focus properly on Jimmy and Dean finally responds. “What?”

“Castiel, he-” Jimmy pauses, gulping, steeling himself before he continues. “-he wanted me to tell you something.”

Dean reacts instantly, his entire body tensing up as the gaze in his eyes becomes hard and unrelenting. A moment passes as Dean does nothing but stare at him, and Jimmy can see the tensing of Dean's jaw as the hunter responds cautiously. “...what is it?”

“I couldn't hear it,” he admits quietly, but quickly speaks up again before Dean can say anything. “But, I think-maybe, he just wants you to forgive him. I can't say that I know what's going on, but...” Jimmy trails off, closing his eyes and letting out a loud puff of breath before he opens them again and finishes his words. “In the year I was with him, when we were sharing bodies-he loved you, Dean. He loved you so much that he turned against Heaven for you in the end, to give you the chance to fight for what you wanted. He's already pulled the ultimate sacrifice for you, Dean-so I think all he wants now is your forgiveness for... this.”

He quickly turns his gaze away from Dean once he's done saying his piece, feeling a surge of warmth blossom in his cheeks, a flush creeping over his entire face. He had known, sure, but knowing it really is a far different thing from saying it outright. He doesn't even know what the exact nature of the relationship between Castiel and Dean is now, and he sure doesn't have a real say in it-why should he? As much as he is Castiel's vessel, it wasn't as if he has really been around in recent times.

There's a moment of silence after the words, but Jimmy still doesn't really dare to raise his head up; he continues to keep his gaze fixed at the bed sheets he's sitting on, staring at his hands and remembering how Castiel had been doing the same thing as well. It's so strange now, seeing the angel act so different from when he had been with him-to see him be so human now. It's really a whole world of difference to now look at Castiel and see him like this when all Jimmy could recall was the perfect warrior of Heaven Castiel had been up until Dean Winchester changed everything for the angel.

Eventually there's a shift of feet and an accompanying creak of the floorboards, and Jimmy raises his head to the sound of retreating footsteps and the flash of Dean's back disappearing from the doorway.

Both Sam and Gabriel watch as the elder Winchester leaves the scene, but it’s the archangel who sighs after the sound of Dean's footsteps have faded, rolling his eyes as he stands up. “Alright kids,” he starts, words as dry as sandpaper. “We'll rest up and let Dean-o have his big sexuality crisis in the meantime. But first thing tomorrow, we're going to go and gank ourselves a Dad-wannabe.”

Sam gives the archangel an unimpressed look at his words, but gives no other comment and stands up as well. “I'll go and talk to him,” he announces, starting to make his way out of the room. He pauses at the doorway however, turning his head towards Jimmy and sending a small smile over. “Rest as much as you can, Jimmy. I'll wake you up when the time comes.”

Jimmy nods his replying acknowledgment, and Sam's tentative smile grows a little wider at the action, although his eyes seem to say something else entirely different. “Sorry we're dragging you into this again,” he says after a pause, sounding very apologetic and really regretful. Last time, Jimmy knew that he would never really be satisfied with something like this-but now after spending three years dead and waking up to an absolutely crazy world, he's more than willing to take whatever comforts that could be afforded to him right now.

So he returns the smile with one of his own, shaking his head. “It's fine.” Castiel had been his friend, too, after all. Now that he knew that the angel was still there, trapped and helpless, Jimmy would give all he could to save him. The angel had honoured his last wishes and spared Claire from the life he had now, even if the circumstances around that had not been optimal-but all the same, the angel had listened; Jimmy figured that he owed Castiel that much, at the very least.



Jimmy spends the rest of the night sleeping away the exhaustion and weariness that had settled over him during his time spent on the road, and when he wakes up next morning Jimmy does feel decently refreshed and recharged. The thought of later weighs heavily in his mind, but Jimmy tries to pay it no mind as he goes around refreshing himself and getting a change of clothes (jeans, and a t-shirt) that had been provided for him on the bedside table.

