This is the nadir of the season, at least fic-wise. After this it starts getting better, I promise. -KHK
Looking for Redemption
K Hanna Korossy
Trust me, he'd told Kevin and Sam. You've gotta have a little faith.
Then Zeke, the angel Dean had invited into his brother and his home, turned out to be the infamous Gadreel, killing Kevin and walking away with Sam. And that was all on Dean.
He'd get Sam back, even if it meant just letting him die as himself like he'd probably wanted to all along. Dean would do that. But afterward? Kevin was dead, and even if Sam survived, he'd never forgive him. Dean had made a terrible mistake, and he would pay for it the rest of his miserable life.
He had no hope left, not after this. Only justice.
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It had not been Gadreel's fault. How could an angel stand against the wiles of a fallen archangel? Lucifer would have gotten into the Garden no matter what, and man was preordained to fall. His Father would have known this and not punished him so, but it was his fellow angels who'd abjured Gadreel, blamed him and imprisoned him. But Gadreel had been weak, not evil.
He'd meant it when he told Dean the mortal could trust him.
Then he'd broken his word. He'd repaid trust with the murder of an innocent and the theft of the one Dean Winchester held most dear. And he feared Metatron was not done with his heinous "proofs of loyalty."
Gadreel had hope now, but some deep part of him feared it was badly misplaced.
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He'd failed his mom. Hadn't managed to translate the angel tablet in time to save the angels from being tossed out of Heaven. Hadn't even figured out on his own that the Trials were gonna kill Sam.
As a prophet, he kinda sucked.
So even though Dean kept asking the impossible, Kevin kept trying. Improv an FBI chief? No problem. Find a spell to communicate with animals? Sure! Figure out a way to talk to an angel's host on the down-low? Okay, weird, but why not? Even if Dean wasn't telling him everything, Kevin trusted him, owed him.
He didn't realize his error until Sam—or whatever was in Sam—was frying his brain.
But…even dead he didn't move on. Didn't find his mom, or Channing. Didn't even leave the friggin' bunker. Seriously, what the heck?
Maybe his work wasn't done. Maybe…this was his shot at finally getting it right, and making up for his past failures.
It was a weird kind of hope, but what do you expect from a prophet's ghost?
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He would never have killed an angel for its grace. Becoming human was his just punishment for trusting Metatron, and he'd still wanted to help his brothers and sisters. It hadn't even occurred to him to steal the essence of one for his own restoration.
Until Malachi captured and tortured him and left him no choice.
They were at war now, his own kind fighting itself. War meant casualties, and he would need to be at full power to help. It was not what he wanted, but it was what he had to do.
But Castiel's hope dimmed a little more each time he had to choose an evil, lesser though it was.
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He blamed the human blood in him, that heinous cure, for his helping the Winchesters. Well, that, and the fact they held the key to his prison. Even the King of Hell was pragmatic.
Crowley would regain his throne soon, however. Shed what little humanity stirred in him, and show those bloody brothers what true evil was.
It was his only hope to save his dark soul.
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So…they seemed to be hunting a ghoul that fed only on dead cheerleaders.
It was one of the more ridiculous hunts the Winchesters had tackled, no question. But Dean loved ghoul-hunting—the ones that had killed Adam and bled Sam had left him with a permanent grudge—and cheerleaders? It was kinda tailor-made for his brother.
And Sam had been looking for something Dean would enjoy. With all that the Trials had put Sam through both during and since, it had been far harder on Dean. Sam knew well the toll it took to watch your brother suffer and not be able to do anything. Dean deserved a break.
Yeah, okay, and maybe Sam wanted to show he was still useful, despite how messed up he was. And how grateful he was for all Dean had done for him. So cheerleader-eating ghoul it was.
He hoped his brother appreciated Sam's sacrifice.
The End