Title: The End of Days
Prologue: Atonement
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Dean/Castiel (No slash at the moment)
Spoilers: Post Season 4.22
Warnings: Post Apocalyptic; year 2036.
Beta: None
Summary: When their leader had fallen a quarter of a century ago, he had taken their dreams of Paradise with him. Daunted by the sudden lack of command, the angels had taken flight from the earth and relinquished it to Lucifer and his exiled. In atonement for his kind, the archangel Gabriel left with humanity a parting gift…a child born of his grace…a child whom would one day lead them to salvation.
Disclaimer: Supernatural and the characters don't belong to me; they are the creation of Eric Kripke and Co.
A/N: This is my first fan fiction and I apologise for the continual re-writes. I am still in the process of deciding where I want to take this story.
Also please note, I'm not American and have never been to America so anything I write about the geography will be from what I can gleam from Google Maps =(. I will also try to stick with the American units of measurement but if I make a mistake don't chuck a fruity.
It may eventually be Dean/Castiel, I haven't decided as of yet. Castiel will most likely make his entrance a few chapters in so hang tight.
Comments are MUCH appreciated!
At most importantly…ENJOY!
The Past, May 16th 2010.
It had been three days since the apocalypse began. Three days since Michael had fallen to Lucifer and three days since the resulting shockwave had wiped Kansas City off the map. Word along the grapevine was the archangel was no more and that in the absence of his command, the Host was leaving. Gone were their hopes and dreams of Paradise. Without their leader, all was lost. The stakes had always been high…victory or failure, Paradise or Perdition. There had never been any room for compromise.
And so it was with mournful eyes, that Gabriel glanced across the street at the dilapidated bungalow. Unassuming in nature, it had proven a clever cover for the individual who resided within.
Gabriel had even had to exercise some resourcefulness on his part, to locate the man. Who would have thought the Lord's Prophet would be hidden safely behind a veil of squalor?
With slight bemusement he found himself thinking and not for the first time, that humans were indeed strange creatures. Strange…fragile, sickly, purposeless, morally corruptible and terribly emotive just to name a few more choice words. Yet somehow, in all their fallibility, the angel had always found them utterly fascinating.
So too once had his Father.
At the thought of his long absent Father, the archangel found a wave of nostalgia sweeping over him. As he tried to recollect the warmth of his Father's grace, he also found the wise words of his Father resurfacing from someplace deep in his memory.
'You are wondering why I created them?' his Father's words echoed.
'At first glance they appear weak, so full of mistakes and too prone to failures…so…imperfect. Yes, I can see why one would wonder.'
'But do not forget that fallibility, while appearing weak does not necessarily mean that one is so. Think of imperfection as an opportunity to improve…to become stronger and more resilient. With this thinking, it is not nearly as undesirable as some may find…'
Gabriel remembered well that the concept of imperfection had been foreign then. He mentally berated himself now, for in his extended time on earth he had come to know of it well. At the time however, he had mere asked in child-like wonderment, 'were they created with the intention of teaching us?'
Forever the riddler, his Father had answered with, 'you were both created so as to learn from each other, my dear son.'
For a long time afterwards he had tried to find the meaning within his Father's riddles. Tried and failed. But now, as he revisited them again a realization dawned on him. Their apparent perfection had been as much a flaw in their design as imperfection was in mankind.
After all, hadn't it been their little knowledge of failure, limitation and free will that had culminated in the Apocalypse? Perhaps his Father had meant for His absence to highlight the flaw rampant in the Host? Had there ever been such a thing as perfection? Or were there only degrees of imperfection?
It hardly mattered now, what's done was done. His exiled brother now had the vengeance he so craved on both mankind and on his brothers whom had renounced him. Word was that he had issued a standing order to kill all angels on sight, lest they submit. With Michael's loss fresh across the interconnected web of grace, many had initially stood their ground and paid the price. Eventually, seeing nothing but futility, the remainder had taken flight and abandoned the earth in favour of the familiarity of a command-less heaven.
