Chapter 4: Testing a Theory
Castiel stared at Gabriel, who was sitting across from his with a cup of tea and a large slice of chocolate cake. So far the angel hadn't said anything after he and Michael had finished explaining what had happened the pervious day. Dean's hand found his and Castiel was grateful for the support as he felt disturbed beyond belief. Gabriel lifted his cup and took a sip of his tea before sitting it back down.
"Gabriel?" Michael prompted.
"What?" The angel asked picking up his fork to take a bite of his cake.
"I think they are asking for your input." Lucifer said from his place next to the smaller blonde.
"I know that." The blonde said. "I'm not to give an answer that I'm not sure of. Having spent the longest amount of time with Xaphanel I would prefer the option of thinking over his actions before giving out a piece of advice that may get someone killed."
"Okay." Dean said. "I can understand that but has he done anything like this before?"
"As far as I am aware the only angels that he had contact with was Raphael and myself." Gabriel said, shoving his cake aside with a mournful look. "Raphael was always very careful about letting other angels know about us. The area we were kept in was warded heavily. Those pyramids were very good for both warding and soundproofing if nothing else. I know that he knew of Michael and Lucifer because I remember screaming for the both of you too many times to count. I think Castiel may be the only angel that Xaphanel has met that Raphael had no influence over."
"What does that mean?" Sam asked. "How could Raphael have influence over him?"
"It means Castiel is the first angel that Raphael couldn't say anything bad about." Gabriel said. "His view of Castiel is his own and not some skewed concept that was put into his head by Raphael."
"How skewed?" Michael asked.
Gabriel fell silent again and Sam could see the fight going on in those gold eyes. The angel was debating with himself about talking about his time with Raphael and Xaphanel. When the Trickster revealed what happened to Sam, the hunter had been disgusted at how horribly they had treated the youngest archangel. Sam gripped the blonde's hand tightly making him look up at him.
"You don't have to tell them Gabe. What happened to you is a need to know thing." Sam said gently. "Don't hurt yourself by bringing it back up."
"You were described as a stuck up bully who only cared for himself and would gladly throw someone under a bus if it meant saving your own hide and the only thing that mattered to you was your own pride Michael. You were seen as a controlling, anger driven, maniac that only took joy in making other people hurt and was cold to everyone that tried to be kind to you, Lucifer. As for you Dad, you showed favoritism for some of us but for the rest you couldn't even be spared to give them the time of day, and threw the useless ones away the first chance you got." Gabriel said quickly, his voice cracking horribly. "As for me I was painted as a whore who only cared about sex and was willing to do anyone or or anything that could get me off."
Gabriel suddenly shuddered and pulled away, his whole body shaking. Lucifer reached for him but Sam was quick enough to reach around the table to stop him. The devil frowned but Sam shook his head. Sam sat back down and laid his hand, palm up into front of the angel and waited patiently. Gabriel stared at the hunter's hand for a minute before he shakily laid his hand down on Sam's. The Fourth Born looked up at his boyfriend with confusion but Sam just leaned forward and kissed his cheek, a small smile on his face.
"It's alright Gabe. You're safe. It's just us here okay?" Sam reassured him. "See? Just us."
The blonde nodded and looked back up. "Castiel is the only angel that Xaphanel had no information on. He might have seen Cassie in my head but he either didn't care or overlooked it."
"So then there's a chance that he's actually curious?" Michael asked, making a note to ask about Gabriel's freak out later.
"I think he might be." Gabriel confirmed. "It might explain why he refuses to hurt him too. Xaphanel may be genuinely confused about how he feels because Raphael isn't here to tell him what to think or feel."
"So why is he hitting on my mate?" Dean asked angrily.
"Maybe he is confusing his lack of hatred for Castiel for something else." Gabriel asked, as Sam pushed his cake back towards him and handed him the fork. "I know you don't care to be reminded of this fact but Xaphanel was made for the sole purpose of...hurting me in sexual ways. Sex and pain are all he knows. He doesn't want to cause Cassie pain so he has sex, which he knows can cause pleasure, to fall back on. Given his age too, along his limited contact with others, it puts his age at roughly sixteen in human years."
