Gilgamesh Wulfenbach and the Men of Letters 15/18
Previous | Master Post
Chapter 15
Politics as Usual
“Charlotte Bradbury,” Charlie told Wooster as everyone walked toward the castle’s meeting room the next morning after breakfast. “I’m 30 years old; I’m from Topeka, Kansas; and I am a Woman of Letters.”
Wooster dutifully wrote all of that down. “That last may surprise my superiors,” he admitted.
“She’s a spark,” Dean stated. “It’s not that weird.”
Charlie brightened. “Am I?”
Sam shrugged. “You’re smarter than we are. I don’t see why you wouldn’t be one.”
“Sweet! I always thought I was.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” said Krosp.
Dean snorted. “Wait’ll we turn her loose on the beacon engine. You’ll see.”
“I thought that was going to be your brother’s project.”
“Well, it’ll probably take both of us to sort through the code,” Charlie noted, her voice gaining a sparky edge, “but first we have to get the data off the beacon’s hard drive, and that, let me tell you, is going to be a challenge, considering the state of the technology that’s available here. We don’t even have any way to make a silicon microprocessor. But fortunately, I decided to bring my own tablet, which is pretty much brand new-okay, it’s a refurb, but I needed it fast, and it was cheap-so the real challenge is going to be coming up with some kind of converter that will connect to the USB port and a reliable way to charge the battery....”
Krosp looked mildly terrified. Sam and Dean just shared a fond smile.
As Tarvek and Agatha started talking batteries and chargers with Charlie, however, Gil touched Dean’s arm and whispered, “You did bring her up to speed?”
Dean nodded slightly. “Gadreel did. She’s in.”
Gil blinked. “Why Gadreel?”
“Angel.”
“Ah.”
“Uh, Charlie,” Sam interrupted, “how big is the hard drive on your tablet?”
“Only 250 gigs,” Charlie answered, “but before you ask, yes, I did think about how much data the human mind can probably hold, and it just so happens I was able to call in a few favors that people owed me from before you guys killed Dick Roman. So I? Am in possession of a 1.2 petabyte external hard drive.”
“You are a goddess.”
Charlie beamed.
“No, seriously, I didn’t even know they made those.”
“Why are you so surprised? I left in 2016.”
“Whoa,” Dean broke in. “Twenty-sixteen?!”
Charlie grimaced at him. “Sorry. Yeah.”
“We’ve been gone-”
“A year. Give or take. If it makes you feel any better? There’s a time difference between our world and Oz, too. It was really weird to come back after only two months to find out I’d missed almost a whole year.”
Dean exchanged a look with Sam, who told her, “We’ve only been here a week.”
“And already proven yourselves invaluable,” said Gil. “I’m sure Miss Bradbury will do the same.”
“I’ll try,” Charlie promised.
They got to the meeting room at that point, where Gil introduced Charlie to Dolokhov, and then Gil, Agatha, Zeetha, Mamma Gkika, Gen. Zog, von Mekkhan, and Sam (for some reason) all went into the meeting room with Dolokhov first to sign the treaty. That left everyone else who was going to the strategy meeting out in the hall. Cas, Gadreel, and Krosp got talking with the other three Jäger generals (Dean hadn’t caught the red one’s name yet), and Tarvek and Violetta got talking with Agatha’s Jägers.
Charlie, for her part, turned to Kevin. “Weee haven’t actually met yet, and I don’t think you’re in the books.”
“Kevin Tran,” Kevin replied.
“Kevin. Right. Hi. I’m Charlie. Your mom sends her love.”
Kevin’s eyes widened. “You’ve seen her?”
Charlie nodded. “Yup. She’s fine. She’s taken over coordinating the Women of Letters. And she’s been reading Girl Genius every week, keeping tabs on you. The archives have been unlocking slowly as the timeline gets rewritten; I think she’d just read about Sam and Dean interrogating Zola when I left.”
Kevin took a deep ragged breath and let it out again. “Thanks.”
Dean blinked. “Wow. That is slow. That was last week.”
Charlie shrugged. “I think she’s pacing herself because so much is still locked. With Gadreel stopping the stasis bomb... we’re talking major timeline rewrite.”
“How major?”
She glanced up and around. “I’m not sure I want to say here.”
“Oh, come now,” said the castle. “I’m perfectly capable of keeping secrets.”
“It’s not just you, Castle. There were some complications I don’t think Gil and Agatha need to know about, and some mysteries hadn’t yet been explained when I left. If it’s relevant, I’ll share.”
“Not even a teeny hint?” For some reason, the castle almost seemed to pout.
She sighed. “Well, I can mention this. Martellus was planning to kidnap Agatha. He would have succeeded, too, up to a point.”
“That swine,” Wooster snarled.
“Yeah. If he was even slightly redeemable, he hadn’t shown any sign of it before I left for Oz. I know his death was a legitimate accident, but....”
Tarvek had overheard this last exchange and was royally steamed. “If I weren’t already sure there was nothing left of Martellus,” he said in a dangerously quiet voice, “I’d order him exhumed and burned and have Gadreel scatter the ashes to the farthest corners of the cosmos just because I could.”
“What a good boy!” the castle crooned.
Charlie grimaced. “Yeah, well, you see why I don’t want to say too much about that other timeline.”
Tarvek nodded. “If that’s the least upsetting thing you could share, certainly.”
The meeting room door opened at that point, and Zeetha leaned out. “All set!”
The rest of the participants-meaning everyone but Agatha’s Jägers-trooped into the room while Dolokhov put the signed treaty away in his portfolio and cleared the end of the table and Gil unrolled the map Dolokhov had brought down with the latest information on ongoing rebellions across the empire. Kevin had also given Dolokhov a copy of his draft constitution after the funeral the day before, and Dolokhov now pulled out a stack of copies to hand around for everyone to review.
“Before we begin,” said Gil as everyone found a seat, “I’d like to know whether Miss Bradbury has any outside information to share.”
“Well, sort of,” Charlie replied. “It’s not necessarily relevant, and it can wait.”
“I believe His Highness should be the judge of that,” Dolokhov stated.
“Okay, then.” Charlie turned to Agatha. “I’ve seen your dad and your uncle.”
