DCBB Fic (Dean/Cas): In, Out of the Dark (Chapts 14-16/20+Epilogue)
Title: In, Out of the Dark
Author: heavenlyxbodies
Pairing: Dean/Cas
Rating: NC17
Spoilers: let’s just call it S5 and be done with it, yeah
Feedback: Makes me happy, just play nice
Disclaimer(s) can be found here
Beta: the lovely kimisgirl *hugs*- anything still wrong is probably me ignoring her advice
Alpha: my dearest kyokohitsuji
Warnings/Squicks: ANGST, pre-het, depictions of Hell, did I mention the angst
Masterlist for crystal_line 's beautiful art!
~~~~~~~~~Chapter 14~~~~~~~~~
Gabriel stared at his baby brother, openly gaped at the words that had just left his mouth. He had been waiting for them, or something akin to them, but he’d never expected the soft, earnest request. He’d expected an order. Castiel might have been his younger brother and he might not be an Archangel, but he was still the one Dad had left in charge, which meant Castiel had the authority to order Gabriel to do this. Yet here he was standing in front of him asking him. The older angel held back his normally harsh and snarky remark, instead, placing a strong hand on Castiel’s shoulder, the tawny haired angel smirked, “What do you think I’ve been working on since you’ve been gone, my tan?”
Castiel looked into his brother’s honey eyes, head tilted, “What reason would you have?”
“Pssh, because I know exactly how dysfunctional those two are without each other, and the only way Deanie-boy is gonna let himself be happy is with his brother intact and not simmering quietly in the bowels of Hell.”
Castiel quirked an eyebrow, still unsure. He’d been planning exactly what he would say, what he was willing to offer to get Gabriel to agree. He knew from his own experience collecting Dean that those parts of Hell were not simple places to get into or out of. And this wasn’t merely the Righteous man this was the one true vessel for Lucifer. They couldn’t expect Sam to be sitting on the outskirts of Hell waiting for someone to pluck him out.
“Cas, I’ll do it,” the former Trickster assured.
“Look,” he waved Castiel over to him, “there’s a lot of fighting going on down there, mostly between Michael and Lucifer. It’s better than Friday Night Fights. And,” the angel raised a finger to accentuate his words, “it seems neither of them is fond of wearing their vessels, especially since they aren’t needed down there any more than they are needed up here.”
“Adam?” Castiel asked simply.
“Don’t know, but I’ll try.”
Turning to face his brother, he asked, “Why?” searching his eyes for an answer.
“You’re my brother,” Gabriel shrugged.
Castiel smiled at that. Not for the first time was he struck by how similar Gabriel and Dean were, how much family mattered to them, and how brazenly they tried to hide behind big words and actions. But far be it for Cas to call either of them on it. “Thank you.”
~~~~~~~~~
Gabriel poured over the reports and rumours, gathering as much information as he could before the assault. And it would be nothing less than an assault, a very detailed and strategic assault. There may have been a pocket of nothing surrounding his fighting brothers, their own Grace having flared and burned destroying everything demonic near them, but there were still levels of Hell to pass through. Although thanks to one deal making demon, ways had been found around and through many of those levels. These were his ‘games’ as Raphael had called them, he chuckled to himself, information had flowed so much easier once his brother had been dealt with- it would seem he had found the wrench in the works.
All that remained were two of the blackest, darkest places in the Pit. Dean had been as far as any still human soul had ever been, below that were levels that even demons feared, and somewhere down there was the essence of at least one Winchester, and Gabriel would get him out.
With a heavy sigh Gabriel turned to his baby brother, “We can do it, but it’ll be dangerous, very dangerous. None of us have ever gone this far. Lucifer’s cage is at the base, the very foundations of Hell.”
Sometimes it worried Castiel how serious and commanding Gabriel could be, but more often than not it merely reminded him of the power and dignity hidden beneath the archangel’s playful Trickster mask and made him smile.
“I know. I will go to the garrisons and request volunteers. This is not something we can ‘order’ them to do.”
Gabriel smiled and nodded to his brother, he’d never admit it, but he was proud of Castiel. While all his other brothers and sisters fought amongst themselves or followed blindly- the very things that drove him away eons ago- Cas thought and cared.
Castiel went to every garrison individually, explaining the mission to the amassed ranks. They would be going into Hell, not for Michael, the Great Warrior, but for Samuel Winchester, vessel to Lucifer and the man who had derailed the Apocalypse. It would be hard fought, and it was up to them whether or not it was worth the fight.
