[Big Bang] turning Back the Clocks, Part Two
Title: Turning Back the Clocks
Fandom/Genre: Supernatural
Pairing(s): future!Cas/future!Dean, Dean/Castiel, one-sided future!Cas/Dean, and vague hints of Crowley/future!Cas
Summary: Zachariah brings future!Cas into the present day in hopes of making the present-day Castiel fall into line. But Cas has his own plans, and refuses to let Dean die like he did in 2014. Whether Dean likes it or not. With a little help from some unusual sources-- namely a fallen angel turned demon, an angel turned pagan, and a motley crew of hunters-- Cas will attempt to avert the End.
Masterpost
TURNING BACK THE CLOCKS
Part Two
blue and red bled together like swirls of bruise and blood painted on a technicolor slide of acid pain held under the microscope. wings on his back not on his back where had they gone why?
who was he without
Dean.
Dean was dead
or was he? where was he? had cas lost Dean or his wings?
he needed to open
the door. there was a door in the floor, painted with enochian sigils in blood in candy floss in tears in
what? he knew he had to go through.
but it was in the floor, and he didn't want to Fall.
but the door opened and he
Fell down. for forty days and forty nights he Fell.
and then--
Cas opened his eyes. The room was quiet and it felt like no one had been there for hours.
Silently, Cas sat up and went over to the table. There was a knife weighing down the edge of a dirty piece of paper and Cas took it, slipping the knife into his belt before starting to read.
Gone off to investigate case. Dean.
There was an arrow pointing right on the lower corner of the paper. Cas flipped it over.
God, you're really freaking lazy. There was a call on the police scanner to go to this paper mill, check out a lead. We'll be back soon. Feel free to go out for pie. Don't go wild with buying porn.
The vague smell of stale pizza was hanging around the room, so Cas went over to the fridge and opened it, flipping up the cover of the pizza box he found inside to pry out a slice. Dean's bag was to the right of his bed; Cas went to it, and with one hand rifled through it until he found a shirt. Finishing the slice of pizza, he pulled the shirt on over his head and appropriated a credit card from one of the side pockets of the duffle.
There was something niggling in the corner of his sleep-muddled mind, but he couldn't figure out what it was.
The elevator was still broken, so Cas went down the stairs. Even after some sleep, each step still felt like daggers were being pierced through his ankle and his ribs.
For some reason, the same attendant was still there, looking half-dead with fatigue. Cas walked over to her. "Hello."
She mustered a smile. "Hey there. Need help?"
"Directions toward the nearest Salvation Army, if you would? I want to get a change of clothes before I head home.."
She laughed. "Sure thing. Head right out of the doorway, and it'll be where this street meets Park."
"Thank you." He smiled at her and touched her hand, pushing what little grace he had left to her. She didn't seem to notice, but her bruises faded a little and Cas felt more tired than ever. But at least he could do something.
Cas left the motel and started down the street, still puzzling over what he knew he had forgotten.
Paper mill. Paper mill, paper mill, paper mill.
Hadn't Dean gone missing in a paper mill once, for days? It had scared Cas nearly to death when he realized that Dean was stuck--
Damn it. The fun had started and Cas didn't have a car. Of course, as long as there were cars in the world, Cas had a car; that was how he rolled, on four wheels, in bad ass Jeeps he got with five-finger discounts.
Smiling grimly, Cas started to scan the street for a likely looking vehicle. He wouldn't miss this for the world.
*
Cas parked beside the Impala, the old Jeep he had hotwired looking like a dirty five-year-old next to Dean's "classy '67 Impala"-- and don't call her anything else, Cas. Cas slammed the car door shut and started toward the entrance of the mill, the dust from the pull-around driveway getting all over the cracked leather of his boots.
Cas lifted the latch on the warehouse door and went through.
"Ah, fuck."
He was inside a spaceship, in what looked like an engine room. There was a cot in the corner and a colorful parasol hanging from one of the ladders, clanging hard against it as the ship shook and rattled.
"We're going for hard burn here, people," the intercom crackled, the voice male and rough. "So hang on to your hats and, uh, try not to throw up. Kaylee, get your ass into that engine room!"
"Shi, Captain. I'm nearly--" A petite brunette girl pelted into the room and stopped dead in front of Cas, blinking rapidly. Her eyes were bright against her dirt-smudged face, and as she stared at him, the engine stopped. In fact, everything stopped. "You're not what I was expecting," she said, voice deepening as she morphed into Gabriel. There wasn't much of a height difference, as the cherry on top of that little gender-switch.
"Hi, Gabriel," Cas said cheerfully. "How's the attempt at rebellion going? Let me guess-- still pretty Angel of Judgment sometimes."