Despite his outward gallivanting, Gabriel had always held a great fondness for humanity. When his brothers' warfare had started ravaging the earth, it had been such a fondness that had drawn him from his hiding. He had tried and failed to appease his brothers and now the earth had been taken as collateral. Despite his brother's standing order, Gabriel continued with his residence on earth. Someone should have to atone.
And so it was with this atonement in mind that the archangel appeared to the Prophet in his small and dimly lit study. The dishevelled man looked downright frightened by his sudden appearance. Like all the Prophets before him, he looked a complete and utter wreck. His hair was long and directionless, his dressing gown well worn and slightly threadbare and dark shadows under his eyes told of many waking dreams. 'Who…? What…?' the man had barely managed to stammer.
'Hello Chuck,' the angel greeted as he stood barely three feet from the Prophet, 'my name is Gabriel…but you already knew that.'
'Y-yes,' the Prophet returned in a voice no louder than a breath.
'Then you know why I am here,' the angel continued as he closed another foot of distance between them, 'I need to see what happens next. Will you show it to me?' Gabriel could see conflict in the man's frightened eyes. Only a fool would outwardly refuse an archangel's request.
'It is f-f-forbidden…' the words struggled to leave the man's chapped lips. He swallowed hard before continuing, 'but with the w-w-war already lost and the a-a-angels already leaving…I s-s-suppose it couldn't hurt.'
Gabriel gave the man a small smile of reassurance and closed the remaining distance between them. 'Do not be afraid, I will not harm you,' he spoke again as he held the Prophet's face in his palms.
'Close your eyes,' he instructed further and watched as the man obeyed without question. As his thumbs settled upon the closed lids, he found the study around him disappearing and as the deadly silence of the room shifted to chaos, he thought he heard the man whisper, 'it is not you I fear…but the future.'
The first thing Gabriel noticed in the darkness…was fire. The second thing he noticed…was the sound of humans screaming.
From a quick glance around he had gathered that they were standing in the middle of a street. The distant sky was dark with night, but it may as well have been day the way the buildings burned like artificial suns. Men, women and children scattered from the fires to the coolness of the open street. The archangel watched in horror as one individual screamed towards him, his body covered in flames. Just when it seemed they would collide the man succumbed and collapsed at the angel's feet. As he lay there with his skin peeling away, his head rolled sideways until his dead eyes stared out at Gabriel. Stared out from the flames as if seeing him…as if blaming him.
'He cannot see you,' the Prophet's voice barely audible among the chaos, 'watch, it gets worse.'
As Gabriel turned his widened eyes away from Chuck he saw a small group of darkly clad figures entering the street. They radiated malevolence. In the night, the firelight glinted off an object in one of the individual's hands. It wasn't until the figure lashed out at a stricken woman on the street, that the angel realised it was a blade. They were witnessing what was to be a slaughter.
Just as the figure was raising his blade to strike at another, the scene around them changed. They were in a different set of streets, streets that were wet with rain and littered with the remnants of cars and buildings. A small group of men took shelter behind an upturned car in front of them. They seemed to exchange orders before readying their guns and charging into an adjacent building.
A moment later as a dark-eyed individual burst through the building's doors and made a run towards the streets, he was met in the back with a blast from a shotgun. The angel realised they were witnessing a fight between hunters and demons.
A few more select scenes followed…all of chaos, pain and sacrifice. This would be the impending outcome now that the angels had left mankind to fend for themselves. In their quest for Paradise, his kind had essentially brought about Hell on earth.
With a conscious tug, Gabriel brought them back to the reality of the study. He had seen enough. 'Does he know?' Gabriel asked the Prophet of his guardian. He watched with astonishment as the Prophet nodded, 'by whose orders do you think it is, that the angels r-r-retreat? Better humans to the s-s-slaughter…than a-a-angels…'
The Prophet stopped short as the bungalow began to reverberate, 'h-h-he c-c-comes. I-I-I m-m-must g-g-go,' his stutter coming back with full force as he made a scramble for the stairs. He hadn't even made it to the doorway of the study before he slammed into something hard…or rather…someone. The prophet did not even dare look up at the newcomer; instead he back peddled from his place on the floor and cowered in a dark corner of the room.
