We are Fallen

by: Karasu Kyra

Castiel watched his Brothers and Sisters manifested wings burn from their bodies and felt a twinge in the raw place inside of him where his Grace was just taken as theirs was ripped from them.

There were so many. He saw one body come crashing into the clearing of the forest. Castiel jogged painfully over to the smoking crater, just as a lithe blonde woman dragged herself from the mangled earth.

"Castiel!" she gasped.

Castiel instinctively reached for the piece of Grace inside him that would tell him his Sister's name and found the spot achingly empty. He closed his eyes briefly.

When he opened them, fear and confusion was painted clearly across his sibling's face. She reached forward and grasped the sleeve of his trench coat, desperately. "What is this? What is happening?"

"You have Fallen, Sister."

"I am…human? But, what have I done to…" She trailed off as she glanced to the horizon, where more Angels continued to fall. Her lips parted gently, as she stared, riveted to the scene before her.

"They are all Falling."

"Why, Castiel? What is happening?"

"I don't know, Sister."

Castiel watched as the woman stared listlessly at the ground and he remembered his shock when his own emotions started to overwhelm him, and then they were still muted by his Grace. It took many long months for him to embrace the humanity in him, and only through—

"Castiel!" The intensity of Dean's voice shouting through his mind blinded the former Angel for a moment.

"Sister, can you stand? I do not wish to leave you here but I must get to the Winchesters."

The blonde nodded and rose gracefully to her feet. Castiel nodded and took several lilting steps forward, only to stumble to one knee. His Sister touched his arm lightly, then crouched next to him and grabbed his wrist, throwing his arm over her shoulder and hauling him to his feet.

"Which direction are we heading?" the Woman asked.

Castiel couldn't explain it, but somewhere inside of him he knew the direction he needed to go. As he pointed to the West, the two started their trek forward.

Dean looked to where an Angel had fallen near them, leaving a smoking crater in the ground. He looked back to Sam. "Hang on, Sammy."

He stood and went to the crater, barely seeing a man laying on the ground at the bottom through the smoke. He put a hand on the edge of the hole and jumped down, carefully avoiding the Angel.

"Hey, buddy," he said, as he crouched next to the man. He watched the man's eyes flutter open, and he looked around dazedly. "Hey, you alright?"

The man's brown eyes focused on the Winchester. "What—Who—Winchester?"

"Yours truly, pal. Now, let's get you up and outta here, alright?"

Dean helped the man stand and leaned him up against the side, as he lifted himself out of the hole. He then reached down and pulled the man up. "What's your name, buddy?"

"Chayliel."

"Okay, Chayliel, come on."

He leads the former Angel over to Sam. His brother has passed out, his breathing grown shallow. He lays Sam on the ground and tilts his chin up, opening his airways. Desperately, he yells once more, "Castiel!"

He feels something like static electricity race through him. He looks hopefully around, but Cas is nowhere to be found. He drops his head and sighs. He looks up over to his newest companion when he hears the man start to speak.

"I can…I think I can help him."

"But, I thought you lost your angel mojo?"

Chayliel smiles. "Some angels were granted more powers than our 'angel mojo'. Do you have a knife?"

"No offence, Chay, but I'm not giving you a knife until you tell me what you're doing with it."

"I need access to my blood."

Hesitantly, Dean reaches down and takes the small switch blade from his ankle and cautiously hands it to the man. He then lurches forward and grabs it again, when the man starts to press it to his wrist. "Hey, I know how deep you think you can cut yourself, but trust me, buddy, you're human now."

Chayliel shoots Dean a look, and the Winchester has to take a moment to appreciate the fact that this man seems to possess a larger emotional range than a toaster. But, the former angel then presses the blade to his shoulder and makes a clean, shallow cut.

He than drags a finger through the pooling blood and reaches forward and uses it to draw a symbol on Sam's forehead. It glows briefly before sinking into his brother's skin. Then, as if he were fixed by angel mojo, the wounds are gone, and Sam is gasping, eyes flying open.

"Dean?"

"Right here, Sammy." He puts a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"What happened?"

"Chayliel here, did some not-angel-mojo and fixed you. You're alright, Sammy."

Sam's eyes drifted over to the second person standing near him. "Well, thanks. But, what?"

"Chayliel, what did you do?" Dean asked.

"I am one of the Rune-Wielders. Our father gave a select few of us the power just after the creation of humanity with the order to watch over his favored creation, and you are human, before you are anything else, Winchester."

