Unexpected Destinies Chapter 198
Title: Unexpected Destinies
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 3,425
Summary: Dean thinks that he can secure the help of a new ally in the fight against Lucifer.
PRESENT
Another thing that Dean was starting to realize was the fact that there was another avenue open to them as well. Sure, what his angelic family had thought up was a brilliant plan and he'd perform as many rituals or spells as were needed to ensure that Lucifer was neutralized once and for all given that they couldn't actually kill him outright, but there was one thing which they'd either overlooked or just hadn't considered or seen to be an option.
"What is it, Beloved?" Castiel inquired, shifting slightly to look at him. "You've got that pensive feel about you that you always get when you have an idea."
He did? That was news to Dean, though he supposed that if anyone would know what he felt like at these times, it would be his bond mate. It was still slightly odd to think that there was now someone else who might genuinely know him better than he knew himself. Or at least to be able to notice things about parts of himself that no one else had ever had the chance to get to witness before.
"I was just thinking about Kali," Dean explained. "Perhaps we should get her involved as well."
"The Hindu goddess of eternal time and death?" Raziel questioned.
"Yes."
"Why would she care?"
"She was involved with both Gabriel and Baldur at one time or another."
"Gabriel was involved with a pagan?" Raphael demanded incredulous.
Oh, hadn't he told them that before? Oops. "Yes," Dean confirmed. "It was a while back from what I got, but she was still with Baldur when Lucifer slaughtered him, so I'd imagine that she'd be pissed with him."
"But enough so to risk her own life?" Michael questioned.
"There's only one way to find out."
"There is no harm in summoning her," Castiel said. "It is not like she will inform Lucifer of our plans even if she doesn't decide to aid us."
"You can summon a pagan goddess?"
"No, we can't," Raziel corrected.
"But let me guess, I can?" Dean concluded, sighing. "Alright, what do I need to do?"
"I will be right back," Raphael said before flying off.
"We need supplies for this?"
"Just a few items, Little One," Michael reassured before drawing his blade. "You could call her without them, but to force her to respond, we need a little more."
"I don't think that we should do this here," Castiel stated. "Even though she wouldn't tell Lucifer of what we have planned, it would be best not to reveal our chosen battleground to anyone who hasn't agreed to help us yet."
"I concur," Raziel agree. "And I know just the place too, come on."
With that Raziel vanished and Dean rolled his eyes before nodding at his husband. This flight was longer than the last one and when they landed the first thing that he became aware of was the heat. As cold as Iceland had been, this place was hot and he started sweating almost immediately. Damn, but where the hell were they that it was this hot now of all times? Then he remembered what Raphael had once told him about seasons in the southern hemisphere. Great, so his little trip to Iceland had just turned into a halfway around the world thing. He was gonna have seen all of Earth before he was even forty at this rate.
His jacket was the first thing to go, followed swiftly by his over shirt and t-shirt, but that only left Dean with yet another problem. "Hey, Cas?"
"Yes, Beloved?"
"I don't suppose you can keep my skin from burning, can you? 'Cause I don't do so well with a sun this strong."
Raziel laughed. "No, with your delicate complexion, I don't suppose that you would."
"Bite me, Raz," Dean retorted.
"Don't worry about it," Michael replied. "I was already going to keep you safe."
"Thanks."
"Why would your skin burn?" Castiel inquired.
"Because I've got the wrong kind of skin to tan like Sam can. I just burn and then peel, which is neither pleasant nor pretty."
When Dean turned around to actually take in his new tropical surroundings, he noticed the way both Raziel and Michael were looking at Castiel's mark on his shoulder. Given how infrequently he wore wife beaters, he didn't think that Raziel had ever seen it before while Michael had not had many opportunities to view it either. At least not when there weren't other things going on. He just rolled his eyes at the typical angelic behavior before ignoring it.
"Give me your hand," Michael finally instructed.
