SPN Reverse_Bang: Operation Winchester Rescue
Title: Operation: Winchester Rescue
Author: borgmama1of5
Artist: dmsilvisart
Please go to her link and leave her some love:
https://dmsilvisart.tumblr.com/post/167293596316/title-operation-winchester-rescue-author
Wordcount: 7778
Rating: PG-13
Genre: gen
Spoilers: au after 12.23
Beta: sandymg
Disclaimer: Just having fun in the SPN sandbox
Summary: Sam and Dean need rescuing--and who better to send on the mission than all their recently deceased enemies under the direction of a resurrected angel? You can imagine how well that's going to work...
Author’s Notes and Thank Yous: At the end
Link to AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/12671628
"You do realize," Rowena paused to stifle a groan as her jailer tightened the chain holding her spread-eagled against the wall, "my son the King of Hell is not going to be happy when he finds out," another moment to clench her teeth, "about the mistake that's been made putting his mother in this dungeon."
The demon looked at her disdainfully. "Crowley's dead. No one's in charge right now."
"Oh." Rowena hadn't expected that answer. "Well, then, a strapping lad like yourself must be thinking of the opportunities. Perhaps I could help you--"
"Yeah, not interested in having you screw me over." He gave the key one final turn. "See you tomorrow."
Time passed interminably. When Lucifer had appeared in her living room, Rowena hadn't had time to react as he'd pulled out a fistful of her hair, said "I'd love to chat but I'm in a hurry," and set her aflame. From that agony she'd appeared in Hell and been 'escorted' to this prison cell where periodically someone would show up to inflict some half-hearted torture.
Rowena was starting to look forward to those sessions just to relieve the boredom when the screech of the lock heralded a new visitor.
"Arthur Ketch, at your service." The well-dressed Englishman set a toolbox on the floor and unlatched it to reveal a meticulous array of unpleasant-looking tools. “I understand service in this section of the dungeons has been spotty, so I’m here to rectify that. Let’s start by tightening those bracelets, shall we?”
“Do you have anything in gold? Iron just isn’t a good look for me.”
With a smile that was anything but reassuring, the man seized her forearm and twisted.
“Oh, but iron goes so well with blo-“
"Hello, Rowena. I was not expecting you, Mr. Ketch. Please be seated."
She was standing in a seedy-looking conference room, her arm still in Ketch’s grip, as the angel Castiel gestured toward several decrepit chairs.
***
"Even when I lose, I win." Crowley watched Lucifer's smug expression falter...
"Crowley. Please have a seat."
***
"I shall endeavor to be succinct. You were all dead--in Crowley's case, as a demon stabbed with an angel blade, you simply ceased to exist. Being human, your soul, Rowena, was directed to Hell. I assume the same is true for you, Mr. Ketch. I myself was also non-existent, also having been dispatched by an angel blade wielded by Lucifer."
Cas paced at the head of the battered table.
"That should have been the end for all of us. We have all been gone from this plane of existence for a considerable time, and multiple cataclysmic events have occurred, many of them centered, not surprisingly, around Sam and Dean Winchester. Now a mutual...acquaintance...has taken an interest in the Winchesters' current situation and..."
"Oh, Castiel, you are making such a long-winded story out of this." Amara materialized next to him.
"Rowena, Crowley. Civility would lead me to say 'nice to see you again,' but it really isn't, considering. And I don’t know you,” she looked at Ketch, “You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, Castiel requested assistance. So here you are."
"And where just might that be?" Rowena spoke up.
"The alternate universe, I can feel it in my bones," Crowley spat.
“An alternate universe?! Fascinating!” Ketch interjected.
"What universe would that be, Fergus?"
Cas interjected before Crowley could answer. "Before he was born, Lucifer's son created a rip between universes. We lured Lucifer to this one to trap him."
"I sacrificed myself to trap him! Are you telling me it didn't work?"
"It did...to a degree. Mary Winchester was also trapped here and..."
"And those lumbering idiots reopened the rip to get her out." Crowley snarled in disgust.
Cas hesitated before agreeing, "Something like that, yes. I wasn't here to observe..."
"Enough small talk, you're here for a reason." Amara looked at each of them. "My brother made me swear to a non-interference clause as part of my parole. Now the Winchester boys from your universe have gotten themselves in a predicament here. Of course, I'm not getting involved...Castiel's regeneration was purely a whim, a self-amusement. If he wants to do something to help the Winchesters, I'm not responsible."
"Of course," Crowley muttered.
Amara gave him a cold look." Castiel said he was going to need some help and suggested you and Rowena might be of assistance."
"Why, I'm flattered and happy to assist but..."
"Why the bloody hell would I care what happens to those morons now?"
Cas shot Crowley a steely look. "Amara has resurrected you. Help me rescue Sam and Dean, and you remain alive, and if we are successful we will all be back in our correct universe."
“I gather that my inclusion in this party is accidental, but I, for one, am perfectly willing to agree to the terms!” Ketch volunteered brightly.
"Well, now, a second... third...opportunity at life in exchange for some assistance with Castiel's problem seems like a reasonable proposal to me, doesn't it seem so to you, Fergus?"
"Shut up, Mother."
"Well, Crowley?" Cas continued to glare at him.
"So what calamity have our favorite screw-ups gotten themselves into this time? Freed the big bad in this universe, or has Lucifer simply taken over and we have to knock him down again? Because that went so bloody well last time..."
“Sam and Dean are locked up."
"Why, that doesn't sound like something the Winchesters couldn't handle themselves," Rowena interjected.
"Unfortunately, it is not just any jail. They are imprisoned in this universe's Heaven."
"And we're supposed to spring them from Heaven!" Crowley exploded. "Hello, demon here--former King-of-Hell level, but Heaven's not my bailiwick!"
"I am well aware of your limitations. However, we have successfully worked together on other challenging situations, and I felt your abilities would be useful. And I can extend that observation to Mr. Ketch based on the annoying but effective interactions we have had. If, on the other hand, you don't feel you have anything to contribute, Amara can simply return you to your former state..."
"Och, let's not be hasty! Tell us a bit more about the situation, I'm sure we can come up with an idea or two!" Rowena interjected quickly.
Cas looked stumped. "I am not conversant with how Sam and Dean ended up in Heaven's prison."
"The archangel Michael, who is a quivering mess in Lucifer's cage in your world, destroyed the Lucifer of this one, and your Lucifer's appearance has him quite disturbed. He views Sam and Dean as the perpetrators of this outrage." Amara, who had been idly drawing sigils in the air, resumed interest in the conversation. "He's locked them up until he decides on a suitable punishment."
"And what would be your interest in this, dear? After all, they were working with your brother to put you back in your lockup..."