When he came out of the room and down the stairs into the kitchen, Gabriel had already made his appearance and was busying himself with chewing through a new chocolate bar in his hand. He regards Jimmy with raised eyebrows when he enters the room, gulping down a mouthful of half-eaten chocolate that had been in his mouth that the archangel washes down with water first (mostly due to Sam's insistence) before he finally speaks. “Okay, kiddos. Time to go over the plan.”

Dean looks up rather unimpressively from over the top of the beer bottle he's just popped open, green eyes falling flat as the hunter replies bluntly. “What plan? If you recall, Gabriel, you gave us nothing at all.”

“If I gave you guys anything Dad-wannabe'll be trying to scrape it out of your skulls,” Gabriel retorts back pointedly, jabbing at Dean with a finger from his free hand. “I didn't want to risk that chance, especially since he still thinks I'm 'considering my decision'.” Gabriel makes visible air quotes with both of his hands as he says those words, chocolate bar already having mysteriously vanished.

Sam frowns then. “Considering your decision?” he quotes back, voice questioning. “What decision?”

“To join him,” the archangel answers easily, snapping his half-eaten chocolate bar back into existence once more and taking another bite out from it. “Work as his PA and stuff like that. I told him I’d think about it and stuff, but since I’ve brought Jimmy back-you’re welcome, by the way-and had him make contact with Castiel, I’d easily say that Dad-wannabe has my answer now.” He smiles wryly then, hints of melted chocolate glinting at the corners of his lips. “So we gotta move before he figures out what we’re about to do.”

“And that is…” Sam continues to prompt, head slightly tilted as he speaks.

Gabriel rolls his eyes in a rather melodramatic manner. “Geez, do I really need to spell out everything here for you guys?” he sighs and shakes his head, chomping down the last bits of his chocolate bar. “We’re going to throw the souls of Purgatory right back where they belong and seal the place right back up. And while we’re at that, we’ve got to get Castiel out from the souls too, so that he isn’t going to be trapped with them and get horribly mutilated in the process. Seeing Lucifer and Michael duke it out with each other is more than enough for me already.” The archangel pauses to look at all three humans, raising an eyebrow. “We clear?”

“Uh,” Jimmy starts just a little meekly, not quite certain if he should really say anything at this point in time-but he really has to know now. “Just how am I going to help in this?”

The archangel turns his head over to land his gaze on Jimmy there and then, and the man watches those hazel eyes look right at him as the corners of Gabriel’s lips curl up in a mirthless smile, his voice somehow sounding apologetic as he speaks. “Oh, Jimmy-boy, you’re going to have the biggest part of this to play yet, believe you me. Without you, this plan would’ve gone down the drain.” He turns away however before Jimmy can say anything else, looking towards Dean and speaking to the hunter. “Hey, Dean-o! When’s Bobby going to return?”

Dean gives the archangel a flat look at the question, but he does answer anyway. “Soon, Gabriel.”

“The sooner the better,” Gabriel returns, already conjuring himself up a half-wrapped candy bar to start digging his teeth into. “There’s only so much anxiety and manpain I can take in one day, and I really would like it if we can make a jump on Dad-wannabe before he shanks us all.”

Sam snorts at that while Dean throws another dirty look at Gabriel, and Jimmy just can’t help but wonder when the ‘weird’ in his life had suddenly turned to ‘normal’; it’s really saying something when this is the most normal thing that’s happened to him ever since he’s been returned to life.

Jimmy, however, doubts that it would really stay this way.



There was little fanfare involved when Bobby reached back to his house, and after being given a through explanation about the situation (“So he's the vessel?” “Yeah” “Well, nice to know we got something on our side now.”), the elder hunter had agreed to help out with their plan-of course, not before pointing out just how bad of a plan they had going.

“Why do you boys come out with the craziest plans when I'm not looking?” Bobby had muttered out once the gist had been explained to him, the man shaking his head as he had spoken that.

Gabriel made a small snort from his spot over the ground he's crouching on at the moment. “Well, technically speaking, it is my plan. The kids are just crazy enough to go with it.”

