Chapter Three
For the tenth time, a loud sigh sounded through the small space of the Impala. Sam looked sideways at his brother irritably but said nothing. He knew Dean was bored but so was he. They were still waiting for someone, anyone at all to show up.
A muffled thud then sounded as Dean's head hit the back of the seat, making him look up at the roof of his beloved car. Turning his head to the side, he watched as Sam looked through his phone.
"What's taking so long?"
"I don't know, Dean," Sam replied, only half listening.
"Cas said to be here and still no one is here!" he exclaimed louder than was necessary. "It's been over twelve hours. Maybe we should call Cas."
"What for?" Sam asked with a small shrug, still engrossed in his phone. "I'm sure if something happens, he'll contact us."
Another sigh left Dean's lips but just as he opened his mouth to say more, his phone jingled in his pocket. A surprised look came over his face but he quickly fished it out and frowned as he looked as the lit up screen. It was Castiel.
"Cas, what's wrong?" he asked quickly.
"Nothing," the angel replied, on the other end. "Where are you?"
"Where you told us to be," snapped Dean. The line went dead. "Uh... Cas?"
Snapping his phone shut, Dean swore under his breath. "Angels, man, I'm telling you."
Sam rolled his eyes and sighed lightly before going back to what he was reading. Within seconds, both of them jumped slightly as the back door of the Impala was opened and Castiel slid in with ease.
"Come on, Cas!" Dean said irritably.
"What's wrong?" asked Sam, moving on.
"I don't know but something is," the angel replied quickly. "There should be someone here."
"And who exactly were you expecting?" Dean asked, turning to look in the backseat.
"Zachariah," Castiel replied. "He's suppose-"
Castiel's sentence was cut short as several car alarms blared around them. The afternoon daylight was slowly turning dark and street lights flickered around them. The brother's watched in surprise, wondering what was going on, but it seemed Castiel already knew.
He rapidly tapped Dean's shoulder. "You need to leave, now!"
He hopped out of the car and without listening, Dean followed as did Sam. "Why, what's happening?" Sam asked quickly.
"Get back in the car and drive away," the angel said with his back to them as he stared up at the abandoned warehouse in front of them.
Neither brother moved as they watched dark clouds descend over the area and lightning strikes hit the earth. Within seconds, the three of them were engulfed by a white light that headed towards them at a great speed. There was no time to do anything.
A whimpered groan echoed off in a cramped, undetermined amount of space. Dean rubbed his head vigorously with one hand, feeling it throb painfully, while he pushed the other flat upon the ground, to assist in sitting himself up into a more comfortable position.
His eyes slowly opened and he squinted as he looked around the space he was in. He saw two other people, Castiel and his brother. The angel was currently standing near a boarded up window, staring at it curiously but Sam was lying slumped against the wall beside him, unmoving.
He attempted to move but a voice stopped him. "Your brother is fine," said Castiel in an even tone. "You were both knocked out from the blast."
"Blast?" Dean questioned, looking at the angel through narrowed eyes, ignoring the pain he was experiencing.
"Yes," Castiel said in the same tone. "That's what the white light was. It was a trap. No angel was going to be there."
"So, where are we now?"
"Do you remember the room you were kept in, by Zachariah, before the events of Lilith's death?" Castiel asked.
"Yeah..."
"It's similar to that, but this one is far more complicated," the angel whispered.
"How so?" Dean asked, starting to feel irritated at the vague answers he was getting.
Castiel sighed faintly and he finally turned around to face Dean. His blue eyes moved to Sam and checked him over, but he was still fine, although still unconscious.
"Only archangels can build a room such as this," came the solemn reply.
"A room such as this?" Dean asked, repeating part of Castiel's statement. "It looks like a dump, something a homeless person would sleep in."
Castiel's expression hardened and he turned away. Dean licked his lips quickly and sighed heavily, moving his body further up the wall. Feeling out of breath quickly, Dean stopped, and rested against it.
Castiel turned to him again, his features softening. "Do not move," he said quietly. "It will take your body some time to recover."
"Why aren't you affected as much?" Dean asked.
Castiel shrugged slightly, looking at Dean as though he should have known the answer. "I'm not human..."