"Don't be a douche, Castiel. You're from the End." Gabriel's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "I seem to remember that not going well. Shouldn't you be dead?" The metal floor clanking, Gabriel stepped forward, shoulders back, standing as straight as he could. As if someone that short could actually intimidate anyone.
Father, Gabriel was actually alive. Cas couldn't stop staring at his brother's face.
"Zachariah happened. I won't say he saved me, because that implies I owe him something."
Gabriel snorted.
Dean had looked at Cas after they had gotten out of this entire channel-hopping ordeal, back in Cas' time, seconds before he freed Gabriel from the circle of holy fire. Because Gabriel was the only brother that Cas had left who wasn't actively trying to kill him, Dean hadn't done more than half-heartedly curse and let Gabriel go without blowing his cover.
At Elysian Fields, Gabriel had tried to redeem himself, fallen, and burned, so it had been pointless. Dean had refused to save Kali for Gabriel, who had died in front of her, wings flared, trying to stand up for something he didn't even believe in. Of course, by that point, there had been a lot of death going around anyway.
"It's good to see you again, Gabriel," he said, staring intently into his brother's eyes. "I have missed you."
Gabriel pursed his lips, eyebrows rising. "Aw, shucks, Castiel. And here I was, thinking you didn't care." His face suddenly stilled, becoming solemn and taut. "I'm not letting them go. They need to learn their lesson before they go anywhere."
Cas shrugged, settling down against the side of the ship's engine. It was frozen mid-spin, the hard metal ridges digging into his back. "I don't give a damn what you do with those two idiots. They can more than handle anything you can throw at them, and besides, there's two of me and only one of you."
"Two of you aren't worth even half of me," Gabriel snapped reflexively.
Cas shrugged again. "I'm practically human, so true enough. And you're short, too-- half of you isn't very much."
Frowning, Gabriel leaned back a little to scan over Cas critically. "You're no fun. So how have you been over the last few hundred years, bro?"
"Well enough. I spent the last couple of them in booze and decadence, but prior to that I had a very prestigious position in Heaven, control over one of the key players in the apocalypse, and proceeded to fall for him and lose every ounce of my grace. So to summarize, my life's been going great. Yours?"
"Pagans. Sex. Parties. Chocolate. Can't complain."
There was a loud knocking sound coming from every direction; Gabriel reached up absently and snapped his fingers.
"The me that's still holding on to any remnant of his dignity finally showed up?" Cas asked.
"Yupperuni."
Cas tilted his head. "That is not a word."
"It is when I say it, big boy."
Cas' mind flashed to porn and he winced. "Do you have to use that term of endearment?"
Gabriel smirked. "Yes. Yes, I do."
"My Dean is dead, Gabriel," Cas said. He wasn't sure why; Gabriel would hardly care, not when he hadn't seen Cas in millennia, not when he was trying to make Dean say "yes."
Gabriel stared at him, motionless, just like the archangel he had once been and perhaps still was.
"You are dead as well. Don't listen to what Dean tells you. Killing Lucifer doesn't work, and it was cruel of him to make you try. Will be cruel of him." Cas shook his head. "Don't do it."
"I don't plan on it, bro. Are you sure you're--" He paused, cocking his head, and then irritation flashed over his face. "You're really annoying, aren't you." Cas jolted when Gabriel reached out and grabbed his arm. They faded instantly with a crackle-buzz like static on a screen and reappeared just outside an open door. Gabriel dashed through it, sliding to a stop in front of a shocked Sam and Dean.
"Hey-oh!" he said cheerfully. An unseen crowd tittered and cat-called; Cas rolled his eyes and followed him inside, leading to a few shocked gasps, presumably because Castiel was already on the floor, his trench coat pooling around him and duck tape over his mouth. Cas could feel the furysurprisehurt coming off him in waves.
"Hi, Castiel!" Gabriel said cheerily. He waved his hand and Castiel flickered out. "Bye Castiel!"
"Cas, are you all right?" Dean asked Cas, despite the fact that he could clearly see that Cas was unharmed. He turned to Gabriel. "Where did you send Cas?"
Gabriel turned to look at Cas with overblown sympathy. "This has got to be confusing for you."
Cas shrugged. "More confusing for other people. I know perfectly well who I am, after all. I am Cas. He is Castiel."
"You're Castiel," Gabriel said stubbornly.
"Dean named me and Cas is who I've become. Castiel doesn't deserve it yet."
"Uh, Dean? You might want to shut up," Sam said quietly. From the corner of his eye, Cas saw him subtly tug Dean back a few steps.