"Dean showed me what I really needed…he gave me my brother back. I don't want him to end up dying in the wrong place. He and his brother may die bloody eventually, but it would be totally unfair for them to die as the victims of some ridiculous angel rivalry. So. You will get them home."
"Oh sure, nothing to it, we have so many resources here...oh, wait, we don't have a bloody thing!"
"I can give you one or two more collaborators..." Amara cocked her head. "There’s someone that is on your mind, Castiel. And you will need a contact here to guide you, so..." She snapped her fingers. As two figures began to materialize in a smoky haze she added, "Oh, and, you need to get Mary Winchester out of this universe, too, or they'll just come back to do it themselves."
Amara vanished. And a very confused demon Meg and pissed-off Bobby Singer were standing in the conference room.
***
"Let me get this straight," Bobby yelled, "God's sister, who the Winchesters-who-don't-exist-in-this-universe defeated in yours, resurrected the lot of you to rescue them from Heaven in this universe!"
"It was not so much a defeat as an opening of her eyes to the damage she was causing by her search for revenge, but yes, that essentially sums up why we are all here."
"And just how the hell are we supposed to storm Heaven?!"
"I believe, Mr. Singer, that is what we are here to ascertain." Rowena spoke calmly in the face of Bobby's outrage. "Each of us has surmounted challenging odds in the past--isn't that correct?" She looked at Meg, who nodded, clearly still absorbing her return to life and not ready to comment on the mission yet. "My son did not achieve the throne of Hell without knowing how to scheme and connive. Fergus clearly inherited some of my own talents." She smiled at Crowley and continued before he could verbalize his growling response. "So, what we need, Mr. Singer, is the lay of the land, so to speak, before we begin our planning."
Ketch cut in, looking at Meg. "Excuse me a moment, who is this lovely lady? I don’t know why, but you seem familiar."
“I’m sure I’d remember if we’d met before, Jeeves.”
"Who the hell are all of you?" Bobby bellowed.
"I’m Arthur Ketch, British Man of Letters, until my unfortunate demise at the hand of Mary Winchester...and until a few moments ago, denizen of Hell.” He blinked and solid black eyes looked at them. “My personal proclivities for violence moved me to what could be called the ‘fast track’ for demonhood. Oh, and by the way, thank you for the use of your hellhound.” He nodded at Crowley and blinked his eyes back to their original color.
Impatient to get everyone on track, Castiel jumped in. "I am Castiel, an angel of the Lord. Meg is a demon. Crowley, who was the King of Hell, killed her five years ago. We have all worked together with Sam and Dean in the past. "
"It's been five years?! Why, it feels like just yesterday Crowley was sticking an angel blade in my ribs, Clarence!"
"My name is not Clarence, you know that. Please call me by my correct name. And this is Rowena. She is a witch and Crowley's mother."
Meg gave Rowena a critical once-over. "You don't look like I'd expect for the mother of the King of Hell. A little young, for one thing."
"Why, thank you, dear..."
"She is over 300 years old. Her physical preservation is representative of the strength of her witchcraft."
"How astute of you to realize that..."
"Fascinating." Ketch regarded Rowena with interest.
Cursory introductions over, Cas started on the mission briefing. "I believe we have two problems to solve in order to rescue Sam and Dean."
"Only two, Castiel?"
Ignoring Meg, Cas continued, "The first problem is to find the entrance to Heaven. In our world, it is the sandbox in a childrens' playground, but it seems unlikely that such recreational areas exist here. Then we have to actually gain entrance into Heaven."
"We're not just going to walk up and nicely ask the angel on guard, 'Oh, please let us up into Heaven so we can have a stroll around, check out if we want to actually move there?" Meg cocked her head. "You know I'm a demon--can a demon even enter Heaven? Won't I be struck by lightning or dissolved into atoms for even trying to pass through the pearly gates?"
"The second problem, when we do enter Heaven--"
"Wait, you already gave us two problems, finding Heaven and getting in."
"I consider those tasks related as one issue. When we enter Heaven we will need to find where they are holding Sam and Dean. We can hope the layout of this Heaven aligns with the one I am familiar with, but it is probably best not to count on that. And once we have Sam and Dean, we will still need to find their mother…and then get back to our own universe."
Cas turned to Bobby. “Do you have any idea of where the angel gate to Heaven might be in this universe?”
“Balls! I don’t want to be mixed up in this!”
“You already are, and the sooner you help us, the sooner we’ll be out of your hair,” Meg commented.
“How would I know where the Heaven’s Gate is? In this world, the way to stay alive is to avoid the damn flyboys, not go looking for ‘em!”
Crowley’s measured voice cut across Bobby’s angry one. “A Devil’s Gate is usually marked by signs, portents…legends in the area around it. At least where we come from. I assume it is the same here?”
Bobby nodded grudgingly. “And your point?”
“Can you think of any places where the local lore might be more in line with ‘feathery dickbags’ cavorting in the vicinity…”
“As opposed to cattle mutilations and lightning storms?” Cas interrupted.
“I could look at my map if I were back at my place … What the…”
The entire contingent was crammed into a windowless cement-walled room containing a cot, a small kerosene stove, a dorm-size refrigerator, and books. A lot of books, in piles that threatened to topple if anyone moved. Multiple pages of scribbled writing covered the walls along with one giant map.
“Amara restored me with full power,” Castiel explained to the stunned group. He looked at Bobby. “You were saying you could look at your map?”
The grizzled hunter clearly wanted to react to the abrupt relocation, but the stern look on the angel’s face kept him silent. Instead, he stepped carefully around the books surrounding his feet and moved to study the wall map.
“That was capital!” Ketch exclaimed. “I’ve never had the actual opportunity to travel by instantaneous angel transport!”
“Dean always says it constipates him.” Cas’ comment didn’t stop Ketch’s burst of enthusiasm.
“Still faster than any other mode of travel…except maybe the Bentley…”
“So angel signs…something like raining frogs, and fountains spouting blood instead of water?”
“Yes.”
“Well here, then. Cheyenne, Wyoming. Abandoned forty or so years ago when the water became undrinkable. Pontiac, Illinois, Blue Earth, Minnesota, same thing.”
“Would there be more than one entrance into Heaven?” Rowena asked.
“Why not, there are-back home, anyway-hundreds of Devils’ Gates,” Crowley answered.
“Which one of these blighted cities is closest?”
Bobby touched a spot on the map. “I don’t think you want closest-I think you want the one with an active report of biblical signs-Van Nuys, California.”
“I will take us there.”
“No!” “Hold on!” “Wait a bloody minute!” “Stop!” “Hold your horses!” Five voices protested simultaneously.
Castiel froze in the act of raising his arm.
Meg rolled her eyes. “You had us brought back for our expertise, Clarence, so give us time to create a plan!”
