A/N: I am borrowing the guys and gals and since I do not make anything from these works, please don't sue me Mr. Kripke. I do own the OC's that appear though. For everyone out there reading, reviewing and/or adding to alerts and favs: You do not know how much the support and reviews mean to me. Thank you everybody!
An unexpected visitor arrives and the angels and hunters prepare for battle…
Markus treaded to the door exercising caution as he opened the solid oak slab. There, standing before him was Seth. Brooklyn had told him that Castiel's vessel had a twin brother who possessed special talents. The hunter realized this man was a prophet and as such could foresee future events.
"Seth, please do come in," Markus welcomed the young man inside taking his bag. Seth stood before the man with a look of awe in those wide blue eyes.
"Markus DeTaurius, wow, it's such an honor to finally meet you," Markus couldn't but help to smile at the man taking his hand in his. It was then Seth was hit with a vision.
The plains lay silent witness to the slaughter that had occurred. Markus wandered amongst the fallen. Demon and angel alike fell that day as the gentle lands turned crimson with the blood of the slaughtered. Slaughtered like lambs. The hunter searched as a lost look filled his ancient eyes. During the heat of battle he had been separated from the others as another garrison of demons had arrived and outflanked the angels and their allies.
"Brooklyn! Castiel! Dean! Sam! Can anyone hear me?" His anguished cries echoed through the air as he heard silence return his calls. It was then he heard a voice calling.
"Markus, Markus I'm over here," the tiny voice called out as the hunter hurried towards the voice that grew weaker with each word. He reached the one who called him out and felt as if his heart had been ripped from his chest.
There was his daughter, holding a weak and sick Gabriel in her arms. She had been crying as her eyes were red and bleary. She looked up at the hunter as a tear fell down her face hitting the blood soaked ground beneath her. The Archangel moaned in pain as Markus observed his face flush with fever.
"I tried to stop her, but she was too strong for us, Markus. She got Dean and Tariel but not us, not us. Cas went with Michael to find a cure for my father. Lilith tried to kill him but I stopped her before she could. He can't die! He just can't!" She buried her face in his chest sobbing. Markus kneeled down to gather the hurt Archangel in his arms motioning for her to follow.
"Come on, Brook, we will take care of him until Castiel and Michael return," Brooklyn wiped her face as they left the carnage and rotting bodies.
Markus saw the pained expression cross Seth's face as he withdrew his hand. He could see the younger man wanted to reveal what he saw but stopped himself from telling Markus. Seth could feel Zachariah watching him like a hawk waiting for the prophet to step out of line. Seth averted his eyes away from the hunter not wanting him to see the pain and sorrow that lit his blue orbs.
"I am sorry but I cannot tell you what has been shown to me as they will stop me," Seth uttered taking a deep breath in the hopes of calming his pounding heart. Markus only nodded his head in understanding knowing that the young man was bound to rules not written by man. Markus placed his hands on the man's shoulders steadying him. Seth looked up to see a set of deep steel depths that held centuries of experience and emotion.
"Seth, do not be afraid for we know the limitations of the prophets. Trust me when I say frustration is the understatement of the millennium. But you are here and we need all the help we can get. Come, everyone is in the living room," Markus could feel the younger man begin to relax as the tension in his shoulders dissipated and he once again smiled. The hunter smiled warmly leading Seth towards the living room.
Brooklyn and Castiel were seated together as the younger angel was still agitated over her argument with Dean. She hoped Tariel could knock some sense into that thick head of Dean's. He was just being plain stupid at this point. It had taken every ounce of restraint to keep her from smacking him with wings. Although it would have felt good she admitted to herself.
"Dean better get over this I hate angels persona or else we are going to be royally…" Markus coughed catching the angel's attention. Markus felt as if he was looking at mirror image as the two men came face to face.
"Castiel, it's good to see you again," Seth said smiling at the angel. Castiel smiled at the man.
"It is good to see you too, Seth. But what is it that brings you here from Seattle?" The angel's cerulean depths looked deep within Seth's seeing the man's apprehension hidden despite his attempts at masking it.