Agatha gasped. “What?! Where-how-”
“They weren’t exactly in the best of shape,” Charlie interrupted. “I mean, physically, he-they-i-it’s kind of a long story. But the short version is, they said to tell you they’re sorry, but they can’t come back.”
“Why not?”
“Well, see, your mom threw your dad through a portal right when he shot her. I don’t know where he was supposed to end up, but he didn’t land in this universe. The universe he did land in was in the middle of a war, and he got swept up in it. He was still there when your uncle finally found him. But then....” Charlie sighed and shook her head. “The story came out pretty jumbled. I get the impression not even they really know what happened. But Barry was trying to get Bill back to the portal to come home when they were attacked by the Wicked Witch of the East. One of them threw himself in front of the other when she cast some sort of curse, and... well... they merged. Now they’re the Wizard of Oz.”
Agatha’s jaw dropped.
Dean frowned. “The Wizard of Oz is-what, like Firestorm?” [1]
“Except it’s permanent,” Charlie confirmed. “Well, and no powers beyond the Spark. But Glinda’s tried everything, and she can’t separate them. The Witch’s death should have undone the curse, but instead it sealed it. I mean, on one level, they’re okay with it because before Lucrezia came along, they were pretty much as inseparable as you guys are. But knowing that they’re literally inseparable and can’t hide anything from each other anymore just compounds all the other stuff they haven’t been dealing with since the assault on the castle. And now that the revolution’s over... the Wizard is fine, but the Heterodyne Boys aren’t. They’re not even Winchester fine.” And considering that she’d seen Sam after the second trial and shared one of Dean’s worst nightmares while he was dreamwalking in one of hers to save her from a djinn, that was saying a lot.
“So they think they can’t come home,” Agatha concluded quietly.
Charlie turned back to her. “I think they don’t want you to see them like that. I know they don’t want the rest of Mechanicsburg to.”
“But the portal you came through... was it only a one-way event?”
“No. I could take you to see him. They might not be happy about it, but on the other hand, it might do them some good.”
“Maybe later, when everything’s settled and... well, when the war’s over. I think they’d be glad to know we’ll have finished what they started.”
Charlie smiled and nodded once. “Sure. Makes sense.”
Kevin frowned. “Wait, if we can get to Oz from here....”
“You can get from Oz back to our world, too,” Charlie answered. “But I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, especially for you.”
“Why not?”
“The angels are still feuding, for one thing, and Metatron’s still trying to weasel his way into power among them, which is going really badly because the tablets are here.”
“Good riddance,” Gadreel and Cas muttered at the same time.
“For another, Crowley’s back to being King of Hell.”
Cas scowled. “What? How? We left him human.”
Charlie grimaced. “He figured out the only way to kill Abaddon was with the First Blade, the weapon Cain used to kill Abel. But the First Blade can’t be wielded by anyone who doesn’t bear the Mark of Cain. So Crowley somehow found Cain and got him to transfer the Mark to him, had one of his underlings kill him and bring him right back as a demon, and killed Abaddon. But now he’s not just the sneaky underhanded salesman anymore. He’s got bloodlust fueled by the Mark, and he doesn’t even try to restrain it. He even found a way to kill his own mother, from what Sheriff Mills told me, and she was a very powerful witch. So the hunters really have their hands full.”
“Well, so do we,” said Tarvek, bringing the conversation back to the purpose of the meeting. “And as we’re all committed to solving the problems at hand, I believe we should do so and trust that your world can fend for itself until we succeed.”
Charlie held up both hands. “I’m good with that. I was arguing for staying!”
Mamma Gkika put a hand on Agatha’s shoulder. “Tink ov hit dis vay, sveetie. De masters iz safe. But hyu iz de von vot needz to mek sure Europa iz safe. Und hyu iz not alone.”
Agatha smiled. “No. I’m very grateful for all of you.”
Dolokhov harrumphed.
“And we are going to need both Mr. Winchester and Miss Bradbury to work on the beacon engine.”
“Especially since we have it,” Gil announced with a smirk.
Agatha’s face lit up. “You do?”
“It’s on Castle Wulfenbach for containment,” Tarvek explained. “Gil’s troops took Passholdt on Tuesday, but we’ve been too busy since then to do much with it. Since Lucrezia showed me how it works, I’ll be the one to take it apart and isolate the portion that contains the data core. You should have an easier time designing whatever adapter you need from there,” he told Charlie.
Charlie nodded. “Great. Thanks.”
“How about dropping the rest in Vesuvius?” Krosp suggested, tail twitching.
“Well, it wouldn’t be strictly necessary,” Gil replied, “but I won’t object if Agatha wants to anyway.”
“I might,” said Agatha. “Or use it to test explosives or something.”
“We found only five of the hive engines. But those we’ve already taken care of-or rather, let the Jägers take care of.”
“Bog pie,” Gen. Goomblast said happily. “Vos plenty for effryvon.”
At Kevin’s squeamish grimace, Dean said, “Hey, at least this way we know the wasps aren’t coming back.”
Kevin tilted his head. “True.”
Gen. Zog frowned. “Ognian said vas dozens ov slaver engines under Sturmhalten. Vy only five in Passholdt?”
“They’ve been handed on to Lucrezia’s other servants,” Sam reported. “There’s nothing left under Sturmhalten, but we’ve found all the exits of the cavern system, and most of them are at least ten miles from Balan’s Gap. Before we came to town yesterday, Gil organized search teams to follow the cart tracks as far as possible. If they lose the trail, they already have the coordinates of the nearest Knights of Jove stronghold.”
“Goot,” rumbled the red general. “Hyu tell uz vere to go, Miztress, und ve sqvash dose bogs, too.”
The other generals growled their agreement.
“Let’s hear the rest of the briefing before we decide,” Agatha cautioned. “If the wasps were the only threat, I’d send you out with Gil this afternoon. But as it is, we may need you more elsewhere.”
Dolokhov looked oddly heartened by that comment.
The next two hours consisted of discussions of where the rebellions were, who was behind them, and who was behind them. Most of it was information Dean already knew and had given input on, but von Mekkhan and Krosp had details to add that Mechanicsburg’s intelligence network had gleaned from visitor chatter the day before, and Wooster verified some and added context for others. Everyone agreed-reluctantly, on the Jägers’ part-that a strong military response, though necessary, would do more good if coupled with the announcement of the new constitution.
