Unexpected Destinies Chapter 197
Title: Unexpected Destinies
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 4,092
Summary: Sam demands some answers from Michael while Bobby tries to keep him from getting smited.
PRESENT
"What do you mean you don't know what it felt like?" Sam demanded.
"Sam," Bobby warned, wanting to shake the boy.
For all that the youngest Winchester had said about the danger of archangels before and how Dean was treating them like just normal people, the boy was doing it himself now. The critical difference, however, was that unlike his older brother, Sam didn't have the respect and friendship (and dare Bobby sat it, admiration?) of said archangels. Now, given, of all of the archangels to all but verbally attack like this, Bobby didn't think that Michael was the worst choice possible- Raphael definitely had that dubious honor- but he still wasn't the best choice either. Castiel with his previous friendship with Sam or Raziel with his far greater understanding of humans and the volatility of human emotions would have been infinitely preferable.
Yet here Sam was, all but taking Michael's head off because the archangel couldn't satisfactorily explain what had happened to Dean during their last meditation session. Bobby sighed deeply, wondering why he tried sometimes with the Winchesters, especially with this brother as Sam never could see reason when the boy got an idea into his thick skull.
"What?" Sam exploded, turning on Bobby. "I just want an answer as to what happened to Dean. He's gonna have to do it again after all!"
"Calm down, ya idjit," Bobby retorted. "Getting all worked up isn't going to achieve anything."
Well, other than potentially getting himself smited, of course.
"I meant exactly what I said," Michael replied and was it Bobby's imagination or could he hear an undercurrent of steel there? "It felt unlike anything I've ever felt from my vessel bond with Dean before."
Uh, oh, yes, Bobby was sure of it now, Michael was not pleased to be interrogated like this. The only question now was what the archangel was going to do about it. He honestly hadn't known Michael long enough to be able to predict how God's firstborn would react. Normally he'd be inclined to think that given Michael's closeness to Dean that things would be alright, but he'd seen how Raphael took almost each and every opportunity to make Sam pay for what the boy had done to his older brother, so he couldn't even rely on that. Besides, Dean's own feelings for his little brother were more ambivalent than ever before and he didn't know how that might affect Michael's behavior.
"Yes, but what does that mean?" Sam demanded impatiently.
"I have not felt it before from my bond, therefore I do not know," Michael retorted, biting off every word.
"Have you ever felt anything like it before from another source?" Bobby asked softly, hoping to distract the archangel. "Somewhere other than from the bond?"
And Bobby still couldn't believe that he was speaking so casually about bonds, much less soul bonds. That connected to Dean's soul. If the boy wasn't so comfortable with it all, then he'd be seriously worried. Or was that precisely a sign that he should be worried?
"I..." Michael began, trailing off as he tilted his head. "Maybe," he finally replied.
"What do you mean, maybe?" Sam demanded.
"Sam!" Bobby hissed, stepping closer to the boy.
"What?"
"Calm down, ya idjit. We're all on the same side here and Michael cares for Dean just like you do."
What did it say, Bobby wondered, that he'd almost said 'just as much as you do' instead of what he had? He'd never have thought it possible but in less than a year, Michael had come to care for Dean almost as much as if they'd always known each other. He would be the first to admit that he didn't know the first thing of what it meant to be a vessel, but clearly if the human and angel involved both wished for it to be intimate, then it clearly was give how close Michael and Dean now were. It made him think of what he'd heard Raziel call his favorite Winchester only yesterday.
Little brother.
It had stunned and shocked him speechless at first even if Bobby got it when he thought about it some more. Castiel and Dean were married after all. He just sorely wished that he'd been there the first time that one of Dean's new brothers (and sisters he supposed) had called him their little brother. He was sure that the boy's reaction would have been wonderful to see.
"I..." Sam began before deflating all of a sudden and scrubbing his face with one hand. "Sorry, I'm sorry. I just... it's Dean, Bobby!"
"I know, Sam, I know," Bobby replied, glancing over at Michael, pleased to see the archangel relaxing as well.
Or at least so it read to Bobby. It was still a little freaky for him, seeing something achingly familiar in the archangel's vessel, but he supposed that it made sense as Michael's current vessel was Deirdre Winchester who was a lot like her brother in some ways. Oh, it wasn't often that he saw some of John in the archangel, but every now and then there was something that made him think of his old friend. He supposed that was due to Dean's influence as the boy had some of his poppa's mannerisms and he supposed that Michael would have picked them up while riding Dean's meatsuit.
"I'm not sure," Michael finally replied, looking distinctly uncomfortable and it took Bobby a second to recall that Sam had asked the archangel a question before he'd told the boy off. "Which is disconcerting as angels have perfect memory and recall."
That was just mindboggling for Bobby on several levels, both because he couldn't imagine what it would be like to remember- in perfect detail- thousands upon thousands of years' worth of experiences and because he knew that the inability to remember had to be unbelievably disconcerting if it had never happened before.