Bobby turns around to look at the archangel then, narrowing his eyes as he properly studies Gabriel from head to toe. “So you're the Trickster,” the hunter states after a pause, making Jimmy blink for a bit in surprise. A Trickster?

“Former Trickster,” Gabriel corrects, holding up a finger to emphasize his point. “Not that I really care either way, but considering how I lost my position as Loki when Luci killed me, there's not much I can say.” He glances back down after that, returning to work on the circle he's currently drawing out on the floor of the panic room (the sigils had been changed to allow him in, and the floor of the panic room had been wiped for the moment-Gabriel’s power, of course) and after a short pause, adds quietly, his voice soft enough that they almost couldn't hear what it is that Gabriel had said. “Besides, it’s better for them to think I'm still dead. I don't want them to get caught up in this.”

Jimmy doesn't exactly know just who the 'them' that Gabriel is saying refers to, but it seems that Dean and Sam do understand, and the brothers exchange glances with each other over the table where they're arranging out the things they would need for the spell. Jimmy shifts his gaze over to the array of items scattered across the tabletop, trying to place a name to some of the things he did recognize and trying to rack his brains for the other things he didn't know. There isn’t much that he can do, being a non-hunter, and all Jimmy can do now is stay on the bed and try to get out of the way.

Gabriel goes to him once the archangel is done with the circle, flopping down on a spot beside him on the bed and lets out a loud sigh once he's settled down. “You know,” he starts after a pause, “when I died, I wasn't exactly expecting to return to see Castiel all hopped up on soul juice.”

Jimmy can't help but wince a little at Gabriel's words, easily sensing the undertones of the archangel's words. He looks at his knees, chewing on his bottom lip as the man mutters out an apology to the other. “Sorry.”

All Gabriel does in return is to snort audibly. “Where did that come from now?” he starts mirthlessly, smiling with a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. “If anything, I'd say you're the one on the short end of the stick. Castiel-Dad-wannabe, really-is wearing your face now, regardless if we like it or not.” He tilts his head upwards to stare up at the ceiling, trying to look past the giant fan swinging above. “I'm just glad I got your folks out before shit really hit the fan.”

“-thanks for that,” Jimmy blurts out there and then, remembering that he hadn't quite thanked Gabriel for what he had done in that respect.

The archangel only snorts again and easily waves it off with a hand, rolling his eyes while he's at it. “Please. If you keep thanking me for everything I'm going to grow an ego again.”

“And we all know what happens when you've made love to your ego,” Dean remarks out from the other side of the room, although he's quickly silenced by a sharp, pointed elbow jab from his brother beside him that's accompanied with a glare which Dean returns with one of his own along with a smart-mouth remark. “Gee, Sammy, I had no idea you cared so much about the guy who killed me like, I dunno, a million times-”

“-and he happens to be the only help we have now,” Sam finishes the statement with another pointed look, swiping a pile of herbs from his sibling's hand. “He wants to stop Cas as much as we do, so stop complaining, alright? We all want to stop Cas before he goes too psycho.”

“On my meter he's already pretty off the edge,” Gabriel states casually, leaping off the bed and making his way towards the Winchesters now. “But well, whatever makes your day. Let's just get this started, shall we?”

“Bobby's still getting the frankincense down,” the younger Winchester returns, glancing at the metal doorway that separates the panic room from the rest of the Singer household. Not a moment later Bobby does emerge through the doorway, a basket of said plants in hand which he promptly goes to put at the table with the rest of the items they had gathered for the spell. Whatever spell that it is.

The elder hunter takes a few steps back once the basket's been placed, dusting off his hands as he gives the items on the table a once over and nods. “Alright, think we got whatever it is that Gabriel's asked for.” He looks over at the archangel at that, seeking confirmation.

Gabriel nods in return before he proceeds to snap up a porcelain bowl in his free hand; once he's done that, he turns towards Jimmy who's still sitting at the bed and gestures for him to come over. Without much of a choice in the matter, Jimmy does so, his gaze sweeping curiously over the things on the table as he comes closer before they settle at Gabriel. The archangel doesn't speak at first, and instead busies himself with throwing everything on the table into the bowl. The items clutter together, forming a rather strange mess in the bowl, and Gabriel eyes it for a second before placing it onto the table and finally turning to regard Jimmy.

