From here on out the chapters will be like my normal ones. I just wanted to get through his magical schooling in one year increments first. Also, I will delve more into Castiel's assignments as Death new angel. Hope you like the new cover art! Merry Christmas!
"I hate you so much. What the hell was that stuff?" asked John.
"Asgardian mead."
"A bit too sweet for me, but man what a kick!" said Chas. Out of the three of them, only the half-demon was able to drink a full glass.
The two regular humans were so hung over it wasn't even funny.
"Cas, I swear to heaven if you even think of mocking our pain I will make your first hangover the worst you will ever have," warned John.
"Actually I was going to ask Gabriel if a hangover remedy would work."
"Might dull the worst of it, but they'll still be sick for the next two days," said Gabriel after thinking about it.
"Hand it over," groaned Nymph. Cas handed over two vials.
The two regular humans downed it and gave relieved sighs when the worst of the pain went away.
"Now, what was this I heard about a wedding?" asked Gabriel.
John winced and Nymph beamed.
"These two lovebirds are finally going to tie the knot," said Chas.
"Which means we get to mock them endlessly about young love, because five minutes of that and I'm ready to gouge my eyes out," said Cas flatly. Chas nodded in agreement. It was hilarious to watch...for about sixty seconds. Then it just got annoying.
At this point they were glad John wasn't one of those idiots who went on and on about his girl in a sappy voice. They would have to strangle him if he were.
"So where are they having it?"
"No idea. At this point I've learned one thing...hunting demons is more enjoyable than wedding planning. Which is why I'm letting her do all of it so she can have what she wants," said John.
"Smart man," said Gabriel snickering.
"Sirius thinks so to. He said he'll pay for the wedding, but I'll need an expert opinion on the tux since I'm absolutely terrified she'll put me in pink just because she can," said John.
Nymph beamed at him, but Gabriel noticed she never denied that claim. He snickered even more.
"Tell ya what. Since I've been married, twice, I'll help plan for the bachelor party and make sure you're in something appropriately manly," said Gabriel.
Constantine had an openly relieved look on his face.
"I would say spoilsport, but I want to put those illusions of yours to good use," said Nymph.
Gabriel chuckled.
"My lady, my tricks are yours to command. As are any suggestions towards pranking victims," said Gabriel.
"In the meantime I have to figure out a way to get to the palace without those damn idiots seeing me. This is going to suck," said Cas with a whine.
"Sir Shields," snickered John.
"Don't forget John, she wanted you too," said Cas evilly. John grimaced.
"Oh-ho, Sir John Constantine? Guess I'll have to make that tux extra nice!" cackled Gabriel.
Chas snorted.
Gabriel and Castiel were on an immortal plain where the flare of Grace wouldn't be immediately felt. Gabriel wanted to see his new wings and the armor, so he brought his little brother to the plain he used whenever he wanted to fly without attracting attention.
Castiel sighed and then used the phrase he came up with to unbind his wings. After one too many times smacking himself in the face with his two extra sets, Castiel followed the example of Chas, who's real name was the half-demon Ettrigan. He bound his excess power to continue appearing human.
"Cast away the mortal veil, and rise the angel Castiel," he muttered.
"Cute."
"I got tired of my new wings smacking me in the face. Chas suggested binding them with an easy to remember rhyme so I could sleep without having to deal with them and help hide the new power from the other angels."
Gabriel snickered.
"You get used to three wings. Well this is interesting. You said Death gave you an extra boost?"
"He seems to have given me the third set and then some armor. I think the sword upgrade was just an afterthought," said Castiel.
Castiel had spent his entire life up until this point a simple soldier. After a single long-term assignment on Earth without his memories and he was suddenly an arch angel. It took quite a bit of getting used to, especially when he knew the second he returned home, Zachariah or worse, Naomi and her cronies, would slate him for reeducation on his 'place' in heaven.
He had no desire to be a mindless drone.
"Well in any case, we might as well spend some time here teaching you how to use the upgrade...not to mention fly," said Gabriel.
Castiel gave him an irritated look, but Gabriel chuckled.
"See that tree about fifty feet from here? Try flying to it using the amount you normally do to fly," suggested Gabriel.
Castiel did...and ended up on the other side of the plain, more than a thousand miles from where he was supposed to be. He frowned, then tried again. He landed flat on his face to the amusement of Gabriel.
"Any other questions?" he asked smirking.
Castiel cursed him out. Gabriel cackled.
It took Castiel a full month to get the hang of his new abilities, and three whole days before he could reasonably fly without overshooting his mark or landing on his face. Gabriel was endlessly amused teaching Castiel how to use his new powers, and more importantly seeing Castiel crash on his face while relearning how to fly. A pity John couldn't be there to watch that spectacle. It was absolutely hilarious to watch the normally calm Castiel curse worse than Constantine did after a bad case whenever he crashed.
Gabriel still got the giggles when he remembered the many, many crash landings.
Chuck Shurley didn't know how to react to his sudden increase in popularity. He had mostly helped his friend make the Shield of God series as a joke. Sure, he helped collaborate the thing like details on how angels would act or doing most of the research, but he never thought it would be this popular.
