The cloud of darkness began to swallow them just as someone appeared next to the car. He was dressed in all black, about fourteen, with a mission: save Sam and Dean. There was no time to remove them from the car, so he grabbed on to it.

How he'd managed to shadow travel an entire car, he'd never know, but Nico Di Angelo fainted on arrival. The Impala had landed in the archery field, nearly squishing two or three Apollo kids in the process.

Dean was the first to get out, noting the kids wearing armor, holding bows and arrows and swords, and the set of cabins. A blonde boy ran to Nico.

"Nico!" He yelled, crouching to pick the boy up.

…

Castiel found Sam and Dean. If nothing, to tell them he'd killed Crowley. He'd followed their general location to a hidden area, only to be stopped by a barrier. He pushed at the barrier, but it wouldn't budge. A boy with blonde hair found him.

"Who are you?" The boy asked, peering at him.

"Castiel. Angel of the Lord. What is this barrier?"

"An invisible border," The boy answered, "It goes around the camp. Protects us from monsters."

"I am not a monster."

"Well no, but you're not a demigod or a god either. What are you doing here?"

"My friends are in there," Cas said.

"Lemme guess, the ones in the Impala?"

"Most likely."

The boy sighed.

"I, Jason Grace, give you, Castiel, permission to enter the camp."

Cas passed through the barrier.

"An angel, huh?" Jason said, "Now I've seen it all."

Cas looked at Jason, confused.

"What is this place?"

"Camp Half-Blood," Jason answered, "It's a place for demigods to train, safe from monsters. See, a demigod is…"

"I know what a demigod is," Cas interrupted.

Jason shrugged.

"All right then," He said, "Let's go find your friends. What are their names?"

"Sam and Dean."

…

Sam and Dean waited in the infirmary with Nico, and the blonde kid, whose name is Will Solace, son of Apollo. Neither of them talked to each other, just watched as Will fed Nico a small yellow square that looked a bit like caramel. Sam snuck two of them, hiding one in his pocket and eating the other. He thought they must have been caffeine filled because it was giving him energy, making him sweat.

Will proceeded to tell them about the two camps.

"So…none of you are human?" Dean asked.

Sam hit Dean lightly in the gut, making Dean glare.

"No," Will said, "I mean…not fully."

"But…you're just kids," Dean changed his tone, now seeming offended.

Will sighed.

"We don't have a choice," He said, "We're demigods. The monsters seek us out."

…

After finding out where Sam and Dean were, via asking other campers, Cas entered the infirmary with Jason.

"Hello Sam," He said, "Dean."

Sam ran to hug him. Dean was hesitant to approach Cas, still feeling guilty for beating him up.

"Dean," Cas said, reading his emotions, "How are you?"

"Cas, I'm sorry…"

Cas hugged Dean as well.

"I forgive you," Cas said.

Dean sighed with relief, as if an angel would hold a grudge.

"All right then," Jason said again, "I think we should go see Chiron."

"Chiron," Cas said, "The centaur?"

"Yes."

"He's dead," Cas said, "If I remember correctly, he was wounded."

"It's a long story," Jason said.

Sam and Dean followed Jason off to the Big House.

…

Castiel, on the other hand, was whisked away somewhere else.

"Hello brother," A voice said.

Cas looked around. No one was there at first, then…Gabriel appeared.

"Where am I?"

"Mount Olympus," Gabriel said, "Right atop the Empire State Building."

Cas figured he'd digest that later.

"You died," He said.

"Dad brought me back," Gabe said, "But that's not important. There's bigger fish to fry."

"The darkness," Cas guessed.

Gabriel cringed.

"Chaos," He said, "It was released when the Mark was removed from Dean."

"If I'd known that…"

Gabriel touched Cas's shoulder.

"I know why you REALLY did it, Cas."

"I wanted to save Dean," Cas defended.

"I don't doubt that," Gabriel said, "But the REAL reason, why you defied your fellow angels, tried to stop the apocalypse, stuck with the Winchesters, even helped remove the Mark."

Castiel just stared at Gabriel, awaiting his next words.

"You're in love," Gabriel continued, chuckling, "Balthazar, Meg, they thought was Dean. But I know the truth, that night you spent with him soulless, when he wasn't afraid."

"How did you…"

"I've been back for a while," Gabriel said, "Hiding here in Olympus. Quietly observing you and the Winchesters, these little demigods as well. After Sam and Dean tried to kill Zeus, who only pretended to die by the way, my friendship with him and the Olympians caused the two not to get cursed or burned to a crisp."

Cas gulped.

"I…MAY have had sex with Sam before," Cas admitted, "And I MAY feel a slight affection toward him, but…"

"He has a soul now," Gabe jokingly pleaded in a high pitched voice, "What if he doesn't feel the same? Oh! If he doesn't love me back, I'll just die!"

Gabe reached for Cas's arm and grabbed his blade, which he was holding in his sleeve. Cas flinched.

"Gonna stab me or something?" Gabe joked.

He sniffed the blade, which was still stained, and wrinkled his nose.

"Demon blood," He said, "Crossroads demon, but a strong one."

"I killed Crowley."