It said a lot that Dean didn't even hesitate to do precisely that even as he despaired at how often these kinds of things required human blood. Why couldn't it have been something else? He wasn't particularly picky, anything would have done really. Although, on second thought, perhaps he really should be a bit more picky than that because, given his luck, the something else could just as easily have been semen or something equally embarrassing. And while he wasn't particularly adverse to coming more often if necessary, he didn't think that all of his bond brothers would realize that he needed privacy for something like that. Or it would be just his luck that the ritual or spell in question would require that the semen was produced at a specific point during the casting or carrying out of it and then there he would have little choice but to comply and have to try to perform on command. So, yeah, there were worse bodily fluids that so many rituals or spells could require, but why did it have to be a bodily fluid at all? Why couldn't it be something innocuous like a strand of hair or even something that wasn't human at all, like some dirt or something?
Yeah, he just couldn't be that lucky.
As Dean had expected, though, the blood had hardly even dripped from his palm onto the ground before the cut had already been healed. It was odd, really, as the pain struck mostly after the injury was already gone. Man but his meatsuit was going to get confused if this kept up.
"Repeat after me," Michael instructed before uttering what sounded like complete and utter gibberish to Dean.
Regardless, Dean did his best to accurately imitate the words and since his friend didn't protest, he assumed that he'd said them correctly. Then Raphael was back, handing a bag of something to Castiel before his bond brother began waving a burning bundle of something in the air, reciting some gibberish of his own. The smell of the smoke made him sneeze, but other than that he kept quiet, not sure what would adversely affect the summoning and what wouldn't. His husband, meanwhile, had opened the bag and was sprinkling something on the ground before him, right where his blood had soaked into the sand. It looked like a fine dusting of something, but he couldn't quite make out what. All he knew was that it made him sneeze again when Castiel collected some of it in his palm and blew it into the air around him. That made Raziel laugh and he scowled at his bond brother.
"There, it is done," Michael stated once the incense had burned out and the dust was gone.
"Just like that?" Dean asked in disbelief.
"The difficulty in performing the summoning lies more in the acquisition of its ingredients than the actual spell itself," Raphael explained. "At least for humans anyway."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just mock the poor humans. We can be quite determined if we want to be you know."
"Of that we are all well aware," Castiel smiled. "But most would not dare to presume to summon one of their gods."
The words made Dean frown and he absently wondered if God could be summoned this way as well. He severely doubted it as otherwise he was sure that his husband would have requested it of him years ago, but it was something to consider. He wasn't sure that he'd want to summon God, though, even if he could.
"So when is Kali supposed to arrive?" Dean inquired. "Now or later on?"
"Soon," Raziel reassured before a wicked smile crossed his face. "Don't worry, Dean, we'll not let the wicked witch harm you. We're here to protect you."
Dean scowled at his bond brother, eyes narrowing at being compared to some damsel in distress, but before he could come up with a suitable retort, the very air around them darkened and heated. His husband was at his side before he'd so much as blinked and then Kali was there, standing before them with an absolutely livid expression on her face.
"How dare you summon me, Dean Winchester?" Kali roared, her arms erupting into flames and her eyes blazing with a similar fire. "I should unmake you for the mere arrogance of even thinking to do it!"
Okay, Dean would never admit it out loud, but he was totally thankful for the fact that he had not one, not two, not three, but four archangels with him as he knew that he didn't even stand a snowball's chance in Hell against Kali just now. Not only did he hardly have any weapons on him, but there was absolutely no way for him to get out of here other than by Angel Air. He was literally in the middle of nowhere with an absolutely furious goddess of death and destruction.
"Try it and you will be the one who is unmade," Castiel growled, archangel blade sliding into existence in the palm of his hand.
From the way that Kali's eyes flickered from one of his bond brothers to the next, Dean knew that they had all drawn their blades as well though he didn't take his eyes from her to check. His father had taught him far better than to check on a sure thing when he was facing something supernatural. Of course, John Winchester would be rolling in his grave if he'd had one at the knowledge that his eldest son considered certain supernatural beings as trustworthy, but the main point of the lesson still remained nonetheless.