So when he ran into a fan who looked exactly how he and Beth described Castiel (or Cas Shields in human form) he naturally thought the guy was the most dedicated fan of the series he had ever met.
"Um... hello?"
The guy's green eyes were very intense...and extremely annoyed.
"Are you Chuck?" he asked.
"Yeah. Are you a fan of the series?"
"Actually I was just curious which of you actually sees this angel or his exploits, because last I checked, Prophets could only focus on notable humans," said the fan.
Chuck gulped.
"Excuse me?" he asked, mouth suddenly dry.
"Don't play dumb. You have visions of others, massive blinding headaches followed by the Sight, but have no idea why," he said flatly.
He could feel his knees about to buckle. No one knew about the visions. No one, except Beth and she wouldn't tell a soul because she had similar ones herself.
The fan sighed.
"Would you like to get some coffee? I can explain what's really going on and what those visions are."
"Only if you have alcohol to go with it," said Chuck. He could just tell it was going to be one of those conversations.
"I'm sure Loki wouldn't mind me parting him of a small jug of mead," shrugged the fan.
Chuck would later return to his house in absolute shock.
He was a Prophet. The Prophet of God. The visions he had were very real and unfortunately a permanent thing. And he couldn't hand it off to the next poor bastard without dying first. Guarded by at least one higher angel at all times. About the only good thing was that at least now he knew he wasn't actually crazy...just really unlucky.
Cas Shields was a good sport about the fact Beth could See him and he didn't mind the comic books. Instead he gave Chuck a card so that at least his information would be accurate and the suggestion that he add some of the lesser known angels to the books to get their names out too.
After all, the more prayers the angel got, the more Grace they could pull in. It was why Micheal, Gabriel and Lucifer were so powerful. And thanks to the comics, why Castiel had suddenly started rising in the ranks without warning.
Finding out your visions were very, very real was a bit of a shock for poor Chuck. Fortunately he would have proof that Cas really existed in the morning...in the form of a lesser medal that originated from the Order.
A medal that was going to be gaining popularity very quickly if Chuck had anything to say about it.
The medal of St. Castiel, the patron Saint of Protectors and Defenders. Basically the guardian saint of people like cops, hunters and anyone who protected the innocent.
By the next issue, there was a full picture of the medal (both sides) and a small notation for kids to get their hands on one.
And thanks to the popularity of the series, the Vatican saw a sudden increase in making them. And Castiel saw an increase in prayers for help among the abused children.
He didn't know whether to strangle Chuck or thank him. He settled on sending Sirius to prank him for a week. The angels couldn't exactly kill a man who was just pranking the Prophet. Attacking him, or sending a demon his way, yes. But pranks?
Gabriel wasn't the only one laughing when he heard Castiel's retaliation for the extra work.
Up in heaven, there was some confusion. Not about Castiel's vacation request, but about the massive decrease in prayers to Micheal that were suddenly diverted to the lesser angels like Hanael, Cassiel, and Adriel. (Glory of God, Speed of God, and Flock of God respectively.)
Names that had gone silent for centuries were now in active use. The lower angels couldn't believe that they were being prayed to again. So several of them went to find out why.
Micheal allowed it because he wanted to know why he was suddenly losing the faithful.
It was going to be an interesting conversation when they returned, to say the least.
Castiel looked up when he sensed the angel. Cassiel was the first to find him.
"Castiel," said his brother.
"Cassiel. I can only assume you're wondering why the number of prayers your way suddenly went up?" asked Castiel.
"Among others," said Cassiel, sitting down.
Castiel slid one of the comics to his brother.
"What is this?"
"It would seem the Prophet's Seer friend has fixated on me. I ran into him by accident and set a few things straight. He was most unhappy to learn his blinding headaches and reoccurring visions were real."
Cassiel blinked.
"Rapheal never said he saw you with the Prophet," said Cassiel.
Castiel snorted.
"Considering how often the others even noticed me in heaven, I'm not surprised he didn't even realize I was there. I find that at least on Earth, the humans will try to listen to me. In heaven I'm all but ignored so long as I blindly follow the orders."
Cassiel shifted uncomfortably. Castiel was different, and not in a way that he liked.
"Why have you not returned home brother? Zachariah is waiting for your report."
"He'll have to wait a long time then. I'm not going back, not when I know for a fact he might send Naomi my way to remind me of my 'place'. Besides, there is one who needs me down here more than Zachariah needs to yell at me."
Cassiel's eyes widened.
"Brother, please don't tell me you..."
"Cassiel, turn around."
It wasn't a request. Reluctantly, he turned to find a grinning man with golden eyes. But it wasn't his earthly features Cassiel saw. It was the six beautiful golden wings.
"Gabriel," whispered the awe-struck and shocked Cassiel.
"When you go back, tell them Castiel is mine now. I'm not letting Micheal's little sycophants have him, and if I find that bitch Naomi anywhere near him then heaven will be short a few seraphs. I don't like Micheal's idea of reminding the other angels of their place, and I especially don't like her methods," said Gabriel flatly.