"Dean just seemed to drift away," Michael continued. "Like he might if we weren't together and he fell asleep. There was this distance."
Now that bit Bobby could kinda understand, at least the panic that it had caused. He could now only hope that Sam was finally satisfied that the boy had all of the information that he wanted. He was getting tired of walking into a room to find Sam arguing with Michael about what had happened to Dean. They had more important things to think about. Like whether or not they could keep Lucifer out of Dean's head at night.
Or was that perhaps precisely why Sam kept focusing on this? Because the boy didn't want to think about that? Sam wouldn't be the first Winchester to chose confrontation over contemplation.
/
Although there were certain things about Raphael's second trip to the Hanging Gardens that were different, a lot was the same. But those differences really stood out as they changed the whole feel of the trip for him. The biggest one, of course, being that he didn't take Sam Winchester with him. Instead he'd done as he'd originally wanted to and gone to Australia to ask Kelly to accompany him. Her reaction had been hysterical and at first he'd thought that he'd done something horribly wrong before she'd realized and reassured him that it was the good kind of hysterical.
Raphael hadn't known that there was more than one kind.
Humans were strange.
"Oh my G-" Kelly began, only just managing to swallow the blasphemy in time.
The look of stunned awe on her face was similar to Sam Winchester's but Raphael found that he infinitely preferred seeing it on Kelly's face. It made him glad to have chosen to take her with him instead this time.
"This is incredible!" Kelly gushed, finally tearing her eyes off their surroundings to look at him. "Thanks for bringing me!"
"It is my pleasure," Raphael said, more than happy to indulge her for a little while as he had already cloaked their presence.
"Can we have a look around?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure? You don't need to grab the flower right away?"
"We are in the past, Kelly," Raphael explained. "I can take us back to the moment that we left no matter how long we spend here."
"Oh, right, of course."
The expression of surprise and wonder on Kelly's face now was different from before but Raphael wasn't sure how or why. He hadn't realized how well he'd come to understand his latest bond brother until now that he had so much difficulty reading Kelly. He tried to think of a time when Dean had acted the way that his friend did now but he couldn't think of one. Was that because Dean had already known more about angels and what they could do before he'd really gotten to know his bond brother? Or was it something different? One of those difference between men and chicks that Dean sometimes referred to?
Regardless, Raphael gave Kelly a complete tour of the Hanging Gardens, letting her stop to stare at anything that she wanted to. It was a few hours before they returned to where they'd started but he hardly felt the passage of time, content to just watch Kelly and her enjoyment of the experience. Like Dean, she seemed to have gotten used to his stares, so he saw no need to attempt to curb his desire to do so.
"Okay, thanks for that," Kelly said when she realized that they'd come full circle. "So what do we need to do now?"
"This way," Raphael replied, leading her to where he and Sam had planted the Forbidden Blossom. "All I need you to do is to pluck the flower when I motion for you to do so."
"It's time sensitive?"
"Yes, it must be done at a certain point of the blessing that I will say."
"Okay."
/
When Raziel had reached forwards to brush his fingers across his forehead, Dean had expected the usual rush of colors and impressions to follow before they landed partway around the world in Iceland. Instead what he got was a shorter rush than normal before he suddenly found himself God only knew how high up, looking down at fluffy white clouds and the ground further down than he really cared to think about, the odd snake like movement across the swath of land taking surprisingly long to recognize as cars moving along a road.
Dean gave a shout and clutched at the arms wrapped around him. Instinctive fear shot through him and he squeezed his eyes shut.
"Dean?" Raziel questioned, worried.
There was a mad scrabbling at both of Dean's bonds before it abruptly subsided and that more than anything else allowed him to calm enough to focus once more. He'd been turned around and was now looking into the incredibly concerned face of his newest bond brother.
"I'm sorry," Raziel apologized. "I hadn't realized that neither Michael nor Castiel had flown with you like this before. I would never have sprung it on you without warning otherwise."
It took Dean a few seconds to get all of what Raziel was saying (and not saying), but it allowed him to calm himself even further. He wasn't just dangling in the stratosphere, he was being held there by an angel. He'd been carried via Angel Air countless times before, so really this was nothing new. Raziel had just slowed down far more than normal in order to allow him to enjoy the scenery as his bond brother had thought that he might enjoy it. Raziel couldn't have known about his fear of flying.
That fear was of normal flying, though, Dean told himself, looking over Raziel's shoulder at the nine sets of wings now slowly, almost lazily, beating back and forth. It was actually a pretty amazing sight and now he wanted to see his husband's wings like that. Both thoughts allowed him to shove aside the last vestiges of fear and at that he felt the last remaining tension fade from his bonds which made him smile. Raziel had obviously told Michael and Castiel that they were in no danger, but he himself wouldn't have felt fully comfortable in their position either until he could feel that Michael or Castiel was entirely at ease again.
