Author's note – Just a quick message to all those who are reading my other story 'In the Blood' – I will still be continuing that story every week so there is no need to hate me but this idea suddenly came to me and I just couldn't help but begin writing it. I'm hopeless. =D
Birth of the Phoenix
Prologue
Dean holds his little brother to his chest tightly, trying to keep his breathing silent and steady as he stares at the blackness that surrounds them.
"What's happening?" Sam whispers, holding onto Dean just as hard.
"Shhh," Dean soothes, "You have to be quiet. Dad told us to be quiet."
In all honesty, Dean isn't too sure what is happening either but he can feel the danger of the situation and knows he needs to obey his father's words.
The day had started out normal enough and the two brothers had enjoyed a morning of playing hide and go seek but when they heard John calling for them, he had sounded both scared and angry, and Dean instantly halted the game to see what was wrong.
"Dean, I need you to take Sammy and hide under the stairs." John had said urgently. "Just like in your game, okay? Don't come out until I tell you to, no matter what you hear. Can you do that for me, son?"
Dean just nodded mutely, wondering what could possibly have his father this afraid. He was never afraid. Tears shone in John's eyes as he held both his children in his arms and pressed his lips to the top of their heads.
"I love you," he had murmured before ushering them both into the cupboard under the stairs and shut the door, leaving them both in the dark.
And that was where they were, several minutes later, still none the wiser as to why John had asked them to do this.
After what seems like an eternity, they hear it, the quick, sharp rap on the front door.
They hear the door being unlocked and then opened.
"Can I help you?" John says, voice polite but strained.
"You can come with us quietly," comes the answering reply.
This voice is unnervingly deep and unfamiliar to the boys and Dean tenses. Where were they taking their dad?
"What is this about?"
"You will come with us quietly or we will take you by force. It is your choice."
There is a long pause before John sighs. "Sure, let me get my coat."
Dean's breathing hitches. John was leaving them. Why was he leaving them?
"Who else is in the house?" a new voice asks. This one was also deep but did not instil the same fear in Dean as the other did. This one is much calmer and sounds almost kind.
"No one here but me." John replies.
"Please, do not lie to us. It will be better for you all if you just tell the truth."
"I am telling the truth. I'm the only one who lives here." John insists.
"So be it," the scary, deep voice says. "We have no use for liars."
The sound of someone clicking their fingers pierces the air before there is a loud, crunch and thump, as though someone had fallen to the ground.
"You didn't have to kill him, Uriel," the calm voice says sternly. "He could have proven useful."
Dean can barely hear anything over the sound of his heart beating in his ears. No, no, no, no, this cannot be happening. He pulls Sam closer still as wave after wave of sorrow and fear crash over him.
"Metatron will not tolerate deceit and rebellion among his slaves and neither will I."
"Let's just find the rest and move on." the calm one sighs.
Footsteps enter the house, echoing hollowly on the wooden floorboards, getting closer and closer with every second.
Sam whimpers quietly, burrowing his head further into Dean's chest.
The footsteps stop just outside the cupboard.
"We know you're in there," the scary one called Uriel says. "Come on out now. Slowly."
Dean and Sam both shrink back, barely able to even breathe.
"Do not make the same mistake your friend did. Come on out now and no harm will come to you."
Dean trembles in fear but knows he has to act. He can't let his brother get hurt. He hopes the scary one is telling the truth as he slowly opens the door and peers out, blinking at the light that suddenly seems so much brighter than it had before.
"They're only children." The calm one says quietly and pushes forward so that he is knelt directly in front of them.
The man's presence is as calming as his voice and Dean feels himself slowly relax as he stares at the man. He has a kind face, with bright blue eyes, short dark hair and a layer of stubble covering his chin. He's wearing a suit and tan trench coat, and reminds Dean of an everyday, office worker.
"Hello, my name is Castiel." the man says. "This is my brother, Uriel." He indicates the man behind him and Dean throws him a quick glance.
Uriel is not a calming presence at all. He is tall, dark and openly glaring at the two boys with fiery eyes.
"What are your names?" Castiel asks, dragging Dean's attention back to him.
"I'm Dean," he replies hesitantly. "This is Sammy."
"And how old are you?"
"I'm ten. Sammy is six."
Castiel nods and then reaches forward. "Okay, Dean, we need you both to come with us."
Dean flinches back but Castiel still manages to catch hold of one of his arms. "Everything is going to be okay. We will not hurt you."
Dean allows himself to be manhandled out of the cupboard and pulled towards the man, but not before he catches sight of his father lying on the floor by the door, his head twisted at an unnatural angle and eyes staring, blank and unseeing, back at him.
"NO!" Dean cries and struggles against the man's hands.