“Alright, kiddo,” he starts, gaze now wholly serious. “Here's what is going to happen. We're going to drag Castiel here, body and all, and once he's here we're going to lock him down enough for you to take the swan dive inside. And by inside, I mean literally inside-you're going to push your soul into him.”

“How-” Jimmy instantly attempts to ask, eyes wide, but Gabriel stops him with one raised hand.

“Getting to that now, kid. You remember how I told you that you've got a direct channel into Castiel? We're going to be making use of that.” Gabriel pauses then to snap his fingers over the bowl, and all the humans flinch at the sudden burst of light and heat that comes, the flare instantly causing to turn everything inside into ash that the archangel smoothly rubs onto with his thumb. He raises that thumb to Jimmy, rubbing it against his cheeks, the arch of his eyebrows and finally on his forehead, marking on that spot with a small cross. In way, it almost reminded Jimmy of the blessings that the priest of his former parish would do to him on the annual Ash Wednesday mass.

The corners of Gabriel's lips curl up just as that thought passes in Jimmy's head, and he can see the archangel's eyes gleam in some form of mirth. “It ain't Lent, but I suppose it works somewhere around that area,” Gabriel remarks with a small chuckle as he lowers his hand, wiping it against the back of his jeans. “Anyway, as I was saying-you're going to have to pour yourself through that connection, which is going to be hard even with the channel you have, but I came prepared.” He digs his hand into the pockets of his jeans, fumbling around for a moment before he tugs out a length of gold thread that gleams unnaturally in the dim lighting of the panic room.

Both Sam and Dean instantly seem to recognize the string, their eyes going wide as the brothers turn towards Gabriel. “Is that-” Sam starts, stopping partway and the younger Winchester gulps before he restarts. “Is that a thread of Fate?”

Gabriel looks surprised enough to glance at the brothers and raise an eyebrow at the question. “From Atropos, yeah. How did you know?”

“Uh,” Dean starts now, eyes flickering back and forth from the thread. “We had a... run-in with her before.”

The archangel snorts at the answer, quickly turning back. “Typical,” he mutters, but quickly moves on from the topic. “Anyway, yes, this is a thread from Fate herself. She owed me one before.” He turns his gaze properly at Jimmy, fingering the sort, fragile-looking string in his hand. “I'm going to use this to unconditionally bind you to Castiel. It'll strengthen the connection, and the binding will give you a better window to get inside him. For the whole getting in bit, I'll be the one doing the deed so you don't need to worry. Once you're in, though-” Gabriel pauses, eyes flickering at Dean for a moment, an action that confuses Jimmy quite a bit but doesn't comment on as Gabriel soon turns back to him and finishes what he's been saying. “Once you're in, the rest's up to you. Your entrance should put Castiel's body to a standstill, but we'll have to be out here to ensure that.”

It's definitely not the most assuring thing he's has heard, but it is still something-and that's most certainly better than nothing. Jimmy gulps, trying to push down the uneasy feeling growing in his gut as he slowly croaks out. “So I'll be alone?”

Gabriel lips twist into a wry smile. “You're the only guy in existence who can do this, Jimmy,” he replies mirthlessly, a grimace almost visible on his features. “It's make it or break it time, pal.”

“But how do I even fight this?” Jimmy instantly retorts, panic now edging into his voice-and really, can anybody blame him? How is he going to go up against such a powerful being when he's got nothing at all on him? Even Jimmy knew that'd be nothing else but a suicide mission.

Gabriel gestures to his head in response, tapping a finger against his skull as he speaks. “It's not about strength, Jimmy. It's about using your head.”

“It's still the same thing,” he half-snaps now. “I don't even know the first thing on what to do here, so how can I even-”

“Do you want to save Castiel?” Gabriel cuts in, expression serious again, and Jimmy has to pause and recollect himself, staring at the archangel as Gabriel repeats himself once more. “Tell me-do you want to save Castiel?”