Gabriel nodded. Cas just stared at him, waiting. He began to shift uncomfortably. Gabriel noted this and handed back the blade. Cas remained confused.

"What?" Gabriel asked, "Oh. You thought I was going to punish you for…Do you think you're the only angel to fall in love with a human? Or a god, for that matter. Come on, Cas. Talk to him, tell him how you feel."

"Fine."

As Cas was about to poof away, Gabe stopped him.

"Cas we…my siblings are gone," He said, "The archangels. We need more power if we're going to be any match for Chaos. Do…you want to become an Arch?"

"You can do that?"

"Yes."

"Of course!" Cas exclaimed, "I mean…I'd…be honored."

Gabriel smiled.

"Okay," He said, "First, you'll need to remove all of your clothes."

As Cas removed his trench coat, Gabriel started to laugh.

"Very funny," Cas said.

"You're so gullible!" Gabriel laughed, "Anyway, it is done. You are now Castiel, the Archangel in a trench coat."

Cas rolled his eyes.

"I have to get back…"

"To the camp," Gabe finished, "Take me with you."

"Fine."

…

The two appeared in the big house, where Chiron was talking to Sam and Dean.

"We don't get many mortals here," Chiron said, "See, the camp's borders are guarded by the Golde…Who are you?"

"I'm Gabriel. This is Castiel. We're archangels."

Dean glared at Gabe.

"You were dead," He said.

"ARCHangel?" Sam asked.

Gabriel explained what happened. Sam popped the last chewy yellow square into his mouth, feeling himself sweat.

"Dean, if it's worth anything…I'm sorry," Gabriel said.

Dean gritted his teeth, but decided to stay quiet. Cas's chest tightened, waiting for the right moment to tell Sam, or if he should at all.

"That child…Nico…will he be okay?" Cas asked.

"He shadow travelled," Jason said, "It tires him out, a lot. He just needs rest."

"Gabriel!" Mr. D. entered the room, a huge smile on his face, "You crazy, disappearing son of a…"

The front door opened, and the attention was turned to a girl, a demigod who appeared to be in her mid-twenties, blonde hair with a pink streak, green eyes.

"Um…Chiron, sir?" She asked.

"Yes Cassidy?" Chiron asked.

"There's an Impala in the archery field," Cassidy said, "The Apollo kids are confused, and the Hermes kids are starting to rummage."

Dean's eyes widened. He ran out the door, followed by Cassidy, Chiron and Sam.

…

Gabriel turned to Mr. D.

"Been a long time, old buddy," Gabe smiled.

"A few centuries, at least," Mr. D. shrugged.

"I'll go check on Nico," Cas said.

…

Will sat on Nico's bed as he rested.

"An angel?" Nico groaned.

Will grabbed his hand, then pulled away when Castiel entered the infirmary. Cas approached them, then touched Nico's forehead. Will was practically glaring at Cas.

"Why are you here?" Nico asked.

"I followed Sam and Dean," Cas answered simply.

"You're not here for me?" Nico asked.

"Why would I be here for YOU?" Cas was confused.

Nico still had some of that early 40's "you'll burn in hell" ideology with him. It's what kept him from dating Will for so long. The angel took a deep breath and healed the boy's exhaustion. He could read the boy's thoughts.

"I am in love with a human," Castiel admitted, "Angels aren't supposed to be with humans."

Nico sat up on the bed, then stood up and patted the angel on the shoulder.

"I thought I would be punished," He continued, "But I was made an archangel."

"This human…" Will said, "Do they know?"

"No. I am afraid…he won't feel the same."

"It's worth a shot," Will said, glancing at Nico, "If you never try, you'll never know."

…

Chiron quickly decided that the Impala can go in one of the barns, to be supervised by Dean, Cassidy and a few other Hephaestus kids. It was after parking the car and exiting the stable that Dean talked to Cassidy.

"So…um…how old are you?" Dean asked, then winced.

Cassidy smiled.

"Twenty eight. You?"

"Um…thirty-six."

"Wow," She said, "So…what are you doing here?"

"It's a long story."

"I see," She said, "Well, maybe you can tell me some other time. Like, oh…tomorrow afternoon, down at the lake."

Something about this girl was special, different, like Lisa. Which told Dean he should run. Run and never look back, get as far away as possible, for both of their sake. Of course, Dean never listens. Not even to himself.

"Yeah," He smirked, "I'd like that."

…

Cas approached Dean as he left Cassidy.

"Dean, I need to talk to you."

"What is it?"

"It's about Sam."

"What about him?" Dean demanded, panicking.

"He's not hurt," Cas assured him, "I need your advice."

Dean was completely lost.

…

Cassidy went back into the barn to the Impala. She opened the front door and slid into the driver's seat. The smell of the leather and, something else…cologne, maybe, filled the interior. She gripped the steering wheel, taking a deep breath, closed her eyes and breathed out slowly.

Her hands changed first, became larger, a little hairier. Then, her feet, legs, arms. Her body constricted, like a snake as her body changed: the bones, skin, nails, teeth, even a few internal organs. She whimpered at his memories of fire, torture, monsters. It hurt, her body always hurts during and after a transformation. She looked in the rearview mirror at her reflection, smiling.

"Dean," She said, "You need to lay off the drinking."