"You okay?" Raziel inquired softly.
"Yeah, sorry about that."
"No, it's my mistake. I should have realized that my brothers wouldn't have thought to show you this."
Dean laughed. "I've done my best but there are some things that I don't think will ever fully sink in or become automatic."
"Nor would you want them to."
"Yeah."
"Do you want me to just take us right there?"
Although the first response that came to Dean was a 'hell yes', he bit it back and thought about it. How often had he ever had this chance before? Never really as the only times that he'd flown when he could really see where he was, he'd been nearly out of his mind with terror. A look to the right made his breath catch in his throat as he saw there was a cloud right there.
"I'll take that as a no," Raziel said in amusement, flying them closer when Dean reached out to touch the cloud.
It felt surprisingly wet to the touch, but then Dean supposed that wasn't all that unexpected when he really thought about it.
"This is awesome!" Dean exclaimed.
"If you tell Cas and Mike that, then I'm sure that they'll be more than happy to take you flying like this," Raziel stated. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them took you up north at night to see the Aurora Borealis."
"The what?"
"Northern Lights, they really are quite spectacular."
"Oh, okay."
He was half tempted to ask Raziel to fly them through the cloud or, dare Dean admit it, to swoop downwards, but he knew that if he was in his husband's shoes that he wouldn't be entirely at ease until he laid eyes on Castiel again. It was already a feat that his angel hadn't come looking for him after his earlier freak-out.
"Thanks for this," Dean said. "But we should probably go now."
"Alright, you ready?"
"Yep, to infinity... and beyond!"
Raziel laughed. "I think you'd make a better Peter Pan than a Buzz Lightyear."
"Hm, you're probably right, but I can't see the stars just now and dawn's too far off."
"Puff, details."
Before Dean could reply, the world shifted around him to the usual stream of changing colors and movement that he was now used to from angel flight these days before the ground rapidly approached and then they were there.
In Iceland.
"Dean," Castiel said, rushing forwards to hug him.
"S'okay, Cas, I'm good," Dean reassured, returning the hug. "It was just a misunderstanding, that's all."
"You're all good then?"
"Well, beyond being way too cold, yeah."
As soon as he was released, Dean pulled his over shirt tighter before zipping his jacket up over it. That felt better but he was still far too cold, he'd completely misestimated what the temperature would be like here. Sure, maybe the actual temperature was what the website had said, but there'd been absolutely nothing there about the wind and its chill factor. Even with his closed jacket, it still felt like it was cutting right through him. Then it all just vanished and warmth took its place and he smiled at his bond mate in thanks.
Of all the places that they'd come up with as potential locations for what Dean desperately hoped would be the final battle with Lucifer, this was the one that had come out as the best. Iceland with its vast empty spaces where no one lived, plentiful volcanic and tectonic activity and large flat stretches. Altogether that made it perfect as a battle site, both from a human casualty perspective as well as a strategic one. The fact that it also provided them with the perfect excuse to explain away any and all parts of the battle that might be seen or which scarred the land was just the frosting on the cake.
"Well, what do you think, Mike?" Dean finally asked. "Will he come here?"
"Yes, I think so, Little One," Michael replied, stepping forwards into Dean's line of sight.
"Hey," Raziel called from quite a bit further away than he'd been even a few moments ago. "I think this would be a good place for us to establish our main command."
His newest bond brother had found the one spot in the entire ancient lava field that was slightly elevated. It wasn't much, but it would give them some advantage, especially for Bobby, Sam and Gwen who couldn't just fly up into the sky to get an overview of the battle. Altogether, Dean had to admit that his bond brothers had found what seemed to be the ideal location to call Lucifer to. There was just one thing which he wasn't seeing right away.
"So what was this special advantage that Iceland has which you mentioned?" Dean asked.
Other than some really awesome landscape, which Dean couldn't help but admire despite the situation and which he secretly hoped that they wouldn't ruin too much (though if that was the price of ridding Earth from Lucifer forever, then so be it), he couldn't immediately spot anything that could give them any kind of advantage. That, however, might be a large part of the point, though. If he could tell it on sight then it wouldn't be hard for Lucifer to do so either. Not that he expected the devil to be able to recognize certain things as threats. Like if there were ruins, for instance, then he might think that they could have belonged to some long ago Christian sect or were the site of some significant battle or place of worship whose ancient rituals and magic might lend them a hand but which Lucifer would dismiss right out of hand as having been pathetic and weak.
