The battle waged through day and night. No rest. No breath. Continuous storm clouds hovering above the ignorant souls as feathers connected to claws, claws to feathers. A war on an imaginary chess board. Pawn, A3. Knight, B4. Blood spilled on either side, no one relenting, no one slacking.
A form, dark, shadowed, flew across the field, looking for its chance to swoop into a conflict and save a sibling. Though, as their eyes gazed across the numerous victims, liquid soul on each soldier's chest, it became hard to distinguish between friend from foe. A flash illuminated the field as the creature soared down, a subtle pain coursing through them as their wounded wings grasped for some sort of air lift that could allow a better handle on flight. Piercing pain ricocheted to their core just as a claw swiped down at them, another light, and then silence.
Gazing across the illuminated walls that held the wounded, the man staggered forward, his chain mail dragging limply behind him, as if they were reflecting just how weary the warrior was. His blood disintegrated as it collided with the floor, his steps silenced in his ringing ears. Another presence, fear rocked through his body and he turned, sharply to grasp a hold of a wrist. Trailing down the forearm, his breathing relaxed.
"Anna," Her name seemed to solidify into her form as eyes stared at the man, worry etched into her face.
"You need to receive a Healing." She spoke quickly, her mind still switched onto battle strategy mode, recognizing his wounds. Looking down at his torn form he nodded, having no need to argue with his superior. Her spirit tugs on the outer limits of her form, engulfing his own with a warmth that he has yet to become familiar with. A placid feeling came over his being, and all too soon, it seemed, it was snapped away. Back into the reality of the situation.
A tugging, a push. He was being led somewhere. Concentrating on his surroundings, he noticed the large Hall that adorned the Center Volt. Silence. Too much silence. His back pressed against something, her eyes penetrating straight threw him.
"Anna," he repeated, not knowing if any other word could form from his broken tongue. Confusion, plaque his orbs, as if he were a child asking why their parent took away their favorite toy. Shushing him, she turned, her scent resonating over the lining of the walls and bouncing back towards him. Sweet, like honeysuckles in a deep forest longing to be plucked, to have something taste their delicious dew drops.
"Castiel, I must ask you a question." Her voice was serious, lathered with care, as if she were picking her words carefully. As if she were speaking to a child. Her worry filled his soul, making his tired wings fidget with concern. He nodded for her to go on, not understanding why of all times, when the war between good and evil was still growing at their backdoor, she needed to talk to him.
"I'm leaving." The words were alien to his ears, confusion swept over his face.
"Leaving?" He repeated, testing to see if he spoke them with his own mouth he could understand. He didn't. Anna nibbled on her bottom lip, another gesture Castiel was unfamiliar with, why does she not speak her words without hesitation? All his other siblings did.
"This war has gone on long enough. We're being used brother, can you not see that? Used for some sick game. Puppets under a puppeteer." She began to ramble, bouncing lightly on her toes, her own wings shaking, though in excitement instead of worry.
"But they" she pointed to nothing, seeing farther then the building which they occupied, "they have a choice. They choose the game." She spoke in almost a whisper, as if it were the greatest secret she withheld. Castiel's eyes grew strained, he did not understand what his superior was saying, couldn't see the images that she saw.
"I do not understand," his legs throbbed to get back to the battle, back to his siblings where he knew they grew weak and weary. Anna grasped him by his shoulders then, shaking his ignorance out of him.
"You should see how the humans are Castiel!" She spoke with vigor, translating her passion she felt through to her words. Castiel's eyes widened then, he placed the pieces together, the feelings she was pushing on him, her words, her sudden disappearances in battle, the puzzle was almost complete, one more piece was missing. Once she saw that he understood her, she let go and her breathing slowly went back to normal.
"I want you to come with me." Her words sent a shiver down his spine. Anna, his superior, was going to fall. To become human. And she wanted him to follow suite? His breathing escalated and he took a step back from this unknown individual.
"What?" He understood what she was saying, but he couldn't help to ask, to make sure he heard correctly. She didn't respond, leaving his mind to wonder around her suggestion. Anna was not the kind of person to waste her words.
"Why?" He needed to hear her speak, to hear if she had any doubt attached, though he knew she did not. If Anna was saying this to him now, she must have deliberated over the subject for many days, possibly years.
"I can not live a free existence on Earth with the knowledge that you are still shackled to this place." Determination was pulsing in her eyes, her crimson hair flowing with her passion, creating an image of purity that Castiel had never seen before.
And then he did what he never thought he would do in a thousand millenniums, he shook his head yes. He agreed. And upon seeing Anna's wide smile, he could not doubt his decision. She took his hand, the touch being foreign to him, having not felt another person's skin before, unless he counted the hundreds of demons he had grasped to extinguish from this existence. And then he was being pulled again, but this time, towards the battle.
They flew above the screams, their brethren, fighting and perishing underneath them. Castiel's soul pulsed as he reached out to help, to lend a hand, but his own hand was attached to another's, to fly as far away from this place as possible.
The battle soon waged behind them, hearing only the faint grunts and yelps of the warriors. The neutral light slowly turned to a dull gray, flashes of color surrounded them as they passed the golden gates. Looking back, Castiel took a breath, was this it? A sudden feeling grew in his stomach, turning back around he saw that they were beginning to fall, to tumble to the Earth. Castiel held his breath and gripped tighter onto Anna's hand. She turned, smiling a dazzling smile. More lights flickered around them, darkness swooped in. Their bodies illuminated themselves, feeding the darkness with its delicious warmth.
Pain gripped Castiel then, and he clung to his chest. What was this? His eyes shut in agony. No demons claw, blood, or blade hurt him this ferociously. He forced his eyes open, to see if he was the only one that was feeling this excruciating pain. But he was not. Anna was doubled over onto herself, gripping his hand for protection as her own eyes met his. They fell farther. The pain grew.
Screaming. Castiel heard screams. Who was that? Where were they that screams would come to his ears. He opened his eyes, when had he closed them? Anna's mouth was a gap, but it was not her screams that he heard, they were silenced by the others. An ache developed in his throat, he touched his lips then. His mouth was parted, and he realized it was his screams. The agony coursing through him caused him to scream. Feathers flew around them, removing themselves from the angel's bodies, disappearing from their traitorous companions.
Even threw the pain, threw the ripping of his wings and grace, Castiel still held on to Anna's hand, desperate to not become separated from the individual he was doing this for. But fate had other plans, as their fingers began to slide, began to slip off each others calloused hands.
"Anna!" he called, choked at the sound of his voice, at the sound of the thunder that built around their fallen grace. And then nothing, no touch, no pain, silence. Like he had dropped in a void, empty of all knowledge and color. Tingles of something ran over his body, or what was left of it. The feeling of small electrical shocks pinched at his skin, tickling his nerves.
"Castiel! Castiel!" His name was repeated in a far away place, he turned his eyes lazily, not wanting to see the owner of the voice. Too content in the peace that swept over him. His name was called again, and again. Three more times till nothing. Not even nothing, for to have nothing, it has to be something. Castiel was floating, floating in a place more pure then Heaven, yet more fierce then Hell.
Castiel had fallen.