"We need to talk," Dean stated, cutting off anything else that Kali might have said.
"And what makes you think that I would have anything to say to an insignificant human bug like you?" Kali snapped.
Her attitude had cooled drastically at being confronted with so many beings that were more powerful than herself, but despite the briefness of their acquaintance Dean knew her far too well to let down his guard. Besides, he wasn't sure how long the summoning would keep her here or even if it was permanent, so he figured that it was best to just get right to the point.
"Because we want the same thing, namely to derail this Apocalypse before Lucifer can complete it," Dean stated simply.
"The archangel Michael wants to derail his father's Apocalypse?" Kali demanded incredulously.
"Yes," Michael confirmed simply.
"He has had you," Kali stated, her eyes returning to Dean and he pulled a face at the implications of her wording.
"We have been joined as angel and vessel," Dean admitted. "So I know that he is being serious as he could have gone to confront Lucifer at that time."
Castiel's fingers tightened on him as Kali shifted so Dean sent a wave of reassurance to his husband. Kali was many things, but she was no fool, so while still extremely dangerous, he was pretty sure that she wouldn't try anything stupid. Not with four archangels here; not after she'd witnessed their power firsthand herself.
"What made you change your mind?" Kali asked, looking back at Michael.
"Father and Dean."
Kali's dark eyes were back on him and Dean resisted the temptation to shift. It was hard to imagine now that he'd once considered sleeping with her. True, now he knew what she was and that would always have had a cooling effect on his libido, but it was more than that. He was pretty sure that even if he didn't know what she was that he wouldn't even find her remotely attractive anymore. It wasn't that he couldn't see the beauty in others anymore as he'd admired a really hot chick just a few days ago, so perhaps he'd become more selective? Not that it really mattered except that the next moment, Kali stepped closer and ran a long, blood red nail down his chest.
"What is it about you, human?" Kali questioned. "What is it that draws in angels? First Gabriel, then Michael and now this one here given that his scent is all over you?"
Castiel twitched behind him, but Dean could tell that his husband was still in control of himself, so he kept his focus and attention squarely on the goddess before him. If she sought to intimidate him by her proximity, then she was sorely mistaken. Even her physical touch was hardly more than an irritant and instead he was more focused on her words. It was almost a relief to have someone asking him this question, but more for what it implied than the answer to the question itself, because it meant that Kali, unlike so many other people lately, just didn't get it. And that was good, because most of the time he just didn't get it either. Sure, he was able to look at himself and see his own worth far better than he ever could have before, but the way people and most especially angels, had been reacting to him as of late was really starting to freak him out on some level. So it was an immense relief to finally find someone else who just didn't get it.
"Whatever it is, it isn't working on Lucifer," Dean replied. "Now, I assume that you want revenge for what the devil did to Gabriel, Baldur and the others?"
"Gabriel was a traitor."
"Hardly. You're just pissed that he tricked you. What, aren't Tricksters supposed to do that to fellow gods and goddesses?"
"He was no god!"
"Fooled you, though, didn't he?"
The challenge was out before Dean had really thought about it, but getting an up close and personal look of her fury made him think that maybe he should at least try to engage his brain to mouth filter, at least a little.
"Besides, you owe Gabriel," Dean continued, plunging straight on.
"I don't owe him anything!" Kali retorted, but the brief remorse that crossed her features said otherwise.
"Yes, you do. Not only did he die protecting you, but he did so after you tried to kill him."
It wasn't until the words had left his mouth and Dean felt the shock that rippled back to him from both of his bonds that he realized that that specific detail was something else that he might have forgotten to mention to Castiel and the others. Oops.
"You tried to kill my brother?" Raphael thundered, stepping forwards.
"He'd betrayed me!" Kali retorted, stepping back so as to better be able to defend herself should Raphael attack.