"No! I'm done with the monkey-dance. Okay, we get it," Dean said, stepping forward a few paces.
Amused, Gabriel said, "Yeah? Get what, hot shot?"
Cas focused on Sam as they sparred back and forth. Sam was the new addition to the mix, the thing that made this different from when Cas and his Dean had met with Gabriel. Whatever insults Dean and Gabriel threw were old news: Sam was the wild card here.
Sam, however, was watching Cas more than anyone, looking between him and Gabriel with a frown. Cas quirked an eyebrow at him and he looked down.
"--grabbing ankle for Michael or Lucifer; which one is it?"
"Dean--" Cas said. He had nearly started to move forward when Gabriel's voice, suddenly serious, stopped him.
"You listen to me, you arrogant dick. I don't work for either of those SOBs. Believe me."
"Oh, you're somebody's bitch," Dean said, lip curling.
Cas grabbed Gabriel's arm and was pulled along with him as he jumped at Dean; Cas shoved him back as hard as he could, nearly breaking his fingers against skin that was suddenly as hard as stone. "Don't, Gabriel," he warned.
"Gabriel?" It was Sam, but Cas wasn't paying attention anymore.
"They're still our brothers. How can you just stand there while he starts talking incest?"
Cas rolled his eyes, though he didn't let his grip soften on Gabriel's arm. "Brotherhood in armies isn't quite the same as a family relationship to most. I think you being in a relationship with Michael or Lucifer is the only thing that might constitute incest among angels, given how they both thought of you. I certainly doubt that either of them would mind, ah, 'grabbing ankle' for one another. "
Gabriel's eyes lit up. "Why, little brother, you've gone and gotten yourself a shiny new sense of humor."
"It's Dean's. I only borrow it."
"What the hell is going on here?" Dean asked tiredly.
Gabriel looked at him and shook his head, a deeply sorrowful expression in his eyes. "This just isn't any fun anymore."
With a snap of his fingers, the Winchesters were gone. With another snap, he and Castiel were suddenly surrounded by the strange, organic sculptures that looked like bone, rising from the floor. The walls were covered with brass ovals and in the center of the room was a whirring engine, rising up and down in a cylinder.
"Fantastic!" Gabriel said, looking around. "I do good work, don't I."
Cas sighed. "Gabriel, they won't agree with you. They won't learn any lesson. In my timeline, when Dean learns you are an angel, he traps you in holy oil and nearly leaves you in any empty warehouse, where your only way out would have been to reveal yourself to the Host. I don't know what will happen if he does it again."
Gabriel crossed over to the console around the engine, poking idly at buttons and gadgets. "Except he didn't want to hurt you, right, Castiel?" Gabriel made a "tsk" sound with his tongue. "Shame. You fell for him, and he didn't even know it."
Cas shrugged. "He knew. He couldn't deal with it on top of his brother being Lucifer." There was a softening in Gabriel's stare. "Don't pity me," he said sharply. "I don't blame Dean for my fall. Given the choice, I would change nothing." He thought about that for a moment, then frowned. "Except that girl, Rachel. I wouldn't sleep with her again, given the option."
Gabriel laughed. "You know, Castiel, you're all right." He tilted his head, staring up into the strange metal ceiling. "Idiots calling."
He snapped his fingers and both of them static-ed out again.
They were standing in a clearly, the Impala parked beside a very pissed-off looking Dean. Not saying a word, he threw a lighter onto the ground and set it ablaze, a circle ringing around them. Cas stared at it, the flames nearly knee-high and rising.
"Gabriel, huh?" Dean said.
Gabriel grinned. "Hey Dean. Hey Sam. Lookin' good."
The Impala sighed and said with Sam's voice, "Eat me."
"Maybe later."
Cas choked; Gabriel smirked at him briefly before turning to Dean. "Bravo, Winchester. You've caught yourself an archangel. Got any plans on what you want to do with me." His eyebrows wiggled. "I have a few… suggestions."
"Fix Sam," Dean said. His voice was taut, like it always had been, at the End.
"But he's so pretty this way--" Dean stepped forward. "That is SO not intimidating." Gabriel tsked, shaking his head, but he snapped his fingers anyway. There was a strange sound, like an air lock releasing, and the Impala's back door opened, revealing Sam. Sam stood up. If looks would kill, his gaze would have skewered Gabriel through the heart.
"Let us go," Dean said. Cas frowned at the flames that were circling them and tried to reach through the circle; his fingertips started to blacken and the darkness rose further and further up his hand with every passing second. Gabriel hissed, grabbing Cas' hand. The black skin receded and then vanished.
