You're words still serenade me,
Your lullabies won't let me sleep
I've never heard such a haunting
Melody. Oh, it's killing me
You know I can barely breathe
.
Just like a crow chasing the butterfly
Dandelions lost in the summer sky
When you and I were getting
High as outer space, I never
Thought you'd slip away
I guess I was just a little too late

.

The Crow and the Butterfly - Shinedown


Balthazar took them to the other side of the forest. It was hundreds of miles from where they had left the Sandman and he figured this distance would suffice. Hopefully.

When the shock of the matter had settled off, Balthazar went to check Castiel's condition again: it was bad – really bad – and it seemed that it would get worse. Castiel's formerly smooth-flowing Grace was flickering erratically, and the once bright form of his brother was gradually losing light by the second.

And as if things were not bad enough, when Balthazar attempted to get rid of the sand in the hopes that the effects would diminish, he discovered that every last grain had already entered Castiel's being and there was nothing he could do about that now.

He felt so useless. How could everything have turned out this way? Why did it have to be like this?

"Balthazar," Castiel called out. He sounded so weak, so fragile; it did not sound like him at all. "What's... going to happen… to me? What…?"

His words trailed off as he began to helplessly tip forward; Balthazar caught him before he hit a stone. This had to be the effects of the sand, slowly draining energy away until nothing remained. Castiel's light got dimmer again.

"I'm so sorry, brother; I'm so sorry. I should've… I wouldn't… Castiel, I'm so sorry." quivered Balthazar.

For some reason, even with his brother like this in his hold, he could not bring himself to admit that none of this would have ever happened if he had just kept in line. This whole mess was his fault, Castiel was nearing death because of him and he was still letting pride get in the way. But he meant his apologies so much that it hurt saying them, and as he thought about it, he wanted to hurt.

Castiel was always good; he followed the rules and paid more attention to others than himself. He should not be the one slowly dying right now; he did not deserve this.

"It should've been me." Balthazar thought.

He was so consumed with his thoughts that he could not stop Castiel from straightening up, which was such a slow process. "Don't be sorry. I should've... aimed the branches better." said Castiel using a great deal of effort. "I should've been faster. The Sandman... almost got you."

Balthazar could not believe this. Castiel was the one dying and he was the one who felt he needed to do better, not to mention that he was less worried about his own deteriorating condition. "Castiel, no, stop. You are not the one who's taking the blame here. For once, I am!" said Balthazar.

His brother's light became dimmer again, a reminder that Castiel was running out of time. They needed to fix this, and soon! But how? How can something like this be remedied?

Before Balthazar could think of anything, a voice echoed throughout the forest and shook the canopy.

"You cannot flee from me that easily. I will follow you. I will find you. You can't escape sleep once it has you in its grasp."

This was not good, not good at all. How could the Sandman be able to follow them this far? Then, it came to Balthazar that that did not matter at the moment. They had to get out of here now.

Balthazar grabbed hold of Castiel, who was weakening so considerably that he did not look like he can fly on his own anymore. "Let's go, brother; it's not safe here."

They took flight again.

O_x

This time, they landed in the middle of a field of corn, far, far away from the forest.

"Castiel, are you alright?" Balthazar asked.

Castiel did not respond; he was just sitting there, dazed, as if he had not heard him.

"Brother? Please answer me, are you alright? Castiel?" Balthazar fearfully shook him to grab his attention. When that did not work, he moved onto tugging his wings with double the force; Castiel always hated him for doing that.

This time, a spark of pain flared out of Castiel's Grace and his gaze found Balthazar's. "I... I'm so tired. Why do I... Why do I feel so... so tired?" Castiel inquired, fatigue dripping off every word.

Balthazar did his utmost best to calm down, though his words still came out extremely nervous. "Just be strong. You'll pull through this." he declared. "I mean, you better pull through this. I don't want to carry you around all day."

For a little bit, it almost appeared as though some of Castiel's light was returning, yet when Balthazar leaned in closer, that was not the case.