"No, he just didn't want to be found by his brothers," Dean countered. "His own personal witness protection plan he called it. He wanted nothing to do with the Apocalypse and was sick and tired of watching his brothers tear into each other all of the time."
The silence that met his statement was quite telling even without Dean being able to feel the hurt and betrayal that Michael felt, but that couldn't be helped. It was the truth and that was just painful sometimes. He didn't want to reopen any old wounds that his best friend and the others might have, but he felt quite strongly that if they didn't fully understand just what it was that had driven Gabriel away, that they wouldn't be able to ensure that it didn't happen again to any of their other siblings. Or that they wouldn't be able to understand the decisions that Gabriel had made. Although he personally thought that the archangel had chosen one of the more cowardly paths open to him, there was a part of him that just couldn't help but sympathize as well. He himself had been there, standing between two fighting factions within his own family, small as it was, helpless to do anything to stop them. So, yeah, he knew intimately where Gabriel was coming from even if he'd never been able to walk away from his own family the way that the archangel had from his.
There were times that Dean wondered if perhaps it wouldn't have been better if he had.
The mere thought still caused a gut reaction of disgust and horror within him, but lately Dean had been giving it some serious thought. Hell, his own situation these days and the ways that he'd changed while being away from Sam and instead being with those who'd wholeheartedly supported and believed in him made it difficult for him not to. Yeah, he knew that he'd not have had that support back then, but would he have been able to find another way to gain some measure of peace? He wasn't sure and it didn't really matter as he wouldn't change anything given all that he'd gained in the past year, but still, at times he just couldn't help but wonder.
"What did you have in mind?" Kali finally questioned.
"We're going to draw Lucifer to a place of our choosing soon," Dean explained. "We have a plan to deal with him and the other archangel that stands with him, but he will bring thousands of demons with him and while we have whole garrisons of angels, your power and skills would be quite valuable."
"You wish to use me as cannon fodder?"
"No, we want you as a secret weapon that Lucifer won't see coming. He thinks little of you, as evidenced by how casually he slaughtered the others at the Elysian Fields hotel, but you have far more power than even his closest allies with the exception of Simiel."
"Plus you'd be able to avenge the deaths of your lovers," Castiel added.
For his husband that would be the only incentive necessary, Dean knew, and the same applied for himself. But for Kali, however, it would be just one of many factors in her decision. Though he had to admit that she had seemed quite attached to Baldur, but the way that she'd been willing to kill Gabriel despite their history said a lot as well. Still, combined with the fact that Lucifer had killed the other pagans as well as intended to kill her, not to mention having the sheer gall to consider his Apocalypse to be more important than hers, should (hopefully!) be enough to induce her to join them.
"And just what did you have in mind?" Kali demanded.
Dean shrugged. "Whatever you wanted as long as you promised not to kill any angels or humans. Oh, or Lucifer."
"You wish to spare him?"
"We must," Michael replied. "Killing him would trigger the original end to the Apocalypse and alter Earth forever."
"And somehow I rather doubt that you'd wish to experience our version of Paradise," Raziel added ironically.
That had been the right thing to say as Kali bared her teeth at Dean's newest bond brother. He could understand her desire to kill the devil only all too well, but he was also well aware of just why they couldn't do that and it grated.
"Trust us, what we plan to do to Lucifer will be far worse than death to him," Raphael added. "And it will allow us to imprison him in Heaven for all eternity, never to be free on Earth ever again."
Okay, why certain supernatural creatures sounded like bad movie villains, Dean could totally understand, as they'd have seen those movies, but Raphael? That he just didn't get. Where the hell did his bond brother come up with those cheesy lines sometimes? Luckily it seemed that Kali had never bothered to lower herself to watching any human movies either as she reacted rather positively to Raphael's words.
"So he would suffer for longer than if we killed him," Kali summarized.
Of course she would focus on that. It was to be expected, but Dean decided that if that was what it took to get her to help them, then so be it.
"Yes."
