Hello folks, this is the sequel to my previous work, Novabird, which can be found here s/10304863/1/Novabird This story should still make sense if you haven't read Novabird, but I recommend starting there, as it gives a good background of my OC Castiel and how he meets Felicity and Team Arrow.

Anyhow, hope you enjoy this sequel, which will be entirely original content!


Chapter 1 – In the darkness

His eyes fluttered open, his vision blurry. He struggled to gather his thoughts through the fog that clouded them, and quickly realised he must have been drugged. He sighed, marveling at the ignorance of his captors, then focused, as he had so many times before, using his mental capabilities to clear the haze over his thoughts.

Nothing happened. He frowned in confusion. That should've worked. He extended his senses out, and quickly realised his wrists and ankles were bound to the chair he was in. His focus moved upwards as he began to register a weight on his head. That was when he realised there was something metal resting on his brow, like a crown but tighter. His face screwed up in concentration as he attempted to undo the straps on his wrists, then lift the metal device on his head.

Neither attempt worked. He slumped back in resignation. Something was blocking his powers, and given their nature, he could only assume it was whatever was currently sitting round his head.

After giving up on immediate escape, he looked around the room he was in. It was dark, but not pitch black, and he could vaguely make out a shape in front of him. Just as he was trying to make sense of this, the shape stirred. He recognised the dainty groan of pain, and his heart sank. He tried to force his dry throat to work, and managed to croak out one word.

"F..Felicity..."

Her head rose slowly and he saw the soft glint of the tiny amount of light off of a strange metal device on her head. While he hadn't seen it, he assumed it was the twin to the one on his own head.

Her head rose, slowly, and he noticed her eyes were vacant. They slowly started to come into focus as her gaze landed on his face.

"Whass goin' ooon?" She mumbled confusedly, "I just wanted a nice vacation, this is so not cool. I mean what are the chances of getting kidnapped? Oliver isn't even here."

Even in such a dark situation, her internal rambling successfully brought a brief smile to his face. His mirth was replaced with shock when he realised she hadn't said that aloud.

"Felicity, can you hear me?" He tried to project his thoughts towards her. Her eyes widened and she nodded nervously.

"The device on my head is dampening my powers somehow," he told her despondently, "I can't get us free. Strangely though, I can still communicate with you mentally."

She pulled a bemused face, staying silent. As he was contemplating this turn of events, he heard a door grind open somewhere to his left, and a figure slowly made his way into view.

He wasn't anyone Cas recognised. He moved with an easy grace that showed a lot of self confidence. To someone with Cas's experience and training, it also showed that he was a dangerous man. He held himself like a born warrior.

The stranger stepped close, bending down so he and Cas were at eye level, and spoke.

"Well well well, the infamous Novabird. For once I have not been misled. Good." He suddenly pulled a short metal rod from the inside of his jacket and poked Cas below the ribs. Pain ripped through his torso, causing him to cry out before he could control himself. He heard Felicity scream with him.

"Stop!" He managed to grind out between his teeth. "Please don't hurt her."

The man pulled back with a grin on his face. "Provided you do as I ask, Novabird, neither of you will be harmed further. I felt, however, that a swift lesson in what happens if you try to defy me was in order." His grin turned malicious, and he added, "The device on your head is really a fantastic invention. It was created by your former allies after the second world war, as a way to keep you in check. The second one was my own personal addition. Anything felt by one of you, is felt by both of you. Do you understand?"

Cas just nodded grimly, attempting to look meek and contrite. Inside, his mind was going haywire, trying to find a way out of this situation before Felicity was hurt any further.

His captor stepped forward again suddenly, reaching into his jacket again with the other hand and pulling out a needle. He swiftly jabbed Cas in the neck, and said, "In case you get any big ideas about escaping or saving your girl, we're keeping you drugged up to the eye balls. With the amount of this that's running through your system, I doubt you could do much of anything even if I removed your head piece." He chuckled to himself, and added, "Have a restful night, we'll start bright and early tomorrow."


After the men left the room, locking them in, Felicity gently tested her restraints. They were heavy duty, and very tight. She sighed. Abandoning the thought of escape, she let her mind drift back to the metal ring on her head. It was clearly designed as some kind of sick torture device, but she doubted the designers had considered the possibility that it would also link their minds the way it had.

As she considered the mental link, images started flashing through her head. Her eyes landed on Cas, and she realised his head was lolling to one side, the drugs they had given him were clearly rendering him almost completely senseless. After a moment, the images took over, and she lost consciousness.

She opened her eyes. Before her was the inside of a wooden hut. As she looked around, she took in the firepit set into the wall, the hard cot off to one side. This was definitely not a modern home.