"What do you have to bargain with?" Gabriel asked, dropping Cas' hand. "You got your angel stuck in here with me, after all." He shook his head sadly. "And I'm afraid that he isn't any use to you, stuck here."
"Cas?"
Cas shook his head. "Don't ask me. I want to see how this plays out." He sat in the center of the circle, Indian-style, and looked up expectantly through the flames.
"Jeez." Dean rubbed the back of his head, looking as if he had a headache coming on. There was a hardness in the back of his eyes that was all-too-familiar to Cas.
"If it helps, I'm just as much use in here as I am out there," Cas pointed out helpfully. "That is to say, not any whatsoever, since there aren't really any spare guns around and they wouldn't work anyway."
"You are a real downer. You know that, future-boy?" Gabriel said.
"Someone's gotta be. Everyone else is all 'ra ra ra, we can do it!' when that's just a load of horseshit."
"Let us go," Sam repeated. Sighing, Gabriel snapped his fingers. The clearing flickered and disappeared, revealing a broken down old warehouse.
"Happy?"
"No," Dean snapped. "Where the hell did you stick Castiel?"
"Why, he's in my pocket! A pocket. In time and space, that is. Hope he brought his running shoes."
"Well, bring him back."
Gabriel snapped again and Castiel appeared behind Dean. And wow, Cas thought, never knew that Jimmy's so pretty when he's pissed off. Heck, I would do me. Him. Me?
"Gabriel," Castiel greeted. His tone was murderous.
"Hey bro," Gabriel said cheerfully. "How's the search for Daddy going? Let me guess-- awful." He paused, then looked down at Cas. "Did you steal that line from me or did I steal it from you?"
"You may never know," Cas said gravely. "Don't break yourself trying." He looked at Dean through the flames of the holy fire. "Dean, let us go."
"No. Why the hell are you palling around with him, anyway?"
"He is my brother and I love him," Cas said. He rose to his feet. "And if this conversation goes on for much longer, you will be on the road to convincing him to sacrifice himself for your cause. And it won't do a single thing besides lead to the both of your deaths."
"Don't you think they deserve to know, though, Cas?" Gabriel grinned at him recklessly. "The whole speech, whole spiel about Cain and Abel?"
"What did you just say?" Sam asked. His shoulders were tense; though not smarter than Dean by any means, Cas had always known Sam was quicker mentally and knew a larger number of hard facts about mythology. Any mention of a Biblical hint about their situation would have him running like a dog to a food bowl.
"Cain and Abel," Gabriel said innocently. "Lucifer and Michael. One brother must kill the other. And that's what you're intended for. Why do you think I trapped you here and sent Castiel away? You were born for this, boys. It's your destiny! It was always you." His arms rose in the air, as if he was reaching for a way home. "'As it is in Heaven, so it must be on Earth.' One brother has to kill the other." His face was solemn now, his arms back at his sides. Gabriel, the Angel of Judgment, had so judged. Cas bowed his head.
"You can't be serious," Dean spluttered.
"As herpes." Gabriel sighed. "Why do you think I've always taken such an interest in you? From the moment Dad flipped on the lights down here, we knew it was all gonna end with you two. Always."
"I would like to add at this point that he must mean the archangels, because no one else knew this at all," Cas interjected. "I am not to blame in any way for not informing you this beforehand. This is not-- let me repeat, not-- my fault."
Gabriel threw him a look. "You're ruining my monologue, Castiel."
Cas shrugged. "That's what brothers are for, I'm afraid, or so I have learned from Dean."
Dean shook his head, catching their attention again. "That isn't gonna happen."
"It did happen," Cas said. "And there was a paradise of poisonous flowers on Earth, with only Lucifer to enjoy it. And you died, and I died, and Gabriel died, and Sam died. There is no happy ending, only the end of the world as we know it. And guess what, Dean? I don't feel fine."
Dean looked at the two of them and shook his head, turning around. "Come on, Sam. Cas."
Sam and Castiel began to follow him.
"You're just going to leave us here?" Gabriel asked desperately. He had his arms drawn in at his sides, away from the flames, but there was barely enough room in the circle for one, much less two.
"Of course he will. That's what Dean is like," Cas said. He was beginning to get a sense of déjà vu, but this time he just didn't know if Dean would stay his hand.
Dean whirled around, glaring. "No. It's not. And for the record? This isn't about some prize fight between your brothers, or the end of the world as we know it. This about you two being too broken. This is about you being too afraid to stand up to your family." He pulled the fire alarm and water began to rain down from the ceiling. "I never would have thought you would do this, Cas. Find your own way home."
The warehouse door opened and they left with one last, lingering look of painsorrow thrown over Castiel's shoulder.