A.N.: There you go, the next chapter and another canon guest character reappearance, hope you like :)
Chapter 199
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 3,425
Summary: Dean thinks that he can secure the help of a new ally in the fight against Lucifer.
PRESENT
Another thing that Dean was starting to realize was the fact that there was another avenue open to them as well. Sure, what his angelic family had thought up was a brilliant plan and he'd perform as many rituals or spells as were needed to ensure that Lucifer was neutralized once and for all given that they couldn't actually kill him outright, but there was one thing which they'd either overlooked or just hadn't considered or seen to be an option.
"What is it, Beloved?" Castiel inquired, shifting slightly to look at him. "You've got that pensive feel about you that you always get when you have an idea."
He did? That was news to Dean, though he supposed that if anyone would know what he felt like at these times, it would be his bond mate. It was still slightly odd to think that there was now someone else who might genuinely know him better than he knew himself. Or at least to be able to notice things about parts of himself that no one else had ever had the chance to get to witness before.
"I was just thinking about Kali," Dean explained. "Perhaps we should get her involved as well."
"The Hindu goddess of eternal time and death?" Raziel questioned.
"Yes."
"Why would she care?"
"She was involved with both Gabriel and Baldur at one time or another."
"Gabriel was involved with a pagan?" Raphael demanded incredulous.
Oh, hadn't he told them that before? Oops. "Yes," Dean confirmed. "It was a while back from what I got, but she was still with Baldur when Lucifer slaughtered him, so I'd imagine that she'd be pissed with him."
"But enough so to risk her own life?" Michael questioned.
"There's only one way to find out."
"There is no harm in summoning her," Castiel said. "It is not like she will inform Lucifer of our plans even if she doesn't decide to aid us."
"You can summon a pagan goddess?"
"No, we can't," Raziel corrected.
"But let me guess, I can?" Dean concluded, sighing. "Alright, what do I need to do?"
"I will be right back," Raphael said before flying off.
"We need supplies for this?"
"Just a few items, Little One," Michael reassured before drawing his blade. "You could call her without them, but to force her to respond, we need a little more."
"I don't think that we should do this here," Castiel stated. "Even though she wouldn't tell Lucifer of what we have planned, it would be best not to reveal our chosen battleground to anyone who hasn't agreed to help us yet."
"I concur," Raziel agree. "And I know just the place too, come on."
With that Raziel vanished and Dean rolled his eyes before nodding at his husband. This flight was longer than the last one and when they landed the first thing that he became aware of was the heat. As cold as Iceland had been, this place was hot and he started sweating almost immediately. Damn, but where the hell were they that it was this hot now of all times? Then he remembered what Raphael had once told him about seasons in the southern hemisphere. Great, so his little trip to Iceland had just turned into a halfway around the world thing. He was gonna have seen all of Earth before he was even forty at this rate.
His jacket was the first thing to go, followed swiftly by his over shirt and t-shirt, but that only left Dean with yet another problem. "Hey, Cas?"
"Yes, Beloved?"
"I don't suppose you can keep my skin from burning, can you? 'Cause I don't do so well with a sun this strong."
Raziel laughed. "No, with your delicate complexion, I don't suppose that you would."
"Bite me, Raz," Dean retorted.
"Don't worry about it," Michael replied. "I was already going to keep you safe."
"Thanks."
"Why would your skin burn?" Castiel inquired.
"Because I've got the wrong kind of skin to tan like Sam can. I just burn and then peel, which is neither pleasant nor pretty."
When Dean turned around to actually take in his new tropical surroundings, he noticed the way both Raziel and Michael were looking at Castiel's mark on his shoulder. Given how infrequently he wore wife beaters, he didn't think that Raziel had ever seen it before while Michael had not had many opportunities to view it either. At least not when there weren't other things going on. He just rolled his eyes at the typical angelic behavior before ignoring it.
"Give me your hand," Michael finally instructed.
