Author's Note:

Thank you to all of my supporters, I really do appreciate it :) For this chapter (a bit more Sabriel because I've with-held it in the past), any government or high officials I'm leaving mostly open without names, just using titles. I want this to be somewhat relevant when people in power shift again XP And thank you for everyone who sent me ideas for flashbacks :D If you have anymore lemme know.

Honourable Mentions for chapter 6:

My m'ang again (whatTheF-ckHaveYouDoneLately): Wazoodles is my new favourite word. And Chuckdamnit indeed, good suggestion ;)

bearberry915: Lots of suggestions from you which auto honourable mentions you


Dean adjusted his collar and sighed heavily, "You know, I even hated wearing this thing at ours."

"Shh." Castiel hushed him, reaching over and fixing his tie. Where Castiel learned to tie a tie Dean will never know. "They were there for ours and we need to be respectful, Dean. Sam is a very well known individual, just like us. You can't make a scene and you can't look like an idiot tugging at your tuxedo."

"Who looks like an idiot?" Dean frowned, "Why'd he pick the hottest day of summer for an outdoors-"

"Dean, could you go check on your brother?" Mary asked sweetly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm a little worried, you know how he is."

"He's not gonna run if that's what you think." Dean smiled, "But alright, just because you asked." He gave Castiel a quick look, his angel raising an eyebrow at him briefly as he watched his retreating back.

"He's acting like a child," Castiel muttered, "Always fidgeting with things he shouldn't, looking around constantly, he can't sit still..."

"Well it's kind of like giving Sam away, entrusting someone else to look after him. Dean's not good at that." Mary shrugged and gently stroked Castiel's arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze, "He'll be fine in a little while, just hang in there."

"Of course," Castiel smiled at her.

Dean walked over to Sam's room and opened the door, "Sammy? You all ready to tie the big knot?" He entered the room to find his brother hunched over and mostly curled in on himself. "Sam?" Dean closed the distance between them swiftly and knelt next to his debilitated brother. "What's up?"

"I... I'm nervous." Sam looked up with red eyes, Dean could tell it was a bit more than nervous. "He's not the type to settle down, I don't know if-"

"Dude, he proposed to you." Dean chuckled and rubbed soothing patterns in Sam's back, the fabric of his tux felt hot and a bit moist, he was sweating. Of course he was, it was a million degrees out there. "Nothing to be scared of."

"He did it because he thought that's what I wanted." Sam retorted anxiously, a hand running up through his hair, "What if he runs off? What if-"

"He loves you, Sam." Dean's tone was demanding and loud, his hands squeezing his brother's shoulders and forcing Sam to look at him. "Don't panic, don't think about it because if you worry then he will and then you have the self-fulfilling prophesy."

"You know the self-fulfilling prophesy?" Sam asked after a moment of collecting himself. "I'm impressed Dean."

"Shut up." Dean smiled and smacked Sam's face lightly, cupping his cheek for a moment, "You good or do I need to hit harder?"

"I... I think I'm okay." Sam's face brightened and they both stood, adjusting their suits in the same manner, tugging and fidgeting slightly with the collar. Sam glanced at Dean and laughed softly, reaching over and re-fixing the little mess made of Dean's tie, "Who did you up? Wasn't mom."

"Shut up two-fold, it was Cas."

"And on that note I won't mention it again." Sam grinned, his confidence slowly returning. "Thanks, Dean."

"No problem Sammy, now let's get you out there and married to that little twerp." Dean pat Sam's shoulder and started walking, a walk that Sam noted didn't look right in such a nice suit. Dean's bow-legs were appropriate in jeans and jeans alone, he thought amusedly.

"Do me a favour," Sam caught up to Dean's stride easily thanks to his longer legs, "Take it easy on the roasting."

"No promises whatsoever." Dean's grin widened further.

"Jerk."

"Bitch."


"So what's the news with this new rebel group? What are you doing about it?"