"So he's going through demon puberty. That's just great." Dean muttered.
"It might be better then you think." Chuck said, watching as Gabriel took a big bite, pleased that his mini breakdown didn't upset him too badly. "If Xaphanel thinks he cares for Castiel then there is a good chance that he won't hurt Castiel at all. We already knew he made sure that Castiel didn't get hurt. He might even go as far as protect him."
Crowley, who had been silent so far, looked up. "How about we put that to a test?"
"Those are very dangerous words." Gabriel said. "There's no way to safely test that."
"On the contrary, there is." Crowley said, taking a bite of his own cake. "I have a couple of demons who can do exactly as their told. I can have a place all set up and ready to go at a moment's notice. I can have cameras set up in less then an hour. The only thing I need is the bait with the proper stage dressings."
The room fell silent at that. The risks to pull this off were dangerous at best. There was no guarantee that things would go according to plan. Not to mention the risk that the person playing as the bait would have to take.
"I'll do it." Castiel said. "What time should we do this?"
"Hell no!" Dean said standing. "That son of a bitch had you once and I am not going to let him have you again!"
Castiel stood too. "Dean if I can make friends with Xaphanel then I might be able to talk him out of going after Gabriel. If I can do that then maybe I can make him see what he's doing is wrong. I can help stop this."
"Cas I don't want you anywhere near him!"
"You can't stop me Dean! This is my choice! Maybe it'll help erase some of my sins."
"You don't have any sins! I'm not going to let you do this!"
"It's my choice Dean!"
"Dammit Cas!" The hunter snapped before turning to the one person he thought would have his back. "Say something Gabriel!"
The blonde archangel stared hard at his younger brother, emotions dancing in his gold eyes too fast to track. He looked down at the plate in front of him and his hand slid up to his arm where the demon's mark used to reside until Lucifer had removed it. Gabriel heaved a sigh and looked back up at Castiel, who was watching him with curious blue eyes.
"Do you understand what you'd be risking Castiel?" Gabriel asked, his voice cold. "If this goes wrong death would be the best thing that could happen to you. Xaphanel could torture you, feed from you, and even possibly rape you. Do you understand this?"
The young angel stood tall. "I do. I'm aware of the risks."
"Then you also know that if something does go wrong that we might not be able to get to you in time to save you right?"
Castiel nodded this time. "I do understand. I'm still willing to take that risk."
"Then since you understand that then you can understand why I would ask you to swear on your Grace not to take an unnecessary risks." Gabriel said softly.
"I swear on my Grace, to you the Archangel Gabriel." Castiel said with a bow.
"Wait you're letting this happen?!" Dean asked angrily. "You can't make him do this!"
Gabriel shook his head and stood, grabbing his plate and tea and leaving but not before throwing a parting word over his shoulder at the hunter. "I see that is one lesson that you never learned about angels Dean. No one ever makes us do anything."
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Xaphanel was surprised when he appeared at the warehouse to find Lucifer waiting for him instead of Castiel. He had been meeting with the dark angel for an hour every day since their first meeting. Finding Lucifer there was a bit of a shock but the Devil didn't seem like he wanted to fight. If anything he seemed nervous and, he took a deep breath to scent the angel, afraid. Best to see what the Fallen wanted.
{Why does the Lord of Hell honor me?} Xaphanel asked slinking out of the shadows, making the blonde jump.
Lucifer stared at demon for a minute before turning away. "I didn't believe Gabby but it looks like he was right. You don't have him. I'll leave you to your business then demon."
Xaphanel tail whipped out and caught the Second Born around the waist, pinning his arms to his side before pulling him close. {Who was Jibril right about me not having? One of your little pets?}
Lucifer struggled. "Let go of me you filth! I don't have time for your games!"
The demon gave the angel a hard shake. {Answer the question or I will break you in half and feast on your pain.}
"FUCK!" The blonde cried as his body was jerked. "I need to find Castiel!"