Dean was therefore quite curious as to what this secret advantage might actually be, and not only from a tactical perspective either. One thing that he'd always noticed with angels, even Castiel at first though his husband had gotten a lot better over the past year, was that they were very linear in their thinking. Creativity just didn't seem to be a trait that angels had been, uh blessed he supposed, with. It was odd to think that God might not have viewed it as a characteristic that was important enough to instill in His angels at that point, but it was the only reason that he could think of as to why it might be that none of his bond brothers or sisters seemed to inherently possess it and rather had to learn how to acquire it slowly over time. Regardless, he was intensely curious to learn what it was precisely that Michael and Raphael had come up with.
"Well we were thinking about Gabriel and what you said about how he died," Michael began sadly, looking away into the distance at the snowy peaks of some mountain range the name of which Dean knew he wouldn't be able to either remember or pronounce even if someone had told him it.
"And that reminded us of who else Lucifer killed that day," Raphael continued. "Namely Odin and Baldur."
"Yeah, and?" Dean questioned, still not getting it and for once not even hesitating to admit it.
The realization of that stunned him momentarily before it nearly brought tears to his eyes which Dean had to force down. It was difficult though as his gut reaction was that strong to the realization of the fact that he hadn't even thought to hesitate at revealing what his father and brother would always have scorned him for or looked down at him for not being smart or fast enough for. Here, with his husband and bond brothers, he felt none of that instinctive shame at needing some additional information to clue him into what it was that they had in mind. He felt completely comfortable revealing that he just didn't know. The arm that slipped around his waist and the satisfaction that flowed over his mating bond made him smile and he leaned back against his husband, accepting Castiel's body warmth even though whatever spell his angel had cast upon him did a sufficient job at keeping out the Icelandic cold.
"And both Odin and Baldur are old Nordic gods like Thor and Loki," Raziel explained.
"That much I know, I read the comics when I was a kid," Dean recalled fondly.
It had been a guilty little pleasure of his whenever he'd been able to slip out of the crappy little apartment that Dad had gotten them for their extended stay in Spokane, Washington. Dean had found this hidden tree house in the woods that some kids had obviously set up as their secret lair and stashed full of the things they wanted to do when hiding from their parents and, most likely, younger siblings. It had been pretty well disguised for normal teenagers, but to his trained eye it had been immediately visible when his training had taken him to that part of the woods.
"Then you know that they were once quite powerful," Raziel continued easily and Dean smiled at how his comment hadn't even phased his newest friend.
"Yep. Didn't help Odin and Baldur much when faced with Lucifer though, even if Baldur thought that he stood a chance."
"As the god of light, beauty, love, innocence, forgiveness and happiness, I'm sure that he thought that he would be able to," Michael replied.
"The god of what?" Dean demanded. "Dude, he totally missed that message. He was anything but forgiving and innocent when I met him."
"To the pagans, being the god of something isn't the same as being it themselves," Raphael stated.
"Ya think?"
"Dean, are you aware that the Icelandic people are descended from the Vikings?" Castiel asked.
"Uh, no," Dean replied, still confused, before it hit him. "Wait, they were Nordic, weren't they?"
"Yes."
"And not only did they believe in the Norse pantheon, but the current population still maintains a lot of their old runes and symbols, both for the sake of tradition and for the tourist industry," Michael informed him.
"The tourist industry?" Dean repeated in disbelief.
Okay, now Dean knew that Raziel'd had a hand in this particular idea. Or at least in helping to develop it, because there was absolutely no way that either Michael or Raphael would have known or even cared about something so utterly human as the tourist industry. The thought, however, of something like that helping to keep alive the ancient traditions, and so potentially the powers of the old deities, was so utterly ludicrous and yet horrifying at the same time that he didn't know what to make of it.
"Yes," Raphael confirmed. "I still fail to see how those who have come to learn the truth about Father and worship Him can still at the same time maintain the power and knowledge of the pagans, but at present it works to our advantage. See, because the Icelandic people have maintained the old religion to a certain extent, the names of Odin and Baldur still have some meaning here."
Dean's eyes opened wide as he started to get where his bond brothers and husband were going with this. "And I assume there is power that goes with that meaning?"
"Yes, precisely," Castiel confirmed. "The ancient magicks still linger on this land as they do in Scandinavia."
"Now, while we may not be able to persuade any of the remaining Nordic deities to join us, we can utilize the dormant magicks from the land itself if we do so in the name of exacting vengeance for both Odin and Baldur against their killer," Michael stated.
"And how do we do that?" Dean asked.
"There is a ritual that you or one of your family members will need to perform to consecrate this field in their name," Raphael responded.
"Geesh, what is it with you guys and rituals or spells? I swear, I've performed more of them in the last year than the rest of my life put together."
Raziel laughed. "Perhaps because you didn't realize their power and potential until last year? There is great power in words and names, Dean."
"Yeah, I'm starting to realize that."
A.N.: I'm back! Thanks to everyone who sent me and my family well wishes and thanks for being so patient. For those of you who missed it and don't know what I'm talking about, please see here. This fic will be one of my focuses for NaNo, so updates will be coming faster than they have been for a good long while. So enjoy :)
Chapter 198
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 4,092
Summary: Sam demands some answers from Michael while Bobby tries to keep him from getting smited.