Dean turned to Kevin then. “Okay, dude. You’re on.”
For a moment, Kevin looked like the terrified, hyperventilating high school kid who’d showed up at the mental hospital where Cas had been a patient after taking on Sam’s Hell trauma, the kid who’d latched onto the Leviathan tablet and couldn’t let go and didn’t know why. But that moment was brief. Then Kevin Tran, Prophet of the Lord and brilliant little weasel who’d outsmarted Crowley more than once, cleared his throat and stood to explain the constitution he’d drafted on his own. And it looked like a decent draft, too. Though Dean didn’t remember a ton from the Government/Economics class he’d suffered through as a senior before finally convincing Dad to let him get his GED and drop out, the terms Kevin had drawn up looked like a cross between the American and British systems with greater power concentrated in the executive branch and a fairly detailed Bill of Rights. Kevin had an answer for every question put to him, too. Dean was ridiculously proud of him.
As Kevin finally sat down, Dolokhov looked at him narrowly. “You don’t happen to be a spark, do you, Mr. Tran?”
“If I am,” Kevin confessed, “it hasn’t shown up yet. Politics is just something I’ve always been really interested in.”
“Is that a problem, Mr. Dolokhov?” Sam challenged.
Dolokhov actually smiled. “Not at all, Mr. Winchester. I was just thinking it might make the terms more acceptable to the majority of people, knowing they weren’t dreamed up by a madboy.”
Kevin looked like he didn’t know whether to be pleased or insulted.
Gil, Agatha, and Tarvek took over the discussion then, hashing out what would and wouldn’t work in light of entrenched attitudes among Europa’s old power brokers, mainly the nobles of the Fifty Families and the Knights of Jove. Zeetha actually had some useful ideas to add, as did Krosp, and the Jägers mostly kept their opinions to themselves except when it came to the rights of constructs, a topic on which Dolokhov, as a construct himself, looked shocked to find himself in agreement with them. As the meeting wound down toward lunchtime, however, Gil, Agatha, and Tarvek had managed to come up with all the changes they thought needed to be made... and most of Kevin’s work had survived intact.
He held up okay until Agatha finally turned to him with a sunny smile. “Good job, Kevin!”
The pressure off, Kevin ran shaking hands over his face while Dean patted him on the back. “Thank you, Jefferson and Madison, wherever you are,” Kevin squeaked.
Sam laughed, and Dean tousled Kevin’s hair.
Dolokhov tucked his annotated copy of the constitution into his portfolio and turned to Gil. “I’ll go make these changes, Your Highness, and see that the announcement is made.”
Gil nodded once. “Thanks, Boris. I think that does it for this morning. We’ll see how it all goes over and meet again in a week or so.”
Everyone else made noises of relieved agreement, and most of those assembled got up from the table. But Charlie and the Winchesters made a show of fussing over Kevin-the praise was genuine, just played up-and Gil, Wooster, and the angels were slow to move away from the table.
“Aren’t you coming to lunch?” Agatha asked as she and Krosp, at the tail of the main group, hesitated at the door.
“Oh, definitely,” Gil replied. “Just need to put the map up and make sure Kevin’s okay. We’ll be right there.”
“Okay. Don’t be long.”
“I won’t,” Gil promised with a lovestruck smile that Agatha returned, and she and Krosp left.
The second Krosp’s tail cleared the doorframe, however, Gadreel snapped his fingers-and the pendulum of the wall clock froze in mid-swing.
Kevin stared. “You’ve stopped time?”
“Oh, no,” Gadreel replied. “I have simply moved the eight of us outside the flow of time for the moment. Had I actually stopped time, the castle would still have been able to overhear.”
“... I do not want to know how you know that.”
“This emergency meeting of the Mechanicsburg chapter of the Men of Letters is now in session,” Charlie declared.
Dean flipped a small gavel from its hiding place in his belt and smacked it down on the table.
“Do we have a quorum?”
“All members present and accounted for,” Sam reported.
“Good. First item: extending membership in this society to Baron Gilgamesh Wulfenbach and Mr. Ardsley Wooster. All in favor?”
“Aye,” said the Americans and the angels.
Dean banged the gavel. “Approved.”
“Second item,” Charlie continued. “Resolution to offer membership to Theopholous and Sleipnir DuMedd and Lady Agatha Heterodyne at our next regular meeting, whenever that is.”
“I move this resolution be approved,” Sam stated briskly.
“Second,” said Cas.
“All in favor?” Charlie asked.
“Aye,” everyone chorused.
Dean banged the gavel. “Motion carried.”
“Wait,” said Kevin. “Should we be taking minutes?”
“It’s a secret emergency meeting,” Charlie replied. “Someone can write minutes when it doesn’t have to be secret anymore. Or, y’know, never. Anyway. Third item: Gil’s big plan.”
“Which we may have to execute fast,” Gil began as he stood up and put his hands down on the edges of the map. “The new constitution may buy us some time for Plan A, but Boris is already drawing up the treaty just in case we have to jump to Plan B.” He set a small projector clank at the edge of the map and switched it on to generate a holographic overlay. “Here’s what Europa looked like at the height of the Shining Coalition, when Andronicus Valois married Euphrosynia Heterodyne.” Valois territory appeared to cover more or less the same area of Western and Central Europe as the original Frankish Empire, with Eastern Europe largely in the hands of the Heterodynes (and Dean was not going to admit to recognizing all of that in front of Sam). “Notice that the revolts being launched in the name of the Storm King are all in territories once governed by Valois, and the ones supposedly supporting Agatha are in areas Clemethious and Bludtharst had conquered. That’s too contrived for coincidence, especially since a lot of those were areas that later Heterodynes lost and reconquered several times over. There should be a lot more bad blood between those people and Mechanicsburg, but either people aren’t thinking in those terms for whatever reason, or they’ve decided Agatha’s more likely to go easy on them if they throw in with her now.”
“Hey, check it out,” Sam noted suddenly, pointing to the border between Valois and Heterodyne lands. “Splitting the empire here separates most of the Balkans from Austria. And if that happens, Storm King or not....”
“No World War I,” Dean agreed, “and if there’s no World War I, there won’t be a World War II, at least not in Europe.”
