Hello, fellow Supernatural fans! Welcome to my second Supernatural fanfiction! I'm so glad you came! You will not be disappointed! I hope...
Now, before you start reading this, I just wanted to tell you: Do not be fooled by the second genre being labeled as 'Humor'. This fanfiction is completely serious. Completely. So, enjoy! Thanks! :D
Oh, and for people annoyed by the fact that I spell Castiel's nickname as 'Cass', don't worry, you're not alone. I actually cringe every time I write that nickname. But I do it because...*sigh*... that's how it's actually spelled. One of these days I'm gonna rebel and do it my way, but, not today. Sorry.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or ideas for 'Supernatural'. All rights belong to Eric Kripke and other writers of the show. Thank you for making this wonderful story!
Two days. Two long, terrible days. That's how long Castiel had been at the bunker already. Sam couldn't tell who had it worse, Cass, Dean, or him. The past two days had been full of nothing but death-glares from Dean and a whole sad aura surrounding Castiel. And Sam was smack-dab in the middle of it.
They had just been told what the third trial was, 'curing a demon', whatever that meant. And for a research-nerd like Sam, it was kind of embarrassing that they hadn't found out yet, either. The annoying drama that filled the room didn't help either, especially with how bad he was feeling anyway because of the previous trials. And this 'annoying drama' was all caused because Castiel had been too scared to trust anyone, even Dean, with the Angel Tablet. Now, the older hunter was refusing to talk or even look at the angel.
The tension got so bad that Castiel couldn't even stand being in the same room with Dean. He spent most of his time exploring the bunker, actually finding pretty cool rooms while he was at it. But whenever he ventured into a place that Dean was in too, he would tuck tail and run. Sam couldn't blame the guy, either. He hated having to share the library space with Dean, even if his brother was acting especially nice to him. However, the fact that he knew he was staring at the reason why there was someone else sharing their living space with them, who was too afraid to come out and even say 'Good morning!,' was painful.
That morning had been filled with the same tension as it had been the last few days. He had seen Castiel a couple of times already when the angel wanted to say hello, ask how he slept, and ask if he wanted to see the rooms he had found the day before. Sam was glad to have the casual conversation with his friend. Castiel just hadn't had many of those the last few days. But their talk was, sadly, very brief as Dean walked into the kitchen to make breakfast. The older man completely ignored his friend as he greeted his brother. Dean had only said one word, but the tension he brought with him looked like it was about to strangle Castiel.
The angel got up from his seat at the table and was about to leave the room when he looked over at the man who he had fought alongside with for so many years, his best friend. Castiel sighed, looked around, before starting, "Dean, I-"
"Yeah, Cass, I heard you! You're sorry!" Dean interrupted, not bothering to look at the angel in the eye.
"I… I am, Dean… I just want you to understand that…I made a mistake…! And I realize that, and I want to make it up to you-" Castiel tried to continue.
Dean then whipped around suddenly as he snapped, "I know, Cass! I get it! You feel sorry! I know that already, dammit! You've told me that, like, a thousand times! And ya know what? I'm sick of it! I'm sick of everyone apologizing all the time! So, stop it and shut up!" The hunter then turned back to the counter and started to get out things to make breakfast.
Castiel nodded solemnly before muttering, "I'm, uh, gonna go take a walk outside." He turned to leave before pausing at the doorway. The angel then turned back to Sam and told him, "I'll be gone for…about five minutes."
Sam nodded in response, and with that, Castiel left, leaving the two brothers in an awkward silence. But after a while, Sam decided he couldn't take the annoying tension anymore. So he asked, "Dean, again, you don't have to be so hard on Cass like that."
"And, again, why do we have to let him off the hook so easily?" Dean asked, looking at Sam with an irritated glare. "And don't you dare say because he's Cass, because that says nothing."
Sam looked away for a minute, trying to figure out a better way to phrase it, but when nothing came to mind, he answered, "Because… he's one of us." Dean looked up at his little brother with a furrowed brow of slight shock at his answer. "He's our friend, hell, he's your best friend. He's…family."
Castiel walked along the driveway of the bunker, hands in his pockets, feeling the wind brush against his vessel's face. It was so calming after coming from such an awful conversation. Hell, it wasn't even a 'conversation' anymore, it was a scolding. A punishment.
Was that all Castiel was supposed to get for the rest of his life? Punishments? Because everything that had happened to him seemed to be a punishment. The only thing that made him feel happy was being with the Winchesters. But now, even that's a punishment. And what had he done that made him deserve this? Save the world? Castiel should be praised by his siblings for that, not hunted and hated. Shouldn't he be given anything he wanted? Shouldn't he have been given a wonderful life full of happiness? But what did he get instead? The only friends that he had left hating him a little bit more every time he tried to help? It begged the question, what should he do in order not to screw things up? Hide under a rock until the sun blows up?