There had been so much fighting already, first to save Dean, then defending the Seals, and finally the preparations and skirmishes before the main event of the Apocalypse. And now this mission, one that was almost assuredly a suicide mission and the Returned was asking for volunteers.
When Castiel returned to his garrison, he was unsure if any of the angels he’d spoken to would find the fight worthwhile and truly he couldn’t blame them. And it didn’t surprise him when Gabriel came to him in a whirl of activity.
“I don’t know what you did, little bro, but half the Host is here and more are coming.”
Castiel looked momentarily worried, until he saw how relaxed Gabriel was- he’d gotten pretty good at telling the difference between Gabriel’s facades and his true feelings. “Why are they here?”
“Why do you think? They’re here to help bust out your second favourite Winchester.”
Castiel’s eyes widened, “All of them?”
“Well, we asked who was here for the cake and no one wanted any so yes.”
“Why?” Castiel asked, still unbelieving.
Gabriel took pity on the younger angel, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Because they believe in you.”
The concept was foreign to Cas, he was used to having faith, but to have faith in him? The only one who’d ever had faith in him was Dean.
~~~~~~~~~
“I can’t let you go,” Gabriel insisted in a voice that rang with all the authority of God’s Messenger.
“I’m going whether you like it or not,” Castiel stood firm.
Gabriel threw his hands up, “What is with you! People spend more than 24hrs with the Winchesters and suddenly they lose all sense of self-preservation!” The archangel was furious; this was a dangerous enough mission without having Castiel tag along.
Cas smiled slyly, something he’d picked up from both his brother and his hunter, “It’s not about my safety, it’s about our brothers and sisters accompanying us on this mission. It was I who asked this of them, and unlike Michael and Raphael, and even our Father,” Castiel realized how close to blasphemy this came, and took no small satisfaction at the shock that momentarily flashed across Gabriel’s face, “I will not send them in my place. I will go with you.”
Gabriel shook his head in that age old ‘you’re a fool but I know I can’t talk you out of it’ way. “Okay, but don’t go wandering off,” he snapped. “We’re leaving within the hour.”
Castiel nodded and went to speak with Dean.
~~~~~~~~~Chapter 15~~~~~~~~~
“Hey, Cas,” Dean smiled, greeting the angel who appeared in the passenger seat of the Impala.
“Dean,” he replied, wanting to kiss Dean senseless before he went off to try to rescue his brother, “Pull over.”
Dean raised an eyebrow at his angel, “Everything okay?”
“It will be.” Cas sighed as Dean pulled the Impala into a Scenic View pullover. As soon as he’d cut the engine, Castiel pulled Dean to him, kissing him deeply, slowly, the way he did when they were making love. “I must deal with some… issues. I may be gone a while and I need to know you will be alright until I return.”
Dean’s eyes closed and Cas could feel the tension and war going on in his head, he knew Dean was fighting the ingrained reaction of abandonment. “Promise me you’ll do that again.”
“I promise,” the angel swore.
“You know, any other angel and I’d think you were lying.”
“Good thing I’m not any other angel.” Castiel moved to whisper in Dean’s ear, “I’m your angel.”
They stayed like that, heads bent and pressed together as Cas waited for Gabriel’s call.
~~~~~~~~~
“Did you tell him?”
“Of course not, it would only worry him, and he would want to accompany us.”
Gabriel tilted his head at his brother, “You are a truly amazing creature, Castiel.”
Now it was Castiel’s turn to cock his head curiously.
“Most people would have told him, given him the hope.”
“If I did that and we were not successful it would have destroyed him, and I don’t know if I could guide him back yet again.”
Gabriel smiled wanly at his baby brother, so logical and loving even in the face of what was to come. It was no wonder he was the one their Father had chosen to lead them.
~~~~~~~~~
They talked of Hell and it’s ‘levels’ though in actuality its levels were more like the shock rings of an earthquake or the ripples of a pond after a stone had been tossed in. Circles and effects seen for miles expanding with the harsh, unforgiving, pain-hate-darkness at the center of it. Anyone going into Hell passed through these levels, and could feel the changes in heat and intensity, some sudden and some subtle, but all there and keenly felt by the older angels.