“If history in this world would otherwise be analogous to that of ours,” Cas cautioned.
Gil pushed another button on the projector clank, which shifted the overlay to new borders-the Valois area covered only the lands currently held by the Wulfenbach Empire, which ended about halfway across France, and was now labeled Sturmvoraus; and the old Heterodyne lands were divided roughly in half between Heterodyne to the north and east and Wulfenbach to the south and west. “My original plan,” he continued, indicating the new kingdoms, “was to cede control of these areas gradually, frame them as rewards for success against The Other, that kind of thing. That’s still Plan A. But if we can’t shut the rebellions down in a hurry, a fast transfer of power will save more lives than the gradual approach and should keep the peace intact. The treaty states that Heterodyne and Wulfenbach forces, under the combined aegis of the empire, will assist the Storm King in re-establishing order in his territory, but once peace is restored, Agatha’s and my realms will be autonomous nations allied with the Throne of Lightning, and the three of us will be joint protectors of the Pax Europa. The core provisions of the new constitution will form the basis for the legal codes in all three kingdoms.”
Kevin shook his head. “You’d be turning half of Europa over to Tarvek.”
Gil’s eyes glittered dangerously. “Exactly.”
“One potential sticky wicket,” said Wooster. “Martellus von Blitzengaard’s uncle is a bishop with great influence over His Holiness of Belfast, who won’t be likely now to recognize Prince Sturmvoraus as the Storm King.”
“But that crown was never consecrated by Belfast. Tarvek needs Avignon, and he’s more likely to get Avignon both because that pope is French and because Belfast is opposed.” [2]
Cas sighed. “Such politicking in the Church only brings the way of truth into disrepute.”
Gil grimaced. “That’s the way it is, though. Tarvek just happens to be enough of a snake to make it work in his favor.”
“And you’ve put yourself in the middle, between Tarvek and Agatha,” Dean realized. “So even if he does marry her, he can’t claim the whole pie for himself.”
Charlie nodded. “But he also can’t paint you as a big bad usurper anymore if you’re willing to give up three-quarters of your empire just to keep the peace!”
“Not just to keep the peace, I think,” Gadreel said with a small amused smile that Charlie returned.
“By Jove,” Wooster breathed as he put the rest of the puzzle together. “Oh, well done, Master Gil!” He paused, studying the map for a moment, and then looked up. “Sir, this is all my own idea, so I can’t guarantee that Her Majesty will agree, but I think I may have a stratagem that will resolve the balance of power in a manner favorable to you both.”
Gil raised an eyebrow. “What might that be?”
With a devious smile, Wooster explained.
“Oooooooooh,” chorused the Americans as he finished.
Gil chuckled. “Oh, Wooster, that is brilliant. If you can pull that off, you deserve a knighthood, and if Albia doesn’t give you one, I will.”
Wooster grinned. “So glad you agree, sir.”
“Other suggestions from the floor?” Charlie asked.
“The floor says try the ceiling,” Dean quipped, making everyone laugh.
Sam cleared his throat. “I move we approve this plan in both its forms.”
“Second,” said Kevin.
“All in favor?” Charlie asked.
“Aye!” everyone chorused.
Dean banged the gavel. “Plan approved.”
Charlie nodded once. “If there is no further business?”
“I move we adjourn,” said Cas.
“Second,” said Gil, switching off the projector clank and putting it back in his pocket. “I’m hungry.”
“All in favor?” Charlie asked.
“Aye!” everyone chorused.
“Let’s eat!”
Dean banged the gavel one last time, twirled it around his finger, and stashed it back in his belt. Then Gadreel snapped his fingers again, and time resumed... or whatever.
“One more thing,” Charlie said quietly, leaning over to Cas as Gil left the table and Wooster rolled up the map. “I brought you a present. Do you want it now or later?”
Cas considered. “Now, I think.”
Charlie nodded. “It’s in the trunk. I brought a bunch of stuff with me-including your suit from 1944,” she told Dean.
Dean grinned. “You’re the best, Charlie.”
She grinned back, and the three of them made their excuses to the rest and went to Charlie’s room. There she opened her trunk, rummaged a bit, and pulled out a book, which she opened... revealing a distinctive blue glow.
“Whoa,” said Dean. “Is that-”
“Yup,” Charlie replied and held the opened book out to Cas. “Signed, sealed, delivered-it’s yours.”
Trembling slightly, Cas lifted the vial of grace out of the book. Then, after only a moment’s hesitation, he uncapped the vial. The grace flowed into him, and a burst of light revealed the shadows of his wings, tattered but intact once more.
“Cas?” Dean prompted as the light faded. “Are-are you....”
Cas nodded with a small smile. “Cursed, but yes, I am myself again.”
“You were always you, dude, wings or no wings. C’mere.” And Dean pulled Cas into a back-thumping hug.
When he let go, Cas turned to Charlie. “Thank you for bringing me this.”
Charlie smiled shyly. “Any time. Um, could you do something about my carpal tunnel?”
Chuckling, Cas touched her forehead. “Your carpal tunnel and the last of the wounds you suffered in Oz are healed. You may still want to wear your wrist brace at night, though.”
Charlie beamed at him, but whatever she was about to say next was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Gadreel. “Castiel!” he gasped.
Cas smiled at him. “Hello, brother.”
“You are....”
“Restored. Not whole.”
Gadreel nodded, studying Cas for a moment. “Come, then. Let us see to the rest.”
Cas nodded back, and they both disappeared.
“Um,” said Charlie. “What....”
“The Dyne,” Dean answered.
“Ooooh. Gotcha.”
“C’mon. Let’s get some lunch before Krosp eats it all.”
She giggled, and he draped an arm across her shoulders and steered her to the door.
Next
[1] For a look at what the Winchesters would be like as a Firestorm-esque fire elemental, check out jennytork’s Gemini series. (And yes, this is precisely the opposite of what happened in SPN canon in “There’s No Place Like Home”-I couldn’t do that to Charlie, especially since the entire Mark of Cain storyline is moot in this AU.)
[2] For SPN-only readers: The Western Schism and the Reformation both took significantly different turns in GG-verse, splintering the Western Church even more than it is in our world. There are seven popes, including those of Rome, Avignon, and Belfast.
