AN: Sorry, it's kind of short. But I need it as a transition for a longer one. Hope you like it, and once again, thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming, they help a lot :)
Disclaimer: Supernatural is not mine. It's property of master Kripke.
"I want to tear your charred wings apart, feather by feather, until there's nothing left but bone." A chuckle that was anything but kind echoed in the eerie silence, "Then rip your grace from your chest and keep it as a souvenir."
Now that was just plain creepy, and Dean didn't scare easy, but man, talk about sadistic.
"Close cousin of Lucifer this one, huh?" he mumbled, more to himself than anything.
I swear, these guys are worse than demons sometimes.
Dean chanced a look at Castiel. Impervious as always, Cas was leveling the son of a bitch with one of his coldest looks. There was no anger, fear or even the slightest bit of annoyance. Cas was just…staring the douche down. He almost smirked at that, but he knew this was not the time. Adonis, or whatever his name was, was not trapped in a ring of holy fire like Raphael had been when he'd met him. And Dean knew from seeing Cas fight with his brothers before that these guys were freaking fast.
Frowning as he focused on the situation at hand, he sent a glare of his own to the cocky bastard and gripped his knife tighter.
Dean.
He glanced at Cas briefly as he heard the angel's voice, but Miel had done this with him a couple times by now, so Dean knew he was the only one that could actually hear him. 'What?' He asked, giving a try at this mental conversation thing, and to let Cas know that he was listening.
Don't let him know that you can see his wings. If they find out you're drinking angel blood, Raphael will double his efforts to kill you.
Wow. No need to sugarcoat it or anything. 'Got it.'
"So, brother," Adonis started, "Will you lower yourself to my level and fight me? A mere servant under the awesome power of the Archangels? Surely I don't pose a threat to your magnificence?"
"You know what?" Dean interrupted, already annoyed by the pompous banter, "We're actually kinda busy right now," he gave the angel a sardonic grin, "So how about you make an appointment, and we'll kick your ass later?" he raised his eyebrows, "Sound good for you, Adonis?"
The angel's eyes narrowed, and Dean felt Castiel's wings hovering over him protectively – he couldn't look at them, or Ado would realize he could see them. "The name is Adoniel, you impudent sack of dirt. Don't you dare compare me to those so-called gods, or I might just smite you where you stand."
One blink, and Castiel was in front of the angel, the cold air moving with him as their swords clashed. Dean's eyes widened slightly at the attack, feeling slightly vulnerable at the strength oozing from both creatures as they stood their ground, one in front of the other.
It was then that he saw it, a change in Adoniel's grace, and he felt panic clog his throat.
"Cas!"
Castiel must have noticed it too, for he suddenly jumped back and away from the blond, eyes alert, only for a new angel to appear in front of him, thrusting his sword at Cas's neck. Dodging easily, Cas plucked him a couple of fast strong punches that disoriented the suited angel long enough for him to stab through his neck. Dean covered his eyes as the angel's grace filled the building with white light, a scream echoing in the wind.
"Still fights like a foot soldier." A voice commented condescendingly to his right. Dean's heightened senses took over for him, and he slashed without thinking twice.
Adoniel appeared a bit further from him again, to his left, looking at the rip in his pristine suit with a displeased scowl. "How rude. I liked this suit."
Dean glared at the angel, knowing better than to keep his eyes away from him for a mere second. Adoniel raised an eyebrow, brown eyes amused and annoyed at the same time. "You really think you can take me on, boy?" he spat, "You're nothing but an insect."
As if to prove his statement, he waved a hand, sending Dean flying to the nearest wall. The hunter grunted, clenching his eyes as his back met the painted brick, cursing all who heard him as the sword slipped from his grasp. Swallowing, his opened his eyes and searched for Castiel, who was now surrounded by five angels right next to the dairy products.
Well shit.
"Now stay put, will you?" He looked back at Adoniel, lips curling up in a snarl as he felt the angel's grace tighten around his throat, preventing any insults from leaving his mouth. The angel winked, "Can't lure my brother in if you tip him now, can I?" Dean felt his stomach clench, and tried to struggle against the angel's hold. He screamed Cas's name in his mind, only to see the angel in front of him laugh, "You didn't think I hadn't noticed the little intimate dialogue the two of you had, did you? Kind of makes me wonder what he was telling you, that he couldn't say it out loud…" he shook his head, then shrugged, "Oh well, guess it doesn't matter much now." He took a peek over his shoulder, grinning as he saw only two angels left standing around Castiel, then looked back at him, "I should probably rough you up a bit, shouldn't I? It'll make it look more convincing."
Dean's eyes darkened with hatred, but then a sudden force punched the air out of his lungs, and he let out a strangled gasp. With Adoniel's yellow grace still choking him, he struggled to breathe while the blond dickhead kept throwing invisible hits with just a twitch of his fingers.
So much for fighting off the angels. He was starting to realize why Gabriel had thought of the angel blood idea in the first place. It only took one that was a rank or two higher than a stunt angel to kick their asses. He'd have to tell Gabe to think of a faster way to get stronger. They might not have as much time as they'd thought.
The beating he was getting was proof enough of that.
Suddenly, the hits stopped, and Dean barely had time to react as Adoniel gave him a conspiratorial smirk before Cas appeared behind him, putting a burning hand on his shoulder and launching him towards the wall at the other end of the establishment, the echo of an agonized shriek following after.