Castiel might pretend to be a good guy but he and Uriel had killed his father and Dean was not going to let them do the same to him and Sam.
Dean stops instantly when he feels Sam being torn from his grasp and he turns to see Uriel holding a screaming Sam against his chest, ignoring the cries and wildly kicking legs.
"We don't have time for this." Uriel growls and then he's gone. Just gone. There was no crack of thunder or puff of smoke. One moment he was there and the next, he wasn't. And neither was Sam.
"Sammy!" Dean shouts and spins back around to glare at Castiel. "Where is he? Where is my brother?"
"It's okay. Uriel has taken him somewhere safe. Would you like to go there too?"
No, Dean doesn't want to go anywhere with this man but he does want to be with his brother so he reluctantly nods his head and lets Castiel pull him back into a tight embrace.
"Hold on," Castiel tells him and Dean clutches at his trench coat sleeves.
The world suddenly tilts and Dean feels as though he's in a broken elevator that is quickly plummeting towards the ground.
And then, just as quickly as the feeling started, it stops and Dean is left standing, not in the corridor of his house, but in a large, spacious hall with wooden panel walls and a high, domed ceiling, painted with pictures of clouds and dancing cherubs.
Dean's vision twists violently along with his stomach and he finds himself grabbing at Castiel just so he could keep his balance.
"It will pass." Castiel assures him. "All humans feel this way the first few times."
"Humans?" Dean asks, confused. "And what are you supposed to be?"
"I am an angel." Castiel states.
Dean cocks his head to the side as he stares up at the man, vision slowly returning to normal. "You don't look like an angel," he says.
Castiel only chuckles. "We are not the angels you read of in your holy books."
Dean dismisses his words and looks around instead, only just realising there were others in the room. There are several groups of people in the hall, each group accompanied by one or two men in a suit.
"Where is Sam?" Dean asks, examining each group and not spotting his brother in any of them.
"He is through here. Follow me." Castiel steers Dean through a set of grand looking doors and they enter into a room only slightly smaller than the one they had just left.
The walls were a rich red and the windows reached from floor to ceiling, with golden drapes hanging regally on either side.
At the far end of the room is a desk with a stern looking woman, wearing a grey pantsuit, sitting behind it.
Uriel stands in front of the desk, one hand still clamped around Sam's shoulder.
"Dean!" Sam cries happily when he catches sight of him.
"Are you okay, Sammy?" Dean asks as he rushes forward to greet him.
"Yeah," Sam nods and reaches out towards Dean's hand and holds it with both of his.
"You took your time." Uriel says to Castiel, who simply shrugs in response.
"Right, well, now that you are all here. We can begin." The lady says with a clap oh her hands. She looks both Sam and Dean in the eyes. "The world is changing and you must change with it. Your new life starts now. You are no longer Sam and Dean Winchester. You have no names and it will remain that way until your new master sees fit to give you one."
Shock surges through Dean and he wants to argue but he can't seem to find any words to do so. Instead, he just gapes at her, outrage clear in his features. Sam just huddles closer to Dean.
"But before you leave here, I must determine where you best belong." The lady stands and circles around the table before stopping in front of Dean.
"Let's start with you, handsome." She smiles wickedly and stretches out towards him.
Cold hands come to rest on either side of his face and almost immediately he is buffeted about by a strange, alien presence.
Images, long-forgotten memories fly in front of his closed eyes and he hears voices echo around in his mind.
Instinctively, Dean fights against the presence, pushing back at it with all his might and for a moment it disappears, and Dean thinks he has won but then the presence returns, instantly harsher as it savagely searches through his memories and thoughts and cruelly lingers on every hurt he has ever felt, showing him his father's smiling face over and over again. He feels tears well up behind his eyelids as he silently pleads for this to stop. Then suddenly, Dean finds himself reliving the moment he saw John's lifeless body and something within him cracks.
Dean screams inwardly and claws at the presence, forcing it back, mentally screaming out curses and foul names. He opens his eyes and the presence is gone.
Ragged gasps escape both the woman's mouth and Dean's.
"Naomi? What is it?" Castiel asks quietly. The woman glares at him, still trying to catch her breath and then turns the glare on Dean.
"Take him to the colosseum," she finally says. "He'll be a perfect candidate."
Uriel pries Sam's hand from Dean's as Castiel drags Dean from the room.
"Wait, no!" Dean yells, bucking against his captor. "Sammy!"
"Dean!" Sam shouts back, trying to free himself from Uriel's unyielding grasp.
Castiel pushes open the doors to leave and hauls Dean through them.
"I'll find you, Sammy." Dean calls desperately over his shoulder as the doors begin to close behind him. "I'll find you."