As the words left his lips, Castiel was suddenly unsure about that statement. Of course, he knew he wasn't completely human but he was no longer the angel he was before. His mojo was only working at half capacity but he knew the reasons for it being this way.
"So... how long until we can get out of here?" Dean asked, looking around.
"Not until we find us which archangel's holding us," Castiel sighed.
"Shouldn't be too hard... there aren't that many archangels," Dean commented. "And we've met two of them."
Castiel nodded but he didn't reply. For a moment, a flitter of fear crossed Dean's face. What if the person holding them was Michael? But quickly, Dean shook his head, mentally kicking himself. Michael needed a vessel which was him. If the archangel could just take someone else, he probably would have by now.
"You don't know who it is?"
Castiel shook his head lightly as he looked away from the hunter on the ground and paced around the room slowly in a small circle. "No," he said quietly.
Once again it turned silent. Dean leaned his head against the cold stone wall behind him and closed his eyes. A few questions came to mind and Dean opened his eyes again and focused on Castiel. Until now, neither he nor Sam had been able to question him on this.
"So, Cas... speaking of angel's... who's the pretty one you killed a few days ago?"
"No one," said Castiel, his voice hardening.
"She didn't seem like no one," Dean said, ignoring the tone. "She called you her beloved? You never said you had someone back home."
"I haven't seen her in over two thousand years," Castiel said, looking away from the hunter.
"But that amount of time is not much to you right?"
"I suppose," Castiel replied. "But it's been a while."
Dean let the matter go. Right now there were bigger things to worry about but seeing Castiel that way a few days ago was quite unnerving. Sure, he had seen the angel angry before but that was something unseen before.
Before it could be given any more thought, a wall of the room was ripped away cleanly, making Dean jumped and Castiel turn sharply. Sam was still out of it. A few people rushed towards them, their faces shielded and brought Dean and Sam to their feet before leading all of them out into a much larger room.
The three of them were pinned against a white wall although by nothing they could see. The people around them scattered and ran from the room just as another person entered. Dean groaned inwardly. He dreaded the day when this would come and he had hoped it wouldn't be here so quickly.
"I see you got yourself out of the, uh, fire..."
"Silence!"
The tall dark vessel that contained Raphael walked forwards, stopping in front of the three men, leaving several feet between them. The dark eyes narrowed as it looked from Castiel, to Dean and finally to Sam. With a click of his fingers, Sam awoke and struggled for a moment before noticing what was going on.
"Nice of you to finally join us, Sam," the tall, dark angel spoke in a deep, smooth voice.
"Hello, Raphael," Castiel said, moving the attention away from the brothers.
"Castiel," said Raphael darkly, his eyes turning onto the other angel. "I'm surprised to see you again so soon. No doubt you were trying to protect these... imbeciles."
"Tell me, how did you get free?" Castiel asked curiously.
"I had a little help," replied Raphael slowly. "It seems you three have discovered the location of Gabriel. I was able to contact him, make a deal and he set me free."
"Damn, why the hell did we free him?" Dean asked to nobody in particular.
Still feeling groggy, Sam turned to look at Dean briefly. "To make him a friend," was the quiet answer.
"Yes, thank you, Sam," Dean snapped sarcastically.
"What do you want?" asked Castiel loudly, moving things along.
"Give me one good reason why I should not smite you right here and now and give me another reason for not doing it to both of these... so called hunters."
"Oh, that's lovely-"
Raphael flicked his wrist before Dean's face. "Silence!" he shouted again, a large piece of tape covering Dean's mouth. The hunter's eyes widened in protest and his words were muffled by the tape. "I've heard enough out of you for a lifetime."
"What's the point in killing me again?" Castiel asked Raphael, ignoring the muffled protests beside him. "I've been brought back once. What's to stop it from happening again? Would you want to take that chance?" Castiel paused as he looked down at the brother's before his own kin again. "And what's the point in killing them? Michael needs Dean and Lucifer needs Sam. Both of them can be brought back also."
At Castiel's words, a dark smile crossed Raphael's face as he walked towards Dean, stopping in front of him. Licking his lips slowly, he looked Dean up and down, his eyes gleaming in the dull light that filled the room.