It seemed pretty logical when he thought about it, actually. No one would get hurt because of him, and his two best friends would live in peace knowing they had one less person to deal with. And he would be happy knowing the same.
Castiel stopped dead in his tracks. He looked around the trees then to the city off to his left. The angel then looked behind him to see how far away from the bunker he was. He couldn't even see it anymore. Good.
He looked ahead of him, sighed, and started to walk on. Castiel heightened his senses to make sure he wasn't being followed, and he wasn't…well, that was until he reached about two miles away from the bunker.
There was someone hiding behind a tree. He tried not to move his head, so that it wouldn't make the person tailing him suspicious. He tried to calculate how far away the person was when, suddenly, he felt something sharp pinch him in the neck. Castiel groaned in pain, hand reaching up to his neck to find a dart. A dart? No, that wouldn't affect him, he was too powerful for that.
That was when the world began to spin. He felt himself stumble a few steps as he moaned in pain from being so dizzy. So, this is what a dart feels like, huh?
The world went dark as his face collided with the dark gravel below him.
After breakfast, Dean and Sam went back to researching. About a half an hour went by before Sam looked up at the bunker's front door. He just stared at it for a few minutes before turning to Dean and asking, "Shouldn't Cass be back by now?"
Dean glanced up at his little brother before going back to his boring book as he said, "Not my problem."
Sam let his own book drop to his lap. "Oh, come on. I know that you're mad at him and everything, but you don't hate him!"
Dean sighed and finally put his book down and put on a sarcastic smile. "Yeah? What do you want to do about it? Do you wanna drop everything and go find him?"
Sam looked away. "Well-"
"Sam, Cass can take care of himself. And besides…" He went back to skimming through his book. "…he didn't want our help last time."
Castiel's head was swimming when he finally opened his eyes. They blinked a few times before they adjusted enough to see that he was in some sort of…dungeon? No, it was too much like a basement to be a dungeon. Yes, it was more like a very long basement.
He tried to move his hands, only to notice they were tied to the chair he was sitting on. He groaned in annoyance before his head started swimming again. When he looked around, everything from about two feet away from himself was blurred out in waves by the heat that rose from the holy fire surrounding him. Castiel also noticed that he was practically litteredin scuffs and bruises that stung every time he so much as blinked.
Castiel waited there in the basement taking in the metal door and table with creepy, witchy things on it in front of him. Oh, dammit. Was he seriously kidnapped by a witch? How pathetic.
Suddenly, after about fifteen minutes of wondering what was going on, the metal door in front of him opened. It revealed a middle-aged woman with dark-brown hair. But when Castiel studied her carefully, he realized something wrong with her eyes: they were glass.
The blind woman smirked as she said slyly, "Hello, Castiel."
The angel moved his head up to look at her and asked in a painful growl, "How do you know me? Who are you?"
The woman stepped forward until she was so close she could touch him. "Oh, everyone knows you. You didn't know that?"
"Well, why do you know me?" Castiel asked again.
The woman smirked more and went around the table. "Name's Shlooped Shnob!"
Castiel paused for a long time before finally whispering quietly, "What an unfortunate name…."
Shlooped stopped and snapped, "I'll have you know that I come from a very honorable family! The Shnobs are very well-respected in…some parts! And 'Shlooped' is a very great, beautiful name! It was my great grandmother's…."
Castiel hesitated, his lips parted slightly as he looked down, trying to process his next question. "Your family is…well-respected? Who are you?
Shlooped smirked and gestured to the table where all sorts of weird ingredients and books sat. "I'm a witch! A very powerful one actually!" She answered proudly.
The angel hesitated before whispering to himself, "So that's why your name is so strange… You're a witch?"
"Stop talking about my name!"
Castiel ignored her. He furrowed his brow and growled seriously, "And what do you want from me?"
"What do you think a witch would want with an angel?"
The angel shrugged. "All sorts of things: power, protection, spells, information. But I'm asking what you want me for."
Shlooped's smirk reappeared on her face as she traced her fingers along a bowl on her witchy table. "I want ingredients. Fresh ingredients, so I—annoyingly—can't just go out and buy them."
Castiel's eyebrows furrowed, and he couldn't tell if it was out of confusion or fear of what was about to happen to him. "What ingredients?"
The witch's smirk widened as she lifted up a metal bowl that looked almost complete for a spell. "Angel blood and feathers. And I need the feathers just after they've been plucked from their…from your wing."
Castiel's eyes widened. "No, you're not…!"
"How do you think people get angel feathers for spells?" Shlooped laughed. "They just take pigeon feathers, bless it, and hope for the best?"