Gabriel’s plan was a simple one; they would take a relatively small group of angels with them, just over 500 in total, under Castiel’s command and sneak through the upper levels of Hell, leaving a small detachment of angels at varying intervals to guard their passage back. They would do this until they reached the Pit, the furnace of hate where Castiel had snatched Dean’s soul from the darkness and carnage that surrounded him. After that it got tricky. Not only were there the last levels of Hell to pass, but there was the escape.
They knew that once Gabriel reached Sam, the hordes of Hell would come searching for them attempting to block the escape of their Master’s true vessel. Each mass of troops was reminded of this fact and given a final chance to return to Heaven without question. None of the angels hesitated, taking up positions along the escape route; knowing that whatever happened these byways had to stay open.
Thanks to Crowley’s information the first half of the plan went relatively smoothly, only proving difficult when they ran into a group of demons searching for a quick exit into the world. But their numbers, though barely above 100 at that point, quickly and quietly dispatched the demons.
As they approached the Pit, that burbling cesspool where Dean had spent 40 long years, Castiel grimaced at the image still so fresh in his unfading memory. Here they met their first true, organized resistance. The Pit was the darkest place for human souls, and more guarded and populated than the others. The remaining angels fought valiantly, holding back the hordes and protecting their means of escape.
Castiel almost didn’t notice Gabriel approach him. “Cas, you have to stay here.”
“Gabriel,” the angel’s voice warned.
“You want me to save him, then you will listen to me. From here on it gets bad. The kind of bad you could only dream of. This makes Dean’s nightmares look like kiddy films. You could never make it. You know that. It’s why you came to me in the first place,” Gabriel’s voice so forceful it cut through the din and frenzy of the vestiges of battle that still raged around them. “Let me do this, Cas.” He could see the change in his brother’s demeanor. “I’ll bring Sam back.”
“And you,” Castiel demanded.
“I’ll bring us both back, little bro. ‘sides not like I can leave you to run Heaven alone, someone’s gotta be there to keep you from doing anything stupid.” He smirked and disappeared into the fray and down into the final layers of Hell.
~~~~~~~~~Chapter 16~~~~~~~~~
Gabriel had hoped that being only one angel, his Grace encased in a human shell, would help conceal him. After all archangels weren’t unheard of down here, only they were usually caged up like the animals they could be.
The lower levels of Hell were every bit as horrible as he’d thought, and more. The reds and browns and sickly blacks of blood coated everything. Things that could only be described in a way the human mind could interpret as walls were rough and ragged and pulsing like a living, breathing, blood red nothing. All through these depths demons, figures so twisted that even that description was a laughable comparison, hung from the walls, smiling through distorted apertures that may have once been mouths or possibly nothing but flesh millennia ago as the meat was cut, torn, and cleaved from what ostensibly were their bodies. One creature hung mere feet from where Gabriel passed, what once had been a face was misshapen into ribbons of minced flesh. The area where its body should have been was nothing but a butchery of intestines and organs and some unrecognizable film. Gabriel forced his vision away from the thing on the wall and pushed on deeper into the darkness.
This area was barren, a wasteland inside a wasteland. It wasn’t the fires of the Pit that created such hollowed out sterile surroundings. It was the battle running full force at its center. Once, not long ago, this place would have been ripe with the disfiguration, hate, and pain of the ones above. This was where he would begin his search, in the destitute landscape that stretched out endlessly. He knew Sam would be somewhere between here and Lucifer’s cage. The only thing that could possibly survive after Lucifer and Michael began their fight would be their vessels. Their vessels had to be strong enough to hold the angels’ Graces and being their true vessels (at least in Sam’s case) they would have some resistance to the fiery explosions of Michael and Lucifer’s warring Graces, even without the angels riding them.
Hesitantly, Gabriel let his Grace stretch out in tiny wisps, seeking any sign of the human soul he was looking for. He had to move slowly, never letting his Grace expand too far, the ripple of power so close to his brothers would eventually draw their attention and that was not something he was prepared for yet. He let his Grace guide him, the passageways between these levels were all unguarded so he could move with cautious ease across the deserted landscape. As he closed in on the farthest edge of the dismal plain he felt a pull on his Grace, a soft hum reaching out to him. His Grace twitched in surprise and he hoped he was far enough away for the brief spike in power to go unnoticed.
The hum remained, and Gabriel let it guide him to the scorched terrain one step closer to his brothers’ cage. The hum was stronger here. It pulsed openly and Gabriel had to rope in his Grace to find its source.