“Castiel is the only one who is going to be able to go through the gate, the rest of us won’t make it through the wards,” Crowley stated. “It’s going to be just you against all the rest of Heaven.”
“Maybe not,” Rowena said thoughtfully. “You were killed by an angel blade, Fergus? And you as well?” She turned to Meg.
“What does that have to do with anything, Mother?”
"There's a residue lingering around you...and around her...left by an angel's weapon. Something akin to a signature, so to speak."
“Are you saying we’ve been ‘touched by an angel?’” Meg’s expression was a mix of repulsion and intrigue.
“You can do something with that?”
“I am the world’s most powerful witch, Fergus. With the proper ingredients, I believe I can create a spell that will magnify the trace to fool the warding into thinking you are an angel.”
Meg laughed. “Now that is irony, right there. Us sneaking into heaven disguised as angels!”
Crowley wasn’t quite as amused. “This sounds good in principle, but how do you know it’ll work? Because if it doesn’t…”
“I improvised a spell that trapped Lucifer in a deteriorating vessel and sent him to the bottom of the ocean. I can certainly handle a wee bit o’ magic like this!”
“I’m sorry, I need to be damn sure this is going to work or I get blasted into bloody pieces!”
“I guess this leaves me out of the storming Heaven part then?” Ketch sounded disappointed.
“Oh, someone is going to have to keep the gate open, I’m sure you’ll be able to kill something.” Meg looked at Crowley. “If she can pull this off, then it’s going to be you and me backing up Feathers. Do I need to worry about turning my back on you?”
“Seeing as how the odds of either of us getting out of this universe in one piece are slightly less than zero, I’d much rather you stayed alive to provide another target! But I still want to know this spell is going to work and I won’t be atomized going through the gate!”
Bobby, who’d been watching the interplay like a tennis match, spoke up. “If this hoo-doo is supposed to make you seem like one of those dickbags, we can test some angel warding on you and see if it works.”
“I still don’t like this…”
Cas cut the discussion short. “Tell me what you need, Rowena, so we can get started on our mission without delay.”
Rowena’s confidence in her skills appeared justified when, after Crowley and Meg had been doused in the potion she concocted, neither of them could pass through Bobby’s doorway painted with anti-angel Enochian symbols.
When everyone was equipped with angel blades from Bobby’s collection, Cas teleported them to a wooded area south of Van Nuys proper. Then it was another job for Rowena to scry through the deserted city searching for a clue to the portal.
Her whited-out eyes stared sightlessly for several moments as she chanted under her breath. With a muted cry Rowena suddenly fell back from the copper bowl and threw her hands in front of her face. Lowering them, her green eyes were enormous in her pale face.
“Hundreds of them!” she breathed.
“Hundreds of what?” Meg asked.
“Angels! Coming through the gate-they’re coming through in ranks like an army!”
“Show me!” Cas commanded, putting his fingers to Rowena’s forehead. An instant later they were all hidden behind a partially collapsed warehouse in an abandoned industrial district, watching as lines of angels blasted through the open loading dock doors of the building across the street.
“Bloody hell!”
“This is actually a good thing. If this many angels are massing on earth, there will be a much smaller force to evade during the breakout.” Ketch observed.
“If we’re lucky,” Crowley muttered.
“An angel legion of this magnitude…unprecedented…even when we harried Hell…” Castiel turned to Bobby. “Does this type of assault happen commonly in this world?”
“Hell, no! Most I’ve ever seen at once is ten, twelve o’ those gits going after some demon…or hunter…they want to take down.”
“Lucifer.” Meg murmured. “They’re going after the big guy.”
Finally the lines of issuing angels ended. Only two figures remained by the bay doors.
“I will talk to them. Perhaps I have a counterpart in this universe whom they will listen to. You two be prepared to join me when I signal.” Castiel strode from their cover.
“Asariel. Purah. I need to go through the gate now.”
“Castiel? Why are you in this strange vessel? What happened to the one…”
“I have urgent news for Michael about his enemy, Lucifer.”
The shorter angel, responding to the command in Castiel’s voice, gestured at the doorway which started to glow. But the second angel blocked Castiel’s path.
“We need to verify…Who are you?”
Meg and Crowley were suddenly at Castiel’s side. The light from the portal flickered. “Through the gate!” Crowley ordered as he stabbed the doubting angel from behind.
“Castiel?” The first angel’s betrayed eyes flared white as Meg ran her through, and all three of them jumped toward the gate.
“This better work!” Crowley yelled as he hit the blazing sigils…
…and narrowly avoided barreling into Castiel, who was blocking the entrance to a long, white corridor as he castigated Meg.
“Asariel was opening the gate, there was no need to kill her!”
“She wasn’t going to keep it open while you came up with an explanation of who the hell we’re supposed to be! These aren’t your buddies, we’re here to steal their prisoners back, there are going to be casualties, and I don’t want it to be me!” Meg yelled back at him.
“Enough! Let’s move along, people! Castiel, do you know how to get to the jail from here?”
With a glare at both the others, Cas motioned at a stairwell partway down the hall. “If this is like the Heaven I am familiar with, it will be down.”
***
“We should move in closer,” Ketch said after Cas, Meg, and Crowley vanished through the light.
“I’d rather stay back here,” Rowena countered.
“English boy is right, we’ll be better off right up by the gate to help when they come back if anyone else comes out after ‘em.”
Ketch simply strode out to the warehouse door, leaving the others to follow.
***
The stairwell did not go straight down-every few floors they had to reenter the hallway and cross to where the stairs continued on the opposite side. At the third crossover Cas stopped at the opening.
“Someone is coming. I will stay here and take care of them. You two find Sam and Dean and bring them back to this floor. The prison should only be two more levels down.”
Cas waited until a grumbling Crowley had followed Meg around the turn of the stairs, then stepped back into the hall to face the slender female form walking toward him. He knew who was behind the bright blue eyes even before she spoke.
"You...are me. How is this possible?"
"I am from an alternate universe. I am here to take the men who are in your prison, the Winchesters, back to where they--we--belong."
"They have committed an unpardonable offense--they have released the Morning Star back into this world and we must now fight again the battle we already won at great cost. They must be punished."
"This world...your world...what your apocalypse has done to it...In my world this planet teems with human life, the good and the bad, living their lives with the freedom to choose what they will be. Angels do not belong on earth."
"This is what God willed."
"No, it is not. I have been in his presence, I have seen the regard He has for his creation. This universe is wrong...and I must get Sam and Dean back to our universe to keep the balance there. They averted the apocalypse at great personal sacrifice so that humanity could continue. You know me--you are me--you must feel the truth of what I say. Will you help me?"
***
"This is too easy," Crowley complained as he and Meg entered the jail block unhindered.
"Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth!"
"Anything that seems too easy with those plaid-wearing giants always comes back to bite me in the ass!"
Crowley stopped talking as they approached the Winchesters' cells and saw the condition of the two they were supposed to rescue.
Dean was hunched against the far corner of his cage while Sam was in an unconscious sprawl on the floor of the opposite cell. Meg grabbed the keys from a hook and opened Dean's cell door for Crowley to step through before moving across to Sam’s.
At the sound of the lock being turned, Dean painfully raised his head. "Back already, you feathered douchebags?" His glazed eyes widened in his bruised and bloodied face. "Th' hell? Crow'ey? You're dead." Seeing Meg walking into Sam's cell, Dean's face contorted in puzzlement. "She's dead too. That mean…me too?"
"You're not dead yet, Squirrel. Get up. Now. You need to walk so we can get Moose out of here." Pulling Dean to his feet, Crowley guided his hand to the wall. "Start walking. There's the door. If we make it to Cas he can probably magic you better."
"Cas's dead."
"Actually, there's a surprising number of us who aren't. But if we don't move, there's a good chance we'll go back to that state, so go!" He gave Dean a shove while calling over his shoulder to Meg. "Is Gigantor breathing?"
"Yeah. But he’s out cold. I'd say our prison break just got a little more complicated."
"You think?" Crowley joined Meg in trying to pull Sam's dead weight to rest on their shoulders.
"Nuh, gimme Sam."
Though barely able to stand himself, Dean shouldered his brother's limp body and staggered toward the stairs. Sam's legs dragged along as Crowley and Meg followed Dean's infinitesimally slow progress.
"He's not going to make it."
"Oh, he will if the alternative is leaving his brother here." Crowley raised his voice. "Move it. If you don't move faster we're leaving you and Sam behind and saving ourselves."
"You...leave my...brother...and I'll hunt you down...kill you myself." Splatters of blood were left on the steps as Dean struggled upward. Meg sighed and moved to prop Sam up from the other side as they climbed.
Two angels’ faces turned to watch as Dean stumbled up the last few stairs into the hallway. Cas instantly put his hand to Dean's forehead and Dean straightened in response. "Cas? But you were dead..."
Cas moved his attention to Sam and said nothing until Sam was staring around in puzzlement. “Cas? How…Crowley? Meg?”
"We are here thanks to Amara. She did not want to see you die in this universe so she sent us on a...rescue mission."
Dean looked from Cas to Sam, "You okay?" At Sam’s nod Dean looked at the others. “This is who Amara sent? A couple of demons? I mean, I'm glad you're back with us, Cas.” He paused and peered at the angel a long moment until his eyes tightened in determination. “Okay. How do we get out of here? And who's your friend?"
"I am Castiel." Everyone did a double-take but Dean understood first. “Of course. You’re the mirror Cas in this universe. Like in Star Trek. So are you going to help us?”
***
Outside, Cas, Crowley, and Meg hadn’t been gone long when a quartet of angels, two clearly injured, burst through the loading bay doors and headed toward the portal. Before Ketch could move, Bobby fired his angel-killing machine gun, and Ketch jumped out to make sure of the kills. Finding one of the angels still alive, Ketch raised his angel blade to finish the job.
“Wait! Maybe we can get some intel out of this one,” Bobby hollered.
The white brilliance of her grace leaking from multiple wounds, the angel made no move to defend herself as Ketch dragged her behind the wall where Bobby and Rowena were sheltering.
“What’s the deal with the army?” Bobby demanded.
When she didn’t answer, Ketch sliced along her cheek and more grace seeped out. “You’re going to die anyway, but it can be fast…or slow and painful. Your choice.”
“Demon. Humans. You will all die.”
“We already have, dear. Well, most of us.” Rowena gave a side glance at Bobby. “And there is a very good chance of an unpleasant future for at least some of us…If you tell us what is happening with those legions of angels, we’ll just be on our way to try and get ourselves in more trouble.” When the angel didn’t respond, Bobby leaned in.
“I’m betting all you douchebags charged off to tackle Lucifer.”
From the look on the angel’s face, Bobby had guessed right.
“Now you see, dear, the Lucifer you’re fighting this time is from our side of the rift,” Rowena gestured at herself and Ketch. “And while I don’t promise anything, I can say I’ve bested him before. So if you could tell us where he is now…”
The angel remained stubbornly silent and Ketch moved in to resume his torture, but Rowena intervened again. “Castiel might want to talk to this one himself, you know…You don’t want to kill her before he returns…”
“Oh, dear lady, getting someone to talk is my specialty. Point of pride. Which, if we hadn’t been interrupted back in Hell, you would know firsthand.”
“She’s right, let’s keep this one for the angel to interrogate.”
Just then the portal flared into life and the other half of the team plus the escapees followed the female Castiel into the warehouse.
Cas broke the momentary staring match. “This is the Castiel of this universe. She opened the portal back up for us.”
“Traitor!” The fallen angel moved startlingly fast but before she could throw herself at Castiel, Ketch stabbed her and she expired in a blaze of light.
“Hannah.” This universe’s Castiel knelt beside the body.
“I am sorry.” Cas put his hand on her shoulder. “Hannah was my friend in my world as well. I do not want to be the cause of more angels dying. Tell me what is happening. If there is anything I can do to make things right, I will. Our goal is to return to our own universe…”
“Cas…” “We can’t…” Dean and Sam started simultaneously, Sam continued. “Cas, we came here to find Mom…”
“We’re not leaving without her,” Dean said flatly. “If the rest of you want to leave, go ahead. We are finding her first.”
“Getting your mummy out is part of the deal for us getting resurrected,” Crowley said disgustedly. “You’re stuck with us…rather, we’re stuck following you.”
“Bobby,” both Dean and Sam looked at the man whom they instinctively trusted as Dean asked, “have you seen her at all? It took us months to get the rift open again, and then we got jumped almost as soon as we crossed over.”
Before Bobby could answer, the female Castiel, who had slowly risen from the dead angel’s side, spoke.
“You,” she pointed at Sam, Dean, and Rowena, “your souls have a…feel to them…that is different from human souls here. That is how we found you so quickly when you entered.” She tilted her head curiously a moment. “You demons, on the other hand, feel no different than ours. How odd.”
“Souls from our world feel different?” Cas jumped on what she had said. “So could you sense the soul of Mary Winchester? Tell where she is?”
“This Mary you speak of-the oddness of her soul had been noted in conjunction with Lucifer’s appearance. She travels with him.”
“And let me guess,” Meg said, “that’s where that angel pack went.”
“Lucifer has secured human and demon allies and established a stronghold. Michael is leading the forces of heaven against him at Camp Chitaqua. Your Mary is there as well.”
