Chapter 10

Dean was scared, no he was fucking terrified. He had only been having a few beers with Benny when two men neither of them recognized showed up carrying blades. Now Benny was dead and he was tied to a chair with no fucking idea where and the one who introduced himself as Michael was asking him where Cass was.

"I told you if he's not at the fucking bookstore then I don't know where the fuck he is!" Pain erupted through the left side of his face. He didn't even see Michael move, but the punch had to knock some teeth loose and give him whiplash if it hadn't already broken his jaw. He could taste blood and feel it trickling down the corner of his mouth.

"To think Castiel fell for such a foul-mouthed creature." The Michael snarled, lips curling in disgust. "I should just kill you, you were supposed to kill yourself."

Dean spit the blood at Michael's feet, "What are you talking about? And what do you want with Cass?" Dean wasn't sure he wanted an answer, but nothing was making sense. What did Cass have to do with his failed suicide attempt and how did the two men even know about that?

"Cass. It's almost cute. As if it wasn't abomination that goes against the word of my Father. No angel was supposed to lay with a human."

"You're fucking crazy." Dean expected another hit, but it never came instead Michael looked at him in slight confusion.

"Castiel didn't tell you his true nature then?"

Dean didn't say anything, there wasn't anything that he could say even if his face wasn't staring to swell up. Thankfully he didn't have to the other man, Raphael, the one who had killed Benny appeared.

"Michael, we found Castiel. He's at the Gates of Hell."

"Then why isn't he here?"

"Lucifer and the fallen are surrounding the area, we've already lost three garrisons."

"How?"

"Gabriel is helping them and it seems that they have The Tree."

"I'm not liking what I'm hearing, Raphael."

"Gabriel said that they would allow us through if we brought Dean Winchester alive and unharmed." The two turned to Dean who was even more confused and frightened before with all the talk of angels and Hell. None of that was real, it couldn't be, these people were just crazy or maybe Dean had never made it to Benny's and was in a coma somewhere. That was the only thing that made sense, but then if that was the case why couldn't he wake up and why was Michael able to hurt him?

"Well, Dean you'll get to see Castiel again after all."

Dean flinched when Raphael reached a hand toward him, fingers had barely brushed his temple before the world around him shifted. He was no longer sitting tied to a chair, instead he was standing in Raphael's iron hold surrounded by dozens of tombstones and countless faces. He recognized a few faces, like Gabriel and Beelzebub and wondered if he was hallucinating when he saw four Lauviah's in the small circle he was in the middle of.

"Dean!" Cass shouted and Dean felt relief wash through him when he saw the blue-eyed man step forward. "You're hurt."

"That's close enough Castiel." Michael warned holding up a silver blade.

"Come on Michael, let the kid see his boyfriend." Another man stepped forward and Dean's eyes widened in surprise seeing six wings sprouting from his back.

"Lucifer, I don't know how you corrupted so many after all these centuries, but you will pay for this."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but Castiel came to me for help and I'm not one to turn down a brother in need or an opportunity to repay you for what you did to me."

Dean was only vaguely aware of what the two were saying to each other, his attention was on Cass who in that moment had never looked so far from human, yet somehow still human. Cass caught his eyes and began to apologize.

"Dean, I'm so sorry this is all my fault. I never wanted this to happen, believe me." Cass's words settled over him and Dean did believe him.

"Yes, Castiel why don't you explain what your grand plan was."

"Release Dean and I will."

"Very well."

Raphael let go of Dean and he ran into Cass's awaiting arms. Cass cupped Dean's bruised and bleeding face and Dean felt his skin tingle for a moment and then the pain was gone. There were so many questions weighing on his tongue. They came out in a rush, barely resembling English, but Cass understood him anyway answered as much as he could between apologizes and kisses before Michael brought their attention back to the situation at hand.

"We're waiting Castiel, what could you possibly gain from betraying Heaven?"

"Dean's safety and happiness," Cass answered without hesitation, nudging Dean to stand behind him near Gabriel, "I watched him suffer under your indifference, under Heaven's indifference, yet his soul remained bright and pure. The night he was supposed to kill himself I had enough, I could not stand to witness his death, not when he had yet to experience the love and happiness that he deserves."

Dean was speechless. Cass had been the one to save him all those months ago, Cass had been watching over him his entire life which registered as creepy in some part of Dean's mind. Yet what was front and center in his mind was why Cass would do this, because what he was saying didn't make sense to him. There wasn't anything special about Dean, he didn't deserve what Cass was saying he deserved.

"You're a disgrace. As are you Gabriel, because I believe it is safe to say you were the one who helped him." Michael spat and Dean watched in amazement once more as white six wings furled behind the man.

"I've had a lot of practice over the centuries, if you only knew how many angels wanted to get out from under your thumb." Gabriel replied revealing his own six golden wings and summoning his own blade.

"I hope you're proud of your actions because you will join them when they burn for turning against Father."

"Michael, you and Raphael are the only ones going against Father." Lauviah stepped forward coming to stand before the archangel, although the three others who looked like her reached out to stop her with a soft cry of 'Sister, don't.'

"Why should I take the word of a fallen angel?"

"Because we are all flawed, Father intended for it to be so. Anael's was curiosity, Lucifer's is pride, and Castiel's flaw is love, just as yours is arrogance." Her voice was soft and her wings unfurled but remained in a submissive gesture or at least that's how Cass described the way she was holding them to Dean.

"How dare you speak to me in that manner, if any of our Father's creations are flawed it is humans, they serve no purpose other than to fuel Heaven. They are coal and we are stars. " There was a collective gasp as Michael held a blade up to Lauviah's chest.

"They are diamonds and we are dust, Michael. You're just upset that Father loved them more than he loved us. "

Dean found himself being pulled against Cass's chest and shielded by something soft and warm as a blinding white light flooded the area. An eerie silence settled over the area and when Cass released Dean he turned to see that it had been Cass's wings shielding him, but he didn't have time to admire how beautiful the dark blue, almost black feathers looked because Lauviah was dead, what had been left of her wings reduced to ash.

There was a murmur of 'sister' throughout the crowd before the bubble of silence burst and Cass was running toward the center of the cemetery with Dean as the sounds of war began.