Seth took a deep breath knowing the angel could see through the veil praying he wouldn't call him out on it. Brooklyn could sense something was very wrong with her friend. Seth was normally calm, focused and up front. But no, he appeared to be calm but beneath the surface he was afraid, anxious almost like he had foreseen his own death or someone else's.
Outside Tariel had caught up to Dean as he continued storming around the premises. He did not hear her soft gentle footsteps as he was lost deep in thought. He was angry, angry at himself for being such a dick like that. Brooklyn was his one of his closest friends. He knew she was angry with him for treating Gabriel like shit, but he was tired of being a damn pawn on a fucking chessboard! Did anyone not give a shit about what he thought or felt?! Everyone was depending on him to fulfill the role of savior of humanity when he couldn't even protect the angel he loved so dearly. They wagered on the wrong horse, he wasn't this great warrior that angels expected him to be. Hell, he couldn't even protect his own brother who was now a damn meat suit for that bastard Samael.
He spun around nearly colliding with Tariel. His angel stood there looking at him with sad hazel eyes. She knew a lot was riding on him to stop Lucifer from rising but how could he do that when he didn't even want to admit there was a god and that having faith wasn't such a terrible thing.
"Dean…" her voice was soft and melodic as she stood there reaching out to touch his face. The hunter leaned in to the warmth of her caress kissing the angel's palm.
"Dean, why are throwing this wall up around you? What are you so afraid of that you must lash out with such anger? Gabriel came to us to explain everything yet you didn't give him a chance to speak. You just laid into him. All your life you've responded with a knee jerk reaction shooting first and asking questions later. This is different, Dean. You have to wake up. We all have lost something in this war. I do not want to lose you," Dean felt as if he had been sucker punched by the pained look in Tariel's eyes.
He was acting selfish and forgetting that everyone involved had not been left unscathed. Tariel was damn near raped by Barbas in Ohio and Brooklyn lost Sarah in Indiana. Turning away from his angel, Dean quickly wiped away the tears that were rapidly welling. He couldn't leave Tariel exposed and vulnerable, not to the bastard Barbas. Barbas…the name made him simmer with anger. He wouldn't let that dirty bastard lay another hand on his angel again!
Dean turned around taking Tariel in his arms holding her tight feeling the wet hot tears rapidly welling and cascading down his strong features. Tariel could feel a few tears of her own being shed as she hugged him tight around the waist.
"I'm sorry, so so sorry…" Dean choked between soft sobs. Tariel only held him allowing her hunter to let every single emotion that had been bottled up be purged.
"Shhhh, it's alright, Dean. We all have been through so much trauma and angst. I love you, Dean Winchester, and I don't know what I would do if I were to lose you," she whispered feeling her throat tighten up.
"I don't deserve you or your love," he choked. Tariel pulled back as Dean saw a fiery passion light up in those bright hazel eyes.
"Dean Winchester, you deserve love and to be loved. You may not want to acknowledge it, but you are truly worthy of a deep passionate love. If you weren't would I be here?" The angel did have a point. Dean shook his head knowing that she was right. For the first time in several days, Dean smiled a genuine warm smile at Tariel taking her in a deep passionate kiss. He silently vowed to protect her from Barbas. With a renewed vigor, he took Tariel by the hand and together as one they returned to the house.
Dean was in for a shock to say the least when he and his angel returned. He had to rub his eyes several times making sure he wasn't seeing double. Only he was seeing double.
"What's going here? And who's that? Why does he look exactly like Cas?" Dean's questions came in rapid fire succession causing Tariel to use the angel mojo and calm Dean down.
"Dean, that is Seth, he is the brother of Jason, Cas's vessel," she gently explained. Dean could only nod his head as he was seated in the chair. Brooklyn stood up and sat down beside the stunned hunter.
"Dean, I am not sure how to explain this but Jason, the guy whose body Cas is in, has a twin brother, Seth. But that's not all, Dean. Seth is a prophet as in biblical prophet. So anything he sees he can't blab to us or Zachariah will pay him another friendly visit."