PRESENT
"What do you mean you don't know what it felt like?" Sam demanded.
"Sam," Bobby warned, wanting to shake the boy.
For all that the youngest Winchester had said about the danger of archangels before and how Dean was treating them like just normal people, the boy was doing it himself now. The critical difference, however, was that unlike his older brother, Sam didn't have the respect and friendship (and dare Bobby sat it, admiration?) of said archangels. Now, given, of all of the archangels to all but verbally attack like this, Bobby didn't think that Michael was the worst choice possible- Raphael definitely had that dubious honor- but he still wasn't the best choice either. Castiel with his previous friendship with Sam or Raziel with his far greater understanding of humans and the volatility of human emotions would have been infinitely preferable.
Yet here Sam was, all but taking Michael's head off because the archangel couldn't satisfactorily explain what had happened to Dean during their last meditation session. Bobby sighed deeply, wondering why he tried sometimes with the Winchesters, especially with this brother as Sam never could see reason when the boy got an idea into his thick skull.
"What?" Sam exploded, turning on Bobby. "I just want an answer as to what happened to Dean. He's gonna have to do it again after all!"
"Calm down, ya idjit," Bobby retorted. "Getting all worked up isn't going to achieve anything."
Well, other than potentially getting himself smited, of course.
"I meant exactly what I said," Michael replied and was it Bobby's imagination or could he hear an undercurrent of steel there? "It felt unlike anything I've ever felt from my vessel bond with Dean before."
Uh, oh, yes, Bobby was sure of it now, Michael was not pleased to be interrogated like this. The only question now was what the archangel was going to do about it. He honestly hadn't known Michael long enough to be able to predict how God's firstborn would react. Normally he'd be inclined to think that given Michael's closeness to Dean that things would be alright, but he'd seen how Raphael took almost each and every opportunity to make Sam pay for what the boy had done to his older brother, so he couldn't even rely on that. Besides, Dean's own feelings for his little brother were more ambivalent than ever before and he didn't know how that might affect Michael's behavior.
"Yes, but what does that mean?" Sam demanded impatiently.
"I have not felt it before from my bond, therefore I do not know," Michael retorted, biting off every word.
"Have you ever felt anything like it before from another source?" Bobby asked softly, hoping to distract the archangel. "Somewhere other than from the bond?"
And Bobby still couldn't believe that he was speaking so casually about bonds, much less soul bonds. That connected to Dean's soul. If the boy wasn't so comfortable with it all, then he'd be seriously worried. Or was that precisely a sign that he should be worried?
"I..." Michael began, trailing off as he tilted his head. "Maybe," he finally replied.
"What do you mean, maybe?" Sam demanded.
"Sam!" Bobby hissed, stepping closer to the boy.
"What?"
"Calm down, ya idjit. We're all on the same side here and Michael cares for Dean just like you do."
What did it say, Bobby wondered, that he'd almost said 'just as much as you do' instead of what he had? He'd never have thought it possible but in less than a year, Michael had come to care for Dean almost as much as if they'd always known each other. He would be the first to admit that he didn't know the first thing of what it meant to be a vessel, but clearly if the human and angel involved both wished for it to be intimate, then it clearly was give how close Michael and Dean now were. It made him think of what he'd heard Raziel call his favorite Winchester only yesterday.
Little brother.
It had stunned and shocked him speechless at first even if Bobby got it when he thought about it some more. Castiel and Dean were married after all. He just sorely wished that he'd been there the first time that one of Dean's new brothers (and sisters he supposed) had called him their little brother. He was sure that the boy's reaction would have been wonderful to see.
"I..." Sam began before deflating all of a sudden and scrubbing his face with one hand. "Sorry, I'm sorry. I just... it's Dean, Bobby!"
"I know, Sam, I know," Bobby replied, glancing over at Michael, pleased to see the archangel relaxing as well.
Or at least so it read to Bobby. It was still a little freaky for him, seeing something achingly familiar in the archangel's vessel, but he supposed that it made sense as Michael's current vessel was Deirdre Winchester who was a lot like her brother in some ways. Oh, it wasn't often that he saw some of John in the archangel, but every now and then there was something that made him think of his old friend. He supposed that was due to Dean's influence as the boy had some of his poppa's mannerisms and he supposed that Michael would have picked them up while riding Dean's meatsuit.
"I'm not sure," Michael finally replied, looking distinctly uncomfortable and it took Bobby a second to recall that Sam had asked the archangel a question before he'd told the boy off. "Which is disconcerting as angels have perfect memory and recall."
That was just mindboggling for Bobby on several levels, both because he couldn't imagine what it would be like to remember- in perfect detail- thousands upon thousands of years' worth of experiences and because he knew that the inability to remember had to be unbelievably disconcerting if it had never happened before.