“Well, yes, but-”

“Then that's all that I need to know,” the archangel returns with a smile, moving to pat Jimmy on the shoulder. “Now do me a favour and step in the middle of the circle, okay?”

Jimmy hardly feels mollified by the way that Gabriel’s treating him now, but it is still a fact that he has to do his part to stop Castiel and ensure the proper safety of his family. He gives Gabriel a brief glare before he moves, allowing Sam to help him get to the proper centre of the circle. He glances down to study the circle properly, seeing its many intricate details and lines, words upon words of Enochian etched onto the rims and inside the spaces that the lines provided. Though he had no knowledge of any of these things, even Jimmy can tell that the circle he’s standing on now is truly one of ancient power and might.

Gabriel goes to the circle once Jimmy’s settled there, the golden thread of Fate in his hand as he stops before the human. “Wrist, please.”

Jimmy raises his right wrist as requested, and Gabriel proceeds to tie one end of Fate’s thread around it, the string settling comfortably on his skin once the knot is done. Jimmy raises his wrist up to eye-level and curiously studies the thread, watching the unnatural gleam that pulses on like a heartbeat and the strange warmth that settles around his hand now.

The archangel slaps his hand against the back of his jeans once he's tied the string around Jimmy's wrist, a grim look of determination now on his face as he looks at the string once and nods, speaking. “Now Fate's string is under your control,” he explains, gesturing to the golden thread now dangling from Jimmy's wrist. “When the time comes, you need to focus it at Castiel with everything you've got; let the thread acknowledge your intent and make sure it has contact with Castiel when this happens, and it'll do the rest.”

Jimmy's honestly not too sure on how well he'll pull it off, but it isn't as if he had any choice now that it's come to this. It's all or nothing, and Jimmy wants his family safe. Steeling himself, Jimmy responds with a nod of acknowledgment.

Gabriel's grim smile just grows a little wider. “We're counting on you, kiddo. It's all up to you now.”



Jimmy stands in the centre of the circle with Fate's thread hanging from his wrist, the outline of his figure glowing a bright orange from the candles lighted around him. Right outside of the circle in front of him is Gabriel who is chanting in Enochian over another bowl of items, hazel eyes closed as he enunciates each syllable with absolute clarity, the sound of each word echoing within the walls of the panic room.

“Oadriax vmd mirc mad monasci,” Gabriel's voice rises higher and higher with each foreign, inhuman syllable that rolls off his tongue, metal rattling as fragments of the archangel's true voice start to bleed through. It's not loud enough to cause any permanent damage, but Jimmy can see the Winchesters and Bobby starting to wince at the high-pitched cry, although they do stay in their positions. Gabriel keeps his eyes closed, still chanting, and for a moment Jimmy swears that he sees a flash of wings from the archangel's back as the candles flicker. Gabriel brings the bowl out at an arm's length distance from him now, both of his hands still holding onto it as he continues to chant. “Noasmi ol vmd, gassagen ol nia-cod, Castiel,” he says the last few words, and then without warning the items inside the bowl literally bursts into flames while the candles all flare up violently, momentarily blocking out everybody's eyesight in a bright flash of light.

All four humans instantly raise their arms to block their eyes, and Jimmy lowers his just in time to see the flames from the candles around him recede from the momentary burst they had. Gabriel's kneeling down on the ground now, breathing heavily as the injuries he got from taking the blast head-on recover quickly, the burns already disappearing. The Winchesters and Bobby recover soon after, blinking as they all glance about the room, waiting for Castiel to appear.

Moments pass by, stretching, but nothing happens.

Jimmy looks over to the now-recovered Gabriel, looking at the archangel with a frown. “You sure you did it right?”

Gabriel only responds to his question with a pointed look that clearly suggests for Jimmy to not ask stupid questions, and the man pointedly keeps his mouth shut afterwards. The seconds move on silently with nothing still happening, and Jimmy can feel the tension starting to rise up now. He hears Dean shift behind him, and on his left Sam is muttering something under his breath. Bobby is silent, but Jimmy knows it’s because the hunter is merely preparing himself for Castiel.