Dean was dead.
Dean was gone.
Next ->
Fandom/Genre: Supernatural
Pairing(s): future!Cas/future!Dean, Dean/Castiel, one-sided future!Cas/Dean, and vague hints of Crowley/future!Cas
Summary: Zachariah brings future!Cas into the present day in hopes of making the present-day Castiel fall into line. But Cas has his own plans, and refuses to let Dean die like he did in 2014. Whether Dean likes it or not. With a little help from some unusual sources-- namely a fallen angel turned demon, an angel turned pagan, and a motley crew of hunters-- Cas will attempt to avert the End.
Masterpost
TURNING BACK THE CLOCKS
Part Two
blue and red bled together like swirls of bruise and blood painted on a technicolor slide of acid pain held under the microscope. wings on his back not on his back where had they gone why?
who was he without
Dean.
Dean was dead
or was he? where was he? had cas lost Dean or his wings?
he needed to open
the door. there was a door in the floor, painted with enochian sigils in blood in candy floss in tears in
what? he knew he had to go through.
but it was in the floor, and he didn't want to Fall.
but the door opened and he
Fell down. for forty days and forty nights he Fell.
and then--
Cas opened his eyes. The room was quiet and it felt like no one had been there for hours.
Silently, Cas sat up and went over to the table. There was a knife weighing down the edge of a dirty piece of paper and Cas took it, slipping the knife into his belt before starting to read.
Gone off to investigate case. Dean.
There was an arrow pointing right on the lower corner of the paper. Cas flipped it over.
God, you're really freaking lazy. There was a call on the police scanner to go to this paper mill, check out a lead. We'll be back soon. Feel free to go out for pie. Don't go wild with buying porn.
The vague smell of stale pizza was hanging around the room, so Cas went over to the fridge and opened it, flipping up the cover of the pizza box he found inside to pry out a slice. Dean's bag was to the right of his bed; Cas went to it, and with one hand rifled through it until he found a shirt. Finishing the slice of pizza, he pulled the shirt on over his head and appropriated a credit card from one of the side pockets of the duffle.
There was something niggling in the corner of his sleep-muddled mind, but he couldn't figure out what it was.
The elevator was still broken, so Cas went down the stairs. Even after some sleep, each step still felt like daggers were being pierced through his ankle and his ribs.
For some reason, the same attendant was still there, looking half-dead with fatigue. Cas walked over to her. "Hello."
She mustered a smile. "Hey there. Need help?"
"Directions toward the nearest Salvation Army, if you would? I want to get a change of clothes before I head home.."
She laughed. "Sure thing. Head right out of the doorway, and it'll be where this street meets Park."
"Thank you." He smiled at her and touched her hand, pushing what little grace he had left to her. She didn't seem to notice, but her bruises faded a little and Cas felt more tired than ever. But at least he could do something.
Cas left the motel and started down the street, still puzzling over what he knew he had forgotten.
Paper mill. Paper mill, paper mill, paper mill.
Hadn't Dean gone missing in a paper mill once, for days? It had scared Cas nearly to death when he realized that Dean was stuck--
Damn it. The fun had started and Cas didn't have a car. Of course, as long as there were cars in the world, Cas had a car; that was how he rolled, on four wheels, in bad ass Jeeps he got with five-finger discounts.
Smiling grimly, Cas started to scan the street for a likely looking vehicle. He wouldn't miss this for the world.
*
Cas parked beside the Impala, the old Jeep he had hotwired looking like a dirty five-year-old next to Dean's "classy '67 Impala"-- and don't call her anything else, Cas. Cas slammed the car door shut and started toward the entrance of the mill, the dust from the pull-around driveway getting all over the cracked leather of his boots.
Cas lifted the latch on the warehouse door and went through.
"Ah, fuck."
He was inside a spaceship, in what looked like an engine room. There was a cot in the corner and a colorful parasol hanging from one of the ladders, clanging hard against it as the ship shook and rattled.
"We're going for hard burn here, people," the intercom crackled, the voice male and rough. "So hang on to your hats and, uh, try not to throw up. Kaylee, get your ass into that engine room!"
"Shi, Captain. I'm nearly--" A petite brunette girl pelted into the room and stopped dead in front of Cas, blinking rapidly. Her eyes were bright against her dirt-smudged face, and as she stared at him, the engine stopped. In fact, everything stopped. "You're not what I was expecting," she said, voice deepening as she morphed into Gabriel. There wasn't much of a height difference, as the cherry on top of that little gender-switch.
"Hi, Gabriel," Cas said cheerfully. "How's the attempt at rebellion going? Let me guess-- still pretty Angel of Judgment sometimes."