Dean rolled his eyes at the angel's name as he remembered the time he spent in a suit eating salads and following the Master Cleanse. He made a sour face at the last notion feeling his stomach churning. Brooklyn looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"You okay, Dean? You look as if you just took a bite of a veggie burger," Dean nodded his head shaking the vulgar thought from his mind.
"Anyways, something's up and Seth came to try and help us without earning another visit from the attack dogs," Dean laughed at that as Brooklyn still had her quick tongue. Seth let a small laugh escape watching the angel and hunter interact. He could see the love that still existed between them despite the trauma and anguish they had suffered.
Brady stood, "I hate to break up the little social circle kids but we have two demon's asses to kick back to Hell and a hunter to save remember?"
Castiel watched Brooklyn grab her beloved sword, two handguns, enough ammunition to arm a small army and of course the Colt. She checked to see one bullet remained. She flung the closet open checking the shelf to find five more bullets. Collecting the precious bullets, she placed them in the bag grabbing some salt and holy water for good measure.
"Ready, Cas?" The angel merely nodded closing the space between them. He leaned in wanting to feel her soft full lips pressed against his. She returned the kiss deepening it as she ran her tongue along his feeling the inklings of passion starting to rise within her. Castiel gently pulled back lightly running his fingers down her cheek and along her well defined jaw. Brooklyn put her head on his shoulder feeling the fear about what awaited them beginning to form deep within the recesses of her soul.
She said a silent prayer while in her angel's arms. They fed off one another's strength as they readied themselves for the dark days ahead. The unsettling feeling came back with a vengeance causing Brooklyn to bolt from Castiel's arms and straight for the bathroom. Castiel held her hair back as she continued to gag and heave. Angels didn't get ill, did they?
"Brook, are you alright?" Cas asked her gently as she kept her head hanging in the toilet. She shook her head as another wave struck her. Castiel rubbed her back with hand in a soothing circular motion as she continued to be violently ill.
It felt like forever when she could finally pull back and try to stand. Castiel held an arm around her waist as she stood at the sink and rinsed her mouth out.
"Cas, I don't know what's wrong with me," she said painfully. Still rubbing her back, Cas asked her, "Has this been going on for long?"
Brooklyn slowly nodded her head as she kept her head hanging over the sink not wanting to look at her angel. "Ever since Santa Fe I have felt ill on and off but never like this, Cas. This was the first time I took violently ill."
Castiel looked at her small shaky frame seeing her in so much pain. "I am going to summon Raphael," he softly said. She could only nod as she braced herself against the marble counter.
"Raphael, if you can hear me you are needed," Castiel gently called out feeling the soft rush of air and flap of wings. Raphael stood there with a grim expression on his face.
"Brooklyn is ill and we are unsure why, brother," the Healer could see the distress on Castiel's handsome face. Raphael walked in the bathroom greeted with the younger angel kneeled over the toilet going another round of vomiting and pain. The smell did not bother the Archangel as he squatted down to Brooklyn's level.
"Hello, Raphael, lemme guess, Cas summoned you," she gasped between heaves without looking up at the Archangel. "Yes, Little One, he did. He is gravely concerned with your current state." He reached out running a hand along her back soothing the young angel. She felt the pain cease allowing her to lean back. She could only sit there slumped up against the wall and watch as Raphael looked her over. She tried to read his thoughts but he had blocked her from such.
The Archangel gently placed a hand over her chest then slowly worked his way downward to her stomach as he was deep in thought. Once he had finished, he helped Brooklyn to her feet.
"What's wrong with me, Raphael? Did the demons poison me? Did I get cursed or hexed?" Raphael shook his head and smiled at the young angel. "No, Little One, the victim of malice you are not. I am not sure what is causing your rather horrid episodes," and with that he left.
Archangels, such cryptic beings. Sighing, Brooklyn joined Castiel who had the bag slung over his shoulder. Taking her hand in his, the angels joined the others in the living room. Brooklyn put on a mask of strength as they began the journey to Cahokia where the demons awaited them.
Alright next chapter up soon!!! Thank you again to everyone that has been following this story as it takes a life of its own! Next chapter they reach Cahokia!