The angel looked around with stunned eyes. "I…I knew how one got angel feathers, but…"
"You didn't think that's what I captured you for?" the witch finished. She then laughed as she brought up an angel blade. The witch then circled around the table.
Castiel looked down at the floor, knowing that what would be following would surely be some of the worst pain he could ever experience. "Why…why me? Why are you doing this to me? Because I was just the first angel you saw?"
Shlooped smirked as she shook her head and crouched down to Castiel's level, which made it easier for the angel to see how forced her smile actually was. "No, I actually tracked you down. All the way to Lebanon, Kansas. But once your signal got cold, I stayed in a little cabin nearby. Luckily, you came out of your stupid, little hiding spot and I was able to capture you!"
Castiel narrowed his eyes in confusion. "And why were you trying to find me?"
The witch's smile suddenly looked more forced than ever as she explained, "Because you're a part of the spell!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" The angel was starting to get irritated that she wasn't being very clear.
"Well, I'm certain you already have seen my eyes." Shlooped assumed as she stood up and pulled up a chair to sit in. "So, this spell I'm going to do is, apparently, going to make me new eyes."
Castiel waited for a while before realizing that that was the end of her explanation. "I still don't understand what that has to do with me, though."
Shlooped's face grew into an annoyed scowl. "Do you seriously not remember me?" The angel's confused expression and silence was enough of an answer for her. "You did this to me, Castiel…!" She finally explained as she grinned his name through her teeth.
The angel's confusion turned into surprise. "I did what?"
"You burned my eyes out! Back in the thirteen-hundreds when I wasn't even a witch yet!" Shlooped leaned forward with hate in her voice. "You came down to the Earth in your trueform, and burned out all the eyes in my village with your 'Greatness'!" The hated in her tone was laced with mockery as she spoke. "The Grand Coven came to me after that. I was about to die like the rest of my family, but they said I had 'potential', whatever the hell that means, and I became a witch, all the while searching for a way of punishing you!"
Castiel looked extremely surprised by the story, suddenly remembering the poor, unfortunate village he had destroyed with his trueform. Back then, though he was fascinated by mankind, he cared more about the mission he'd had than healing everyone in the village. But, that Castiel was a different person. He was not the same as he was back then. "Sh… Shlooped… I'm sorry… I didn't-"
"Don't give me that crap!" The witch sprang forward and sliced the side of the angel's arm, making him groan in pain. "You didn't care about me and my family then, and you don't care now!" Shlooped then stood straight and twirled her blade in her hands. "Now, I'm going to push and prod at a few spots until you show me what I brought you here for." And she was suddenly tracing the angel blade across his abdomen as the witch demanded in a hushed voice, "Show me…your trueform…!"
After about ten minutes of staring back and forth between his book, his brother, and the door, Sam had had quite enough. With everything. He'd had enough with the pain of the trials, the stupid fight Dean and Cass were having, and-and he'd had enough with the world. If he could have his way right now, he'd go to his room, flop down on his bed, and tell everyone he was done with everything and would wait for inevitable blast-wave for the sun to explode.
The youngest hunter slammed the book that he had been reading shut, making his brother jump, almost making the files he was examining fly out of his hands. "That's it!" Sam exclaimed. "I can't take it anymore!"
"Can't take what?" Dean asked as his brother stood from his seat.
"You know what, man!"
"What? Cass?" Dean spread his arms out slightly in confusion.
"Yes! You two are best friends and you're completely ignoring the fact he might be in trouble!"
"Sam, Cass said he wanted some alone time and, besides, he can handle himself!"
"Dean, he told me right beforehe left, that he would be gone for five minutes! You know how long he's been out?" Sam paused as Dean looked around.
"Ten? Twenty minutes?" His brother guessed.
"Forty minutes!" Sam corrected.
Dean paused as he took that in before looking around for a clock. He then asked in shock and disgust, "We've been just reading for forty minutes?"
"That's not- What I'm saying is: Cass wouldn't be gone for thirty-five minutes longer than he said. When he says 'five minutes' he means 'five minutes'!" Dean nodded slightly in agreement. "So, either he ran away, got captured, or got hurt, but, like, broke-his-leg hurt."
Sam's older brother looked around before rubbing the bridge of his nose as he muttered in an irritated voice, "Alright, alright… what'd ya say we give it…how 'bout five more minutes? If he isn't back by then, we'll go find him. Sound good?"
Sam glanced back at the door. If Cass was in any danger, he could handle five more minutes, right?
Castiel could not handle any more of this pain. He had to give it to her, she was good at torture for a seven-hundred year old blind woman with a name that sounded like, literally, 'Stupid'. Then again, she probably had been preparing her whole life for this moment. And, though what happened to her was sad, yes, he couldn't help but feeling like she was being a little immature over the whole ordeal.