"Don't be a douche, Castiel. You're from the End." Gabriel's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "I seem to remember that not going well. Shouldn't you be dead?" The metal floor clanking, Gabriel stepped forward, shoulders back, standing as straight as he could. As if someone that short could actually intimidate anyone.
Father, Gabriel was actually alive. Cas couldn't stop staring at his brother's face.
"Zachariah happened. I won't say he saved me, because that implies I owe him something."
Gabriel snorted.
Dean had looked at Cas after they had gotten out of this entire channel-hopping ordeal, back in Cas' time, seconds before he freed Gabriel from the circle of holy fire. Because Gabriel was the only brother that Cas had left who wasn't actively trying to kill him, Dean hadn't done more than half-heartedly curse and let Gabriel go without blowing his cover.
At Elysian Fields, Gabriel had tried to redeem himself, fallen, and burned, so it had been pointless. Dean had refused to save Kali for Gabriel, who had died in front of her, wings flared, trying to stand up for something he didn't even believe in. Of course, by that point, there had been a lot of death going around anyway.
"It's good to see you again, Gabriel," he said, staring intently into his brother's eyes. "I have missed you."
Gabriel pursed his lips, eyebrows rising. "Aw, shucks, Castiel. And here I was, thinking you didn't care." His face suddenly stilled, becoming solemn and taut. "I'm not letting them go. They need to learn their lesson before they go anywhere."
Cas shrugged, settling down against the side of the ship's engine. It was frozen mid-spin, the hard metal ridges digging into his back. "I don't give a damn what you do with those two idiots. They can more than handle anything you can throw at them, and besides, there's two of me and only one of you."
"Two of you aren't worth even half of me," Gabriel snapped reflexively.
Cas shrugged again. "I'm practically human, so true enough. And you're short, too-- half of you isn't very much."
Frowning, Gabriel leaned back a little to scan over Cas critically. "You're no fun. So how have you been over the last few hundred years, bro?"
"Well enough. I spent the last couple of them in booze and decadence, but prior to that I had a very prestigious position in Heaven, control over one of the key players in the apocalypse, and proceeded to fall for him and lose every ounce of my grace. So to summarize, my life's been going great. Yours?"
"Pagans. Sex. Parties. Chocolate. Can't complain."
There was a loud knocking sound coming from every direction; Gabriel reached up absently and snapped his fingers.
"The me that's still holding on to any remnant of his dignity finally showed up?" Cas asked.
"Yupperuni."
Cas tilted his head. "That is not a word."
"It is when I say it, big boy."
Cas' mind flashed to porn and he winced. "Do you have to use that term of endearment?"
Gabriel smirked. "Yes. Yes, I do."
"My Dean is dead, Gabriel," Cas said. He wasn't sure why; Gabriel would hardly care, not when he hadn't seen Cas in millennia, not when he was trying to make Dean say "yes."
Gabriel stared at him, motionless, just like the archangel he had once been and perhaps still was.
"You are dead as well. Don't listen to what Dean tells you. Killing Lucifer doesn't work, and it was cruel of him to make you try. Will be cruel of him." Cas shook his head. "Don't do it."
"I don't plan on it, bro. Are you sure you're--" He paused, cocking his head, and then irritation flashed over his face. "You're really annoying, aren't you." Cas jolted when Gabriel reached out and grabbed his arm. They faded instantly with a crackle-buzz like static on a screen and reappeared just outside an open door. Gabriel dashed through it, sliding to a stop in front of a shocked Sam and Dean.
"Hey-oh!" he said cheerfully. An unseen crowd tittered and cat-called; Cas rolled his eyes and followed him inside, leading to a few shocked gasps, presumably because Castiel was already on the floor, his trench coat pooling around him and duck tape over his mouth. Cas could feel the furysurprisehurt coming off him in waves.
"Hi, Castiel!" Gabriel said cheerily. He waved his hand and Castiel flickered out. "Bye Castiel!"
"Cas, are you all right?" Dean asked Cas, despite the fact that he could clearly see that Cas was unharmed. He turned to Gabriel. "Where did you send Cas?"
Gabriel turned to look at Cas with overblown sympathy. "This has got to be confusing for you."
Cas shrugged. "More confusing for other people. I know perfectly well who I am, after all. I am Cas. He is Castiel."
"You're Castiel," Gabriel said stubbornly.
"Dean named me and Cas is who I've become. Castiel doesn't deserve it yet."
"Uh, Dean? You might want to shut up," Sam said quietly. From the corner of his eye, Cas saw him subtly tug Dean back a few steps.
"No! I'm done with the monkey-dance. Okay, we get it," Dean said, stepping forward a few paces.