Another step closer and he could feel his brothers, their Graces pushing at the fabric of the worlds around them. Fighting. Always fighting. But it wasn’t them he was here for. It was for someone far more precious. With Michael and Lucifer so close, he had to rein in his Grace once again, but by now the hum had grown into something more resembling a scream, a beacon he could follow. He knew it was Sam, he’d know that fiery soul anywhere.
Lucifer felt it first, another angel just on the outskirts of his cage. He pushed out with a mass of strength holding Michael in check as he sent a sliver of his Grace to seek out the other angel. Within seconds he’d found him, his baby brother, the one he’d killed months ago. “Gabriel,” he hissed.
He had no idea how the angel was alive, but he knew the only reason Gabriel would be this deep into the bowels of Hell- he was after Sam. Sam was still his, he would need him once he crawled back out of here. No way was his pesky baby brother going to take his vessel.
Moments after Lucifer’s hissed call of their brother’s name, Michael felt the thrum of energy from the archangel’s Grace. Even after untold eons, he knew his little brother, Heaven’s Messenger. He’d felt Gabriel’s destruction, how could he be here?
The burning call from Sam’s soul led him to the mortal; his body worn and broken, but the eyes. He could see Sam was there, buried deep inside. “Sam,” Gabriel’s human voice was ash and rough and barely more than a rasping of kindling waiting to ignite. He wrapped his Grace around Sam’s body knowing his soul was secure inside.
Lucifer lashed out, he might not be able to leave the confines of his cage, but he knew if he focused his Grace and pushed hard enough he could strike out.
Lucifer’s Grace slammed into Gabriel hard; he barely had time to shield Sam as he screamed, his angelic voice shaking the air, Lucifer’s strike slashing into his vessel. But as soon as the powerful energy hit him it was jerked back.
Michael reacted, instantly and unhesitant, striking a harsh blow to Lucifer’s exposed wings; pulling his attention back to the battle at hand and away from Gabriel and his cargo.
Gabriel took the opening Michael had given him and flew towards the Pit and Cas and the battle that would await them there.
Castiel was waiting for them when Gabriel arrived with his package. “Gabriel?” the angel asked in concern.
The flesh of Gabriel’s vessel bore four clean slices down the length of his back, blood dripping in a steady fall from them. “I’ll be fine,” he panted. The main force of the wounds were to his vessel, his true self was only scraped by the attack, still it would not heal easily, his outer wings sporting shallow cuts that aligned with those on his back. “Besides, got what we came for,” his honeyed eyes twinkled.
Cas nodded, “We hoped that was the cause of the sudden chaos. We’ve managed to keep the passage open, but we must hurry.”
As they rose through the outer regions of Hell they could feel the demons pressing closer and closer, almost a tidal wave of pressure pushing them onward. This was nothing like when Castiel had rescued Dean; there had been hundreds of thousands of angels to stand between him and the demons then. Now there were possibly 300 angels strewn through the levels with the legions of Hell weighing down on them.
They were over halfway through, when the worst of the fighting hit. The handful of angels left on guard had been overrun by a veritable legion of demons. Thankfully most of these angels had fought through Hell once already, they were seasoned, they knew this battle. They fought with the kind of ferocity that distinguished them as Warriors of God.
When the others arrived, the angels were engaged in a fierce battle, the bodies of both angels and demons were strewn over the battlefield.
Castiel turned to Gabriel, “Go,” he growled.
“No,” he couldn’t believe what Cas was suggesting.
“Gabriel, there’s no time to argue, you need to go, get Sam out of here,” the younger angel insisted.
“Are you crazy? There’s no way I’m leaving here without you.”
Cas looked at his brother fondly, “I listened when you ordered me to stay because you knew I wouldn’t survive the furthest reaches of Hell. Now, you must listen to me. You are the strongest and fastest. You will get Sam to safety.”
He wasn’t happy, but he knew his brother spoke the truth. He was Sam’s best chance. “What about you?”
“I will follow with the others, shortly.”
“Good ‘cause Dean’ll kill me if you don’t come back,” he tried to put as much playfulness in his words as he could, but Cas understood.
“If I don’t make it Dean will be alright,” he admitted sadly. “He’ll have Sam.”
Gabriel recognized Castiel’s words for what they were- the biggest load of hog-hooey he’d heard out of anybody’s mouth in eons, excluding Presidential elections and fundamentalists, but he nodded and left, Sam still protectively swathed in his Grace.