Then, just as Jimmy starts to wonder if they should stop, he starts to feel a draft starting to pick up around them, an unnatural wind starting to howl within the confines of the room as the candles around Jimmy are extinguished instantly. All five of them instantly jump, quickly snapping back into alertness; both Dean and Bobby hardly look comforted by the sudden burst of wind (or in Bobby's case, more worried), but it’s Dean who seems far more spooked, gulping quietly as he glances around, green eyes darting everywhere.

On his own end, Bobby suddenly snorts quietly. “Wishful thinking,” he starts, and Dean's head instantly whips over to him, looking even more uncertain now as the elder man finishes his words. “But maybe it’s just the wind.”

And just like that, as if a spell had just been said, the metal door of the panic room bursts open and Jimmy Novak watches his angelic double striding inside. Cheap leather shoes (his cheap leather shoes) tap against the floor as Castiel walks in, and really, it should be weird watching a literal copy of yourself walking around like that-but all Jimmy needs is one look to see just how different Castiel is from him, even with their identical features. The angel (or rather, former angel) now carries himself with the air of a-well, a God, each of his steps deliberate and weighed as the angel's blue eyes (his blue eyes) sweep around the room, finally settling on Gabriel who's now pushed himself back to his feet.

The archangel's smile turns sardonic as he looks back at Castiel, defiance glinting in his hazel eyes. “Hey, bro,” he starts, tucking hands into the pockets of his jeans. “How's the management doing?”

Castiel's eyes gleam mirthlessly as the corners of his lips curl into a dry smile of his own. When he speaks, his voice is quiet, almost pained. “Is this how you repay my kindness, Gabriel?” he asks, eyes momentarily flickering towards the Winchesters. “By resisting me?”

“Oh, believe me, I'm very grateful to you for bringing me back to life,” Gabriel returns, rocking back on his heels. “But, you see, I don't really intend to work with somebody who pretends to be Dad. That'd just be weird.”

The angel's eyes narrow into silts, the smile now starting to curl downwards instead. “You dare to consider disobedience?” he half-growls, half-snarls-and yeah, Jimmy really needs to wonder just how Castiel ever became like this. He had known that Castiel did always have a capacity to be ruthless when the time came for it, but this is just way overboard. Did taking the souls of Purgatory really change the angel so much?

No time to think about such things, though; Castiel moves once more, not even bothering to hear whatever response that Gabriel might give as he sweeps his gaze across the room once more, this time stopping to lock eyes with Jimmy, who can only look back in a mix of suspense and some amount of fear. As much as he knows otherwise, there's no way he can't not be afraid of the angel-now-God-after all, he's but an ordinary human man. Sam and Dean Winchester had both been marked by Hell and Heaven respectively right from the moment of their birth, but that wasn't the case for Jimmy. He just happened to be vessel of one of Heaven's countless soldiers, another pawn upon the giant chessboard; what is he to the other people in the room with him?

Jimmy steps back just as Castiel takes one forward, and from the corner of his eye he can see Gabriel tensing up. The hunters move with the same response as well, all of them more than ready to jump in and protect him should it be necessary-even if all of them know that it would ultimately prove futile.

Castiel takes another step and pauses, ice blue eyes turning to look across to the three hunters. A mockery of a smile crosses the angel's face, a smile that screams nothing else but wrong wrong WRONG. “I already told you not to interfere,” he says, voice deceptively soft, the words coming out almost like a whisper. “Now I have no choice but to punish you all.”

The three hunters flinch at the words, but Dean recovers the quickest and he moves, stepping forward with both of his hands raised. “There's always a choice, Cas,” he returns, desperate hope edging in his words, and for some reason that reminds Jimmy back to the time when Castiel had confronted Dean in the Green Room, recalling the desperateness in Castiel's voice as he pleaded quietly to the hunter back then, asking him not to go up against Zachariah and against Heaven, the desperate desire to see Dean at peace, to no longer be hurt anymore and accept the forgiveness that Heaven would bestow upon him.

