Chapter 2

It was not a monster. It was a man. A man draped in the filthiest trench coat he had ever seen, with a TARDIS-blue tie and a –

"I am no man," it spoke hoarsely.

So, not only could it transport itself inside his ship, it could read his mind?

"H-how did you get in here?"

"My name is Castiel and I am an Angel of the Lord."

The Doctor stumbled backwards with surprise. It couldn't be. He had heard of angels, but as children's stories back on Gallifrey. This didn't make sense. And if the stories were true, these creatures are more powerful than anything he had ever encountered. He silently thanked the universe that he had sent the Ponds away.

He realized the angel was waiting for a response. "Um… so… Castiel. Yes, yes, uh… w-what brings you here?" The Doctor thought about how pathetic that sounded and gathered his senses, straightened his bow tie, stood up tall, and repeated, "What brings you here?" The angel seemed amused at this.

"I need your help." Castiel took a few steps closer to the Doctor. "I heard you could help."

As much as an honor this was, the Doctor was skeptic. There was some weird things going on with the universe right now, and there were some bad creatures behind it all. He couldn't afford to just reach out and trust this… angel. If it was an angel. There was one way to find out. "If you are who you say you are, then I'd like to see your true form."

The angel, who had so far been very calm and in control, widened his eyes at this suggestion. "And if you are who I need you to be, then my true form won't destroy you. Very clever, Timelord." Castiel came even closer to the Doctor, until they were practically nose-to-nose. "This might hurt," he warned.

Right before the Doctor, Castiel changed. One second, a man with dirty clothes and the saddest eyes stood before him, and the next, an angel. There was no describing the figure. It was pure beauty and faith. The TARDIS gave a small shiver and the Doctor's eyes filled with tears. It filled all of space and time. It filled the Doctor with knowledge of a time before time, and it filled him with a regretful ignorance – he was almost a thousand years old and there was so much he still didn't know. He wanted to know so bad that it was painful, physically painful. But he barely noticed, he was consumed with the beauty of this angel; when suddenly, he remembered.

The Doctor remembered a time when he was a child of Gallifrey. He was going to come of age, and he was going to look into the Vortex. He was scared. As he stepped forward, he saw. He saw everything, everywhere, every-when. He saw so many things that he didn't even know how much he saw. But now, he remembered seeing an angel, this angel, in the Vortex. He understood why he had that strange feeling all day: he had small but strong bond with Castiel. That was why Castiel was here.

"Thank you," the Doctor whispered through his tears.

Just as the angel was about to curl into a smile, the man was standing before him again. "Will you help me?" Castiel asked.

The Doctor thought of those stories the elders used to tell him. "Of course," he gasped, trying to regain his composure. "Of course."