Dark eyes drifted from the cowering individual, to Gabriel. 'My…my, Gabriel,' sounded the deep and familiar voice, 'long time, no see.'
'Raphael,' he greeted and watched as Raphael circled him while looking him over.
'I see you've finally come out of hiding,' his voice dripped with disdain as he attempted to stare his brother down. 'Have you come to gloat? We all know you've never been a big fan of Paradise. The godless and corrupt world of man suited you just fine.'
'Well,' he continued with an ironic laugh, 'with Michael gone, you will have plenty of that now.' Even with his pride, the dark angel looked lost and broken. As the right hand of Michael, he had invested everything he had into Paradise…and now it seemed unrecoverable.
'You coward,' Gabriel found himself arguing back, 'you helped bring this hell upon the earth and now you just leave? Michael was but one among many.'
Raphael laughed once again. It was a laugh of surrender.
'Michael was our strongest warrior…heaven's Hammer of Justice. If he fell to Lucifer, what chance do the rest of us have? Lucifer has grown much stronger in his absence. We must recoup.'
'There is much more at stake here than your pride,' Gabriel threw back, 'you run away and many more people will die…'
Raphael gave his brother a shrug of his shoulders, 'I do not care for these hairless apes as you do, brother. It is no loss to me if they die. At his reference to mankind his eyes had flicked distastefully towards the Prophet. 'If you care for them so much…you do something about it. There is nothing left for me here…'
Raphael stopped in his pacing to meet his brother's angry gaze with a look of finality, 'stay if you must…but I have every intention of living. It is a fool who would stay and face our brother alone.'
And with those last parting words of wisdom he was gone.
As Gabriel glanced upon the mess that was Chuck, a look of sadness returned, 'how much of the future have you seen?'
'Enough,' the man replied almost as if too weary to continue. He looked sick and tired. Sick and tired of living out the future in what should have clearly been the present. Gabriel had heard the man praying to the Lord on more than one occasion, for the day when his visions would end. He hoped with all his heart that with the end of Paradise the Lord would grant this man his wish.
'Then you know what I am about to do?' the archangel queried. At the Prophet's nod, the angel asked again, 'tell me…can the future we saw be altered?'
'I don't know,' Chuck found himself answering truthfully, 'perhaps.'
Seemingly content with the Prophet's answer, the angel vanished in but the tiniest whisper of wind.
***BREAK***
'I didn't think you'd ever come back…' the auburn-haired woman spoke out as Gabriel fluttered in behind her, 'the angels are leaving you know?'
'I am aware,' he replied as he sat down on the empty bed space beside her. He didn't need to look down at her sketchbook to know what she was drawing. She always drew variations of the same thing…the world outside her window. She was like a bird in a cage, yearning to be set free. From what Gabriel had gathered she had been in confinement for over a year now.
It took a rare individual, with a very rare gift, to be able to communicate with angels in their true form. Chuck Shirley had had The Gift and so to did Anna Milton. Gabriel had known of Anna for a time before he had approached her three months into her stay at the Connor Beverley. He liked to think that in the time they had come to know each other they had, on some level, become friends.
'Have you come to say goodbye?' Anna asked as she placed her sketchbook and pastels upon her bedside table, her large blue eyes shifting to meet the angel's hazel ones. He could see sadness and understanding in her eyes. She had most likely, already heard Raphael's command of retreat to his brethren.
The archangel gave her a small smile and shook his head in negation, 'not just yet, Anna. But I need your help, if you will lend it.'
'Of course,' she returned as she set her hands in her lap in a gesture of full attention, 'wouldn't it be sacrilegious to answer an angel otherwise?'
From beside her, the angel could see there was a slight twitching at the corner of her lips. He found himself smiling at her little quip. 'Actually, the proposal I'm about to make is somewhat sacrilegious…'
An auburn brow raised itself in curiosity. 'Now I'm interested...go on…' she beckoned and followed her words with a welcoming wave of her fingers.