Her eyes travelled to the centre of the room, and she gasped in horror. Lying across the floor was the body of a woman, no older than 21. She looked to have had her throat cut. Next to her was a small boy, maybe 6 years old, wimpering softly, gently tugging at the woman's clothes. Felicity moved closer, wanting desperately to comfort the boy. As she reached him, he turned and looked past her, causing her to recoil slightly. She recognised him. How could she not? Those sad, soft grey eyes that looked through her. The mop of jet black hair, the slim frame. This was Cas when he was a child. The horror of the situation hit her all the harder when she realised this. She must be in some sort of drug related fever dream, which meant that Cas was reliving this painful moment of his childhood. Her heart ached for him, and she collapsed to her knees in tears.

She jerked awake, slowly regaining her focus. Cas was still semi conscious, and she heard him moaning softly. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but she could guess. Her heart gave another pang of sorrow as the image of the distraught child she had seen resurfaced. Nobody deserved that sort of introduction into the world, and he had not only come out better for it, but had then survived nearly 2000 years of hardship, struggle and often pain to become the kind, caring, gentle man she had fallen in love with.

Felicity resolved to try and help him. She closed her eyes, concentrating on one of her happiest memories. She tried to push it towards him somehow, hoping that maybe he could see her memories the way she just saw his.


Cas was vaguely aware that he was still in a cell, tied to a chair opposite Felicity, but the drugs were messing with his mind and he felt himself drifting into old memories. The one that came back around most frequently was his mother dying. He had made peace with it centuries ago, but in moments like this, it still came back to haunt him. He tried to block out the rest of the memory, of the bandits raiding into their village, stealing their food and anything that looked valuable. He forced himself not to visualise the disgusting hulking man raping his mother before killing her. Felicity didn't need to see that, and he was certain she could see everything he could when the memories hit him.

As it became harder to keep the thoughts out, a warmth overtook him, and a different memory took the place of his own. He recognised it as coming from Felicity, and he calmed his mind, letting himself sink into it.

Cas turned to grin at her playfully, before spinning back on the spot, raising Oliver's bow and shooting a perfect shaft shot. Earlier that evening, the Arrow himself had come stomping down into the lair, complaining that his arrows were losing their integrity, and that they needing to be trashed and replaced. Felicity just nodded, turning to her screens to place the order, but she noticed Cas had a playful look in his eye as he took the arrows from Oliver, allowing the younger man to head into the bathroom and change out of his green leather. As soon as he was out of the room, Cas snuck comically over to the bow, picking it up gently and strapping the quiver of old arrows to his back. He walked across the room to the target they had set up, and shot a bullseye. Felicity was about to clap politely, when he immediately followed it up with a second arrow that split the first right down the middle. Her clapping and small whoop of excitement were genuine at that point. That was when he turned to give her the playful grin, before repeating the feat again and again.

Oliver stepped out of the bathroom in his casual clothes and noticed what was going on. His mouth dropped open in protest, but then he must have remembered that he ordered the arrows destroyed, because he laughed softly and shook his head.

He bade them goodnight and left the lair just as Cas shot the last arrow. As he turned to walk towards her, Felicity was about to ask what he was going to do with the final unbroken arrow. He answered her question with a flick of the wrist, causing the arrow to split neatly into two, as if by magic.

"I see you listened to my advice and brought a coat." He said jokingly, causing her to frown.

"Only because you won't tell me where we're going tonight. Seriously, it's July, why do I need a coat?" She crossed her arms, trying to look stern, but broke quickly after seeing his face take on a look of excitement.

He motioned for her to follow him, leading her up the stairs and out into the alley behind Verdant.

Just as she was about to ask why they weren't heading towards her car, he swept her up into his arms without warning and took off into the sky. She squealed, partly in fear and partly in wonder, as they soared above Starling City. She noticed his face took on a look of concentration and she felt the wind lessen. It was still cold, given their sudden change in altitude, but at least it was bearable. She then felt the mild sickening feeling that she knew was associated with rapid acceleration, and she mentally asked, 'How fast are we going?'

He looked at her with a wry smile, 'About 650 miles an hour,' he replied gently, 'I decided you most likely would not appreciate it if I broke the sound barrier.'

She gave him a disbelieving look, before realising he was serious and rolling her eyes.

'So where are we going?' She asked innocently. She had noticed they were heading west, but past that she had no idea.

He gave her a knowing look, but didn't reply. She fell silent, leaning against Cas's shoulder.

After an unknown amount of time, he roused her from her light sleep.

'We're here,' he thought, his thoughts laced with anticipation.

As she opened her eyes, the amazing vista below came into focus. She gasped in wonder, for once at a loss for words.

They landed gently, and she asked, "Where are we?"

"Japan," he replied, using the same soft, silky tone that he had when they first met, "A mountain south of Tokyo. I used to love it here, and I thought I would share that love with you. I doubt anyone else on earth has seen this view, as it is almost impossible to get up here on foot, and no flying vehicle could land anywhere nearby. It is almost like our own private paradise above the world. What do you think?"