Part Two: https://borgmama1of5.livejournal.com/100356.html
Author: borgmama1of5
Artist: dmsilvisart
Please go to her link and leave her some love:
https://dmsilvisart.tumblr.com/post/167293596316/title-operation-winchester-rescue-author
Wordcount: 7778
Rating: PG-13
Genre: gen
Spoilers: au after 12.23
Beta: sandymg
Disclaimer: Just having fun in the SPN sandbox
Summary: Sam and Dean need rescuing--and who better to send on the mission than all their recently deceased enemies under the direction of a resurrected angel? You can imagine how well that's going to work...
Author’s Notes and Thank Yous: At the end
Link to AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/12671628
"You do realize," Rowena paused to stifle a groan as her jailer tightened the chain holding her spread-eagled against the wall, "my son the King of Hell is not going to be happy when he finds out," another moment to clench her teeth, "about the mistake that's been made putting his mother in this dungeon."
The demon looked at her disdainfully. "Crowley's dead. No one's in charge right now."
"Oh." Rowena hadn't expected that answer. "Well, then, a strapping lad like yourself must be thinking of the opportunities. Perhaps I could help you--"
"Yeah, not interested in having you screw me over." He gave the key one final turn. "See you tomorrow."
Time passed interminably. When Lucifer had appeared in her living room, Rowena hadn't had time to react as he'd pulled out a fistful of her hair, said "I'd love to chat but I'm in a hurry," and set her aflame. From that agony she'd appeared in Hell and been 'escorted' to this prison cell where periodically someone would show up to inflict some half-hearted torture.
Rowena was starting to look forward to those sessions just to relieve the boredom when the screech of the lock heralded a new visitor.
"Arthur Ketch, at your service." The well-dressed Englishman set a toolbox on the floor and unlatched it to reveal a meticulous array of unpleasant-looking tools. “I understand service in this section of the dungeons has been spotty, so I’m here to rectify that. Let’s start by tightening those bracelets, shall we?”
“Do you have anything in gold? Iron just isn’t a good look for me.”
With a smile that was anything but reassuring, the man seized her forearm and twisted.
“Oh, but iron goes so well with blo-“
"Hello, Rowena. I was not expecting you, Mr. Ketch. Please be seated."
She was standing in a seedy-looking conference room, her arm still in Ketch’s grip, as the angel Castiel gestured toward several decrepit chairs.
***
"Even when I lose, I win." Crowley watched Lucifer's smug expression falter...
"Crowley. Please have a seat."
***
"I shall endeavor to be succinct. You were all dead--in Crowley's case, as a demon stabbed with an angel blade, you simply ceased to exist. Being human, your soul, Rowena, was directed to Hell. I assume the same is true for you, Mr. Ketch. I myself was also non-existent, also having been dispatched by an angel blade wielded by Lucifer."
Cas paced at the head of the battered table.
"That should have been the end for all of us. We have all been gone from this plane of existence for a considerable time, and multiple cataclysmic events have occurred, many of them centered, not surprisingly, around Sam and Dean Winchester. Now a mutual...acquaintance...has taken an interest in the Winchesters' current situation and..."
"Oh, Castiel, you are making such a long-winded story out of this." Amara materialized next to him.
"Rowena, Crowley. Civility would lead me to say 'nice to see you again,' but it really isn't, considering. And I don’t know you,” she looked at Ketch, “You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, Castiel requested assistance. So here you are."
"And where just might that be?" Rowena spoke up.
"The alternate universe, I can feel it in my bones," Crowley spat.
“An alternate universe?! Fascinating!” Ketch interjected.
"What universe would that be, Fergus?"
Cas interjected before Crowley could answer. "Before he was born, Lucifer's son created a rip between universes. We lured Lucifer to this one to trap him."
"I sacrificed myself to trap him! Are you telling me it didn't work?"
"It did...to a degree. Mary Winchester was also trapped here and..."
"And those lumbering idiots reopened the rip to get her out." Crowley snarled in disgust.
Cas hesitated before agreeing, "Something like that, yes. I wasn't here to observe..."
"Enough small talk, you're here for a reason." Amara looked at each of them. "My brother made me swear to a non-interference clause as part of my parole. Now the Winchester boys from your universe have gotten themselves in a predicament here. Of course, I'm not getting involved...Castiel's regeneration was purely a whim, a self-amusement. If he wants to do something to help the Winchesters, I'm not responsible."
"Of course," Crowley muttered.
Amara gave him a cold look." Castiel said he was going to need some help and suggested you and Rowena might be of assistance."
"Why, I'm flattered and happy to assist but..."
"Why the bloody hell would I care what happens to those morons now?"
Cas shot Crowley a steely look. "Amara has resurrected you. Help me rescue Sam and Dean, and you remain alive, and if we are successful we will all be back in our correct universe."
“I gather that my inclusion in this party is accidental, but I, for one, am perfectly willing to agree to the terms!” Ketch volunteered brightly.
"Well, now, a second... third...opportunity at life in exchange for some assistance with Castiel's problem seems like a reasonable proposal to me, doesn't it seem so to you, Fergus?"
"Shut up, Mother."
"Well, Crowley?" Cas continued to glare at him.
"So what calamity have our favorite screw-ups gotten themselves into this time? Freed the big bad in this universe, or has Lucifer simply taken over and we have to knock him down again? Because that went so bloody well last time..."
“Sam and Dean are locked up."
"Why, that doesn't sound like something the Winchesters couldn't handle themselves," Rowena interjected.
"Unfortunately, it is not just any jail. They are imprisoned in this universe's Heaven."
"And we're supposed to spring them from Heaven!" Crowley exploded. "Hello, demon here--former King-of-Hell level, but Heaven's not my bailiwick!"
"I am well aware of your limitations. However, we have successfully worked together on other challenging situations, and I felt your abilities would be useful. And I can extend that observation to Mr. Ketch based on the annoying but effective interactions we have had. If, on the other hand, you don't feel you have anything to contribute, Amara can simply return you to your former state..."
"Och, let's not be hasty! Tell us a bit more about the situation, I'm sure we can come up with an idea or two!" Rowena interjected quickly.
Cas looked stumped. "I am not conversant with how Sam and Dean ended up in Heaven's prison."
"The archangel Michael, who is a quivering mess in Lucifer's cage in your world, destroyed the Lucifer of this one, and your Lucifer's appearance has him quite disturbed. He views Sam and Dean as the perpetrators of this outrage." Amara, who had been idly drawing sigils in the air, resumed interest in the conversation. "He's locked them up until he decides on a suitable punishment."
"And what would be your interest in this, dear? After all, they were working with your brother to put you back in your lockup..."