Xaphanel was so shocked by the sudden statement that he dropped the angel. {What?!}
The Morningstar laid on the pavement trying to will away the pain he was in. "Castiel came here yesterday didn't he? He came to see you."
The demon lowered himself to slide his tongue along the Second Born's arm, making him jerk away. {Yes. He was here for an hour. We talked as we have been. After his hour was up he left. He said that he had a mission that he had to complete for Michael. Has something happened?}
Lucifer got to his feet, damn his back hurt. "Cassie never made it his team. They waited for almost an hour before realizing something was wrong. They came here to see if you were holding him up but they found nothing. I knew you'd be waiting for him so I came to see for myself. Gabriel swore that you wouldn't have him, that he must have been taken before he got to his team but after he left you. I just had to see it for myself."
{What path did he take?}
Lucifer turned to face the demon once more. "Why do you care?"
Xaphanel charged, slamming Lucifer through three wooden walls before finally hitting a brick wall, which indented around the Morningstar's body. {What path?} The demon hissed out, his voice low and tail lashing.
Lucifer spit out a mouthful of blood. "He was going northeast."
Xaphanel dropped the angel and blue flames appeared before the demon vanished into them. Lucifer laid there breathing heavily for a few moments before Crowley and Dean rushed into the room. Dean winced at the injuries decorating the Fallen's body; Gabriel was not going to be happy and neither was Michael. Lucifer wasn't supposed to get hurt.
"Damn. You okay?" Dean asked.
"Help me up." Lucifer said, letting the human and demon support him. "It made him take the bait didn't it? Hurry up and get me back to the bunker. We need to be ready."
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Xaphanel followed the scent of his prey, it seemed that Castiel did indeed run afoul of something. He smelled two demons and the blood of both demons and one angel. How dare they hurt his angel! Xaphanel followed the scent to an abandoned high rise that was only partially finished. There were no guards except for the two demons he could feel. He slunk from shadow to shadow until he made it to the floor where he could feel Castiel's Grace.
When he made it to the floor he couldn't stop the growl that rose up in him. His angel was hurt. He could smell the blood and taste the pain. He slid forward, using his unique way of seeing and took in the damage. Castiel's jacket was missing and his shirt had been torn off of him and ripped into a blindfold making it so the angel couldn't see. To add insult to injury they had taken the angel's tie and turned it into a gag.
Sliding away from the angel he made his way down to the floor below where the two demons were. Sneaking up behind them he whipped his tail out catching one around the throat and lifting him high into the air. The other he dug his claws into, pulling screams from the demon before he dug his teeth into the his neck, feeding on the pain and fear he could feel. He would need it for his angel's protection. Dropping the now mangled body and turned and fed from the second one before dropping that body as well.
Glancing down he realized that he was splattered with blood. He didn't was to scare his angel. There! He picked up the barrel of rainwater and dumped it over him before shaking off like an overzealous dog. Making sure the blood was all of he went back up where he found Castiel struggling weakly against the chains holding him. Xaphanel came closer and the angel became almost frantic.
{Stop that. You're going to make your injuries worse.} He said coming forward and using his claws to cut the fabric away from those blue eyes.
Castiel looked around a bit nervously.
{They're dead. I killed then for what they did to you.}
Confusion filled those blue eyes and he carefully pulled the knot out of the tie, allowing it to hang around the angel's neck once more. "How...How did you find me? How did you know I was missing?"
{Lucifer came looking for you. He thought I had something to do with your disappearance. I was not happy when I found out that Jibril can't even properly keep track of you. I was less impressed with Lucifer's accusations. If I wanted you hurt I would do it.} Xaphanel said snapping the chains.
What the demon didn't expect was for the angel to collapse, his legs unable to support him. A quick search revealed why the angel was so weak; a large cut that was still bleeding on his back. Xaphanel kept his growl contained, not wanting to frighten the angel. He may have Jibril's knowledge of healing but that didn't mean he was able to heal. Castiel needed help.