She hesitated for a moment, too stunned by the beauty before her to form a sentence. When she finally did reply, all she said was, "It's perfect."

A relieved smile split his face. He took her hand and led her away from the cliff face she was gazing out from. As they reached a copse of bushes, she saw a cool box nestled among them. He pulled it out as he said, "It's lucky that it'll be light for a while, given the time difference. I thought you might like a picnic."

She watched in wonder as he laid out a blanket, before opening the cool box and pulling out a container of sushi rolls. She raised an eyebrow curiously, and he just shrugged and murmured, "When in Rome," which made her laugh out loud. It was then his turn to look inquisitively at her, and she managed to say "You would know," before dissolving into giggles.

They ate happily, talking and joking about vigilante life, and how things had quietened down after Slade was defeated. Cas admitted he was glad Oliver had stepped back up as CEO of Queen Consolidated, and she once again asked him how Sara was doing, and when she would be back from Nanda Parbat.

As the light faded and she felt her eyes getting heavy, he took her hand and led her through the bushes into a small patch of woodland. As she watched in amazement, he waved his hands above his head, and the trees bent and wove together into something akin to a roof. With another gesture, he had pulled a pile of wood together, and quickly bent down and lit a fire. Finally, he piled the thick dead grass into a soft pallet, setting the blanket down beside it. She stepped forward without thinking, placing a soft kiss on his lips. He smiled into it before returning the kiss. Her eyes took on a devilish look as she gently laid him down on the pallet and slowly dropped her coat.

Later, as they held each other, both immensely happy but bone weary, she thought this could definitely be a candidate for the happiest moment of her life. It was so simple, but so perfect. She gazed at the man that had made it happen, wondering how she had gotten so lucky, not realising he was thinking exactly the same thing about her.


Cas smiled at the memory, feeling Felicity's joy through their bond. He remembered her curiosity at why he liked that particular mountain in Japan so much, and as he did, his own memories came to the fore once more, overtaking him before he could stop them.

He could hear the rain beat down on the canopy above him as he shivered. He knew he shouldn't have accepted this insane mission. Fighting one mirakuru soldier was bad enough, but he was supposed to track them all down, lure them together, and somehow kill them. It was madness.

He had laid a trail for them to follow. To the Japanese army, a chance to kill the Novabird was worth almost any risk. To them, he was the deadliest enemy they could imagine. If only they could see him now, huddling in his coat, trying desperately to keep warm as he hid from the super soldiers that were hunting him.

Years later, he would remember this place as somewhere that gave him sanctuary in one of his darkest hours, but at that moment, he could think of nothing but exhaustion, his impossible mission, and how he had to do it all completely alone.

His eyes snapped open, feeling the memory fade again. He heard a muffled sniff and looked over to see Felicity crying softly.

'What's the matter my love?' he enquired gently, 'Please don't be afraid, I am going to get us out of this, I promise.'

'I'm not afraid,' she told him firmly, 'But seeing your memories like that, it makes them so much more real. When you told me about your mission to kill those super soldiers, you made it sound so simple and easy. I had no idea how hard it was on you.'

She paused for a second, then tentatively asked, 'How did you do it...in the end?'

His eyes dropped, and she felt shame resonate through the bond. He didn't answer for a moment, staying silent. When he finally looked up, he avoided her gaze, and said, 'It was 1945, in the summer. The Germans had already surrendered, and the Allies decreed that Japan needed to follow suit quickly before more soldiers needlessly died. I used their plan to my advantage.'

He gave her a pointed look, but she didn't follow, 'What happened in the summer of 1945?'

He looked pained, as if he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud, so instead just said, 'Would you understand if I told you that the place I lured them to was called Hiroshima? And that there were 5 stragglers who didn't make it that I fought and hounded all the way to another city called Nagasaki?'

Her eyes widened in shock, 'So the two droppings of the atomic bomb were actually...'

'Cover-ups to neutralise the Japanese mirakuru warriors, yes.' He told her darkly.

'You're not responsible for their deaths Cas,' she thought fiercely, knowing immedaitely that he blamed himself, 'The ones in charge, who gave the order, they did this. You just did what you had to to protect yourself and your country. You were a hero.'

He laughed, but there was no humour in it. 'My love, I truly hope you can keep that belief, but if my memories keep coming through as they are now, and you see my life...all of it, as it really happened, I fear you will change that opinion.'

She shook her head angrily, and spoke aloud, "Nothing could change how I feel about you Cas. I know the person you are, and no amount of bad life experiences could convince me that you are anything but good.

They lapsed into silence, and she fell into a fitful sleep.


So, chapter 1 was a bit on the heavy side. I'd love to know what you lovely folks think. Also, while I have a lot of ideas that I want to fit into this, if anyone has any suggestions of things they want to see, send them my way, and I will do my best! Again, this will be entirely original content after season 2, so most likely AU when season 3 is released.

Thanks for reading.