--- NEXT
--- PREVIOUS
Author: heavenlyxbodies
Pairing: Dean/Cas
Rating: NC17
Spoilers: let’s just call it S5 and be done with it, yeah
Feedback: Makes me happy, just play nice
Disclaimer(s) can be found here
Beta: the lovely kimisgirl *hugs*- anything still wrong is probably me ignoring her advice
Alpha: my dearest kyokohitsuji
Warnings/Squicks: ANGST, pre-het, depictions of Hell, did I mention the angst
Masterlist for crystal_line 's beautiful art!
~~~~~~~~~Chapter 14~~~~~~~~~
Gabriel stared at his baby brother, openly gaped at the words that had just left his mouth. He had been waiting for them, or something akin to them, but he’d never expected the soft, earnest request. He’d expected an order. Castiel might have been his younger brother and he might not be an Archangel, but he was still the one Dad had left in charge, which meant Castiel had the authority to order Gabriel to do this. Yet here he was standing in front of him asking him. The older angel held back his normally harsh and snarky remark, instead, placing a strong hand on Castiel’s shoulder, the tawny haired angel smirked, “What do you think I’ve been working on since you’ve been gone, my tan?”
Castiel looked into his brother’s honey eyes, head tilted, “What reason would you have?”
“Pssh, because I know exactly how dysfunctional those two are without each other, and the only way Deanie-boy is gonna let himself be happy is with his brother intact and not simmering quietly in the bowels of Hell.”
Castiel quirked an eyebrow, still unsure. He’d been planning exactly what he would say, what he was willing to offer to get Gabriel to agree. He knew from his own experience collecting Dean that those parts of Hell were not simple places to get into or out of. And this wasn’t merely the Righteous man this was the one true vessel for Lucifer. They couldn’t expect Sam to be sitting on the outskirts of Hell waiting for someone to pluck him out.
“Cas, I’ll do it,” the former Trickster assured.
“Look,” he waved Castiel over to him, “there’s a lot of fighting going on down there, mostly between Michael and Lucifer. It’s better than Friday Night Fights. And,” the angel raised a finger to accentuate his words, “it seems neither of them is fond of wearing their vessels, especially since they aren’t needed down there any more than they are needed up here.”
“Adam?” Castiel asked simply.
“Don’t know, but I’ll try.”
Turning to face his brother, he asked, “Why?” searching his eyes for an answer.
“You’re my brother,” Gabriel shrugged.
Castiel smiled at that. Not for the first time was he struck by how similar Gabriel and Dean were, how much family mattered to them, and how brazenly they tried to hide behind big words and actions. But far be it for Cas to call either of them on it. “Thank you.”
~~~~~~~~~
Gabriel poured over the reports and rumours, gathering as much information as he could before the assault. And it would be nothing less than an assault, a very detailed and strategic assault. There may have been a pocket of nothing surrounding his fighting brothers, their own Grace having flared and burned destroying everything demonic near them, but there were still levels of Hell to pass through. Although thanks to one deal making demon, ways had been found around and through many of those levels. These were his ‘games’ as Raphael had called them, he chuckled to himself, information had flowed so much easier once his brother had been dealt with- it would seem he had found the wrench in the works.
All that remained were two of the blackest, darkest places in the Pit. Dean had been as far as any still human soul had ever been, below that were levels that even demons feared, and somewhere down there was the essence of at least one Winchester, and Gabriel would get him out.
With a heavy sigh Gabriel turned to his baby brother, “We can do it, but it’ll be dangerous, very dangerous. None of us have ever gone this far. Lucifer’s cage is at the base, the very foundations of Hell.”
Sometimes it worried Castiel how serious and commanding Gabriel could be, but more often than not it merely reminded him of the power and dignity hidden beneath the archangel’s playful Trickster mask and made him smile.
“I know. I will go to the garrisons and request volunteers. This is not something we can ‘order’ them to do.”
Gabriel smiled and nodded to his brother, he’d never admit it, but he was proud of Castiel. While all his other brothers and sisters fought amongst themselves or followed blindly- the very things that drove him away eons ago- Cas thought and cared.
Castiel went to every garrison individually, explaining the mission to the amassed ranks. They would be going into Hell, not for Michael, the Great Warrior, but for Samuel Winchester, vessel to Lucifer and the man who had derailed the Apocalypse. It would be hard fought, and it was up to them whether or not it was worth the fight.