"Dean showed me what I really needed…he gave me my brother back. I don't want him to end up dying in the wrong place. He and his brother may die bloody eventually, but it would be totally unfair for them to die as the victims of some ridiculous angel rivalry. So. You will get them home."
"Oh sure, nothing to it, we have so many resources here...oh, wait, we don't have a bloody thing!"
"I can give you one or two more collaborators..." Amara cocked her head. "There’s someone that is on your mind, Castiel. And you will need a contact here to guide you, so..." She snapped her fingers. As two figures began to materialize in a smoky haze she added, "Oh, and, you need to get Mary Winchester out of this universe, too, or they'll just come back to do it themselves."
Amara vanished. And a very confused demon Meg and pissed-off Bobby Singer were standing in the conference room.
***
"Let me get this straight," Bobby yelled, "God's sister, who the Winchesters-who-don't-exist-in-this-universe defeated in yours, resurrected the lot of you to rescue them from Heaven in this universe!"
"It was not so much a defeat as an opening of her eyes to the damage she was causing by her search for revenge, but yes, that essentially sums up why we are all here."
"And just how the hell are we supposed to storm Heaven?!"
"I believe, Mr. Singer, that is what we are here to ascertain." Rowena spoke calmly in the face of Bobby's outrage. "Each of us has surmounted challenging odds in the past--isn't that correct?" She looked at Meg, who nodded, clearly still absorbing her return to life and not ready to comment on the mission yet. "My son did not achieve the throne of Hell without knowing how to scheme and connive. Fergus clearly inherited some of my own talents." She smiled at Crowley and continued before he could verbalize his growling response. "So, what we need, Mr. Singer, is the lay of the land, so to speak, before we begin our planning."
Ketch cut in, looking at Meg. "Excuse me a moment, who is this lovely lady? I don’t know why, but you seem familiar."
“I’m sure I’d remember if we’d met before, Jeeves.”
"Who the hell are all of you?" Bobby bellowed.
"I’m Arthur Ketch, British Man of Letters, until my unfortunate demise at the hand of Mary Winchester...and until a few moments ago, denizen of Hell.” He blinked and solid black eyes looked at them. “My personal proclivities for violence moved me to what could be called the ‘fast track’ for demonhood. Oh, and by the way, thank you for the use of your hellhound.” He nodded at Crowley and blinked his eyes back to their original color.
Impatient to get everyone on track, Castiel jumped in. "I am Castiel, an angel of the Lord. Meg is a demon. Crowley, who was the King of Hell, killed her five years ago. We have all worked together with Sam and Dean in the past. "
"It's been five years?! Why, it feels like just yesterday Crowley was sticking an angel blade in my ribs, Clarence!"
"My name is not Clarence, you know that. Please call me by my correct name. And this is Rowena. She is a witch and Crowley's mother."
Meg gave Rowena a critical once-over. "You don't look like I'd expect for the mother of the King of Hell. A little young, for one thing."
"Why, thank you, dear..."
"She is over 300 years old. Her physical preservation is representative of the strength of her witchcraft."
"How astute of you to realize that..."
"Fascinating." Ketch regarded Rowena with interest.
Cursory introductions over, Cas started on the mission briefing. "I believe we have two problems to solve in order to rescue Sam and Dean."
"Only two, Castiel?"
Ignoring Meg, Cas continued, "The first problem is to find the entrance to Heaven. In our world, it is the sandbox in a childrens' playground, but it seems unlikely that such recreational areas exist here. Then we have to actually gain entrance into Heaven."
"We're not just going to walk up and nicely ask the angel on guard, 'Oh, please let us up into Heaven so we can have a stroll around, check out if we want to actually move there?" Meg cocked her head. "You know I'm a demon--can a demon even enter Heaven? Won't I be struck by lightning or dissolved into atoms for even trying to pass through the pearly gates?"
"The second problem, when we do enter Heaven--"
"Wait, you already gave us two problems, finding Heaven and getting in."
"I consider those tasks related as one issue. When we enter Heaven we will need to find where they are holding Sam and Dean. We can hope the layout of this Heaven aligns with the one I am familiar with, but it is probably best not to count on that. And once we have Sam and Dean, we will still need to find their mother…and then get back to our own universe."
Cas turned to Bobby. “Do you have any idea of where the angel gate to Heaven might be in this universe?”
“Balls! I don’t want to be mixed up in this!”
“You already are, and the sooner you help us, the sooner we’ll be out of your hair,” Meg commented.
“How would I know where the Heaven’s Gate is? In this world, the way to stay alive is to avoid the damn flyboys, not go looking for ‘em!”
Crowley’s measured voice cut across Bobby’s angry one. “A Devil’s Gate is usually marked by signs, portents…legends in the area around it. At least where we come from. I assume it is the same here?”
Bobby nodded grudgingly. “And your point?”
“Can you think of any places where the local lore might be more in line with ‘feathery dickbags’ cavorting in the vicinity…”
“As opposed to cattle mutilations and lightning storms?” Cas interrupted.
“I could look at my map if I were back at my place … What the…”
The entire contingent was crammed into a windowless cement-walled room containing a cot, a small kerosene stove, a dorm-size refrigerator, and books. A lot of books, in piles that threatened to topple if anyone moved. Multiple pages of scribbled writing covered the walls along with one giant map.
“Amara restored me with full power,” Castiel explained to the stunned group. He looked at Bobby. “You were saying you could look at your map?”
The grizzled hunter clearly wanted to react to the abrupt relocation, but the stern look on the angel’s face kept him silent. Instead, he stepped carefully around the books surrounding his feet and moved to study the wall map.
“That was capital!” Ketch exclaimed. “I’ve never had the actual opportunity to travel by instantaneous angel transport!”
“Dean always says it constipates him.” Cas’ comment didn’t stop Ketch’s burst of enthusiasm.
“Still faster than any other mode of travel…except maybe the Bentley…”
“So angel signs…something like raining frogs, and fountains spouting blood instead of water?”
“Yes.”
“Well here, then. Cheyenne, Wyoming. Abandoned forty or so years ago when the water became undrinkable. Pontiac, Illinois, Blue Earth, Minnesota, same thing.”
“Would there be more than one entrance into Heaven?” Rowena asked.
“Why not, there are-back home, anyway-hundreds of Devils’ Gates,” Crowley answered.
“Which one of these blighted cities is closest?”
Bobby touched a spot on the map. “I don’t think you want closest-I think you want the one with an active report of biblical signs-Van Nuys, California.”
“I will take us there.”
“No!” “Hold on!” “Wait a bloody minute!” “Stop!” “Hold your horses!” Five voices protested simultaneously.
Castiel froze in the act of raising his arm.
Meg rolled her eyes. “You had us brought back for our expertise, Clarence, so give us time to create a plan!”