Three years on now, it’s kind of strange how things can take an entire turnabout without people ever noticing it.

Castiel shakes his head in response, the look in his eyes strangely forlorn as the angel responds. “I once thought free will would be the answer,” he speaks, slowly raising up a hand. “Now I know better. Free will is a rope, and you hang yourself with it.” His fingers shift, the tips starting to rub together as the angel prepares to snap his fingers and most likely send all three hunters to their deaths.

That realization quickly latches onto Jimmy far more quickly than he would like to admit, and in an instant he makes himself move, darting forward as a cry tears out from his lungs. “Castiel, no!”

Everything that happens after that all seems to happen in a split second; Castiel twists around and throws his hand out at Jimmy, locking him in place on the ground before he can launch himself forward. Both Sam and Dean take that split moment to charge forward in a bid to catch Castiel off guard, but the angel reacts before they can properly pull off their attempt, waving his other hand to send both brothers flying back and subsequently crashing against the iron-cast walls. Jimmy tries to cry out in alarm, but finds himself unable to do so-Castiel’s effectively frozen him mid-action, it seems.

The angel lowers his hand, smoothly turning away from both Sam and Dean as he now directs his attention towards Jimmy. Still caught under whatever it is that Castiel has done, Jimmy can’t do anything at all as Castiel (no, not Castiel-at least, not the real Castiel) steps towards him, can only recoil in mental disgust at the false smile that slithers across the other’s face. It’s so fake, that’s what it is, and it’s so hard to properly reconcile the angel who had he known and lived with for a year with… this mockery of the former angel of Thursday. Whatever this thing is, it’s a fact that it certainly isn’t Castiel.

“Jimmy Novak,” Castiel-no, the creature wearing his face-starts, the smile stretching even wider. “It has… been a while.”

Jimmy only half-stares, half-glares at the other the best that he can, considering his current situation. Castiel looks back for a moment, almost looking as if he’s expecting an answer, but the upward curl of his lips suggest otherwise and the former angel steps back, sighing. “I had forgotten about earlier. Please ignore my overlook.” Saying that he waves his arm again, and Jimmy suddenly finds himself stumbling as he’s unfrozen from his place. The man steadies himself on shaky legs, knees wobbling as he clutches at them, slightly bent over as Jimmy catches his breath, trying to calm his heart down and properly steel himself against this being who called himself ‘God’.

When he looks up again Castiel’s staring at him, the angel’s head tilted to the side. It straightens out just as Jimmy does so himself, the man gulping and heaving slightly as he straightens, hands absently slapping against the side of the jeans he was wearing.

Even now, Castiel’s still wearing the outfit he had been wearing all the way back then, and it looks just as if he’s just worn it yesterday even though Jimmy knows otherwise; the man himself has already long gotten out of the attire, ruined as it is from his days on the road. It is a bit of a contrast, seeing that old attire when he’s no longer wearing it-although really, now it does feel more of Castiel’s attire rather than his, considering that this is the only thing that Castiel wears as far as he knows.

This wasn't the time for such thoughts, though. Jimmy shakes his head slightly to clear it up, focusing back onto the matter at hand as he faces Castiel eye to eye, vessel to angel. “Hello, Castiel,” he returns cautiously, tightening the fist that held onto Fate's thread, feeling a surge of warmth pulse from it as he did so. He has to do this.

Castiel dips his head in acknowledgment-an action the old Castiel always did when speaking to the Host-and as he looks back up Jimmy can feel the surge of Grace that rolls within the angel, threatening to move and destroy at any moment should it be given a chance to. The man gulps, forcing himself to keep calm and manages to stand his ground even as Castiel now paces towards him, coming closer with every step until they're only inches apart, with Castiel going right up his personal space in the way he had recently done with Dean. Jimmy still stands firm, clenching his jaw and looking back at Castiel unflinchingly but unable to properly hide his confusion when the angel smiles in wide amusement and chuckles; a soft, dark sound that Jimmy just knows does not bode well in the slightest.