There had been so much fighting already, first to save Dean, then defending the Seals, and finally the preparations and skirmishes before the main event of the Apocalypse. And now this mission, one that was almost assuredly a suicide mission and the Returned was asking for volunteers.
When Castiel returned to his garrison, he was unsure if any of the angels he’d spoken to would find the fight worthwhile and truly he couldn’t blame them. And it didn’t surprise him when Gabriel came to him in a whirl of activity.
“I don’t know what you did, little bro, but half the Host is here and more are coming.”
Castiel looked momentarily worried, until he saw how relaxed Gabriel was- he’d gotten pretty good at telling the difference between Gabriel’s facades and his true feelings. “Why are they here?”
“Why do you think? They’re here to help bust out your second favourite Winchester.”
Castiel’s eyes widened, “All of them?”
“Well, we asked who was here for the cake and no one wanted any so yes.”
“Why?” Castiel asked, still unbelieving.
Gabriel took pity on the younger angel, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Because they believe in you.”
The concept was foreign to Cas, he was used to having faith, but to have faith in him? The only one who’d ever had faith in him was Dean.
~~~~~~~~~
“I can’t let you go,” Gabriel insisted in a voice that rang with all the authority of God’s Messenger.
“I’m going whether you like it or not,” Castiel stood firm.
Gabriel threw his hands up, “What is with you! People spend more than 24hrs with the Winchesters and suddenly they lose all sense of self-preservation!” The archangel was furious; this was a dangerous enough mission without having Castiel tag along.
Cas smiled slyly, something he’d picked up from both his brother and his hunter, “It’s not about my safety, it’s about our brothers and sisters accompanying us on this mission. It was I who asked this of them, and unlike Michael and Raphael, and even our Father,” Castiel realized how close to blasphemy this came, and took no small satisfaction at the shock that momentarily flashed across Gabriel’s face, “I will not send them in my place. I will go with you.”
Gabriel shook his head in that age old ‘you’re a fool but I know I can’t talk you out of it’ way. “Okay, but don’t go wandering off,” he snapped. “We’re leaving within the hour.”
Castiel nodded and went to speak with Dean.
~~~~~~~~~Chapter 15~~~~~~~~~
“Hey, Cas,” Dean smiled, greeting the angel who appeared in the passenger seat of the Impala.
“Dean,” he replied, wanting to kiss Dean senseless before he went off to try to rescue his brother, “Pull over.”
Dean raised an eyebrow at his angel, “Everything okay?”
“It will be.” Cas sighed as Dean pulled the Impala into a Scenic View pullover. As soon as he’d cut the engine, Castiel pulled Dean to him, kissing him deeply, slowly, the way he did when they were making love. “I must deal with some… issues. I may be gone a while and I need to know you will be alright until I return.”
Dean’s eyes closed and Cas could feel the tension and war going on in his head, he knew Dean was fighting the ingrained reaction of abandonment. “Promise me you’ll do that again.”
“I promise,” the angel swore.
“You know, any other angel and I’d think you were lying.”
“Good thing I’m not any other angel.” Castiel moved to whisper in Dean’s ear, “I’m your angel.”
They stayed like that, heads bent and pressed together as Cas waited for Gabriel’s call.
~~~~~~~~~
“Did you tell him?”
“Of course not, it would only worry him, and he would want to accompany us.”
Gabriel tilted his head at his brother, “You are a truly amazing creature, Castiel.”
Now it was Castiel’s turn to cock his head curiously.
“Most people would have told him, given him the hope.”
“If I did that and we were not successful it would have destroyed him, and I don’t know if I could guide him back yet again.”
Gabriel smiled wanly at his baby brother, so logical and loving even in the face of what was to come. It was no wonder he was the one their Father had chosen to lead them.
~~~~~~~~~
They talked of Hell and it’s ‘levels’ though in actuality its levels were more like the shock rings of an earthquake or the ripples of a pond after a stone had been tossed in. Circles and effects seen for miles expanding with the harsh, unforgiving, pain-hate-darkness at the center of it. Anyone going into Hell passed through these levels, and could feel the changes in heat and intensity, some sudden and some subtle, but all there and keenly felt by the older angels.