Chapter 15
Politics as Usual
“Charlotte Bradbury,” Charlie told Wooster as everyone walked toward the castle’s meeting room the next morning after breakfast. “I’m 30 years old; I’m from Topeka, Kansas; and I am a Woman of Letters.”
Wooster dutifully wrote all of that down. “That last may surprise my superiors,” he admitted.
“She’s a spark,” Dean stated. “It’s not that weird.”
Charlie brightened. “Am I?”
Sam shrugged. “You’re smarter than we are. I don’t see why you wouldn’t be one.”
“Sweet! I always thought I was.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” said Krosp.
Dean snorted. “Wait’ll we turn her loose on the beacon engine. You’ll see.”
“I thought that was going to be your brother’s project.”
“Well, it’ll probably take both of us to sort through the code,” Charlie noted, her voice gaining a sparky edge, “but first we have to get the data off the beacon’s hard drive, and that, let me tell you, is going to be a challenge, considering the state of the technology that’s available here. We don’t even have any way to make a silicon microprocessor. But fortunately, I decided to bring my own tablet, which is pretty much brand new-okay, it’s a refurb, but I needed it fast, and it was cheap-so the real challenge is going to be coming up with some kind of converter that will connect to the USB port and a reliable way to charge the battery....”
Krosp looked mildly terrified. Sam and Dean just shared a fond smile.
As Tarvek and Agatha started talking batteries and chargers with Charlie, however, Gil touched Dean’s arm and whispered, “You did bring her up to speed?”
Dean nodded slightly. “Gadreel did. She’s in.”
Gil blinked. “Why Gadreel?”
“Angel.”
“Ah.”
“Uh, Charlie,” Sam interrupted, “how big is the hard drive on your tablet?”
“Only 250 gigs,” Charlie answered, “but before you ask, yes, I did think about how much data the human mind can probably hold, and it just so happens I was able to call in a few favors that people owed me from before you guys killed Dick Roman. So I? Am in possession of a 1.2 petabyte external hard drive.”
“You are a goddess.”
Charlie beamed.
“No, seriously, I didn’t even know they made those.”
“Why are you so surprised? I left in 2016.”
“Whoa,” Dean broke in. “Twenty-sixteen?!”
Charlie grimaced at him. “Sorry. Yeah.”
“We’ve been gone-”
“A year. Give or take. If it makes you feel any better? There’s a time difference between our world and Oz, too. It was really weird to come back after only two months to find out I’d missed almost a whole year.”
Dean exchanged a look with Sam, who told her, “We’ve only been here a week.”
“And already proven yourselves invaluable,” said Gil. “I’m sure Miss Bradbury will do the same.”
“I’ll try,” Charlie promised.
They got to the meeting room at that point, where Gil introduced Charlie to Dolokhov, and then Gil, Agatha, Zeetha, Mamma Gkika, Gen. Zog, von Mekkhan, and Sam (for some reason) all went into the meeting room with Dolokhov first to sign the treaty. That left everyone else who was going to the strategy meeting out in the hall. Cas, Gadreel, and Krosp got talking with the other three Jäger generals (Dean hadn’t caught the red one’s name yet), and Tarvek and Violetta got talking with Agatha’s Jägers.
Charlie, for her part, turned to Kevin. “Weee haven’t actually met yet, and I don’t think you’re in the books.”
“Kevin Tran,” Kevin replied.
“Kevin. Right. Hi. I’m Charlie. Your mom sends her love.”
Kevin’s eyes widened. “You’ve seen her?”
Charlie nodded. “Yup. She’s fine. She’s taken over coordinating the Women of Letters. And she’s been reading Girl Genius every week, keeping tabs on you. The archives have been unlocking slowly as the timeline gets rewritten; I think she’d just read about Sam and Dean interrogating Zola when I left.”
Kevin took a deep ragged breath and let it out again. “Thanks.”
Dean blinked. “Wow. That is slow. That was last week.”
Charlie shrugged. “I think she’s pacing herself because so much is still locked. With Gadreel stopping the stasis bomb... we’re talking major timeline rewrite.”
“How major?”
She glanced up and around. “I’m not sure I want to say here.”
“Oh, come now,” said the castle. “I’m perfectly capable of keeping secrets.”
“It’s not just you, Castle. There were some complications I don’t think Gil and Agatha need to know about, and some mysteries hadn’t yet been explained when I left. If it’s relevant, I’ll share.”
“Not even a teeny hint?” For some reason, the castle almost seemed to pout.
She sighed. “Well, I can mention this. Martellus was planning to kidnap Agatha. He would have succeeded, too, up to a point.”
“That swine,” Wooster snarled.
“Yeah. If he was even slightly redeemable, he hadn’t shown any sign of it before I left for Oz. I know his death was a legitimate accident, but....”
Tarvek had overheard this last exchange and was royally steamed. “If I weren’t already sure there was nothing left of Martellus,” he said in a dangerously quiet voice, “I’d order him exhumed and burned and have Gadreel scatter the ashes to the farthest corners of the cosmos just because I could.”
“What a good boy!” the castle crooned.
Charlie grimaced. “Yeah, well, you see why I don’t want to say too much about that other timeline.”
Tarvek nodded. “If that’s the least upsetting thing you could share, certainly.”
The meeting room door opened at that point, and Zeetha leaned out. “All set!”
The rest of the participants-meaning everyone but Agatha’s Jägers-trooped into the room while Dolokhov put the signed treaty away in his portfolio and cleared the end of the table and Gil unrolled the map Dolokhov had brought down with the latest information on ongoing rebellions across the empire. Kevin had also given Dolokhov a copy of his draft constitution after the funeral the day before, and Dolokhov now pulled out a stack of copies to hand around for everyone to review.
“Before we begin,” said Gil as everyone found a seat, “I’d like to know whether Miss Bradbury has any outside information to share.”
“Well, sort of,” Charlie replied. “It’s not necessarily relevant, and it can wait.”
“I believe His Highness should be the judge of that,” Dolokhov stated.
“Okay, then.” Charlie turned to Agatha. “I’ve seen your dad and your uncle.”