"We're working on it, I'd first like to apologize to the people who have lost so much during all of this, we never meant for it to happen." Dean spoke to the press first, cameras and microphones in his face. As much as he was willing to answer their questions, however, Castiel was always the favourite. Dean glanced over at the angel who finally followed him outside. They'd decided to leave the hospital after Gabriel woke, he was in good enough condition and as soon as he was conscious he was adamant about taking off. It was a sort of hurried flutter of wings, desperate and scared as he snatched Sam up and went back to their office or home or wherever he said they were going in that flustered fast-talking way of his.

Castiel and Dean had arrived home and collapsed, both exhausted and stressed out and too tired to do anything. Castiel hadn't exactly slept but he lay in bed with Dean, picking up the phone when it went off at six in the morning. The press needed to speak with them, people were demanding answers. Dean was already aware they were going to have to talk about what happened at the angel-human relations meeting on Capitol Hill, he just wasn't up for it. Not after what happened to him and Castiel and now what happened with Sam and Gabriel.

But here they were, eight in the morning with reporters and other types right outside their front door. Castiel hadn't wanted to go out yet, not until he was ready to say something. Now that they were both outside, Dean had warmed up the reporters a little bit; Castiel stepped forward to take over.

"I would like to first announce we know who is doing this, his name is Haniel and I'm sure you can guess from his name, he is an angel. He's upset with mankind and after ten years is retaliating. He claims it's taken him this long to get on his feet though I'm not sure what that means, he could be saying he was still being held in captivity or perhaps it took him a while to gather comrades on his side. Either way, he is troubled and very dangerous." Blue eyes narrowed and he glanced along at all the uncertain faces, the fear in everyone's eyes and tried to ignore the anxiety boiling in him. "He is targeting prominent people in the field of human-angel relations, he is targeting anyone associated with Crystal Wings or possibly even Angel Entertainment of several years ago. And..."

Castiel took in every worried expression, part of him telling him not to say it, the rest saying they had a right to know. "I imagine, if we can't find a way to calm and appease Haniel's group, he will eventually target humankind in general."

"What are you doing to stop him?" Another reporter insisted, his microphone pushed a little closer to the angel's face.

Castiel stared up into the cameras, "I need to say something, brothers, sisters, I'm calling out to you now. Please reconsider what it is you're doing, yes, they were wrong in enslaving us but they are correcting themselves. You see all of the bad but none of the good; I know for a fact that our human neighbours mean us no harm as a whole. There may be a rotten patch here or there but as long as we isolate those incidents and remove them, the entire thing doesn't need to be harmed. Listen to me well, we can settle this peacefully, you needn't kill anyone else. I can help you, you know I can, if you'd just trust me in this, it can all work out."

They left the media with that and moved on to the Impala, moving out to discuss as a whole what the country was going to do about this. Castiel settled into the passenger's seat and closed his eyes, not caring that the cameras flashed around their car as they drove off. "I hope it works..."

"It will. We'll calm down the human side and we'll find a way to talk to the angels." Dean gave Castiel's thigh a reassuring squeeze, happy to see the small smile it spread over his lips. "It'll be fine."

Castiel had heard those words before, 'it'll be fine,' and every time it had been. He was glad for it but he didn't know what to do now to get them to that 'fine' point. He spoke to the media because he couldn't contact his displeased brethren, none of them were looking for his help and he knew it. They all had this under control, they were going to fight and they might even use his name as a battle cry. Castiel fought for us once, we will join him and fight for us now. It didn't matter if the angel was no longer a fighter, was named a symbol of peace, Castiel would always be a name connected to battle, a name used in rebellious outcries and revolutionary thought.

Regardless though, Dean was right. Now was not the time to whine or cry, now was a time to stand up and show the world why they were standing where they were. Why their names are household known, why the team of Dean and Castiel Winchester should be taken seriously. If the angels were going to fight against them then Castiel and Dean would take them on in their own way. Things were only beginning and somewhere deep in him he knew it was going to get worse. He couldn't just lie down and cry now, he was too old for that, he was always too old for that even when he was first born, or made or wherever he came from.


"War?" Dean snapped angrily, stepping forward to face up against the general that had suggested it. They were in the meeting of their lives, all the highest standing people in the American government were there, it was an emergency meeting and people were desperate. It'd only been an hour into the thing before the topic was brought up. "We can't fight them; it's too soon to rally any troops."