Gabriel’s plan was a simple one; they would take a relatively small group of angels with them, just over 500 in total, under Castiel’s command and sneak through the upper levels of Hell, leaving a small detachment of angels at varying intervals to guard their passage back. They would do this until they reached the Pit, the furnace of hate where Castiel had snatched Dean’s soul from the darkness and carnage that surrounded him. After that it got tricky. Not only were there the last levels of Hell to pass, but there was the escape.
They knew that once Gabriel reached Sam, the hordes of Hell would come searching for them attempting to block the escape of their Master’s true vessel. Each mass of troops was reminded of this fact and given a final chance to return to Heaven without question. None of the angels hesitated, taking up positions along the escape route; knowing that whatever happened these byways had to stay open.
Thanks to Crowley’s information the first half of the plan went relatively smoothly, only proving difficult when they ran into a group of demons searching for a quick exit into the world. But their numbers, though barely above 100 at that point, quickly and quietly dispatched the demons.
As they approached the Pit, that burbling cesspool where Dean had spent 40 long years, Castiel grimaced at the image still so fresh in his unfading memory. Here they met their first true, organized resistance. The Pit was the darkest place for human souls, and more guarded and populated than the others. The remaining angels fought valiantly, holding back the hordes and protecting their means of escape.
Castiel almost didn’t notice Gabriel approach him. “Cas, you have to stay here.”
“Gabriel,” the angel’s voice warned.
“You want me to save him, then you will listen to me. From here on it gets bad. The kind of bad you could only dream of. This makes Dean’s nightmares look like kiddy films. You could never make it. You know that. It’s why you came to me in the first place,” Gabriel’s voice so forceful it cut through the din and frenzy of the vestiges of battle that still raged around them. “Let me do this, Cas.” He could see the change in his brother’s demeanor. “I’ll bring Sam back.”
“And you,” Castiel demanded.
“I’ll bring us both back, little bro. ‘sides not like I can leave you to run Heaven alone, someone’s gotta be there to keep you from doing anything stupid.” He smirked and disappeared into the fray and down into the final layers of Hell.
~~~~~~~~~Chapter 16~~~~~~~~~
Gabriel had hoped that being only one angel, his Grace encased in a human shell, would help conceal him. After all archangels weren’t unheard of down here, only they were usually caged up like the animals they could be.
The lower levels of Hell were every bit as horrible as he’d thought, and more. The reds and browns and sickly blacks of blood coated everything. Things that could only be described in a way the human mind could interpret as walls were rough and ragged and pulsing like a living, breathing, blood red nothing. All through these depths demons, figures so twisted that even that description was a laughable comparison, hung from the walls, smiling through distorted apertures that may have once been mouths or possibly nothing but flesh millennia ago as the meat was cut, torn, and cleaved from what ostensibly were their bodies. One creature hung mere feet from where Gabriel passed, what once had been a face was misshapen into ribbons of minced flesh. The area where its body should have been was nothing but a butchery of intestines and organs and some unrecognizable film. Gabriel forced his vision away from the thing on the wall and pushed on deeper into the darkness.
This area was barren, a wasteland inside a wasteland. It wasn’t the fires of the Pit that created such hollowed out sterile surroundings. It was the battle running full force at its center. Once, not long ago, this place would have been ripe with the disfiguration, hate, and pain of the ones above. This was where he would begin his search, in the destitute landscape that stretched out endlessly. He knew Sam would be somewhere between here and Lucifer’s cage. The only thing that could possibly survive after Lucifer and Michael began their fight would be their vessels. Their vessels had to be strong enough to hold the angels’ Graces and being their true vessels (at least in Sam’s case) they would have some resistance to the fiery explosions of Michael and Lucifer’s warring Graces, even without the angels riding them.
Hesitantly, Gabriel let his Grace stretch out in tiny wisps, seeking any sign of the human soul he was looking for. He had to move slowly, never letting his Grace expand too far, the ripple of power so close to his brothers would eventually draw their attention and that was not something he was prepared for yet. He let his Grace guide him, the passageways between these levels were all unguarded so he could move with cautious ease across the deserted landscape. As he closed in on the farthest edge of the dismal plain he felt a pull on his Grace, a soft hum reaching out to him. His Grace twitched in surprise and he hoped he was far enough away for the brief spike in power to go unnoticed.
The hum remained, and Gabriel let it guide him to the scorched terrain one step closer to his brothers’ cage. The hum was stronger here. It pulsed openly and Gabriel had to rope in his Grace to find its source.