"What's sleep?" muttered Castiel.

"I'm not sure. But whatever that means, I won't let that happen to you." said Balthazar.

"Sleep sounds scary... I don't want that."

Castiel's light flickered and dimmed again.

A gentle breeze was soon blowing over the cornfield, creating a rustling sound. Balthazar scanned the area for anything that could be useful but the only thing here was corn, and frankly, there was not a lot of use with corn. He decided to further extend his search-range for, at least, a better shelter, and Heaven certainly was not a candidate for that since they were still being sought after there too.

Then, Balthazar noticed that Castiel's light was fading unusually faster. Before the rising panic in him even reached its zenith, the next thing he noticed was that there was a giant shadow looming over his brother.

In an instant, Balthazar realized that it was the Sandman and he was speeding up the deterioration of Castiel's condition; Castiel was either too tired to know what was going on or he was perfectly aware of what was happening but no longer had the energy to move. Whatever the reason, Balthazar wasted no time and grabbed Castiel just as the Sandman was about to sink his claws in him.

"Can you still fly?" Balthazar frantically asked.

The Sandman struck with his claws again and Balthazar was hardly able to maneuver both of them to safety.

"I can fly." murmured Castiel.

"Good." sighed Balthazar.

In less than a second, they were off to the next country.

O_x

They were in a valley, at the outskirts of a human settlement.

Balthazar was appalled that already half of Castiel's light was gone. With the threat of the Sandman momentarily out of the way, he decided to put their limited time to good use by inspecting the rest of the state of his brother: his form was damaged all over, and if Balthazar had to guess, it was from when the Sandman had launched him through the forest. The marks looked like they hurt, but the pain they bore did not have much of an effect on Castiel, at least not anymore. His wings also appeared far too frayed.

Castiel's balance was starting to fail him again and Balthazar was quick to support him.

"Balthazar," murmured Castiel.

"I'm still here, brother. And I can't believe I'm saying this but I won't leave you alone." said Balthazar.

Once close contact was established between them, Balthazar could feel that Castiel's healing was not in effect, which explained why his external form remained battered. Balthazar wanted to help out in any way he can, but he only knew how to heal himself, not others; their superior had not taught them how to do that yet. He could always let this be his first try but he did not want to risk inflicting more damage than what he had already caused.

"I can't… fight it… I don't know… how to fight this." Castiel admitted wearily, his light flickering again.

Glancing around, as if an answer was hidden somewhere in the gloom, Balthazar's focus landed on the human settlement before them. "Maybe the humans know a way. If the Sandman has been targeting humans all this time, then surely they must have a solution to fend off the effects." he said.

Balthazar placed Castiel against a boulder as he rose to his full height. "I'll be swift. I'll ask the humans if they know anything about – "

"Don't." Castiel cut in. "Brother, don't."

"Why not? If they know of a cure, you'll certainly be saved!" said Balthazar.

"They don't have a cure… If they did… the Sandman wouldn't be… be targeting them so easily… anymore."

He had a point; even in his destabilized state, he still made the most sense. "Castiel, I still have to try." pressed on Balthazar.

Castiel gave a shake of disapproval. "Forbidden for us… to interact… with humans directly anyway… If one of them sees you… in your form… alarms in Heaven will be tripped… We'll be caught."

Balthazar felt his Grace crackle in frustration. He knew Castiel was right but he was not given a lot of options at the moment and time was slipping away; he felt so trapped. Stupid humans. Why did they have to be so… useless? Do they know anything other than just lugging around?

At the edge of his vision, Balthazar noted the arrival of mist from the west. He would have disregarded it if he had not recalled that there had been an expanse of mist in the forest where they first encountered the Sandman.

Balthazar did not take any chances.

"Castiel, we have to leave. Now." he said urgently, pulling at his brother. However, Castiel did not look like he was going to move any time soon. "Castiel, we have to go!"