It said a lot that Dean didn't even hesitate to do precisely that even as he despaired at how often these kinds of things required human blood. Why couldn't it have been something else? He wasn't particularly picky, anything would have done really. Although, on second thought, perhaps he really should be a bit more picky than that because, given his luck, the something else could just as easily have been semen or something equally embarrassing. And while he wasn't particularly adverse to coming more often if necessary, he didn't think that all of his bond brothers would realize that he needed privacy for something like that. Or it would be just his luck that the ritual or spell in question would require that the semen was produced at a specific point during the casting or carrying out of it and then there he would have little choice but to comply and have to try to perform on command. So, yeah, there were worse bodily fluids that so many rituals or spells could require, but why did it have to be a bodily fluid at all? Why couldn't it be something innocuous like a strand of hair or even something that wasn't human at all, like some dirt or something?
Yeah, he just couldn't be that lucky.
As Dean had expected, though, the blood had hardly even dripped from his palm onto the ground before the cut had already been healed. It was odd, really, as the pain struck mostly after the injury was already gone. Man but his meatsuit was going to get confused if this kept up.
"Repeat after me," Michael instructed before uttering what sounded like complete and utter gibberish to Dean.
Regardless, Dean did his best to accurately imitate the words and since his friend didn't protest, he assumed that he'd said them correctly. Then Raphael was back, handing a bag of something to Castiel before his bond brother began waving a burning bundle of something in the air, reciting some gibberish of his own. The smell of the smoke made him sneeze, but other than that he kept quiet, not sure what would adversely affect the summoning and what wouldn't. His husband, meanwhile, had opened the bag and was sprinkling something on the ground before him, right where his blood had soaked into the sand. It looked like a fine dusting of something, but he couldn't quite make out what. All he knew was that it made him sneeze again when Castiel collected some of it in his palm and blew it into the air around him. That made Raziel laugh and he scowled at his bond brother.
"There, it is done," Michael stated once the incense had burned out and the dust was gone.
"Just like that?" Dean asked in disbelief.
"The difficulty in performing the summoning lies more in the acquisition of its ingredients than the actual spell itself," Raphael explained. "At least for humans anyway."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just mock the poor humans. We can be quite determined if we want to be you know."
"Of that we are all well aware," Castiel smiled. "But most would not dare to presume to summon one of their gods."
The words made Dean frown and he absently wondered if God could be summoned this way as well. He severely doubted it as otherwise he was sure that his husband would have requested it of him years ago, but it was something to consider. He wasn't sure that he'd want to summon God, though, even if he could.
"So when is Kali supposed to arrive?" Dean inquired. "Now or later on?"
"Soon," Raziel reassured before a wicked smile crossed his face. "Don't worry, Dean, we'll not let the wicked witch harm you. We're here to protect you."
Dean scowled at his bond brother, eyes narrowing at being compared to some damsel in distress, but before he could come up with a suitable retort, the very air around them darkened and heated. His husband was at his side before he'd so much as blinked and then Kali was there, standing before them with an absolutely livid expression on her face.
"How dare you summon me, Dean Winchester?" Kali roared, her arms erupting into flames and her eyes blazing with a similar fire. "I should unmake you for the mere arrogance of even thinking to do it!"
Okay, Dean would never admit it out loud, but he was totally thankful for the fact that he had not one, not two, not three, but four archangels with him as he knew that he didn't even stand a snowball's chance in Hell against Kali just now. Not only did he hardly have any weapons on him, but there was absolutely no way for him to get out of here other than by Angel Air. He was literally in the middle of nowhere with an absolutely furious goddess of death and destruction.
"Try it and you will be the one who is unmade," Castiel growled, archangel blade sliding into existence in the palm of his hand.
From the way that Kali's eyes flickered from one of his bond brothers to the next, Dean knew that they had all drawn their blades as well though he didn't take his eyes from her to check. His father had taught him far better than to check on a sure thing when he was facing something supernatural. Of course, John Winchester would be rolling in his grave if he'd had one at the knowledge that his eldest son considered certain supernatural beings as trustworthy, but the main point of the lesson still remained nonetheless.