Agatha gasped. “What?! Where-how-”
“They weren’t exactly in the best of shape,” Charlie interrupted. “I mean, physically, he-they-i-it’s kind of a long story. But the short version is, they said to tell you they’re sorry, but they can’t come back.”
“Why not?”
“Well, see, your mom threw your dad through a portal right when he shot her. I don’t know where he was supposed to end up, but he didn’t land in this universe. The universe he did land in was in the middle of a war, and he got swept up in it. He was still there when your uncle finally found him. But then....” Charlie sighed and shook her head. “The story came out pretty jumbled. I get the impression not even they really know what happened. But Barry was trying to get Bill back to the portal to come home when they were attacked by the Wicked Witch of the East. One of them threw himself in front of the other when she cast some sort of curse, and... well... they merged. Now they’re the Wizard of Oz.”
Agatha’s jaw dropped.
Dean frowned. “The Wizard of Oz is-what, like Firestorm?” [1]
“Except it’s permanent,” Charlie confirmed. “Well, and no powers beyond the Spark. But Glinda’s tried everything, and she can’t separate them. The Witch’s death should have undone the curse, but instead it sealed it. I mean, on one level, they’re okay with it because before Lucrezia came along, they were pretty much as inseparable as you guys are. But knowing that they’re literally inseparable and can’t hide anything from each other anymore just compounds all the other stuff they haven’t been dealing with since the assault on the castle. And now that the revolution’s over... the Wizard is fine, but the Heterodyne Boys aren’t. They’re not even Winchester fine.” And considering that she’d seen Sam after the second trial and shared one of Dean’s worst nightmares while he was dreamwalking in one of hers to save her from a djinn, that was saying a lot.
“So they think they can’t come home,” Agatha concluded quietly.
Charlie turned back to her. “I think they don’t want you to see them like that. I know they don’t want the rest of Mechanicsburg to.”
“But the portal you came through... was it only a one-way event?”
“No. I could take you to see him. They might not be happy about it, but on the other hand, it might do them some good.”
“Maybe later, when everything’s settled and... well, when the war’s over. I think they’d be glad to know we’ll have finished what they started.”
Charlie smiled and nodded once. “Sure. Makes sense.”
Kevin frowned. “Wait, if we can get to Oz from here....”
“You can get from Oz back to our world, too,” Charlie answered. “But I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, especially for you.”
“Why not?”
“The angels are still feuding, for one thing, and Metatron’s still trying to weasel his way into power among them, which is going really badly because the tablets are here.”
“Good riddance,” Gadreel and Cas muttered at the same time.
“For another, Crowley’s back to being King of Hell.”
Cas scowled. “What? How? We left him human.”
Charlie grimaced. “He figured out the only way to kill Abaddon was with the First Blade, the weapon Cain used to kill Abel. But the First Blade can’t be wielded by anyone who doesn’t bear the Mark of Cain. So Crowley somehow found Cain and got him to transfer the Mark to him, had one of his underlings kill him and bring him right back as a demon, and killed Abaddon. But now he’s not just the sneaky underhanded salesman anymore. He’s got bloodlust fueled by the Mark, and he doesn’t even try to restrain it. He even found a way to kill his own mother, from what Sheriff Mills told me, and she was a very powerful witch. So the hunters really have their hands full.”
“Well, so do we,” said Tarvek, bringing the conversation back to the purpose of the meeting. “And as we’re all committed to solving the problems at hand, I believe we should do so and trust that your world can fend for itself until we succeed.”
Charlie held up both hands. “I’m good with that. I was arguing for staying!”
Mamma Gkika put a hand on Agatha’s shoulder. “Tink ov hit dis vay, sveetie. De masters iz safe. But hyu iz de von vot needz to mek sure Europa iz safe. Und hyu iz not alone.”
Agatha smiled. “No. I’m very grateful for all of you.”
Dolokhov harrumphed.
“And we are going to need both Mr. Winchester and Miss Bradbury to work on the beacon engine.”
“Especially since we have it,” Gil announced with a smirk.
Agatha’s face lit up. “You do?”
“It’s on Castle Wulfenbach for containment,” Tarvek explained. “Gil’s troops took Passholdt on Tuesday, but we’ve been too busy since then to do much with it. Since Lucrezia showed me how it works, I’ll be the one to take it apart and isolate the portion that contains the data core. You should have an easier time designing whatever adapter you need from there,” he told Charlie.
Charlie nodded. “Great. Thanks.”
“How about dropping the rest in Vesuvius?” Krosp suggested, tail twitching.
“Well, it wouldn’t be strictly necessary,” Gil replied, “but I won’t object if Agatha wants to anyway.”
“I might,” said Agatha. “Or use it to test explosives or something.”
“We found only five of the hive engines. But those we’ve already taken care of-or rather, let the Jägers take care of.”
“Bog pie,” Gen. Goomblast said happily. “Vos plenty for effryvon.”
At Kevin’s squeamish grimace, Dean said, “Hey, at least this way we know the wasps aren’t coming back.”
Kevin tilted his head. “True.”
Gen. Zog frowned. “Ognian said vas dozens ov slaver engines under Sturmhalten. Vy only five in Passholdt?”
“They’ve been handed on to Lucrezia’s other servants,” Sam reported. “There’s nothing left under Sturmhalten, but we’ve found all the exits of the cavern system, and most of them are at least ten miles from Balan’s Gap. Before we came to town yesterday, Gil organized search teams to follow the cart tracks as far as possible. If they lose the trail, they already have the coordinates of the nearest Knights of Jove stronghold.”
“Goot,” rumbled the red general. “Hyu tell uz vere to go, Miztress, und ve sqvash dose bogs, too.”
The other generals growled their agreement.
“Let’s hear the rest of the briefing before we decide,” Agatha cautioned. “If the wasps were the only threat, I’d send you out with Gil this afternoon. But as it is, we may need you more elsewhere.”
Dolokhov looked oddly heartened by that comment.
The next two hours consisted of discussions of where the rebellions were, who was behind them, and who was behind them. Most of it was information Dean already knew and had given input on, but von Mekkhan and Krosp had details to add that Mechanicsburg’s intelligence network had gleaned from visitor chatter the day before, and Wooster verified some and added context for others. Everyone agreed-reluctantly, on the Jägers’ part-that a strong military response, though necessary, would do more good if coupled with the announcement of the new constitution.