“You are interesting, Jimmy Novak,” Castiel speaks, a quiet little murmur that's almost lost even in the silence. “I did not expect you to be here, all things considered.”

Jimmy only looks back, voice steady as he replies. “I didn't expect myself to be doing this, all things considered.”

“You never have to,” the angel replies, inclining his head. For a moment his eyes dart towards Gabriel once more, and Jimmy sees the blue irises flash in some unrecognizable emotion before Castiel returns to him. “You can always stand down. Considering your services to me, I can easily forgive you.” He smiles once more, false and dark, and adds on. “Be thankful for my mercy.” His then eyes dart down towards his clenched fist, amusement glinting now as he continues. “Binding me with Fate, however, is not going to work. I am God, after all.”

“I'm not binding you,” Jimmy snaps back without thinking, and since there's nothing more to lose now he reaches out and grabs the fake Castiel's wrist, touching the string around his own wrist to the skin of the angel. He feels his skin burn and start to blister from the moment he touches Castiel, but Jimmy bites the inside of his cheek to resist the pain and holds on, gritting out the next words through clenched teeth. “I'm binding myself to Castiel, and you're not going to stop me.”

The angel's amusement only seems to grow tenfold, lips curling upward as he quietly states his response. “I will.” And he starts to reach out towards Jimmy, most likely with the intent of ending his life or send him somewhere that's bad enough.

Jimmy squeezes his eyes shut, attempting to block out the stinging pain as he focuses himself, calling out to Castiel-the real Castiel-as much as he can. C'mon, Cas, help me out here! Once the false Castiel got a hold on him, this will be all over, and Jimmy doesn't exactly want to die again so soon. He grits his teeth, preparing himself for a world of pain as he feels the pads of the other Castiel's fingertips start to brush against his arm. This was going to be it, then. He was going to-

-then he felt it.

Castiel instantly drew back the moment he sensed it, eyes wide in surprise just as Jimmy opens his. He could feel it, the warmth and power of Grace that now flows through him; Jimmy knows that it isn't much, but it's more than enough to startle the fake Castiel, and that's more than enough for what he needs to do. Around his wrist Fate's thread starts to glow a brilliant gold, flaring brightly as the loose end of the string latches itself onto Castiel's wrist, wrapping around him and sinking right through his skin with a hiss of burnt flesh.

He sees the false Castiel's eyes flare, flashing in warning as the binding takes place, but Jimmy ignores it in favour of shutting his own eyes again, blocking out the light show going on as he concentrates on pouring himself into the thing before him. Castiel's body was now nothing more but a container for millions and millions of souls, and Jimmy had to make himself join the flow. He reaches out mentally, stumbling his way through the connection he had now and attempting to lose himself into the howling that starts to resound in his ears. He's almost there, Jimmy knows that he is-a wave of vertigo washes over him once the connection takes root, and he's getting there-

-Jimmy's eyes suddenly fly wide back open as a sharp, cold pain blossoms in his heart, the sensation starting to jag down across the rest of his body. He tastes blood on his lips, dribbling down his chin and staining through the tee-shirt that he's wearing now. Jimmy lowers his head down to see a glint of metal lodged right through where his heart was, the blade going straight through him and right into Castiel as well. Just like him the angel is as stunned as he is, and Jimmy follows the other's eyes to gaze at their perpetrator.



“Sorry, kiddo,” Gabriel starts sadly, a pained look in his eyes as he twists the blade in his hand even further, causing Jimmy to gasp and choke out another mouthful of blood. “I didn't want to do this, but I gotta.”

The archangel lets go of the blade after he says that, taking a step back and watches impassively as both he and Castiel fall, the blade still locking them together. The world starts to fade as he falls, everything turning icy cold against his skin. He barely registers the fact that he's landed on top of Castiel, only the fact that he's staring right into his own eyes as darkness and cold envelopes him.

The last thing that Jimmy registers is the unintelligible shout of Dean's voice before everything slips into black and silence.

→ three: mendacious and delusive streets →