Amused, Gabriel said, "Yeah? Get what, hot shot?"
Cas focused on Sam as they sparred back and forth. Sam was the new addition to the mix, the thing that made this different from when Cas and his Dean had met with Gabriel. Whatever insults Dean and Gabriel threw were old news: Sam was the wild card here.
Sam, however, was watching Cas more than anyone, looking between him and Gabriel with a frown. Cas quirked an eyebrow at him and he looked down.
"--grabbing ankle for Michael or Lucifer; which one is it?"
"Dean--" Cas said. He had nearly started to move forward when Gabriel's voice, suddenly serious, stopped him.
"You listen to me, you arrogant dick. I don't work for either of those SOBs. Believe me."
"Oh, you're somebody's bitch," Dean said, lip curling.
Cas grabbed Gabriel's arm and was pulled along with him as he jumped at Dean; Cas shoved him back as hard as he could, nearly breaking his fingers against skin that was suddenly as hard as stone. "Don't, Gabriel," he warned.
"Gabriel?" It was Sam, but Cas wasn't paying attention anymore.
"They're still our brothers. How can you just stand there while he starts talking incest?"
Cas rolled his eyes, though he didn't let his grip soften on Gabriel's arm. "Brotherhood in armies isn't quite the same as a family relationship to most. I think you being in a relationship with Michael or Lucifer is the only thing that might constitute incest among angels, given how they both thought of you. I certainly doubt that either of them would mind, ah, 'grabbing ankle' for one another. "
Gabriel's eyes lit up. "Why, little brother, you've gone and gotten yourself a shiny new sense of humor."
"It's Dean's. I only borrow it."
"What the hell is going on here?" Dean asked tiredly.
Gabriel looked at him and shook his head, a deeply sorrowful expression in his eyes. "This just isn't any fun anymore."
With a snap of his fingers, the Winchesters were gone. With another snap, he and Castiel were suddenly surrounded by the strange, organic sculptures that looked like bone, rising from the floor. The walls were covered with brass ovals and in the center of the room was a whirring engine, rising up and down in a cylinder.
"Fantastic!" Gabriel said, looking around. "I do good work, don't I."
Cas sighed. "Gabriel, they won't agree with you. They won't learn any lesson. In my timeline, when Dean learns you are an angel, he traps you in holy oil and nearly leaves you in any empty warehouse, where your only way out would have been to reveal yourself to the Host. I don't know what will happen if he does it again."
Gabriel crossed over to the console around the engine, poking idly at buttons and gadgets. "Except he didn't want to hurt you, right, Castiel?" Gabriel made a "tsk" sound with his tongue. "Shame. You fell for him, and he didn't even know it."
Cas shrugged. "He knew. He couldn't deal with it on top of his brother being Lucifer." There was a softening in Gabriel's stare. "Don't pity me," he said sharply. "I don't blame Dean for my fall. Given the choice, I would change nothing." He thought about that for a moment, then frowned. "Except that girl, Rachel. I wouldn't sleep with her again, given the option."
Gabriel laughed. "You know, Castiel, you're all right." He tilted his head, staring up into the strange metal ceiling. "Idiots calling."
He snapped his fingers and both of them static-ed out again.
They were standing in a clearly, the Impala parked beside a very pissed-off looking Dean. Not saying a word, he threw a lighter onto the ground and set it ablaze, a circle ringing around them. Cas stared at it, the flames nearly knee-high and rising.
"Gabriel, huh?" Dean said.
Gabriel grinned. "Hey Dean. Hey Sam. Lookin' good."
The Impala sighed and said with Sam's voice, "Eat me."
"Maybe later."
Cas choked; Gabriel smirked at him briefly before turning to Dean. "Bravo, Winchester. You've caught yourself an archangel. Got any plans on what you want to do with me." His eyebrows wiggled. "I have a few… suggestions."
"Fix Sam," Dean said. His voice was taut, like it always had been, at the End.
"But he's so pretty this way--" Dean stepped forward. "That is SO not intimidating." Gabriel tsked, shaking his head, but he snapped his fingers anyway. There was a strange sound, like an air lock releasing, and the Impala's back door opened, revealing Sam. Sam stood up. If looks would kill, his gaze would have skewered Gabriel through the heart.
"Let us go," Dean said. Cas frowned at the flames that were circling them and tried to reach through the circle; his fingertips started to blacken and the darkness rose further and further up his hand with every passing second. Gabriel hissed, grabbing Cas' hand. The black skin receded and then vanished.
