Back...back...way back
Castiel watched with a curious expression on his face at the rails of blue light pulsing along the sides of the Atlantian streets embedded in the stone. He had recovered his Angel's Blade and coat from Aziash's home, then Crowley and his four Demon guards had led him out. The lights were beckoning their small group along a side street, and , upon reaching a thoroughfare, they blinked onto it and to the right. He looked around at other Atlantians, who had the lights next to them as well, doing the same for them, but in other directions. He glanced over at Crowley, who was studying him with a smile on his face.
"Impressive, isn't it?", Crowley turned away, eyebrows rising.
Castiel frowned. "What's powering it?"
Crowley shrugged, "No idea. Impressive, though." He deftly plucked an apple off of a fruit cart parked on the street. One of his Demons flipped the vendor a coin.
Castiel looked at the Demons, then back at Crowley. "Where did you find them?"
Crowley looked at Castiel in puzzlement. "Now, see? How do you not know that? I thought you were the one that would know everything about this place."
Castiel looked towards the blue sky, noting the golden spires visible from the cities' center. "There are...holes in my recollection, actually."
Crowley nodded stiffly. "Naomi. Yes. Heard about that. Real nasty piece of work, that." He regarded Castiel and scratched at his beard. "You did seem to know exactly what Suriel was talking about with that 'Earth-point-Zero' nonsense, however."
Castiel nodded, looking around at the crowds. A few of them regarded Crowley and him with a look of puzzlement, but otherwise continued on their way. The people here were diverse, and some strangely attired visitors were probably not a novelty.
"Care to elaborate on that?"
Castiel shook his head dismissively. "Every Angel knows it. There was a great battle here. The city itself was destroyed and sealed away. It's legendary. "
Crowley frowned. "Look, I know how you Angel's get all excited about smiting cities and all, but why this one? It's a cultural center, and as far as I've seen so far, an exemplification of the balance between good and evil – mankind in the the middle, free will abounding. So what happened?"
Castiel grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut. He let out a breath. "I...I don't remember, Crowley. Something...something went seriously wrong, but I can't recall what. All I remember is that an entire Legion of Angels was sent here to sink the island. Also, they were instructed to seal the area behind Angelic wards. Anything approaching the exact location would be lost forever – sent to another realm. That's why there's been so many disappearances off of the coast of Florida over the years."
"So, the Bermuda Triangle myth is real, then?", Crowley murmured. "Wait a second Castiel, I've seen maps...we're closer to Greece than Florida."
Castiel nodded. "It's been eons, Crowley. The tectonic plates have shifted the coordinates significantly."
"Eons?" Crowley looked around. "Castiel, I hate to cast dispersions on your Angelic wall calendar, but this can't be more than a few thousand years ago from our time. Look," he continued pointing at some lettering on a building. "Ancient Greek. Also mixed in with some Latin. There are visitors here from the mainland as well. I've met with them."
Castiel turned towards him. "Did you ask them which city they were from? Did you see any of them listed on your maps?"
Crowley frowned. "No, the maps only named Atlantis, and the people never mentioned it to me. But what does that have to do with anything?"
"Everything," Castiel replied, sighing. "Here, I'll show you." He broke away and walked casually up to one of the lines of street vendors, perusing them until he found one selling maps of the world, along with various other parchments. He picked one up and held it out for Crowley to
read. Crowley walked over, took the map from Castiel's hand and glanced over it. His mouth turned down and his forehead creased as he read.
"Antioches? Werdian? What's this one?" he asked, looking back down at the map and then back up at Castiel "Dionelys? Castiel, it's where London is supposed to be...what's all this about?"
Castiel nodded, taking the map back and placing it carefully back on the vendor's cart, smiling at her, shaking his head and holding up his palm, indicating he was not interested in buying it.
"There's something you should know about the history of the Earth, Crowley."
Crowley cocked his head. "I am assuming you mean something beyond what is readily available, obviously."
Castiel nodded, moving closer to one of the stones with the streaking blue lights. He squatted down next to it and began to tentatively reach out his hand, apparently thought better of it, and turned to Crowley.
"When I most recently returned to Earth, at first to help Michael trigger the next Apocalypse, Zachariah told Sam and Dean that we have done it before. Several times." He straightened up. "The modern world is built upon the dust and ashes of several millennia of existence, Crowley. Entire civilizations and cultures have come and gone and now there isn't a thing left of them." He looked pained, staring up into the sky. "Angels are very, very efficient, Crowley. This is the era just before the modern one, but much older than what you are thinking."
"How old?" Crowley asked, eyes narrowing.
Castiel sighed. "I would say roughly seven million years BC."
Crowley coughed. "What?"
"I told you. Much older."
"Castiel, how is that even possible? You yourself just said that all evidence of these ancient cultures was wiped out. Plato wrote about Atlantis rather recently, if we're going by your time-frame."