He didn't want to take the angel back to his family. If anything he wanted to keep the angel far from them to keep him safe. He could protect the angel far better then they could. Castiel let out a moan and struggled to stand but his legs gave way again and Xaphanel pulled him close; the angel was going to hurt himself.
{Be still. You're still bleeding.}
"I need...I have to make it to Gabriel..."
{I shall take you to Jibril. In your condition you would not be able to make the trip.} Xaphanel said lifting the angel into his arms.
Castiel let out a cry of pain and the demon paused. The cut was bleeding even more since moving him; he needed to stop the bleeding. With a growl he used his tail and wrapped it tightly around the angel to keep the blood in his body. Summoning his flames, he stepped into them, making sure to shield the angel from the hell fire. Appearing at the bunker where he had made his stand last time he walked over to the garage door and kicked it, making the alarms blare loudly. It didn't take long before the doors were pulled open by the two hunters and Michael. The First Born had his blade in hand and the two had guns, no doubt with silver bullets.
{Where is Jibril? Castiel is gravely injured.}
There was a scuffling sound and the smaller blonde appeared in all his beauty followed closely by the shorter, curly haired man he had seem last time that seemed to be their leader of some sorts. He came forward but the tall human, Sam was his name, stopped him. Jibril shrugged him off and came forward, stopping a few feet away. Xaphanel couldn't stop himself from licking his lips at the fear he could smell on the blonde. Jibril froze and he knew that he was going to have to make the first move.
{He has a large cut. It won't stop bleeding and has made him weak.} The demon said laying the angel on the ground, but not removing his tail. {I staunched the bleeding.}
Jibril moved forward and began checking over the dark haired angel, muttering under his breath. "Broken ribs. No internal. Blood loss. Stab wound. You'll be okay once I get you fixed up Cassie."
Castiel nodded his blue eyes sliding closed. Jibril took off his shirt and tied it around the dark angel's wound to stop the bleeding and Xaphanel removed his tail. The human, Dean if he remembered right, and Michael came forward and picked Castiel up and began to carry him into the garage. Jibril stood as well and Xaphanel reached out and grabbed the blonde angel's hand, the one that he had scared over with his venom the night they reunited.
The blonde jerked, his whole body shaking. "Let go."
{I did not do this to him. I would never hurt him. The two that did do this are dead. He is not as strong as he believes himself to be. I would suggest that in the future you keep a better eye on Castiel.} Xaphanel said, his tongue flicking out.
Those gold eyes narrowed. "Or what?"
Xaphanael pulled the angel's hand close and licked at the scar he left there feeling the fear grow. {If he didn't need your healing Jibril, then make no mistake I would have taken him from you. If you find yourself incapable of protecting him from harm then I will.}
"He's my brother." Jibril said. "And I want you to stay far away from him!"
Xaphanel laughed. {Then I suggest you find that wonderful fighting spirit of yours that I've come to admire so much and use it to protect him. Otherwise I will keep him safe from you.}
"Stay away from my family!" The blonde snapped, trying to jerk away.
The demon let out a snarl and shoved the blonde to the ground and let out a roar before vanishing into his blue flames. Sam rushed to help Gabriel stand, pissed to see that the archangel had scraped his hands and arms up. Lucifer, even in his still slightly battered state, came to help as well and they waited until the got into the garage where Chuck began fussing over his two injured sons.
"Looks like you were right Gabby." Lucifer said as Chuck carefully went back to finishing his healing. "I didn't want to believe it."
Gabriel flinched as Sam picked a piece of gravel out of his arm. "I figured that it was something like that but I didn't expect that much devotion. That was something else."
"Can you please undo this spell?" Castiel asked. "This feels uncomfortable."
Gabriel gave a snap and the dark haired angel's injuries vanished. "Sorry Cassie. Not the most comfortable spell is it?"
The angel nodded pleased that the illusion was gone. "Now that we have this information what will we do with it?"
"Nothing." Crowley said. "This is our ace in the hole. Now we have something hanging over his head. We just need to to find a way to play it to our advantage."