"I suppose I could summon Michael here..." Raphael removed the tape off Dean's lips, slowly, the material pulling at the sensitive skin. "Are you willing to say yes to save Castiel and Sam?"
Dean's jaw clenched tightly and his eyes shut tight for a moment before focusing on Raphael again. "Go screw yourself," Dean whispered harshly. "Mean's no."
An amused laughter fell from Raphael's lips. "Zachariah mentioned your smart mouth," Raphael chuckled. "I wondered if it was still like last time. You haven't learned anything yet have you?"
"And what do you want us to learn?" Sam asked, his groggy state lifting a little further.
His voice turned Raphael's attention onto him. The archangel moved to stand before Sam and he grabbed the young hunter's chin and forced his head up so he could get a better look at him. Raphael's eyes narrowed heavily.
"Just knowing that you're Lucifer's vessel is enough to make me hate you as much I despise him." He paused before continuing. "I want you to learn that no matter where you go on this earth, you will be found and things will occur until you both accept your roles."
"My God, you sound like Gabriel," Dean muttered but he was heard.
Raphael stormed to Dean and smacked him across the face, causing the hunter to swear breathily.
"Careful boy," the archangel warned. "That's my father's name you're taking in vain."
Castiel's eyes narrowed and his features hardened at the mention of his father. "Where is he, Raphael?"
"I've already told you Castiel," the archangel said moving towards his brother. "Father is dead and gone. He no longer cared about any of us, not even these treasured but flawed creations of his in the end. It's up to us to do what we can to survive."
Castiel bit his bottom lip as he looked to the floor in almost despair. He couldn't believe the words that Raphael continued to speak. It was impossible to believe that their father would leave and not say anything and Castiel couldn't take the risk that he might be dead. He had to keep looking.
"Well, Michael's in charge, isn't he?" Castiel asked quickly. "He decides to throw in this apocalypse now that Lucifer has returned and all in heaven are just going to follow without question?"
"No," Raphael said quickly. "While it is true that Michael is in charge, he didn't come up with the whole thing himself, although he did have a big hand in it happening. There were many that disagreed but many eventually saw reason and others, well, they were sent here and most have been found and eradicated."
"You mean murdered!?" Castiel yelled in anger.
A crude laughter filled the large space of the room, bouncing off the walls. Raphael turned away from Castiel and walked around in a large circle, taking a few breaths before facing the three men again. He stood rigidly, his arms at his side, unmoving and his dark eyes carefully watching the three men.
"All of heaven is in favour of this taking place, except you Castiel," Raphael explained slowly. "I will admit though, Michael never planned on both of you to be so incredibly stubborn," he added looking at Dean and Sam.
"But if we keep saying no, then this will never happen," Dean said confidently.
"Perhaps," Raphael said slowly. "Just know that the longer this is put off, the more people that will die. Can you live with that on your conscious?"
"Can you?" Dean asked quickly. "We didn't start this..."
"You broke the first seal!" Raphael shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. He turned to look at Sam next. "And you Sam, you broke the last seal."
"What does it matter when you wanted this to happen in the first place?" Sam asked, feeling angry at being reminded of this again.
"Some of us felt as though our hands were tied. Once you broke the first one it was almost a godsend... so to speak. We decided to use it and only then, did we encourage this apocalypse to happen."
"I didn't choose to go to hell," Dean grounded out angrily.
"No, but you did choose to save your brother and you did choose to pick up Alistair's razor, no one forced your hand."
"Go to hell," Dean hissed heatedly.
"You first," Raphael said instantly. "I could always throw you back in the pit... I'm sure Michael wouldn't mind coming to your rescue himself..."
"Enough of this!" Castiel said loudly, gaining back the archangel's attention. "Lucifer has released unimaginable evil since retuning and he needs to be stopped. Lucifer cannot keep reigning unchecked-"
"Then Dean should let Michael in."
"There must be another way," Castiel said quickly. "Why can you not go after Lucifer?"
"The longer Lucifer is allowed to roam the earth, the stronger he will become. He has already matched my powers. Michael is needed."
