A/N: My second fanfiction! This idea came to me after attending the hot-air balloon festival last week. *This story takes place somewhere in season 6, but before Rachel dies (feel free to imagine the timeline)* A bit of Cas bashing, but we only hurt the ones we truly love, sooo... Also, I'd like to thank my beta VTCentaurea for encouraging me to write. Enjoy =D

Disclaimer: As usual, I do NOT own Supernatural. Though not a day goes by when I don't wish I did...

Castiel knew he had been betrayed. He also was well aware that he was walking into a trap when he was summoned to Earth by one of his followers. However, none of that made seeing his formerly faithful brother any less painful.

Ezra stood several arms length away from Castiel. No weapon was present, but Cas knew that no angel was ever without his sword. He just prayed neither of them would be forced to use theirs.

"Brother, hear me out!" Ezra pleaded whole-heartedly. "Raphael is right! Perhaps God has left us because we stood up against his Plan! If you surrender to our brother then we can return this world to our Father's Plan, and all will be well again!"

Castiel watched his younger brother with sad eyes, a sigh escaping his barely parted lips. Ezra was very young compared to him, so he had never truly gotten the chance to know their Father's love or even his Will. The angel had eagerly joined Castiel's fight, although Cas suspected it was more out of his love for him than his desire for free will. Castiel had always been there for Ezra, teaching his brother how to cherish God's creations. The strength of their bond only made the current situation all the more difficult for the elder angel's weary being.

"Ezra…" Castiel slowly began. "You know that I love our Father, but I cannot allow Raphael to restart the Apocalypse. Millions of humans would die, and I can't let that happen."

Sadness filled the younger angel's eyes, and he shook his head as if he could not accept his sibling's answer. "You will not back down?"

"I will not."

"Then you really are giving us no other choice." Ezra's eyes briefly flickered to the space behind Castiel before returning to gaze at his brother sorrowfully. "I am sorry, brother."

The sound of wings descending was the only warning Castiel had before he was suddenly attacked from behind. He had been expecting as much, though, and quickly spun to face his assailant (a follower of Raphael, Dov). The angel stabbed at Cas with his angel sword, and Castiel barely managed to avoid the blow. Dov was a high ranking warrior and therefore was well trained in both weapons and hand to hand combat. However, Castiel knew quite a bit about the art of combat, and he soon disarmed his brother. Before Dov could recover, Castiel manifested his own angel sword and stabbed the angel through his vessel's heart. With a remorseful look, Castiel allowed his brother to fall and, in a burst of pure white light, Dov was no more.

Another sound of fluttering wings and Ezra had vanished. Castiel stared at the spot where he had once stood, silently wondering how things had ever gotten so out of hand. A civil war in Heaven? A few years ago Castiel never would have imagined such a thing would have been possible, and yet he was quite truthfully the very cause of it. That thought aside, Ezra would have to be dealt with. He could not be allowed to return to Raphael and divulge the secrets of the rebellion.

Castiel was just about to return to Heaven and inform Rachel of the betrayal when Ezra unexpectedly reappeared behind him. He sensed his brother's presence and immediately turned to face him, but he was not given time to speak or attack. Before Castiel could make another move, an angel sword was stabbed downward into his left shoulder. The blade was only buried half way into his flesh before his reflexes kicked in and he forcefully shoved Ezra away. The younger angel was sent flying into a concrete column where he remained slumped over, momentarily stunned.

Light peeked out from Castiel's wound, dampened only by the sword that was still impaled in him. The pain seared through him, feeling as if his Grace was being torn apart and burnt all at once. Still, Castiel did not hesitate to pull out the sword and quickly turn it onto his dazed brother. Castiel threw the blade, striking Ezra square in the chest. In another flash of light, one more of his siblings had died.

Cas clamped a hand over his injury, not bothering to suppress a moan. He fell to his knees and wondered if the wound was fatal, if he would die right then and there with his already fallen brothers. It certainly felt as though his Grace would burst and disintegrate at any moment. Another wave of pain hit him, causing him to curl into himself in a futile effort to hold himself together.

Suddenly a thought occurred to him. He wasn't dead yet, but he would be very soon if he was found by more of Raphael's soldiers. Surely Doz had only been the first of Ezra's backup; however, as long as Castiel could escape to somewhere safe, he a chance at recovering. He just had to get away.

Castiel struggled to his feet with determination to survive. A mixture of pain and sadness reflected in his eyes as he looked once more at the lifeless vessels of his brothers, and then he unfurled his unseen wings and vanished. He was in too much pain to consciously select his destination, so he ended up drifting between Heaven and Earth. As he searched for the one person he trusted most, his awareness began to slip. Before he could make the effort to appear before Dean, Castiel had fallen into a state where his thoughts and presence could not be sensed – not even by him.