"Dean just seemed to drift away," Michael continued. "Like he might if we weren't together and he fell asleep. There was this distance."
Now that bit Bobby could kinda understand, at least the panic that it had caused. He could now only hope that Sam was finally satisfied that the boy had all of the information that he wanted. He was getting tired of walking into a room to find Sam arguing with Michael about what had happened to Dean. They had more important things to think about. Like whether or not they could keep Lucifer out of Dean's head at night.
Or was that perhaps precisely why Sam kept focusing on this? Because the boy didn't want to think about that? Sam wouldn't be the first Winchester to chose confrontation over contemplation.
/
Although there were certain things about Raphael's second trip to the Hanging Gardens that were different, a lot was the same. But those differences really stood out as they changed the whole feel of the trip for him. The biggest one, of course, being that he didn't take Sam Winchester with him. Instead he'd done as he'd originally wanted to and gone to Australia to ask Kelly to accompany him. Her reaction had been hysterical and at first he'd thought that he'd done something horribly wrong before she'd realized and reassured him that it was the good kind of hysterical.
Raphael hadn't known that there was more than one kind.
Humans were strange.
"Oh my G-" Kelly began, only just managing to swallow the blasphemy in time.
The look of stunned awe on her face was similar to Sam Winchester's but Raphael found that he infinitely preferred seeing it on Kelly's face. It made him glad to have chosen to take her with him instead this time.
"This is incredible!" Kelly gushed, finally tearing her eyes off their surroundings to look at him. "Thanks for bringing me!"
"It is my pleasure," Raphael said, more than happy to indulge her for a little while as he had already cloaked their presence.
"Can we have a look around?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure? You don't need to grab the flower right away?"
"We are in the past, Kelly," Raphael explained. "I can take us back to the moment that we left no matter how long we spend here."
"Oh, right, of course."
The expression of surprise and wonder on Kelly's face now was different from before but Raphael wasn't sure how or why. He hadn't realized how well he'd come to understand his latest bond brother until now that he had so much difficulty reading Kelly. He tried to think of a time when Dean had acted the way that his friend did now but he couldn't think of one. Was that because Dean had already known more about angels and what they could do before he'd really gotten to know his bond brother? Or was it something different? One of those difference between men and chicks that Dean sometimes referred to?
Regardless, Raphael gave Kelly a complete tour of the Hanging Gardens, letting her stop to stare at anything that she wanted to. It was a few hours before they returned to where they'd started but he hardly felt the passage of time, content to just watch Kelly and her enjoyment of the experience. Like Dean, she seemed to have gotten used to his stares, so he saw no need to attempt to curb his desire to do so.
"Okay, thanks for that," Kelly said when she realized that they'd come full circle. "So what do we need to do now?"
"This way," Raphael replied, leading her to where he and Sam had planted the Forbidden Blossom. "All I need you to do is to pluck the flower when I motion for you to do so."
"It's time sensitive?"
"Yes, it must be done at a certain point of the blessing that I will say."
"Okay."
/
When Raziel had reached forwards to brush his fingers across his forehead, Dean had expected the usual rush of colors and impressions to follow before they landed partway around the world in Iceland. Instead what he got was a shorter rush than normal before he suddenly found himself God only knew how high up, looking down at fluffy white clouds and the ground further down than he really cared to think about, the odd snake like movement across the swath of land taking surprisingly long to recognize as cars moving along a road.
Dean gave a shout and clutched at the arms wrapped around him. Instinctive fear shot through him and he squeezed his eyes shut.
"Dean?" Raziel questioned, worried.
There was a mad scrabbling at both of Dean's bonds before it abruptly subsided and that more than anything else allowed him to calm enough to focus once more. He'd been turned around and was now looking into the incredibly concerned face of his newest bond brother.
"I'm sorry," Raziel apologized. "I hadn't realized that neither Michael nor Castiel had flown with you like this before. I would never have sprung it on you without warning otherwise."
It took Dean a few seconds to get all of what Raziel was saying (and not saying), but it allowed him to calm himself even further. He wasn't just dangling in the stratosphere, he was being held there by an angel. He'd been carried via Angel Air countless times before, so really this was nothing new. Raziel had just slowed down far more than normal in order to allow him to enjoy the scenery as his bond brother had thought that he might enjoy it. Raziel couldn't have known about his fear of flying.
That fear was of normal flying, though, Dean told himself, looking over Raziel's shoulder at the nine sets of wings now slowly, almost lazily, beating back and forth. It was actually a pretty amazing sight and now he wanted to see his husband's wings like that. Both thoughts allowed him to shove aside the last vestiges of fear and at that he felt the last remaining tension fade from his bonds which made him smile. Raziel had obviously told Michael and Castiel that they were in no danger, but he himself wouldn't have felt fully comfortable in their position either until he could feel that Michael or Castiel was entirely at ease again.