"Or God," Castiel added for him.
"He is gone, Castiel!"
"Stop!" Dean said quickly. "This is pointless, we can talk about this for days, weeks probably and we're never going to agree. Just let us go and we'll figure something out."
"I don't think so," Raphael said quietly. "I think-"
Raphael was cut short as the ground beneath them began to rumble, the walls rattled and several of the windows shattered. Within seconds, they were joined by a second person. For a moment, Dean wondered if he was going to help them.
"Hello, Gabriel," Raphael said slowly in his deep voice.
"Howdy," the other archangel said cheerily. "Oh, I see things are going well," he added, noticing the three men against the wall. He looked to Raphael again, a sly smile gracing his crooked mouth. "So, bro, need any help?"
"No," Raphael spoke warningly. "You've helped enough."
"Well, the main reason I came by was because I thought there was one more thing I could do to help," said Gabriel, looking at his surroundings curiously.
"Which is what?" Raphael asked, clearly irritated.
Sending a wink towards the hunters and their protector, Gabriel clapped his hands before Raphael could act. Dean, Sam and Castiel pressed their hands against the wall tightly as the world spun before them, causing everything to blur. The ground shook for only seconds before everything stopped.
The silence around them turned deafening and Sam was the first one to raise his head. They were back in the ruined house they were using as a hideout. He frowned heavily and sat up, tapping Dean as he did. Dean groaned before stirring but stopped quickly as he wondered how they got back there also.
"Wakey, wakey," came a voice from the corner.
Startled, both hunters jumped to their feet and turned to sound of the noise. It was only Gabriel, leaning against the wall and smiling at them broadly. A smile that only made Dean want to punch him so it would leave.
"You... helped us, just now, right?" Dean asked, wondering if everything that just happened he saw correctly.
"Yes," Gabriel said evenly.
"You went against Raphael?" Sam asked slowly.
"Yes," Gabriel repeated.
"Why?" Dean asked with a frown.
"Well, you helped me last time when you could have left me there and... I knew what Raphael was going to do to you," Gabriel said, his smile disappearing. "He was going to kill all of you, it didn't matter to him. He just wanted you to suffer to make you say yes and it probably would have worked."
"Then why did you stop him?" Sam asked quickly. "Last time we saw you, you were so intent on us fulfilling out rightful roles, the ones we were born for."
"I still am," Gabriel replied. "But you see, part of me knows it's going to happen one way or another but Raphael doing this to get a result... isn't right. That's not how angels are supposed to act. We are heavenly beings and we don't resort to torture."
"You might want to tell that to Zachariah," commented Dean under his breath.
But Gabriel heard him and he chuckled lightly. "I suppose," he said. "I heard about that but just know, there were many worse things that he could have done."
"Where's Cas?" Dean asked, looking around, noticing for the first time that Castiel was not with them.
"Gone for the moment," replied Gabriel. "He will returned once I leave. I've had enough of family for the time being." He looked between them before waving. "Ciao."
Before the boys could ask any more questions, Gabriel vanished and within seconds, the front door opened and Castiel entered, looking unharmed. He looked between Dean and Sam, making sure both of them were alright. When he was satisfied that nothing had happened, Castiel sighed and turned away.
"Why would he suddenly help us? What's he hoping to gain?"
Castiel shrugged as he turned to look at the hunters again. "I honestly don't know," Castiel replied. "I'm sure he knows what Raphael had planned but I don't believe it's the reason he stopped it from happening but I am sure he's pissed Raphael off and Gabriel's gonna be on his list after us."
"So, what do we do now?" Sam asked looking at Castiel.
The angel shrugged. "Wait here. I need to see if the angels are talking or if I can at least hear something. I'll be back in a few days."
"And what are we supposed to do until then?" Dean asked quickly.
"Rest," was the only answer they received before Castiel vanished, leaving the brothers alone.
Dean and Sam exchanged glances but instantly they both knew there was nothing to be done. They had no new game plan, no next move and attempting to come up with one wouldn't help them. Taking his jacket off, Sam moved to the table and sat down while Dean moved to the couch, lying across it. He just hoped something good would come their way eventually. It needed to.