“Castiel is the only one who is going to be able to go through the gate, the rest of us won’t make it through the wards,” Crowley stated. “It’s going to be just you against all the rest of Heaven.”
“Maybe not,” Rowena said thoughtfully. “You were killed by an angel blade, Fergus? And you as well?” She turned to Meg.
“What does that have to do with anything, Mother?”
"There's a residue lingering around you...and around her...left by an angel's weapon. Something akin to a signature, so to speak."
“Are you saying we’ve been ‘touched by an angel?’” Meg’s expression was a mix of repulsion and intrigue.
“You can do something with that?”
“I am the world’s most powerful witch, Fergus. With the proper ingredients, I believe I can create a spell that will magnify the trace to fool the warding into thinking you are an angel.”
Meg laughed. “Now that is irony, right there. Us sneaking into heaven disguised as angels!”
Crowley wasn’t quite as amused. “This sounds good in principle, but how do you know it’ll work? Because if it doesn’t…”
“I improvised a spell that trapped Lucifer in a deteriorating vessel and sent him to the bottom of the ocean. I can certainly handle a wee bit o’ magic like this!”
“I’m sorry, I need to be damn sure this is going to work or I get blasted into bloody pieces!”
“I guess this leaves me out of the storming Heaven part then?” Ketch sounded disappointed.
“Oh, someone is going to have to keep the gate open, I’m sure you’ll be able to kill something.” Meg looked at Crowley. “If she can pull this off, then it’s going to be you and me backing up Feathers. Do I need to worry about turning my back on you?”
“Seeing as how the odds of either of us getting out of this universe in one piece are slightly less than zero, I’d much rather you stayed alive to provide another target! But I still want to know this spell is going to work and I won’t be atomized going through the gate!”
Bobby, who’d been watching the interplay like a tennis match, spoke up. “If this hoo-doo is supposed to make you seem like one of those dickbags, we can test some angel warding on you and see if it works.”
“I still don’t like this…”
Cas cut the discussion short. “Tell me what you need, Rowena, so we can get started on our mission without delay.”
Rowena’s confidence in her skills appeared justified when, after Crowley and Meg had been doused in the potion she concocted, neither of them could pass through Bobby’s doorway painted with anti-angel Enochian symbols.
When everyone was equipped with angel blades from Bobby’s collection, Cas teleported them to a wooded area south of Van Nuys proper. Then it was another job for Rowena to scry through the deserted city searching for a clue to the portal.
Her whited-out eyes stared sightlessly for several moments as she chanted under her breath. With a muted cry Rowena suddenly fell back from the copper bowl and threw her hands in front of her face. Lowering them, her green eyes were enormous in her pale face.
“Hundreds of them!” she breathed.
“Hundreds of what?” Meg asked.
“Angels! Coming through the gate-they’re coming through in ranks like an army!”
“Show me!” Cas commanded, putting his fingers to Rowena’s forehead. An instant later they were all hidden behind a partially collapsed warehouse in an abandoned industrial district, watching as lines of angels blasted through the open loading dock doors of the building across the street.
“Bloody hell!”
“This is actually a good thing. If this many angels are massing on earth, there will be a much smaller force to evade during the breakout.” Ketch observed.
“If we’re lucky,” Crowley muttered.
“An angel legion of this magnitude…unprecedented…even when we harried Hell…” Castiel turned to Bobby. “Does this type of assault happen commonly in this world?”
“Hell, no! Most I’ve ever seen at once is ten, twelve o’ those gits going after some demon…or hunter…they want to take down.”
“Lucifer.” Meg murmured. “They’re going after the big guy.”
Finally the lines of issuing angels ended. Only two figures remained by the bay doors.
“I will talk to them. Perhaps I have a counterpart in this universe whom they will listen to. You two be prepared to join me when I signal.” Castiel strode from their cover.
“Asariel. Purah. I need to go through the gate now.”
“Castiel? Why are you in this strange vessel? What happened to the one…”
“I have urgent news for Michael about his enemy, Lucifer.”
The shorter angel, responding to the command in Castiel’s voice, gestured at the doorway which started to glow. But the second angel blocked Castiel’s path.
“We need to verify…Who are you?”
Meg and Crowley were suddenly at Castiel’s side. The light from the portal flickered. “Through the gate!” Crowley ordered as he stabbed the doubting angel from behind.
“Castiel?” The first angel’s betrayed eyes flared white as Meg ran her through, and all three of them jumped toward the gate.
“This better work!” Crowley yelled as he hit the blazing sigils…
…and narrowly avoided barreling into Castiel, who was blocking the entrance to a long, white corridor as he castigated Meg.
“Asariel was opening the gate, there was no need to kill her!”
“She wasn’t going to keep it open while you came up with an explanation of who the hell we’re supposed to be! These aren’t your buddies, we’re here to steal their prisoners back, there are going to be casualties, and I don’t want it to be me!” Meg yelled back at him.
“Enough! Let’s move along, people! Castiel, do you know how to get to the jail from here?”
With a glare at both the others, Cas motioned at a stairwell partway down the hall. “If this is like the Heaven I am familiar with, it will be down.”
***
“We should move in closer,” Ketch said after Cas, Meg, and Crowley vanished through the light.
“I’d rather stay back here,” Rowena countered.
“English boy is right, we’ll be better off right up by the gate to help when they come back if anyone else comes out after ‘em.”
Ketch simply strode out to the warehouse door, leaving the others to follow.
***
The stairwell did not go straight down-every few floors they had to reenter the hallway and cross to where the stairs continued on the opposite side. At the third crossover Cas stopped at the opening.
“Someone is coming. I will stay here and take care of them. You two find Sam and Dean and bring them back to this floor. The prison should only be two more levels down.”
Cas waited until a grumbling Crowley had followed Meg around the turn of the stairs, then stepped back into the hall to face the slender female form walking toward him. He knew who was behind the bright blue eyes even before she spoke.
"You...are me. How is this possible?"
"I am from an alternate universe. I am here to take the men who are in your prison, the Winchesters, back to where they--we--belong."
"They have committed an unpardonable offense--they have released the Morning Star back into this world and we must now fight again the battle we already won at great cost. They must be punished."
"This world...your world...what your apocalypse has done to it...In my world this planet teems with human life, the good and the bad, living their lives with the freedom to choose what they will be. Angels do not belong on earth."
"This is what God willed."
"No, it is not. I have been in his presence, I have seen the regard He has for his creation. This universe is wrong...and I must get Sam and Dean back to our universe to keep the balance there. They averted the apocalypse at great personal sacrifice so that humanity could continue. You know me--you are me--you must feel the truth of what I say. Will you help me?"
***
"This is too easy," Crowley complained as he and Meg entered the jail block unhindered.
"Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth!"