A little more of Castiel's light faded away and Balthazar really did not like how slowly Castiel turned before staring at him, and he really, really did not like how listless his gaze had become.

"I'm so tired." Castiel said, almost like a plea.

"I know, brother; I know. But we have to keep moving." said Balthazar beseechingly.

Eventually, they took off again.

O_x

They did not get far. They materialized at the edge of a rocky cliff, just above the valley they had previously been in. Balthazar was beginning to really panic.

"Castiel, we have to move farther. The Sandman can easily get us here." he said insistently.

Castiel was trembling beside him – from exhaustion, from the effects of the sand, Balthazar had no idea – and it was an upsetting sight. "I'm so tired… so tired… Please, I want to rest." he muttered.

How he had said those words nearly made Balthazar want to comply in an instant; his brother was suffering greatly and Balthazar would do anything to alleviate it. However, if Castiel rested now, here, the Sandman might catch up to them, and then none of them would be safe.

"I'm sorry, but we must keep flying." he said ruefully.

He picked up his brother and they were gone.

O_x

They were soaring over the ocean, with Balthazar searching for a suitable place and Castiel hanging onto him and flapping his wings jadedly. With every couple of wing beats, Castiel's light wavered more and more. It was something that urged Balthazar to go faster and bear the weight of both of them. He wondered if the Sandman can cross oceans, and then he figured that it was probably best to be safe rather than sorry and kept speeding across the night skies.

All of a sudden, Balthazar felt Castiel stop flying for a second, which momentarily disrupted their balance and almost sent Castiel spiralling down to the water.

"What's happening?" asked Balthazar anxiously once they were, more or less, steady once again.

"I don't... I don't think I can... keep flying... much longer." said Castiel with hardly any energy left in him.

Balthazar tightened his hold on him and flew them faster. "Yes, you can, brother. At least let me find land. Come on, at least that. It won't be long, I can feel it. I promise, just a few more miles," he said, despite the fact that all he could sense was the ocean.

Even without glancing at him, Balthazar knew that Castiel's light was flickering dramatically. "Balthazar... I can't..." Castiel began.

"Come on! Don't give up!" yelled Balthazar.

"I..."

Before Balthazar could do anything, Castiel was plummeting toward the ocean.

"Castiel!" he screamed, in the hope of getting his brother to take off. Castiel nevertheless broke the ocean surface and sank. Balthazar immediately followed suit and dived in after him.

It was pitch-dark under the surface, but he had no problem in seeing that his brother was descending like he was created from stone. Sharks and squids made way for them, scared away by their light and with how fast they were going.

"Castiel! CASTIEL!" Balthazar tried again. Castiel, however, was not showing any promising signs of responding. The most infuriating (if not fear-provoking) fact was that Balthazar was aware that Castiel could see him, but he was not reacting in the slightest, like there was no one actually coming for him, or like he did not care that he was sinking further and further into the abyss.

Castiel's light was quickly fading by the time they were near the bottom of the ocean, and while the pressure of such depths had no effect on angels, creatures such as the leviathan and malevolent nymphs posed as serious threats, especially since they were likely to lurk along these levels. With a final burst of speed, Balthazar at last succeeded in grabbing Castiel.

He tried not to think about how unresisting and lifeless Castiel was when he pulled at him; Balthazar just kept his attention locked on the direction of the surface. It occurred to him just how bad Castiel's condition had gotten, and that it was continuously going to get worse if they could not find a way to fix this. Castiel was still alive, that much Balthazar was absolutely certain, but he was really enervated.

He noticed the golden apple he had plucked from the Garden fall out of him and go down into the dark. The thought of retrieving it did not even cross his mind.

After what seemed like forever, they broke the surface.

"Castiel? Castiel, are you alright?" Balthazar apprehensively inquired.

Castiel did not answer, did not even look at him.

"Castiel? Castiel? Talk to me; are you alright?"