"You okay?" Raziel inquired softly.
"Yeah, sorry about that."
"No, it's my mistake. I should have realized that my brothers wouldn't have thought to show you this."
Dean laughed. "I've done my best but there are some things that I don't think will ever fully sink in or become automatic."
"Nor would you want them to."
"Yeah."
"Do you want me to just take us right there?"
Although the first response that came to Dean was a 'hell yes', he bit it back and thought about it. How often had he ever had this chance before? Never really as the only times that he'd flown when he could really see where he was, he'd been nearly out of his mind with terror. A look to the right made his breath catch in his throat as he saw there was a cloud right there.
"I'll take that as a no," Raziel said in amusement, flying them closer when Dean reached out to touch the cloud.
It felt surprisingly wet to the touch, but then Dean supposed that wasn't all that unexpected when he really thought about it.
"This is awesome!" Dean exclaimed.
"If you tell Cas and Mike that, then I'm sure that they'll be more than happy to take you flying like this," Raziel stated. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them took you up north at night to see the Aurora Borealis."
"The what?"
"Northern Lights, they really are quite spectacular."
"Oh, okay."
He was half tempted to ask Raziel to fly them through the cloud or, dare Dean admit it, to swoop downwards, but he knew that if he was in his husband's shoes that he wouldn't be entirely at ease until he laid eyes on Castiel again. It was already a feat that his angel hadn't come looking for him after his earlier freak-out.
"Thanks for this," Dean said. "But we should probably go now."
"Alright, you ready?"
"Yep, to infinity... and beyond!"
Raziel laughed. "I think you'd make a better Peter Pan than a Buzz Lightyear."
"Hm, you're probably right, but I can't see the stars just now and dawn's too far off."
"Puff, details."
Before Dean could reply, the world shifted around him to the usual stream of changing colors and movement that he was now used to from angel flight these days before the ground rapidly approached and then they were there.
In Iceland.
"Dean," Castiel said, rushing forwards to hug him.
"S'okay, Cas, I'm good," Dean reassured, returning the hug. "It was just a misunderstanding, that's all."
"You're all good then?"
"Well, beyond being way too cold, yeah."
As soon as he was released, Dean pulled his over shirt tighter before zipping his jacket up over it. That felt better but he was still far too cold, he'd completely misestimated what the temperature would be like here. Sure, maybe the actual temperature was what the website had said, but there'd been absolutely nothing there about the wind and its chill factor. Even with his closed jacket, it still felt like it was cutting right through him. Then it all just vanished and warmth took its place and he smiled at his bond mate in thanks.
Of all the places that they'd come up with as potential locations for what Dean desperately hoped would be the final battle with Lucifer, this was the one that had come out as the best. Iceland with its vast empty spaces where no one lived, plentiful volcanic and tectonic activity and large flat stretches. Altogether that made it perfect as a battle site, both from a human casualty perspective as well as a strategic one. The fact that it also provided them with the perfect excuse to explain away any and all parts of the battle that might be seen or which scarred the land was just the frosting on the cake.
"Well, what do you think, Mike?" Dean finally asked. "Will he come here?"
"Yes, I think so, Little One," Michael replied, stepping forwards into Dean's line of sight.
"Hey," Raziel called from quite a bit further away than he'd been even a few moments ago. "I think this would be a good place for us to establish our main command."
His newest bond brother had found the one spot in the entire ancient lava field that was slightly elevated. It wasn't much, but it would give them some advantage, especially for Bobby, Sam and Gwen who couldn't just fly up into the sky to get an overview of the battle. Altogether, Dean had to admit that his bond brothers had found what seemed to be the ideal location to call Lucifer to. There was just one thing which he wasn't seeing right away.
"So what was this special advantage that Iceland has which you mentioned?" Dean asked.
Other than some really awesome landscape, which Dean couldn't help but admire despite the situation and which he secretly hoped that they wouldn't ruin too much (though if that was the price of ridding Earth from Lucifer forever, then so be it), he couldn't immediately spot anything that could give them any kind of advantage. That, however, might be a large part of the point, though. If he could tell it on sight then it wouldn't be hard for Lucifer to do so either. Not that he expected the devil to be able to recognize certain things as threats. Like if there were ruins, for instance, then he might think that they could have belonged to some long ago Christian sect or were the site of some significant battle or place of worship whose ancient rituals and magic might lend them a hand but which Lucifer would dismiss right out of hand as having been pathetic and weak.
Dean was therefore quite curious as to what this secret advantage might actually be, and not only from a tactical perspective either. One thing that he'd always noticed with angels, even Castiel at first though his husband had gotten a lot better over the past year, was that they were very linear in their thinking. Creativity just didn't seem to be a trait that angels had been, uh blessed he supposed, with. It was odd to think that God might not have viewed it as a characteristic that was important enough to instill in His angels at that point, but it was the only reason that he could think of as to why it might be that none of his bond brothers or sisters seemed to inherently possess it and rather had to learn how to acquire it slowly over time. Regardless, he was intensely curious to learn what it was precisely that Michael and Raphael had come up with.