'As you know the angels are leaving…' Gabriel began slowly, his eyes carefully gauging each and every one of her reactions, 'and they probably won't be back for a while…a long while.'
'This leaves you and yours for Lucifer and his exiled. Even heavily armed, your kind can only hold off so much of the darkness for so long. There may come a time when something more…or rather someone greater…is needed.'
He could see a look of confusion pass over the young woman's face, 'I don't' understand. If the angels are leaving, how can there be someone greater than us who is willing to help...unless you mean to stay?'
'I have always meant to stay, Anna. But even I, would fall eventually.' At his words, the archangel could see a look of slight incredulity pass over Anna's face. He supposed with the way mankind knew his brother it was easy for them to forget that he too, was once an angel. His brother had always been a force to be reckoned with and while he may been cut off from heaven, he still had his grace. Twisted and dark as it now was it still leant him great power. With his legions now raised from hell, his army far outnumbered those of the Host and while a singular demon could never hope to destroy an angel, there was great truth in the adage of strength in numbers. And numbers his brother had.
'Anyway,' Gabriel pushed, 'that leads me to my proposal.' He wanted to get this over with quickly, 'I will stay and fight for as long as I can but when I am gone, I want to make sure that there will be at least one other being that will be able to face off against my brother should the need arise. What I mean is…that there will need to be another with some remnant of grace within them…'
'I don't understand…' Anna began again with a scrunch of her pale forehead, 'I don't see how I can help you.'
'Anna…' Gabriel began in a bid to silence her confusion, 'you have The Gift. Perhaps…perhaps a child, created from your humanity, would be able to withstand a portion of angelic within them.' He knew he was asking a lot from the young woman. This proposal would be a commitment of a lifetime, 'if you agree, I will get you out of here before the demons strike.'
With a slight head tilt, Anna considered the angel's words, 'you know you'd probably get me out of here whether I agree to your proposal or not.' There was a light teasing in her voice.
'Anna…' the archangel growled. He was not accustomed to his requests being made fun of.
There had probably been very little instances throughout history when angels, or even archangel for that matter, had resorted to requesting favours of humans. Despite her teasing, Anna was truly humbled by his request. 'Alright,' she agreed, 'I'll do it. But be quick before I change my mind.'
'Thank you, An…'
'No, thank you for staying,' Anna interrupted. 'So how exactly is this going to work?'
At the angel's explanation of the theory behind his proposal she could feel a wave of apprehension flow over her. While it involved little to no effort on her part, the proposal was riddled with the uncertainty of the unknown. The archangel would have to separate a portion of his grace from itself and then place it within her where the child would grow. He had told her truthfully that the feat, as far as he knew, had never been attempted. Mankind had been created without grace for a reason and to impart to them what they were not meant to have, was considered sacrilegious.
'Before I go further, swear to me that you'll protect the child with your life,' Gabriel commanded of Anna.
'I promise,' she returned, but even with the earnestness shining from her eyes it wasn't enough for Gabriel. He needed to hear her say it in full and he told her as much. In understanding, Anna made her vow to the angel again, 'I promise to protect this child with my life.'
With a nod of his head he seemed content to let her vow rest.
'Here we go,' he breathed and lowered his eyes to the hand already on his sternum. 'Here we go,' he repeated again as if mentally psyching himself up for the uncertainly that lay ahead. With a last deep breath he closed his eyes and pushed his hand into the cavity beneath the bone.
Within the bone cage, he could feel his grace pulsing in tune with his vessel's heart. As his fingers closed around its outskirts he could feel great warmth spread to his fingers. Warmth that grew in intensity as his fingers found their way deeper into its core. With a quick fisting of fingers he tugged hard and was immediately filled with nothing but deep and blinding agony. Distantly he was aware of his body pitching forward towards the ground and of Anna struggling to hold his vessel upright. So distant was the sound of human screams that it took sometime before he realised they were his own. His thoughts suddenly drifted to the fire-lit individual in Chuck's vision. Was this what it felt like to burn?