"We need to talk," Dean stated, cutting off anything else that Kali might have said.
"And what makes you think that I would have anything to say to an insignificant human bug like you?" Kali snapped.
Her attitude had cooled drastically at being confronted with so many beings that were more powerful than herself, but despite the briefness of their acquaintance Dean knew her far too well to let down his guard. Besides, he wasn't sure how long the summoning would keep her here or even if it was permanent, so he figured that it was best to just get right to the point.
"Because we want the same thing, namely to derail this Apocalypse before Lucifer can complete it," Dean stated simply.
"The archangel Michael wants to derail his father's Apocalypse?" Kali demanded incredulously.
"Yes," Michael confirmed simply.
"He has had you," Kali stated, her eyes returning to Dean and he pulled a face at the implications of her wording.
"We have been joined as angel and vessel," Dean admitted. "So I know that he is being serious as he could have gone to confront Lucifer at that time."
Castiel's fingers tightened on him as Kali shifted so Dean sent a wave of reassurance to his husband. Kali was many things, but she was no fool, so while still extremely dangerous, he was pretty sure that she wouldn't try anything stupid. Not with four archangels here; not after she'd witnessed their power firsthand herself.
"What made you change your mind?" Kali asked, looking back at Michael.
"Father and Dean."
Kali's dark eyes were back on him and Dean resisted the temptation to shift. It was hard to imagine now that he'd once considered sleeping with her. True, now he knew what she was and that would always have had a cooling effect on his libido, but it was more than that. He was pretty sure that even if he didn't know what she was that he wouldn't even find her remotely attractive anymore. It wasn't that he couldn't see the beauty in others anymore as he'd admired a really hot chick just a few days ago, so perhaps he'd become more selective? Not that it really mattered except that the next moment, Kali stepped closer and ran a long, blood red nail down his chest.
"What is it about you, human?" Kali questioned. "What is it that draws in angels? First Gabriel, then Michael and now this one here given that his scent is all over you?"
Castiel twitched behind him, but Dean could tell that his husband was still in control of himself, so he kept his focus and attention squarely on the goddess before him. If she sought to intimidate him by her proximity, then she was sorely mistaken. Even her physical touch was hardly more than an irritant and instead he was more focused on her words. It was almost a relief to have someone asking him this question, but more for what it implied than the answer to the question itself, because it meant that Kali, unlike so many other people lately, just didn't get it. And that was good, because most of the time he just didn't get it either. Sure, he was able to look at himself and see his own worth far better than he ever could have before, but the way people and most especially angels, had been reacting to him as of late was really starting to freak him out on some level. So it was an immense relief to finally find someone else who just didn't get it.
"Whatever it is, it isn't working on Lucifer," Dean replied. "Now, I assume that you want revenge for what the devil did to Gabriel, Baldur and the others?"
"Gabriel was a traitor."
"Hardly. You're just pissed that he tricked you. What, aren't Tricksters supposed to do that to fellow gods and goddesses?"
"He was no god!"
"Fooled you, though, didn't he?"
The challenge was out before Dean had really thought about it, but getting an up close and personal look of her fury made him think that maybe he should at least try to engage his brain to mouth filter, at least a little.
"Besides, you owe Gabriel," Dean continued, plunging straight on.
"I don't owe him anything!" Kali retorted, but the brief remorse that crossed her features said otherwise.
"Yes, you do. Not only did he die protecting you, but he did so after you tried to kill him."
It wasn't until the words had left his mouth and Dean felt the shock that rippled back to him from both of his bonds that he realized that that specific detail was something else that he might have forgotten to mention to Castiel and the others. Oops.
"You tried to kill my brother?" Raphael thundered, stepping forwards.
"He'd betrayed me!" Kali retorted, stepping back so as to better be able to defend herself should Raphael attack.