"What do you have to bargain with?" Gabriel asked, dropping Cas' hand. "You got your angel stuck in here with me, after all." He shook his head sadly. "And I'm afraid that he isn't any use to you, stuck here."
"Cas?"
Cas shook his head. "Don't ask me. I want to see how this plays out." He sat in the center of the circle, Indian-style, and looked up expectantly through the flames.
"Jeez." Dean rubbed the back of his head, looking as if he had a headache coming on. There was a hardness in the back of his eyes that was all-too-familiar to Cas.
"If it helps, I'm just as much use in here as I am out there," Cas pointed out helpfully. "That is to say, not any whatsoever, since there aren't really any spare guns around and they wouldn't work anyway."
"You are a real downer. You know that, future-boy?" Gabriel said.
"Someone's gotta be. Everyone else is all 'ra ra ra, we can do it!' when that's just a load of horseshit."
"Let us go," Sam repeated. Sighing, Gabriel snapped his fingers. The clearing flickered and disappeared, revealing a broken down old warehouse.
"Happy?"
"No," Dean snapped. "Where the hell did you stick Castiel?"
"Why, he's in my pocket! A pocket. In time and space, that is. Hope he brought his running shoes."
"Well, bring him back."
Gabriel snapped again and Castiel appeared behind Dean. And wow, Cas thought, never knew that Jimmy's so pretty when he's pissed off. Heck, I would do me. Him. Me?
"Gabriel," Castiel greeted. His tone was murderous.
"Hey bro," Gabriel said cheerfully. "How's the search for Daddy going? Let me guess-- awful." He paused, then looked down at Cas. "Did you steal that line from me or did I steal it from you?"
"You may never know," Cas said gravely. "Don't break yourself trying." He looked at Dean through the flames of the holy fire. "Dean, let us go."
"No. Why the hell are you palling around with him, anyway?"
"He is my brother and I love him," Cas said. He rose to his feet. "And if this conversation goes on for much longer, you will be on the road to convincing him to sacrifice himself for your cause. And it won't do a single thing besides lead to the both of your deaths."
"Don't you think they deserve to know, though, Cas?" Gabriel grinned at him recklessly. "The whole speech, whole spiel about Cain and Abel?"
"What did you just say?" Sam asked. His shoulders were tense; though not smarter than Dean by any means, Cas had always known Sam was quicker mentally and knew a larger number of hard facts about mythology. Any mention of a Biblical hint about their situation would have him running like a dog to a food bowl.
"Cain and Abel," Gabriel said innocently. "Lucifer and Michael. One brother must kill the other. And that's what you're intended for. Why do you think I trapped you here and sent Castiel away? You were born for this, boys. It's your destiny! It was always you." His arms rose in the air, as if he was reaching for a way home. "'As it is in Heaven, so it must be on Earth.' One brother has to kill the other." His face was solemn now, his arms back at his sides. Gabriel, the Angel of Judgment, had so judged. Cas bowed his head.
"You can't be serious," Dean spluttered.
"As herpes." Gabriel sighed. "Why do you think I've always taken such an interest in you? From the moment Dad flipped on the lights down here, we knew it was all gonna end with you two. Always."
"I would like to add at this point that he must mean the archangels, because no one else knew this at all," Cas interjected. "I am not to blame in any way for not informing you this beforehand. This is not-- let me repeat, not-- my fault."
Gabriel threw him a look. "You're ruining my monologue, Castiel."
Cas shrugged. "That's what brothers are for, I'm afraid, or so I have learned from Dean."
Dean shook his head, catching their attention again. "That isn't gonna happen."
"It did happen," Cas said. "And there was a paradise of poisonous flowers on Earth, with only Lucifer to enjoy it. And you died, and I died, and Gabriel died, and Sam died. There is no happy ending, only the end of the world as we know it. And guess what, Dean? I don't feel fine."
Dean looked at the two of them and shook his head, turning around. "Come on, Sam. Cas."
Sam and Castiel began to follow him.
"You're just going to leave us here?" Gabriel asked desperately. He had his arms drawn in at his sides, away from the flames, but there was barely enough room in the circle for one, much less two.
"Of course he will. That's what Dean is like," Cas said. He was beginning to get a sense of déjà vu, but this time he just didn't know if Dean would stay his hand.
Dean whirled around, glaring. "No. It's not. And for the record? This isn't about some prize fight between your brothers, or the end of the world as we know it. This about you two being too broken. This is about you being too afraid to stand up to your family." He pulled the fire alarm and water began to rain down from the ceiling. "I never would have thought you would do this, Cas. Find your own way home."
The warehouse door opened and they left with one last, lingering look of painsorrow thrown over Castiel's shoulder.
Dean was dead.
Dean was gone.
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