From Daybreak Into Darkness
Summary: She was the angel who orchestrated the genocide of humanity thousands of years ago, before guiding the survivors across the stars. He was the angel who rebelled in the hopes of stopping the Apocalypse, only to find that God had abandoned his children on the planet she'd brought them to. Castiel and Six exchange a few words in the aftermath of "Dark Side of the Moon".
A/N: Please don't read anything into this in any religious sense, I'm just using the purely fictitious versions of God and angels portrayed in the worlds of Supernatural and BSG, because I think they're very compatible. The name "Noriele" is loosely taken from the Enochian word "Norz" meaning "six" +"iele", as I figured that since Angel Six needed an actual name, I may as well call her Six in Enochian.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or BSG.
Castiel was standing on an isolated beach somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico when she found him. The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, and she could see his trenchcoated form silhouetted against the red sky, while it simultaneously cast a long shadow across the sand. He hadn't tried to contact any of them, although of course she hadn't expected him to. Heaven was a place full of nothing but enemies for him now; and it must seem to him as though all his brothers and sisters had turned on him. There was no-one left that Castiel thought he could go to, especially now that his hopes of finding God had been dashed, but that was exactly why she chose to seek him out. Despite everything that had happened, he was still her little brother, and it was times like this when he needed her most.
He didn't seem to notice her as she approached, still assuming the not-really-there shape that she'd had for millennia. It was the same appearance she'd had back then, thousands of lifetimes ago, of a blonde woman in a red dress. That body was neither a vessel nor her true form, but it was one she'd grown so accustomed and attached to that she hadn't changed it ever since humankind first settled on this Earth.
The woman came to a stop just behind the younger angel, leaving no footprints in the pale sand. He didn't react, but she knew he was aware of her presence. "God hasn't abandoned us, Castiel," she said softly, hoping to reassure him.
At that, he turned his head slowly to look back over his shoulder at her, his eyes hard and cynical. "He's said he won't help us," Castiel said coldly, the sound of betrayal resonating in his voice like steel. "The Apocalypse is coming, and he will make no move to stop it."
She understood his disappointment, but also knew that the resentment he harbored was misplaced. "It's a big universe," she replied gently, "Even for him. He can't be everywhere in it all at once. There are other people on other planets that need him more right now, which is why he placed Earth in our stewardship."
Disgusted, Castiel just turned away from her without speaking. He wasn't convinced, and clearly wouldn't be readily forgiving.
"Earth is not the only place in the universe where life can grow," she elaborated, "There are other planets, where the seeds of life can be sown and reaped, before being scattered elsewhere across the stars. The origin of human life you see now was brought from far away, and by our father's command I helped carry it here. But now it's fully grown, whereas there are other planets that still need to be cultivated." The analogy stirred up memories for her, and the image of Gaius Baltar planting seeds in this Earth for the first time flitted through her mind. The farm boy returning to his roots a million lightyears from home. Setting those memories aside, she continued. "And that's why he had to leave. He helps when he can, but he can't reach out his hand to stop this Apocalypse just because you want him to."
Castiel didn't look at her again, but instead continued to stare out at the sea in front of him, that was being stained pink by the light from the setting sun. She looked out over it too, and the image reminded her of a view she'd once had back on Caprica, from the balcony that had belonged to the man she'd watched over before he brought nuclear bombs raining down on the whole scene.
"Millions of innocents will die," Castiel said, his voice still hard and coarse like granite, "Millions of the humans he claims to love, whom he instructed us to love, will perish because Michael and Lucifer think that a grand fight to the death between them is somehow necessary."
"Perhaps it is," she answered him sadly. That was the way it had been last time. God had told her that Baltar would give the Cylons what they wanted and destroy most of the human race, and that was how things were supposed to happen. Maybe it could be seen as a cruel and needless act of violence by some, but she was an angel, and she didn't question the will of God. "Sometimes one terrible event has to happen for something better to come of it."
"No. Nothing better will come of this. Only destruction."
He was questioning. It was the one thing angels were forbidden to do, but here he was; her younger brother, challenging and contradicting the word of God. Once already he'd disobeyed, and she knew that if he continued to rebel then she'd only see him get hurt further. It pained her to think of that. "Castiel, it isn't for you to decide what's for the best. It's our father's will."
"Why does he care if he won't even be around to see it?" Castiel suddenly snapped angrily, rounding on her.
"Just because he isn't here doesn't mean he doesn't care," she retaliated, her own emotions beginning to intensify. "He cared enough to transport Sam and Dean Winchester to safety after they opened Lucifer's cage, did he not? And he cared enough to bring you back from the dead."
That was true. God had brought Castiel back to life after the archangels had obliterated him, resurrecting him just like he had for Kara Thrace, because Castiel still had some part to play in the plan. Now it scared her to think that her brother was just going to turn his back on that purpose and allow himself to be turned again into dust.
Castiel glared at her, matching her ice blue gaze with one that was equally intense. "Maybe because he knows I'm right," he growled defiantly.
"Castiel, you can't stop this," she protested, almost pleading with him. "Sam and Dean Winchester are going to say yes sooner or later. They have no choice." She knew she was telling him the truth. Sam and Dean had no more choice in saying yes to Lucifer and Michael than Baltar had had in saying yes to Caprica Six. They'd give the angels what they wanted. It was destiny: this was the reason the cycle had been broken. There would be no Cylon uprising so that Lucifer and Michael could go to war, and the Winchester brothers would play their part in making that happen.