"How have we never heard of or seen this? We've met a lot of Angels in our time."

"It was mostly forgotten, after Lucifer Fell. I am the only one who practices, anymore."

"Then, it was damn lucky you landed near us."

Chayliel scowled at, what Dean assumed was, his language and folded himself to sit near the brothers. "So, what is your plan from here, Winchester?"

Dean looked at the man like he'd lost his mind. "Why are you asking me? We're not exactly popular upstairs."

"I am Fallen—disgraced and barred from Heaven. And, believe it or not, not everyone dislikes you in Heaven. There are those who still believe in our Father's Will and stand for humanity."

Dean looked at the Angel with something that Sam would almost call respect. "Well, you saved Sam's life, and that means I owe ya, now. But, as far as what we should do…"

"We should probably find the other Fallen Angels before something happens, or the wrong person—or demon—finds them."

Dean was just about to agree when something surged through his veins, urging him to wait. "Let's wait here, just for a little."

Sam gave Dean a strange look. "Alright."

Just then, another man wandered into the clearing, wearing a police uniform. Dean rose to meet the man, a placating look on his face. "Good evening, officer. What brings you out here?"

The officer offered a rictus grin, before blinking, his eyes black after they opened. He drew the gun at his side and shot Chayriel. Blood bloomed out of the hole in his forehead before he crumpled to the ground.

Then, the gun was trained on Dean.

Castiel and his Sister had been traveling at a mostly steady, if stumbling, pace for the past few hours. The former angel couldn't tell if they were getting close to the Winchesters, just that they were going in the right direction. He was debating stopping to rest, exhaustion throbbing through his body, when an inexplicable spike of fear ran through him.

Without thinking, he shook himself free of his companion and started running. He didn't stop until he saw the edge of a clearing. He crept cautiously forward until he could see it. What he saw made fear race through his veins again.

He pushed it down and glanced momentarily backwards, when he heard his Sister approach behind him and crouch down beside him. He saw her take in the scene. "Sister, will you help me?"

She looked hesitant, but nodded.

Dean placed himself between Sam and the demon. It just grinned at him. "What a pleasant surprise. The Winchesters right at my feet."

The older brother hesitated. If he tried an exorcism, the spasms could cause the trigger to be pulled, and the demon could shoot before he could get close enough to do anything useful.

"It's so nice, to get a break from Hell, again. We could feel all those feathered assholes falling to Earth. What a turning tide. And, we get a bonus pass for a vacation!"

The demon laughed. Then, Dean saw his finger tighten on the trigger. He braced himself for the impact, just as he saw the Demon's arm was wrenched upward. The gun went off as the demon struggled against his assailant. It was able to free it's arm, just as Dean buried Ruby's knife in it's stomach.

The body fell to the ground, revealing an out of breath Castiel, and slightly behind him, a blonde woman Dean didn't recognize. "Cas!"

Castiel nodded at the older Winchester. "Dean." The former angel walks over to his the body of his dead sibling. "Who is this?"

"Said his name was Chayliel."

"Chayliel. He was a powerful angel. May he find peace with our Father."

The woman muttered a soft, "Amen."

"So, who's this?" Dean asked, gesturing to the blonde.

"I am Fayriel," she responded. "I am—was—the Angel of September…"

Castiel turned to the Winchesters. "Dean, I must find my Fallen siblings. Will you help me?"

"Well, it seems like we need to figure this thing out before the wrong person finds the Fallen angels."

Castiel nodded. "Alright. It won't be easy. They'll hide from humanity, from the things they don't know."

"Well, let's head to the city and see what's happening."

Dean opens the door to the impala, as Sam does the same. Sam gestures for Castiel and Fayriel to climb into the back. The former angel begins to crawl into the back, but spins around at the sound of multiple people running towards them.

Dean swears and moves closer to the small group of five soldiers closing in on them. They have their rifles up and are quickly closing in on the four of them. The soldiers start yelling, "Get down! Everyone on the ground! Hands behind your heads!"

Cornered, Dean tells the two former angels, "Do as they say."

The four lay themselves flat on the ground, hands behind their head. They are pulled up and handcuffed just as two Humvees roll up. They are quickly herded into them and taken.

AN: Well. I'm sorry it's been so long guys. I'll hopefully be getting back into writing again. This is my newest piece. Let me know what you think!