"Well we were thinking about Gabriel and what you said about how he died," Michael began sadly, looking away into the distance at the snowy peaks of some mountain range the name of which Dean knew he wouldn't be able to either remember or pronounce even if someone had told him it.
"And that reminded us of who else Lucifer killed that day," Raphael continued. "Namely Odin and Baldur."
"Yeah, and?" Dean questioned, still not getting it and for once not even hesitating to admit it.
The realization of that stunned him momentarily before it nearly brought tears to his eyes which Dean had to force down. It was difficult though as his gut reaction was that strong to the realization of the fact that he hadn't even thought to hesitate at revealing what his father and brother would always have scorned him for or looked down at him for not being smart or fast enough for. Here, with his husband and bond brothers, he felt none of that instinctive shame at needing some additional information to clue him into what it was that they had in mind. He felt completely comfortable revealing that he just didn't know. The arm that slipped around his waist and the satisfaction that flowed over his mating bond made him smile and he leaned back against his husband, accepting Castiel's body warmth even though whatever spell his angel had cast upon him did a sufficient job at keeping out the Icelandic cold.
"And both Odin and Baldur are old Nordic gods like Thor and Loki," Raziel explained.
"That much I know, I read the comics when I was a kid," Dean recalled fondly.
It had been a guilty little pleasure of his whenever he'd been able to slip out of the crappy little apartment that Dad had gotten them for their extended stay in Spokane, Washington. Dean had found this hidden tree house in the woods that some kids had obviously set up as their secret lair and stashed full of the things they wanted to do when hiding from their parents and, most likely, younger siblings. It had been pretty well disguised for normal teenagers, but to his trained eye it had been immediately visible when his training had taken him to that part of the woods.
"Then you know that they were once quite powerful," Raziel continued easily and Dean smiled at how his comment hadn't even phased his newest friend.
"Yep. Didn't help Odin and Baldur much when faced with Lucifer though, even if Baldur thought that he stood a chance."
"As the god of light, beauty, love, innocence, forgiveness and happiness, I'm sure that he thought that he would be able to," Michael replied.
"The god of what?" Dean demanded. "Dude, he totally missed that message. He was anything but forgiving and innocent when I met him."
"To the pagans, being the god of something isn't the same as being it themselves," Raphael stated.
"Ya think?"
"Dean, are you aware that the Icelandic people are descended from the Vikings?" Castiel asked.
"Uh, no," Dean replied, still confused, before it hit him. "Wait, they were Nordic, weren't they?"
"Yes."
"And not only did they believe in the Norse pantheon, but the current population still maintains a lot of their old runes and symbols, both for the sake of tradition and for the tourist industry," Michael informed him.
"The tourist industry?" Dean repeated in disbelief.
Okay, now Dean knew that Raziel'd had a hand in this particular idea. Or at least in helping to develop it, because there was absolutely no way that either Michael or Raphael would have known or even cared about something so utterly human as the tourist industry. The thought, however, of something like that helping to keep alive the ancient traditions, and so potentially the powers of the old deities, was so utterly ludicrous and yet horrifying at the same time that he didn't know what to make of it.
"Yes," Raphael confirmed. "I still fail to see how those who have come to learn the truth about Father and worship Him can still at the same time maintain the power and knowledge of the pagans, but at present it works to our advantage. See, because the Icelandic people have maintained the old religion to a certain extent, the names of Odin and Baldur still have some meaning here."
Dean's eyes opened wide as he started to get where his bond brothers and husband were going with this. "And I assume there is power that goes with that meaning?"
"Yes, precisely," Castiel confirmed. "The ancient magicks still linger on this land as they do in Scandinavia."
"Now, while we may not be able to persuade any of the remaining Nordic deities to join us, we can utilize the dormant magicks from the land itself if we do so in the name of exacting vengeance for both Odin and Baldur against their killer," Michael stated.
"And how do we do that?" Dean asked.
"There is a ritual that you or one of your family members will need to perform to consecrate this field in their name," Raphael responded.
"Geesh, what is it with you guys and rituals or spells? I swear, I've performed more of them in the last year than the rest of my life put together."
Raziel laughed. "Perhaps because you didn't realize their power and potential until last year? There is great power in words and names, Dean."
"Yeah, I'm starting to realize that."
A.N.: I'm back! Thanks to everyone who sent me and my family well wishes and thanks for being so patient. For those of you who missed it and don't know what I'm talking about, please see here. This fic will be one of my focuses for NaNo, so updates will be coming faster than they have been for a good long while. So enjoy :)
Chapter 198