A flash of Michael burning Anna to ashes crossed his mind.
Dean slid down the wall, gasping for breath as Castiel caught him, holding him up by the lapels of his jacket. Blue eyes searched his, "Dean." He coughed, bringing a hand to his neck as he tried to warn the angel, but his voice was clawing at his throat, and his mind had been locked away from his friend. "Dean, are you okay?"
A movement behind them, and Castiel tensed, finally realizing what was happening.
Too late.
The sickening crunch of metal piercing flesh echoed in the roar of the storm, and Dean's voice sprung free.
"CAS!"
"I'm hungry." Ben whined for the fifteenth time in an hour.
Miel smiled, "We heard you the first time."
Sam glanced at them and wondered once again just how she could deal with those two monsters. The angel had been dealing with both her little brother and Ben for almost three hours now. And they hadn't exactly stayed put.
It seemed like hunger had finally drained Ben's appetite for pranks and jokes, and the boy was now sprawled on one side of Bobby's couch, a miserable expression on his face.
Lisa was talking to Bobby in the study, talking about Dean and the matter at hand as the old hunter researched and she cleaned up the dusty room –needing something to do.
"I'm bored." The youngest angel in the room complained, lying on the other side of the old couch, his head on Miel's lap, who sat in between the two.
"Gotta agree with the squirt, there," Gabriel commented, "Not much to do in the old dog's house."
Sam rolled his eyes, trying to keep himself under control and not snap at the archangel. Last time he'd done it, he'd gotten ice cream in his pants for his trouble. Once again, courtesy of Eli, who'd made it his personal goal to 'help him cool off' when he got angry.
"When will Dean and Cassie come back?" Eli asked, blue eyes looking up at Miel. "It's been almost four hours!"
Miel sighed, running her fingers through her brother's blond hair distractedly, "Human transportation is slow, Eli, and they went to get the food a couple towns away from here."
"Exactly," Gabriel agreed, although for a totally different reason, "You'd think Deano could have agreed to a quick trip and be back in five minutes, but noooo," he rolled his eyes, "Mr. Winchester doesn't like Angel Air Lines. So we're stuck here waiting." Gabriel folded his arms, practically looking like a pouty five-year-old.
Sam sighed. He was stuck in the same room with a smaller version of Dean (hunger and all), a young celestial prankster, and an immature archangel. The day just couldn't get any better.
Still, he had to admit that it was taking his brother way too long to fetch the groceries. Even from two towns over, Dean was known for speeding. He should have been back half an hour ago.
His thoughts were interrupted as the lights suddenly flickered and a piercing noise made all humans in the house cringe. By the time he looked up again, Miel was gripping her head with a pained expression, and Eli had jerked up while Gabriel rushed to his younger sister.
"Melly?" he asked, pulling her hands from her head to place his own on her cheeks. Miel gripped his arms, her eyes wide and panicked. "Miel, what is it?"
Sam tensed at the mere thought of trouble, immediately standing from his chair to walk next to Gabriel.
"Castiel," she whimpered, "Castiel," clear blue eyes looked pleadingly at the archangel's dark golden ones, "He's hurt. They found them."
Gabriel's face went slack, eyes serious; Sam would never really get used to not seeing the ever-present mischief in his eyes. "Do you know where they are?"
Miel nodded, moving her hands to the sides of her brother's head, and Gabriel closed his eyes for a second before straightening and stepping back. "I'll go get them." He assured.
Before Sam looked down to notice that Elijah had stood as well, Gabriel ordered, "You stay here, Eli. Understand? You and Melly keep the house safe. I'll be back in no time."
Eli barely had enough time to open his mouth before the archangel disappeared in an echo of fluttering wings. The little angel frowned, then sat back next to his sister, letting her put an arm around him in silent consolation. As though feeling the fear coming from Ben, Miel extended her other arm, silently offering the young boy comfort. And, if Ben was anything like Dean, he'd deny any fear with all his might, but something about Miel instilled a feeling of security that Sam guessed only a mother could give. As he watched the boy curl up at her side, he briefly wondered what it would be like to feel safe like that.
Blue eyes looked up at him, and Sam wondered if the angel had read his thoughts when she smiled. Feeling warmth travel through him, he returned the smile. He'd heard Bobby mention something about her being the angel of joy and hope.
Ramiel.
Her eyes shined briefly as he said her real name in his mind. With a sigh, he sat down at Ben's other side, ruffling the boy's hair.
"Where's the angel?" he looked up to see Bobby standing next to Lisa.
"Cas is hurt. The angels found them." He responded with a worried frown, thanking Miel for her calming presence. "Gabriel went over to help."
Bobby's brow furrowed with a frown of his own, and Lisa's eyes widened in sudden concern. "Do you—"
His words were muted by the clash of thunder that made the house shake. The angels remaining in the room tensed, and Eli jumped to his feet, rushing to the window.
"Miel." He called, his tone serious.
Mel hugged Ben to her one last time before standing up to join her brother, only for a worried expression to take over her features.
"What is it?" Sam asked, walking over to the window in two long strides, closely followed by Bobby.
A man stood outside the house, dark skin and clothes making him blend in amongst the sudden darkness that enveloped the junkyard. Miel looked up at him, blue eyes shinning with a tinge of something that Sam managed to recognize as sadness and fear.
"Raphael."