Another step closer and he could feel his brothers, their Graces pushing at the fabric of the worlds around them. Fighting. Always fighting. But it wasn’t them he was here for. It was for someone far more precious. With Michael and Lucifer so close, he had to rein in his Grace once again, but by now the hum had grown into something more resembling a scream, a beacon he could follow. He knew it was Sam, he’d know that fiery soul anywhere.
Lucifer felt it first, another angel just on the outskirts of his cage. He pushed out with a mass of strength holding Michael in check as he sent a sliver of his Grace to seek out the other angel. Within seconds he’d found him, his baby brother, the one he’d killed months ago. “Gabriel,” he hissed.
He had no idea how the angel was alive, but he knew the only reason Gabriel would be this deep into the bowels of Hell- he was after Sam. Sam was still his, he would need him once he crawled back out of here. No way was his pesky baby brother going to take his vessel.
Moments after Lucifer’s hissed call of their brother’s name, Michael felt the thrum of energy from the archangel’s Grace. Even after untold eons, he knew his little brother, Heaven’s Messenger. He’d felt Gabriel’s destruction, how could he be here?
The burning call from Sam’s soul led him to the mortal; his body worn and broken, but the eyes. He could see Sam was there, buried deep inside. “Sam,” Gabriel’s human voice was ash and rough and barely more than a rasping of kindling waiting to ignite. He wrapped his Grace around Sam’s body knowing his soul was secure inside.
Lucifer lashed out, he might not be able to leave the confines of his cage, but he knew if he focused his Grace and pushed hard enough he could strike out.
Lucifer’s Grace slammed into Gabriel hard; he barely had time to shield Sam as he screamed, his angelic voice shaking the air, Lucifer’s strike slashing into his vessel. But as soon as the powerful energy hit him it was jerked back.
Michael reacted, instantly and unhesitant, striking a harsh blow to Lucifer’s exposed wings; pulling his attention back to the battle at hand and away from Gabriel and his cargo.
Gabriel took the opening Michael had given him and flew towards the Pit and Cas and the battle that would await them there.
Castiel was waiting for them when Gabriel arrived with his package. “Gabriel?” the angel asked in concern.
The flesh of Gabriel’s vessel bore four clean slices down the length of his back, blood dripping in a steady fall from them. “I’ll be fine,” he panted. The main force of the wounds were to his vessel, his true self was only scraped by the attack, still it would not heal easily, his outer wings sporting shallow cuts that aligned with those on his back. “Besides, got what we came for,” his honeyed eyes twinkled.
Cas nodded, “We hoped that was the cause of the sudden chaos. We’ve managed to keep the passage open, but we must hurry.”
As they rose through the outer regions of Hell they could feel the demons pressing closer and closer, almost a tidal wave of pressure pushing them onward. This was nothing like when Castiel had rescued Dean; there had been hundreds of thousands of angels to stand between him and the demons then. Now there were possibly 300 angels strewn through the levels with the legions of Hell weighing down on them.
They were over halfway through, when the worst of the fighting hit. The handful of angels left on guard had been overrun by a veritable legion of demons. Thankfully most of these angels had fought through Hell once already, they were seasoned, they knew this battle. They fought with the kind of ferocity that distinguished them as Warriors of God.
When the others arrived, the angels were engaged in a fierce battle, the bodies of both angels and demons were strewn over the battlefield.
Castiel turned to Gabriel, “Go,” he growled.
“No,” he couldn’t believe what Cas was suggesting.
“Gabriel, there’s no time to argue, you need to go, get Sam out of here,” the younger angel insisted.
“Are you crazy? There’s no way I’m leaving here without you.”
Cas looked at his brother fondly, “I listened when you ordered me to stay because you knew I wouldn’t survive the furthest reaches of Hell. Now, you must listen to me. You are the strongest and fastest. You will get Sam to safety.”
He wasn’t happy, but he knew his brother spoke the truth. He was Sam’s best chance. “What about you?”
“I will follow with the others, shortly.”
“Good ‘cause Dean’ll kill me if you don’t come back,” he tried to put as much playfulness in his words as he could, but Cas understood.
“If I don’t make it Dean will be alright,” he admitted sadly. “He’ll have Sam.”
Gabriel recognized Castiel’s words for what they were- the biggest load of hog-hooey he’d heard out of anybody’s mouth in eons, excluding Presidential elections and fundamentalists, but he nodded and left, Sam still protectively swathed in his Grace.
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