"Anything that seems too easy with those plaid-wearing giants always comes back to bite me in the ass!"
Crowley stopped talking as they approached the Winchesters' cells and saw the condition of the two they were supposed to rescue.
Dean was hunched against the far corner of his cage while Sam was in an unconscious sprawl on the floor of the opposite cell. Meg grabbed the keys from a hook and opened Dean's cell door for Crowley to step through before moving across to Sam’s.
At the sound of the lock being turned, Dean painfully raised his head. "Back already, you feathered douchebags?" His glazed eyes widened in his bruised and bloodied face. "Th' hell? Crow'ey? You're dead." Seeing Meg walking into Sam's cell, Dean's face contorted in puzzlement. "She's dead too. That mean…me too?"
"You're not dead yet, Squirrel. Get up. Now. You need to walk so we can get Moose out of here." Pulling Dean to his feet, Crowley guided his hand to the wall. "Start walking. There's the door. If we make it to Cas he can probably magic you better."
"Cas's dead."
"Actually, there's a surprising number of us who aren't. But if we don't move, there's a good chance we'll go back to that state, so go!" He gave Dean a shove while calling over his shoulder to Meg. "Is Gigantor breathing?"
"Yeah. But he’s out cold. I'd say our prison break just got a little more complicated."
"You think?" Crowley joined Meg in trying to pull Sam's dead weight to rest on their shoulders.
"Nuh, gimme Sam."
Though barely able to stand himself, Dean shouldered his brother's limp body and staggered toward the stairs. Sam's legs dragged along as Crowley and Meg followed Dean's infinitesimally slow progress.
"He's not going to make it."
"Oh, he will if the alternative is leaving his brother here." Crowley raised his voice. "Move it. If you don't move faster we're leaving you and Sam behind and saving ourselves."
"You...leave my...brother...and I'll hunt you down...kill you myself." Splatters of blood were left on the steps as Dean struggled upward. Meg sighed and moved to prop Sam up from the other side as they climbed.
Two angels’ faces turned to watch as Dean stumbled up the last few stairs into the hallway. Cas instantly put his hand to Dean's forehead and Dean straightened in response. "Cas? But you were dead..."
Cas moved his attention to Sam and said nothing until Sam was staring around in puzzlement. “Cas? How…Crowley? Meg?”
"We are here thanks to Amara. She did not want to see you die in this universe so she sent us on a...rescue mission."
Dean looked from Cas to Sam, "You okay?" At Sam’s nod Dean looked at the others. “This is who Amara sent? A couple of demons? I mean, I'm glad you're back with us, Cas.” He paused and peered at the angel a long moment until his eyes tightened in determination. “Okay. How do we get out of here? And who's your friend?"
"I am Castiel." Everyone did a double-take but Dean understood first. “Of course. You’re the mirror Cas in this universe. Like in Star Trek. So are you going to help us?”
***
Outside, Cas, Crowley, and Meg hadn’t been gone long when a quartet of angels, two clearly injured, burst through the loading bay doors and headed toward the portal. Before Ketch could move, Bobby fired his angel-killing machine gun, and Ketch jumped out to make sure of the kills. Finding one of the angels still alive, Ketch raised his angel blade to finish the job.
“Wait! Maybe we can get some intel out of this one,” Bobby hollered.
The white brilliance of her grace leaking from multiple wounds, the angel made no move to defend herself as Ketch dragged her behind the wall where Bobby and Rowena were sheltering.
“What’s the deal with the army?” Bobby demanded.
When she didn’t answer, Ketch sliced along her cheek and more grace seeped out. “You’re going to die anyway, but it can be fast…or slow and painful. Your choice.”
“Demon. Humans. You will all die.”
“We already have, dear. Well, most of us.” Rowena gave a side glance at Bobby. “And there is a very good chance of an unpleasant future for at least some of us…If you tell us what is happening with those legions of angels, we’ll just be on our way to try and get ourselves in more trouble.” When the angel didn’t respond, Bobby leaned in.
“I’m betting all you douchebags charged off to tackle Lucifer.”
From the look on the angel’s face, Bobby had guessed right.
“Now you see, dear, the Lucifer you’re fighting this time is from our side of the rift,” Rowena gestured at herself and Ketch. “And while I don’t promise anything, I can say I’ve bested him before. So if you could tell us where he is now…”
The angel remained stubbornly silent and Ketch moved in to resume his torture, but Rowena intervened again. “Castiel might want to talk to this one himself, you know…You don’t want to kill her before he returns…”
“Oh, dear lady, getting someone to talk is my specialty. Point of pride. Which, if we hadn’t been interrupted back in Hell, you would know firsthand.”
“She’s right, let’s keep this one for the angel to interrogate.”
Just then the portal flared into life and the other half of the team plus the escapees followed the female Castiel into the warehouse.
Cas broke the momentary staring match. “This is the Castiel of this universe. She opened the portal back up for us.”
“Traitor!” The fallen angel moved startlingly fast but before she could throw herself at Castiel, Ketch stabbed her and she expired in a blaze of light.
“Hannah.” This universe’s Castiel knelt beside the body.
“I am sorry.” Cas put his hand on her shoulder. “Hannah was my friend in my world as well. I do not want to be the cause of more angels dying. Tell me what is happening. If there is anything I can do to make things right, I will. Our goal is to return to our own universe…”
“Cas…” “We can’t…” Dean and Sam started simultaneously, Sam continued. “Cas, we came here to find Mom…”
“We’re not leaving without her,” Dean said flatly. “If the rest of you want to leave, go ahead. We are finding her first.”
“Getting your mummy out is part of the deal for us getting resurrected,” Crowley said disgustedly. “You’re stuck with us…rather, we’re stuck following you.”
“Bobby,” both Dean and Sam looked at the man whom they instinctively trusted as Dean asked, “have you seen her at all? It took us months to get the rift open again, and then we got jumped almost as soon as we crossed over.”
Before Bobby could answer, the female Castiel, who had slowly risen from the dead angel’s side, spoke.
“You,” she pointed at Sam, Dean, and Rowena, “your souls have a…feel to them…that is different from human souls here. That is how we found you so quickly when you entered.” She tilted her head curiously a moment. “You demons, on the other hand, feel no different than ours. How odd.”
“Souls from our world feel different?” Cas jumped on what she had said. “So could you sense the soul of Mary Winchester? Tell where she is?”
“This Mary you speak of-the oddness of her soul had been noted in conjunction with Lucifer’s appearance. She travels with him.”
“And let me guess,” Meg said, “that’s where that angel pack went.”
“Lucifer has secured human and demon allies and established a stronghold. Michael is leading the forces of heaven against him at Camp Chitaqua. Your Mary is there as well.”
Part Two: https://borgmama1of5.livejournal.com/100356.html