Dean turned to Kevin then. “Okay, dude. You’re on.”
For a moment, Kevin looked like the terrified, hyperventilating high school kid who’d showed up at the mental hospital where Cas had been a patient after taking on Sam’s Hell trauma, the kid who’d latched onto the Leviathan tablet and couldn’t let go and didn’t know why. But that moment was brief. Then Kevin Tran, Prophet of the Lord and brilliant little weasel who’d outsmarted Crowley more than once, cleared his throat and stood to explain the constitution he’d drafted on his own. And it looked like a decent draft, too. Though Dean didn’t remember a ton from the Government/Economics class he’d suffered through as a senior before finally convincing Dad to let him get his GED and drop out, the terms Kevin had drawn up looked like a cross between the American and British systems with greater power concentrated in the executive branch and a fairly detailed Bill of Rights. Kevin had an answer for every question put to him, too. Dean was ridiculously proud of him.
As Kevin finally sat down, Dolokhov looked at him narrowly. “You don’t happen to be a spark, do you, Mr. Tran?”
“If I am,” Kevin confessed, “it hasn’t shown up yet. Politics is just something I’ve always been really interested in.”
“Is that a problem, Mr. Dolokhov?” Sam challenged.
Dolokhov actually smiled. “Not at all, Mr. Winchester. I was just thinking it might make the terms more acceptable to the majority of people, knowing they weren’t dreamed up by a madboy.”
Kevin looked like he didn’t know whether to be pleased or insulted.
Gil, Agatha, and Tarvek took over the discussion then, hashing out what would and wouldn’t work in light of entrenched attitudes among Europa’s old power brokers, mainly the nobles of the Fifty Families and the Knights of Jove. Zeetha actually had some useful ideas to add, as did Krosp, and the Jägers mostly kept their opinions to themselves except when it came to the rights of constructs, a topic on which Dolokhov, as a construct himself, looked shocked to find himself in agreement with them. As the meeting wound down toward lunchtime, however, Gil, Agatha, and Tarvek had managed to come up with all the changes they thought needed to be made... and most of Kevin’s work had survived intact.
He held up okay until Agatha finally turned to him with a sunny smile. “Good job, Kevin!”
The pressure off, Kevin ran shaking hands over his face while Dean patted him on the back. “Thank you, Jefferson and Madison, wherever you are,” Kevin squeaked.
Sam laughed, and Dean tousled Kevin’s hair.
Dolokhov tucked his annotated copy of the constitution into his portfolio and turned to Gil. “I’ll go make these changes, Your Highness, and see that the announcement is made.”
Gil nodded once. “Thanks, Boris. I think that does it for this morning. We’ll see how it all goes over and meet again in a week or so.”
Everyone else made noises of relieved agreement, and most of those assembled got up from the table. But Charlie and the Winchesters made a show of fussing over Kevin-the praise was genuine, just played up-and Gil, Wooster, and the angels were slow to move away from the table.
“Aren’t you coming to lunch?” Agatha asked as she and Krosp, at the tail of the main group, hesitated at the door.
“Oh, definitely,” Gil replied. “Just need to put the map up and make sure Kevin’s okay. We’ll be right there.”
“Okay. Don’t be long.”
“I won’t,” Gil promised with a lovestruck smile that Agatha returned, and she and Krosp left.
The second Krosp’s tail cleared the doorframe, however, Gadreel snapped his fingers-and the pendulum of the wall clock froze in mid-swing.
Kevin stared. “You’ve stopped time?”
“Oh, no,” Gadreel replied. “I have simply moved the eight of us outside the flow of time for the moment. Had I actually stopped time, the castle would still have been able to overhear.”
“... I do not want to know how you know that.”
“This emergency meeting of the Mechanicsburg chapter of the Men of Letters is now in session,” Charlie declared.
Dean flipped a small gavel from its hiding place in his belt and smacked it down on the table.
“Do we have a quorum?”
“All members present and accounted for,” Sam reported.
“Good. First item: extending membership in this society to Baron Gilgamesh Wulfenbach and Mr. Ardsley Wooster. All in favor?”
“Aye,” said the Americans and the angels.
Dean banged the gavel. “Approved.”
“Second item,” Charlie continued. “Resolution to offer membership to Theopholous and Sleipnir DuMedd and Lady Agatha Heterodyne at our next regular meeting, whenever that is.”
“I move this resolution be approved,” Sam stated briskly.
“Second,” said Cas.
“All in favor?” Charlie asked.
“Aye,” everyone chorused.
Dean banged the gavel. “Motion carried.”
“Wait,” said Kevin. “Should we be taking minutes?”
“It’s a secret emergency meeting,” Charlie replied. “Someone can write minutes when it doesn’t have to be secret anymore. Or, y’know, never. Anyway. Third item: Gil’s big plan.”
“Which we may have to execute fast,” Gil began as he stood up and put his hands down on the edges of the map. “The new constitution may buy us some time for Plan A, but Boris is already drawing up the treaty just in case we have to jump to Plan B.” He set a small projector clank at the edge of the map and switched it on to generate a holographic overlay. “Here’s what Europa looked like at the height of the Shining Coalition, when Andronicus Valois married Euphrosynia Heterodyne.” Valois territory appeared to cover more or less the same area of Western and Central Europe as the original Frankish Empire, with Eastern Europe largely in the hands of the Heterodynes (and Dean was not going to admit to recognizing all of that in front of Sam). “Notice that the revolts being launched in the name of the Storm King are all in territories once governed by Valois, and the ones supposedly supporting Agatha are in areas Clemethious and Bludtharst had conquered. That’s too contrived for coincidence, especially since a lot of those were areas that later Heterodynes lost and reconquered several times over. There should be a lot more bad blood between those people and Mechanicsburg, but either people aren’t thinking in those terms for whatever reason, or they’ve decided Agatha’s more likely to go easy on them if they throw in with her now.”
“Hey, check it out,” Sam noted suddenly, pointing to the border between Valois and Heterodyne lands. “Splitting the empire here separates most of the Balkans from Austria. And if that happens, Storm King or not....”
“No World War I,” Dean agreed, “and if there’s no World War I, there won’t be a World War II, at least not in Europe.”