"Handling this in an orderly fashion doesn't seem to be that maniac's type. The angels are fighting against us," The general bellowed, his glare shifting toward Castiel, the only angel present. "They're asking us for war, we're simply giving it to them."

"Hold on now," The president raised a calm hand and looked over to Dean, "Do you have a plan?"

"Cas and I are going to reason with them further," Dean leaned forward on the table, his gaze shifting slightly from the obnoxious general to look at the man in charge. "We're going to get their side of the story and figure out a way to solve this without fighting them."

"If we demonize these angels now there will be nothing stopping people from seeing others in the same light." Castiel spoke next, not caring if it was his turn or otherwise. "We cannot fight them outright. What you are suggesting," he looked at the general with sharp blue eyes, subtle but accusing, "is an all out war between the races. Not every angel agrees with Haniel is doing, you can't do that."

"I think I speak for all of us when I say humans and angels can't co-exist peacefully." The general furrowed his brow angrily, his tone on the verge of being uncontrolled.

"That's an assumption you should keep to yourself, General." The president gave a warning stare, forcing the room to quiet down. He looked back to Dean and gave a serious nod, "I'll give you a month, if we don't see any improvements in that time we'll discuss more forceful ways of dealing with it. However, should Haniel continue his rampage we will have to take immediate action. There is a very high body count, Mr. Winchester."

"I know," Dean nodded solemnly, "Thank you, we won't let you down."

"See that you don't."

The meeting ended not long after, Castiel felt the cold stares of the men and women as he left the room, his blood slowly starting to boil. "Is this what it comes down to?" He looked at Dean with fury in his eyes, "All I've worked to achieve, dirtied and destroyed by one angel! They look at me like I'm the one who planned it all!"

Dean moved Castiel's outraged self away from the other gossiping and eavesdropping people. "Cas, calm down. You can't get mad about this. And it's not just one angel taking your image apart; it's a whole group of them."

"Why can't I get angry!" Castiel shouted, his voice growling and rumbling, echoing off the walls and along the clear hallway. "I've given so much to save my brothers and sisters, to free them and get them out of their slavery and shackles! This is what I get in return? They throw it all away because they're angry ten years later? This is bullshit! This is complete and utter bullshit!" The hall rumbled and shook with the force of Castiel's rage; Dean could feel the surges of strength behind his angel's emotions and tried to calm them. They were always connected, Castiel was always empowered by their bond and adding to that with his anger was not a good plan.

"Cas, I know you're pissed but we need to focus on what we're going to say to them." Dean glanced down for a moment, "A full scale attack isn't a good idea but maybe a smaller one might work."

"You mean like Sam's task force?" Castiel's tone was quieter now, no longer shaking the building.

"Maybe."

"We can't show any kind of force, Dean. Every violent move we make will be taken the wrong way and blown out of proportion. We may as well declare war against them ourselves if we want to go that route." The angel stalked toward the exit and the Impala, "I want to go home."

"Cas, can we talk about it?" Dean tried again, aware that his husband was infuriated beyond reason but he hoped he could at least calm that much.

"No. Take me home. Now." Castiel demanded without giving Dean another look.

"Why are you mad at me? I'm not agreeing with those assholes, I'm just trying to tell you-"

"I'm not mad at you, okay?" Castiel snapped, spinning on his heel and glaring at his lover, nothing more convincing than shouting. "I'm just... I'm frustrated and I want to go home."

Dean nodded and followed his pissy angel back to the car, it was going to be a long and stressful ride back, he knew that much for sure.


"Did you know that a bond with a human increases an angel's strength?" Haniel muttered nonchalantly to whichever angel it was that had entered his quarters.

"Haniel, what have you done?" It was the demanding and serious tone of another seraph.

"Camael, how lovely of you to pop in." Haniel glanced up from his reading material with sparkling golden eyes. "What can I help you with?"

The angel of judgement pointed his staff Haniel's way, "I know this is your doing, explain yourself!"

"Camael, I haven't done anything, I swear." Haniel stood, his innocent face on full blast.