Castiel nodded. "Atlantis was a hub of culture for the entire world. That much I remember reading about in Heaven's archives. I said Angels are very efficient. But they aren't perfect, as you are so fond of reminding me." He raised an eyebrow at Crowley, who smirked back.
"Certain artifacts and writings remained. Plato ran across some of them that the Greeks still held. It's happened before. Like the Klerksdorp spheres they are uncovering now in South Africa. Sometimes things escape Armageddon."
Crowley held up a hand "Ok, fine. We're in pre-pre-pre-pre-to the nth degree history. Accepted. Onto the meat of the matter. I'm getting a warning in the back of my head whilst listening to your little history lesson that we are nearing some type of Apocalyptic event – is that correct?"
"Very probable."
Crowley sighed. "OK, then the contingents of Angels here then are something I will be needing to keep a closer eye on..."
Castiel frowned. "Angels? What Angels?"
Crowley sighed even louder. "Castiel, those holes in your memory are truly an enormous problem," he groused. "You asked me where I found my Demon friends here. Well, they're everywhere in this city Castiel. Angels as well. The place is split up like districts, with businesses in each one. The Angels run the virtuous ones – Demons, the less than savory ones. It's a perfect balance, actually. Truly impressive."
"And the people?"
Crowley nodded. "They are free to choose. Fall or rise."
Castiel looked around as they turned into a less populated district. The buildings were not as pristine, and the shops and their patrons were beginning to look questionable. "I've heard of this before..."
"What?"
Castiel shook his head. "Some scholars in Heaven...I remember hearing them talking about a 'Proving Ground' of some sort. A neutral place where they could test the human soul. I wonder if this was it."
"Could be," Crowley said slowly.
They reached an open plaza and Castiel stopped and groaned. He raised a hand to his forehead and rubbed his eyes. "Crowley, what is that?"
Crowley smiled broadly as he looked up at his name etched in four-foot high gold letters over his new gambling casino. "Our new home office. Don't you like it?"
Castiel shook his head slowly. "You've been here less than a week now, and you've...started your own business?" Castiel looked up and to his right, frowning, seemingly distracted by something.
Crowley shrugged. "Man's gotta make a living, after all. Seemed like a ripe opportunity, if you know what I mean..."
He watched as Castiel was turning his head from side to side, studying every detail. "Castiel? Castiel?"
Castiel looked back to him. His eyes were wider and his brow had broken out in a sweat.
"Castiel, if you don't mind my saying, you are looking rather nervous."
"We...we should avoid finding the other Angels."
Crowley shoved his hands into his pockets. "Ok, why?"
"Well...because of...me, actually."
Crowley frowned. "You. What about you?"
Castiel's mouth narrowed. He licked his lips. "No, me, me, Crowley," he answered slapping his palm rapidly several times against his own chest. "Because of me."
Crowley's frown deepened. "You, you...sorry...not following."
Castiel looked around and grabbed Crowley by his jacket, maneuvering them firmly and quickly into a side alley and the shadows. The Demons moved quickly to Crowley's side.
"Hey!", Crowley complained. "Castiel, what in the bleeding Hell has gotten into you?"
Castiel looked around nervously and then back to Crowley. "I can hear them now..." he said, whispering.
Crowley nodded, squinting up at Castiel. "Hear them...Ok...I am going to take a wild guess here and say that we're talking about Angel radio. Correct?"
Castiel nodded quickly. "I can hear them..." his eyes narrowed. "Crowley, I can hear me."
Crowley looked at him in momentary confusion, then his eyes widened in comprehension. "Ah, I see...you, you."
Castiel released his jacket and stepped back, nodding."That's right, I'm already here. In Atlantis. Crowley...I can't..."
Crowley nodded, straightening his jacket. "Got it. Can't meet up with your past self. Might cause some kind of universe destroying paradox or something. Right. We'll make sure that doesn't happen then, OK?"
Castiel shook his head violently, moving inches from Crowley's face. The Demon guards moved threateningly towards him, but Castiel backed them up with a menacing glare."No, Crowley, that's not it. I mean, if I'm here, we're in serious, serious danger."
"I heard you, Castiel, mortal danger. Time paradoxes, flux capacitors, got it..."
Castiel shook his head again.
"Crowley, that's not it at all. You only know the me as I am now. Do you have any idea what I was seven-million years ago?"
Crowley met his eyes calmly. "Enlighten me."
Castiel's eyes burned. "A soldier of God, Crowley. A perfect, unquestioning soldier of God."
"Yes, and?"
"Not an Atlantian businessman. Not a scholar, Crowley. A soldier. If I'm here right now...it's for one purpose, and one purpose only."
Crowley cocked his head. "Your here to fight a war."
Castiel nodded slowly, stepping backward, head turning back to the sky. "Or I'm here to start one."