“If history in this world would otherwise be analogous to that of ours,” Cas cautioned.
Gil pushed another button on the projector clank, which shifted the overlay to new borders-the Valois area covered only the lands currently held by the Wulfenbach Empire, which ended about halfway across France, and was now labeled Sturmvoraus; and the old Heterodyne lands were divided roughly in half between Heterodyne to the north and east and Wulfenbach to the south and west. “My original plan,” he continued, indicating the new kingdoms, “was to cede control of these areas gradually, frame them as rewards for success against The Other, that kind of thing. That’s still Plan A. But if we can’t shut the rebellions down in a hurry, a fast transfer of power will save more lives than the gradual approach and should keep the peace intact. The treaty states that Heterodyne and Wulfenbach forces, under the combined aegis of the empire, will assist the Storm King in re-establishing order in his territory, but once peace is restored, Agatha’s and my realms will be autonomous nations allied with the Throne of Lightning, and the three of us will be joint protectors of the Pax Europa. The core provisions of the new constitution will form the basis for the legal codes in all three kingdoms.”
Kevin shook his head. “You’d be turning half of Europa over to Tarvek.”
Gil’s eyes glittered dangerously. “Exactly.”
“One potential sticky wicket,” said Wooster. “Martellus von Blitzengaard’s uncle is a bishop with great influence over His Holiness of Belfast, who won’t be likely now to recognize Prince Sturmvoraus as the Storm King.”
“But that crown was never consecrated by Belfast. Tarvek needs Avignon, and he’s more likely to get Avignon both because that pope is French and because Belfast is opposed.” [2]
Cas sighed. “Such politicking in the Church only brings the way of truth into disrepute.”
Gil grimaced. “That’s the way it is, though. Tarvek just happens to be enough of a snake to make it work in his favor.”
“And you’ve put yourself in the middle, between Tarvek and Agatha,” Dean realized. “So even if he does marry her, he can’t claim the whole pie for himself.”
Charlie nodded. “But he also can’t paint you as a big bad usurper anymore if you’re willing to give up three-quarters of your empire just to keep the peace!”
“Not just to keep the peace, I think,” Gadreel said with a small amused smile that Charlie returned.
“By Jove,” Wooster breathed as he put the rest of the puzzle together. “Oh, well done, Master Gil!” He paused, studying the map for a moment, and then looked up. “Sir, this is all my own idea, so I can’t guarantee that Her Majesty will agree, but I think I may have a stratagem that will resolve the balance of power in a manner favorable to you both.”
Gil raised an eyebrow. “What might that be?”
With a devious smile, Wooster explained.
“Oooooooooh,” chorused the Americans as he finished.
Gil chuckled. “Oh, Wooster, that is brilliant. If you can pull that off, you deserve a knighthood, and if Albia doesn’t give you one, I will.”
Wooster grinned. “So glad you agree, sir.”
“Other suggestions from the floor?” Charlie asked.
“The floor says try the ceiling,” Dean quipped, making everyone laugh.
Sam cleared his throat. “I move we approve this plan in both its forms.”
“Second,” said Kevin.
“All in favor?” Charlie asked.
“Aye!” everyone chorused.
Dean banged the gavel. “Plan approved.”
Charlie nodded once. “If there is no further business?”
“I move we adjourn,” said Cas.
“Second,” said Gil, switching off the projector clank and putting it back in his pocket. “I’m hungry.”
“All in favor?” Charlie asked.
“Aye!” everyone chorused.
“Let’s eat!”
Dean banged the gavel one last time, twirled it around his finger, and stashed it back in his belt. Then Gadreel snapped his fingers again, and time resumed... or whatever.
“One more thing,” Charlie said quietly, leaning over to Cas as Gil left the table and Wooster rolled up the map. “I brought you a present. Do you want it now or later?”
Cas considered. “Now, I think.”
Charlie nodded. “It’s in the trunk. I brought a bunch of stuff with me-including your suit from 1944,” she told Dean.
Dean grinned. “You’re the best, Charlie.”
She grinned back, and the three of them made their excuses to the rest and went to Charlie’s room. There she opened her trunk, rummaged a bit, and pulled out a book, which she opened... revealing a distinctive blue glow.
“Whoa,” said Dean. “Is that-”
“Yup,” Charlie replied and held the opened book out to Cas. “Signed, sealed, delivered-it’s yours.”
Trembling slightly, Cas lifted the vial of grace out of the book. Then, after only a moment’s hesitation, he uncapped the vial. The grace flowed into him, and a burst of light revealed the shadows of his wings, tattered but intact once more.
“Cas?” Dean prompted as the light faded. “Are-are you....”
Cas nodded with a small smile. “Cursed, but yes, I am myself again.”
“You were always you, dude, wings or no wings. C’mere.” And Dean pulled Cas into a back-thumping hug.
When he let go, Cas turned to Charlie. “Thank you for bringing me this.”
Charlie smiled shyly. “Any time. Um, could you do something about my carpal tunnel?”
Chuckling, Cas touched her forehead. “Your carpal tunnel and the last of the wounds you suffered in Oz are healed. You may still want to wear your wrist brace at night, though.”
Charlie beamed at him, but whatever she was about to say next was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Gadreel. “Castiel!” he gasped.
Cas smiled at him. “Hello, brother.”
“You are....”
“Restored. Not whole.”
Gadreel nodded, studying Cas for a moment. “Come, then. Let us see to the rest.”
Cas nodded back, and they both disappeared.
“Um,” said Charlie. “What....”
“The Dyne,” Dean answered.
“Ooooh. Gotcha.”
“C’mon. Let’s get some lunch before Krosp eats it all.”
She giggled, and he draped an arm across her shoulders and steered her to the door.
Next
[1] For a look at what the Winchesters would be like as a Firestorm-esque fire elemental, check out jennytork’s Gemini series. (And yes, this is precisely the opposite of what happened in SPN canon in “There’s No Place Like Home”-I couldn’t do that to Charlie, especially since the entire Mark of Cain storyline is moot in this AU.)
[2] For SPN-only readers: The Western Schism and the Reformation both took significantly different turns in GG-verse, splintering the Western Church even more than it is in our world. There are seven popes, including those of Rome, Avignon, and Belfast.