Shlooped stepped back, growling in frustration. She then slapped him unnaturally hard across the face as she screamed, "Show me your trueform!"
The angel stayed silent. Though the pain was excruciating and he was bleeding everywhere, he had had worse. So, he could handle worse.
The witch walked back over to her table and started tracing her fingers across everything, probably thinking of more ideas. "What am I gonna have to do to-" Suddenly, her hands froze as they moved across something and Castiel could practically feel her unsettling smirk. "I just remembered something interesting about you, Castiel."
"Yeah? And what's that?" Castiel rasped out in deep gasps.
Shlooped turned around to him with a massive smirk on as she held up a piece of electronics. "You have two human pets…!"
Castiel's eyes widened in horror as he stared at his phone in the witch's hands. "No…"
Sam kept glancing over at his watch, which Dean would always catch and tell that he shouldn't worry and that Cass was probably fine. And he guessed that that should be the most logical thought, or at least, normal. But being comforted by the person who was acting like they hated the guy he was worried about, kind of defeated the purpose of comfort. And Sam couldn't shake the aching feeling that his friend was in danger, as well.
It had been about four minutes since their discussion when Dean's phone suddenly started to ring. Neither of them assumed that it was their missing friend because of the fact that he was the reason why Cass left in the first place, but the older hunter held up his phone to show his brother the caller id, which read 'CASTIEL'.
Sam jumped up from his seat as he whispered to Dean, "Put in on speaker."
Dean did as he was told and then answered it. "Cass?" He asked immediately.
Suddenly, on the other end, a woman started snickering evilly, which creeped out both the Winchesters for two reasons: one, it was just creepy in-on-itself with the first thought crossing their minds that Castiel was the one on the other end, and two, that meant Castiel had been with someone the entire time, and by the sound of her voice, he hadn't gotten lucky.
"Castiel can't come to the phone right now." the woman's sly voice answered.
Dean stood to his feet. "Who the hell are you and what have you done to Cass, you bitch!" His suddenly protective tone took Sam by surprise. Looks like he was right in the fact that Dean still did care about the nerdy, little angel.
"Oh, well, nothing yet…kinda…" she snickered again.
"The hell does that mean!?" the older Winchester snapped. "Cass!? Cass, are you there!?"
"Oh, yes, 'Cass' is here." There were shuffling noises, like she was moving the phone. "Say 'hi', Cass!"
There was silence before Castiel's groan of pain sounded through the phone, like she had just hurt him in some way to force a noise out of him.
"You creepy bitch!" Dean snapped. "What are you doing to him!?"
"Well, right there I just stepped on his foot, but there's probably a dislocated bone in there somewhere from before. We were having a bunch of fun, weren't we, Cass?" The woman responded, then waiting for Castiel to respond. Instead, the woman started groaning in disgust after there was a sound like the angel had just spat in her face. "Ugh, you two really need to teach him about manners!"
Dean seemed to not want to talk to the woman anymore as he then called, "Cass, where are you!? What is she doing to you!?"
"Dean," Castiel's raspy voice that was laced with pain sounded through the phone finally. "Don't worry about me! I'll be fine! Just, whatever you do, don't go outside! She can't find you if you're inside!"
The woman hummed with interest. "Inside where?"
Dean complete ignored the woman again. "Bullshit! Cass, where the hell are you!?"
"Just start walking, sweetheart!" the woman answered. "I'll find you one way or another!"
"Cass!" Dean started, but the other end hung up. "Dammit!" The hunter snapped as he threw the phone across the room.
Sam laced his fingers through his hair. "What do we do now!?"
"I don't know!" Dean put his hands on the table with all the different assortments of files. "Let me think, let me think!" They weren't even waiting for three seconds, before Dean cursed and started to move towards the metal staircase in the crow's nest.
Sam called, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to make her find us!" The older hunter answered.
Sam looked around. "Isn't that a little reckless?"
Dean turned to look at his brother as he was heading up the stairs. "Got any better ideas then?"
They just stared at each other before Sam followed as he answered quickly, "No."
The two brothers found themselves outside of the bunker, just walking. Waiting for a sign of their friend or any way to get to him. And they continued on their way before Dean looked down at his watch to see that they had been walking for fifteen minutes now.
The older hunter stopped as he said in frustration, "This isn't working!"
Sam turned around to him. "Come on, man! He has to be here somewhere!" And suddenly, as he started to continue walking, something flew out from the trees and stabbed Sam in the neck.
"Sammy!" Dean called, but suddenly felt a sharp pinch on his neck, as well. "Dammit!" And before he could take out the dart that was lodged into his skin, his face collided with the ground and the world went dark.