Cassiel felt his mouth go dry. If Castiel had found Gabriel and had joined forces, then realistically he had no reason to return. He was one of Gabriel's garrison now. As long as Gabriel remained on Earth, Castiel didn't have to return.
"Cassiel, tell the others that when I found the Prophet, I told him to look up the names that have fallen out of use. Micheal quit listening a long time ago and using this medium to get their names out was a simple way to bring faith back into them again."
"Castiel just wanted to share his strange luck with his siblings in a way Micheal won't punish him for, since he quit caring about the humans."
Cassiel nodded. He just knew this was going to be an uncomfortable report to the arch angel.
"He what?!"
Cassiel flinched. Micheal was furious about something.
"Castiel has found Gabriel, who has claimed him. Gabriel is more interested in protecting humans directly than coming home, and when a Seer focused on Castiel's human identity, he decided to direct some of the prayers that you ignore to the angels who were forgotten. Castiel has no intention of coming home if Naomi is waiting to remind him of his station," repeated Cassiel.
Micheal was pissed.
"And how, exactly, did Castiel find Gabriel when we have been looking for his Grace for centuries?" asked Micheal.
"Gabriel befriended John Constantine, who introduced him to Castiel before he knew what Castiel was."
If Micheal was angry before, he was livid now. Constantine was almost hated with a passion by most of heaven because of his flippant attitude. If it weren't for the fact he did more good than harm, he would have been killed years ago. So the fact he befriended Gabriel when they had been searching for him for centuries made Micheal's grace boil.
"Let me get this straight. Castiel went down on a simple assignment to kill a warlock, and not only finds Gabriel when none of us could and has befriended Constantine of all humans?!"
Cassiel nodded.
"He's also the reason why the lower angels are active again, and why the number of prayers I've had to deal with from the faithful no longer reach me?"
Again, Cassiel nodded.
"It would seem Naomi is going to have some work ahead of her," snarled Micheal. He could ignore the fact Gabriel claimed Castiel the moment he found him, but joining forces with Constantine could only mean Castiel would develop several bad habits Micheal did not want back in heaven.
Cassiel winced.
"Gabriel wanted me to tell you that if he sees Naomi or any of hers on earth he would kill them on sight. He does not like her at all," Cassiel said. At least he could say he passed the warning.
"Gabriel does not lead the host. I do," snarled Micheal, "I could care less if he likes Naomi."
Cassiel could tell he was being dismissed. Normally he would return to his section of heaven where he stayed...but this time he went back to Earth.
He honestly liked Castiel, at least enough to warn him Micheal was on the warpath and planned to send Naomi his way.
Castiel winced when Cassiel passed the message along. He was terrified of Naomi. Any angel with a lick of sense was.
Gabriel hugged his little brother tightly, angry Micheal didn't take his warning serious. He wasn't going to let Castiel become a mindless drone after he finally loosened up from that boring angel Gabriel remembered he was before.
For a few weeks, nothing happened. Of course this was because Castiel had developed a preference to the indirect way of filling any prayers for help his way.
The more people thought 'divine intervention' rather than 'angel attention', the easier it was for them to deal with. Castiel knew first hand that experiencing some random event of good fortune was easier to accept divine assistance. However there were far too many skeptics for them to automatically accept an angel's hand. So to keep from having a constant headache, Cas generally tended to do things in an indirect manner.
Maybe in a few centuries humanity would accept heaven and angels as easily as hunters accepted demons were in fact real, but for now working in the shadows was perfectly acceptable.
A piece of advice Castiel was more than happy to share with his fellow angels who were getting more work again thanks to his efforts. A few test runs and they agreed it was easier and more efficient.
Besides, working indirectly also had the happy side effect of lessening the need to have a vessel most of the time.
However eventually Castiel was forced to draw upon his Grace to smite a large nest of demons. And Naomi was all but waiting for him to release his wings.
The moment the last demon was dead, she appeared.
"Mmm...someone's been very bad lately," she purred sadistically. The second Castiel felt her grace he nearly bolted. However he could see it was pointless, considering she had him pinned.
So he went for his second choice.
GABRIEL!
He sent out a flare of grace coupled with his panicked shout for help. Gabriel sent him a message back...as well a reminder that Castiel could hold his own long enough for Gabriel to get there.
Naomi circled him like a shark, her grace jabbing at his own like a knife wound. Castiel winced, as he could feel her sense his new upgrade that he kept sealed. She frowned.
"What's this? The little angel thinks he can hide something from me?" she said in confused amusement. When she sensed the second pair of wings, she snarled.
"You dare rise above your station? You?"
Castiel had enough. He wasn't going to let her drag him back without a fight, and certainly not when he could still do good on Earth. Gabriel had told him while he was showing Castiel all the new powers he had unlocked that while Death might have accelerated the growth of his third pair of wings, it was their Father who allowed Castiel to rise to a new station. Clearly God not only felt Castiel was doing something right, but he approved of it.
Castiel locked eyes with an increasingly angry Naomi and said the spell to undo the seal on his full power.
"Cast aside the mortal veil, and rise the angel Castiel," he said clearly and with conviction.