"No, he just didn't want to be found by his brothers," Dean countered. "His own personal witness protection plan he called it. He wanted nothing to do with the Apocalypse and was sick and tired of watching his brothers tear into each other all of the time."
The silence that met his statement was quite telling even without Dean being able to feel the hurt and betrayal that Michael felt, but that couldn't be helped. It was the truth and that was just painful sometimes. He didn't want to reopen any old wounds that his best friend and the others might have, but he felt quite strongly that if they didn't fully understand just what it was that had driven Gabriel away, that they wouldn't be able to ensure that it didn't happen again to any of their other siblings. Or that they wouldn't be able to understand the decisions that Gabriel had made. Although he personally thought that the archangel had chosen one of the more cowardly paths open to him, there was a part of him that just couldn't help but sympathize as well. He himself had been there, standing between two fighting factions within his own family, small as it was, helpless to do anything to stop them. So, yeah, he knew intimately where Gabriel was coming from even if he'd never been able to walk away from his own family the way that the archangel had from his.
There were times that Dean wondered if perhaps it wouldn't have been better if he had.
The mere thought still caused a gut reaction of disgust and horror within him, but lately Dean had been giving it some serious thought. Hell, his own situation these days and the ways that he'd changed while being away from Sam and instead being with those who'd wholeheartedly supported and believed in him made it difficult for him not to. Yeah, he knew that he'd not have had that support back then, but would he have been able to find another way to gain some measure of peace? He wasn't sure and it didn't really matter as he wouldn't change anything given all that he'd gained in the past year, but still, at times he just couldn't help but wonder.
"What did you have in mind?" Kali finally questioned.
"We're going to draw Lucifer to a place of our choosing soon," Dean explained. "We have a plan to deal with him and the other archangel that stands with him, but he will bring thousands of demons with him and while we have whole garrisons of angels, your power and skills would be quite valuable."
"You wish to use me as cannon fodder?"
"No, we want you as a secret weapon that Lucifer won't see coming. He thinks little of you, as evidenced by how casually he slaughtered the others at the Elysian Fields hotel, but you have far more power than even his closest allies with the exception of Simiel."
"Plus you'd be able to avenge the deaths of your lovers," Castiel added.
For his husband that would be the only incentive necessary, Dean knew, and the same applied for himself. But for Kali, however, it would be just one of many factors in her decision. Though he had to admit that she had seemed quite attached to Baldur, but the way that she'd been willing to kill Gabriel despite their history said a lot as well. Still, combined with the fact that Lucifer had killed the other pagans as well as intended to kill her, not to mention having the sheer gall to consider his Apocalypse to be more important than hers, should (hopefully!) be enough to induce her to join them.
"And just what did you have in mind?" Kali demanded.
Dean shrugged. "Whatever you wanted as long as you promised not to kill any angels or humans. Oh, or Lucifer."
"You wish to spare him?"
"We must," Michael replied. "Killing him would trigger the original end to the Apocalypse and alter Earth forever."
"And somehow I rather doubt that you'd wish to experience our version of Paradise," Raziel added ironically.
That had been the right thing to say as Kali bared her teeth at Dean's newest bond brother. He could understand her desire to kill the devil only all too well, but he was also well aware of just why they couldn't do that and it grated.
"Trust us, what we plan to do to Lucifer will be far worse than death to him," Raphael added. "And it will allow us to imprison him in Heaven for all eternity, never to be free on Earth ever again."
Okay, why certain supernatural creatures sounded like bad movie villains, Dean could totally understand, as they'd have seen those movies, but Raphael? That he just didn't get. Where the hell did his bond brother come up with those cheesy lines sometimes? Luckily it seemed that Kali had never bothered to lower herself to watching any human movies either as she reacted rather positively to Raphael's words.
"So he would suffer for longer than if we killed him," Kali summarized.
Of course she would focus on that. It was to be expected, but Dean decided that if that was what it took to get her to help them, then so be it.
"Yes."
A.N.: There you go, the next chapter and another canon guest character reappearance, hope you like :)
Chapter 199