"This has you written all over it." Camael glared, a strange look for someone who was usually so neutral. His dark hair slightly messy from the vicious winds capturing the heavens, his robes wrapped around him tightly, knuckles growing white as he clenched his fists. "Where is our Father?"

"What makes you think I know? I haven't seen Him in the last year or so, I think it was last year anyway..." Haniel was well aware his tone was too light-hearted to be fully believable. Why would he really try to lie to Camael? The angel of judgement would see right through it, it'd be a wasted effort and he'd wind up looking foolish. Not a good look for him, either. "God's making a choice right now." He said after his smile broke his attempts to pieces, "He has to choose what he wants to save and I'm really curious to know what he picks."

"Where have you been going? How did you manage to-" Camael's angry words were shaken and lost when a loud groaning echoed violently across the heavens followed by severe quaking.

"Sounds like my heaven's at the end of its rope." Haniel rose, "We need to find a new home, Camael. Whether or not I did this, every angel here needs to leave before we're consumed. I assume that Michael has been making trips to our Father's pet house?"

Camael wanted to fight over this, he wanted to slam Haniel so hard, but there was no point in it. Not now. "He has been, along with Raphael and several others. We'll be gathering in what's left of the first heaven at the gates, everyone will be going together." He loosened his grip on his staff and spread his great wings, Haniel noted they were marred in several ways, apparently Camael was on clean-up duty, gathering and giving the news to try and stall the chaos.

A strange job for him, Haniel admitted quietly to himself. He went to where his Powers had gathered, the ranks of them lined up without fear, waiting for his orders. A smile hardly ever left his lips though this time it did, his sharp gaze dragging along each of their faces, "We will be escaping to earth," he announced, "And when we get there I have a feeling it won't go the way our superiors have planned it." All eyes were on him and his smile slowly returned, a sort of charming thing, ridiculous in the carnage around them. "In the face of whatever happens to us all, as I suspect we will not be capable of forming ranks like this again, let us never forget what we are. Never forget who you owe a debt to, and once it's over we'll follow the right people."

"We will follow you, Haniel." One of the angels shouted, bringing with it a strong cheer from the others. The Power angels were like a family, they fought the hardest battles heaven had to offer, they were brothers, best friends, and they all listened to Haniel. When no other superior angel would look out for them, Haniel always did. They were his angels, his Powers, his army. If all of heaven fell into disarray they at least knew whose footsteps they would follow.

Haniel's gaze softened and he bowed his head, "My friends, we shall always reunite. I'm glad to hear you won't falter."

As they cheered and moved out, he went to the holding chambers, the space they kept their criminals, their fallen angels, the demons and other monsters of the world. He opened one door and stepped inside, feeling his grace seal into itself as he entered. This was a space of mortality, a wonderful thing created for punishment of all powerful beings. Haniel looked up at the chained creature, head hung low and long blond hair fallen over his shoulders.

"Zeruch," Haniel's tone was serious as he approached, the smile gone from his lips again, "We're disembarking, all angels are headed to earth."

An angry look seared the other angel's face and he snapped his head away.

"I understand earth is a sore spot for you but you don't have a choice." Haniel removed the shackles and started hauling Zeruch's limp body along. "I trust you, as once you were my best Power, Zeruch. We'll fly into this together."

Zeruch looked up at a being who he once revered, still did in fact. It was amazing the kind of forgiveness this angel held, or the devious way he didn't care. It didn't matter what Haniel was like normally, their world was crumbling around them and he had to escape. Haniel could have just as well left him there to be consumed like the heavens, like all the other prisoners left inside, but he didn't. That much Zeruch knew he'd owe the seraph for.

Standing in the many ranks of angels as they readied themselves to descend the Powers were next to those of the garrison, Zeruch brushed shoulders with a shorter, dark haired angel, blue eyes glancing up in apology. "Hello, Castiel." He offered softly.

"I'm surprised to see you free," Castiel offered an apologetic smile, "Though I'm glad."

They both stared forward in silence then, hearts racing, pounding, minds praying as hard as they could. The ground beneath their feet started to crumble as they were finally given the signal, all angels took flight.