When his brother still did not react, Balthazar, desperate, started pulling at his wings again; Castiel's Grace did not so much as twitch. Thinking fast, he resorted to extending his Grace to Castiel's, or more precisely, poking the most sensitive part of his brother's form with bolts of shock. Thankfully, he only had to do it once for Castiel to jolt out of his stupor; he was reanimated with a start and flailed about the water for a bit.

"B-Balthazar?" said Castiel once he had gathered himself.

Balthazar sent a silent thanks to their Father, wherever he may be right now. He nearly let out a hysterical laugh at the blessed fact that Castiel was still alive but he reined it in. "You don't have any strength left to fly, do you?" he asked in a faux lackadaisical attitude.

"I'm sorry." Castiel muttered shamefully.

"It's alright. I think the flying was weakening you anyway." dismissed Balthazar. He scanned their area for miles, striving to find any stretch of land, even if it was just a rock that rose out of the waves; all the while, he held his brother close so as to prevent him from sinking again.

Finally, he spotted land, and it was near.

"Castiel, we're going to swim to land. It's not far; I'm sure even you can make it." said Balthazar encouragingly.

The way Castiel looked at him made Balthazar's Grace pang with guilt and concern. "I'm… so tired." he whispered desperately.

"We'll make it." Balthazar assured, beaming with forced hope. "We'll make it, I know we will."

Adjusting his grip on his brother, Balthazar led them to shore.

O_x

They sought refuge in a small cave, which was more like a slit cracked into the mountains than anything else. By the time they were inside, Castiel was trembling again and there was hardly any light that remained in him.

"... so tired... so t-tired..."

"I know, brother. Just a little further,"

Balthazar guided Castiel to the end of the cave, trying his best to keep his dread and tension masked from his brother. They needed to make their stay here a short one; the sooner they could leave, the sooner they could travel to find a cure. Personally, he did not require a rest; he could go around the world seven times even in this state. In fact, he could just leave Castiel here to recuperate while he searched for a cure, a course of action that would definitely save them time and spare his brother the effort.

He still went deeper into the cave though.

As far as things went, Balthazar nonetheless believed that stopping here was a bad idea. The Sandman could catch up to them, or worse, their siblings. But Castiel seemed barely able to move another inch, and the constant travelling was really draining him, practically helping the effects of the sand along. If they kept this up, his brother would have less of a chance of making it.

It pained Balthazar to see him like this. Castiel was known to be fast, accurate and dexterous; now his movements were sluggish, clumsy and pitiful. When Castiel's light flickered again, it caused him to falter in his movements and he stumbled. Balthazar caught him and he decided that this was far enough.

"Rest here for a while. When dawn comes, we'll head east." said Balthazar as he placed his brother on a bed of moss.

Castiel appeared as if he was having a difficult time concentrating, which was a first. "Thank you." he murmured eventually.

Balthazar sent him a heartening pulse from his Grace – of which Castiel returned faintly – before he started warding the cave with protective sigils. At the moment, he only knew a handful of sigils, most of which were not really that useful on his account, but he made up for the inadequacy by carving as many sigils as the walls, roof and floor allowed.

Silence was established, only to be later broken when Castiel feebly called out, "Balthazar,"

Balthazar immediately halted his progress. "Yes?"

"I'm scared." he admitted.

If Balthazar had the necessity to breathe, his breath would have caught at that. Castiel was scared. He, on the other hand, was filled to the brim with sheer terror that would haunt him for eternity and just about ready to fall apart. He did not know how much longer he can handle this; he had no idea if fear or insanity would get to him first but he knew that both of them were coming for him anyway. This – all of this – was too much for any fledgling to deal with.

"Soldiers get scared too." said Balthazar, pulling up a strong, easy-going facade.

He went back to working on the sigils. Dawn never seemed to take so long in arriving.

TBC


So… how was it? Hopefully, it didn't suck as hard as I think. Please tell me it didn't suck! X_x

Thanks for everybody's support on this! Feedback is most appreciated! :D