He willed himself to continue. Atonement was suffering…and he had to atone. With a final great tug he felt a portion of his grace come free. It seemed to flare up at him in accusation before settling down as a bright ball of light in the palm of his hand. It was done.
'Are you okay?' he heard Anna ask above the sound of his ragged breaths. His awareness was slowly returning in the dying down of the internal fire. He realised that as she stood in front of him, her hands on his shoulders were the only thing keeping his slumped form upright.
'I am fine…' Gabriel announced once he had caught his breath and then beckoned Anna closer. As she stepped forward, he raised his closed first to meet the area upon her belly where her womb would have been. As his fist touched down upon the area, he released his fingers slowly and watched as his grace moved into her form of its own accord. Within seconds, the light had disappeared.
'Wait,' he commanded as he noticed her step back in retreat. The pause in her step was just long enough for him to send at pulse of grace into the area where her lower left ribs lay. 'Sorry,' he apologised as he watched her flinch at the slight discomfort he had caused, 'I have carved an Enochian Blinding Sigil into you lower rib. It will hide you from the eyes of angels…Lucifer's included. When your child is born you will have to do the same upon his skin, preferably in a place where it cannot be seen easily.'
The slight flaring of his grace told him that the demons were near.
'You must go,' he announced to her, 'as promised, I will send you as far north west as I can. When you get there, keep running until you find someplace safe.'
With that warning Gabriel raised his right arm once again, not stopping until the tips of two outstretched fingers rested softly upon Anna's forehead. 'Do me a favour when the child is born, will you? Name him Castiel for me.'
'Him,' Anna repeated slightly beaming, 'it will be a boy?'
Gabriel nodded and the woman one last smile. Then without warning he sent out one last pulse of grace and she was gone.
'Goodbye, Anna…take care,' his voice filling the empty room. He liked it better this way; he had never been one for saying goodbyes.
***BREAK***
Nine months later. Saturday, 26 February 2011.
It had been but two days ago, that Anna had given birth to her child in the safety of Fort Freedom, one many hunters' strongholds in the west.
Of the many times she had looked upon the new life in her arms, she had found herself wondering about the fate of the archangel, Gabriel. Was he still out there somewhere? Was he safe? Either way, she would always feel indebted to him for the great source of joy in her arms. She had never considered herself as a mother but now as she smiled upon this little creature, she felt a protectiveness rearing up within her.
'He's beautiful,' came a female voice from the doorway, 'have you named him yet?'
Anna turned slightly and lifted her gaze to hunter who had helped deliver her baby. Hating to have her watchful gaze leave her child, she returned it back to the being rocking gently in her arms. She had made good on her promise too. 'Yes…his name is Castiel,' she answered with a tender smile upon her face. When he was strong enough she would have to do something about that Enochian sigil, but for now she was simply content to let him be.
'Castiel…what a unique name,' the woman observed and then raised her hand in parting, 'well, 'I'll let you two get better acquainted.' And with those words she was gone.
In the privacy of her room, Anna was better able to observe the small child in her arms. She watched as he yawned sweetly and then opened his sleepy eyes. She found herself slightly taken aback by their brilliant cerulean. Beautiful a colour as it was they were near unnatural and looked upon her with an old knowing. As if somehow Gabriel was staring out at her, observing but unable to communicate in such a young form. The thought sent cold chills down the spine.
As quickly as the look had come, it had passed. Broken by another sweet yawn. 'Ok baby, back to sleep,' she said settled him back in his cot.
From above, she looked down and brushed a soft cheek with her fingertips. It almost hurt to think that this tiny being would one day have important and dangerous work ahead of him.
'Dearest Castiel,' she whispered as she pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. She could feel the protectiveness returning, that inherent need to shield him from the big bad world just that little bit longer, 'welcome to the world…my little angel.'
A/Note:
Notice Castiel is born on a Thursday? =)