Defiantly, Castiel shook his head. "No, they have a choice. Because unlike you and I, they don't have to obey orders. They'll say no."
He was resolute, but so was she. "You're too attached to those humans," she accused, "I know that you don't want to lose them to Michael and Lucifer, but there are more important things you should be concerned about. You can't turn your back on our father's wishes."
"He turned his back on us," Castiel snapped, before looking away from her. There was a tense silence between them for a few moments, which was at length broken by the angel bearing the face of a Cylon speaking softly again.
"I know what it's like, Castiel, to care for a human. I mean, to care more than our father asked us to," she admitted, and he raised his eyes to look at her again in surprise. That was something she'd never told anyone before, and it was something no angel expected to hear another angel to say. "His name was Gaius, and he lived a very long time ago. When I was given my orders concerning him, I never anticipated how much he'd come to mean to me, but that was what happened. He had a role to play in God's plan, and my role was to guide him through it. I had to watch him suffer for a long time to serve that purpose, but in the end he was rewarded with Heaven. Just like Sam and Dean will be. You have to understand this will turn out for the better in the end, little brother."
She thought she was saying it to comfort him, and for a few brief seconds it looked like she was succeeding. His eyes softened slightly, and he seemed to take a few moments consider her words, but then his gaze hardened again as he fixed her with a cold stare. "So where were you, then?" he whispered, his voice low but harsh. "When I was fighting to pull Dean Winchester out of Hell, where were you?"
"Castiel…" she began to respond, but he wasn't finished.
"Were you spending your time in the heaven of this man you claim to care about? Because I may be young, Noriele, but I remember the day those other humans arrived on Earth." The look in his eyes was intense, and although out of the two of them she was far older and more powerful, she couldn't help but be a little intimidated. "I know what had happened to bring them here," Castiel continued darkly. "So while your human was indulging himself in Heaven, after committing genocide for our father's purpose, Dean was in Hell for trying to save his little brother's life. I was the one to drag him back out, and every day since then, he's done nothing but continue to make sacrifices to try and save people. Both of them have. They're going to say no to Michael and Lucifer because they believe that's the right thing to do, and if that goes against God's plan, then you best cast me out of Heaven now. Those brothers have sacrificed enough, and I'm going to stand by them, because I believe this is something worth falling for."
For several long seconds after hearing that, she stood staring at him in silence. That speech had shocked her. She knew he was fond of the Winchesters, but she hadn't realised just how deeply this bond went. And something about his choice of words unsettled her. Genocide. Hearing it put like that… She didn't want to think about it, but yet it was difficult to stop herself. She was a good soldier, she never questioned or disobeyed, not like Anna had done, but the way he'd said it was almost enough to make her…doubt? Was that the right word? Could she even feel doubt?
Maybe. She just knew that she wasn't going to allow him to be cast out of Heaven, like he'd just challenged. She knew she could go and find Zachariah and Raphael and the Archangels right now and tell them where Castiel was, and then they'd probably descend on him and blow him to pieces just like they had before. Maybe this time he wouldn't even be brought back, but she wasn't going to do that. He must already feel betrayed enough, and somehow she found his words disconcertingly resonating with her. Maybe the Winchesters deserved more credit than she gave them. If they believed that what they were doing was right, then perhaps free will was a force to be reckoned with.
"I'm sorry, Castiel," was all she could say, before turning away from him and spreading her wings to fly back to Heaven, or just to some place where she could be alone with her thoughts. She couldn't change his mind, and she probably couldn't save him if things were to turn out badly, but for all the talk of sowing seeds she'd made, it had been him who'd ended up sowing the seeds of doubt in her. Doubt wasn't an emotion she liked feeling, and it scared her as she remembered what had happened to Anna for daring to question God's will. That was the reason she never told anyone of the conversation she and Castiel had on that beach, but it was also the reason why, months later, when civil war broke out in Heaven, she chose to fight on Cas' side.
The Winchesters had averted the Apocalypse, just like Castiel had said they would, and it made her begin to question things she had once considered certain. She used to think destiny was absolute, but then two brothers came along to rip the rules of prophecy and fate to pieces. Now it made her wonder. Humans had free will, and maybe that was something that angels could have too, if Castiel was any example. But if Sam and Dean had free will, and more than that, the strength of will to overcome every challenge thrown at them and hurl Lucifer back into the cage, then it meant Baltar had also had the freedom to choose.
Maybe it wasn't a question of destiny, but of character. Gaius had always had the choice to say no, and even if he'd unwittingly brought about the near annihilation of the human race, he'd still knowingly and willingly committed a crime. He'd betrayed his own people when he gave away those access codes, and it was all because a certain woman happened to have a pretty face. A face she now wore.
All this questioning and uncertainty wasn't something Noriele thought she'd ever get used to feeling, but she did think that perhaps it was about time she took on a new form. The blonde Cylon was more than a little out of date by now, with all of Heaven and Earth changing around her. Another thing she thought was that Baltar's heaven wasn't a place she would be visiting for a while.