So sorry, it's late. I had no motivation and it needed some serious adjustments so I took my time with it. Hopefully my updates will be more frequent. Happy new year! 2013 was great but I'm pumped for 2014!
Topeka, Kansas. Big city filled with lights and drama like any other. But something that Topeka was filled with but wasn't known for was its horrific crime rates. Each year ascended the next and the police force wasn't holding the bastards down. But as melodramatic it may seem, there was one beacon of light. One single light that illuminated the streets of each dark and violated alley. His name was the Trickster and this is the story of the Tricksters rise and fall.
Castiel helped his cousin walked along. It was roughly seven o'clock when Gabriel returned from his vigilante adventure. Gabriel was stumbling at first but then began to slowly regain his strength with Castiel's help despite losing so much. Castiel held his cousin in a firm grip as though if he were to waver, he would be lost.
"I'm fine." Gabriel insisted.
"Don't lie, Gabriel, it won't help anything." Gabriel rolled his eyes and huffed.
"Who died and made you king?"
"You did when you allowed yourself to get injured like this. We should go inside, it's going to rain soon." Castiel said as he glanced up at the sky, which was shades of gray that spread throughout the sky. Gabriel huffed and reluctantly continued on their path.
"Fine, whatever. It doesn't matter now." He said simply as they entered the estate. Castiel opened the door before helping Gabriel inside and shut the door behind them. He sat his cousin down on the couch, gingerly taking hold of his wounded forearm and leaned in close as he examined the wound. He furrowed his brow in concentration as his fingers brushed softly over the messy stitches. He observed as Gabriel cringed with the touch before rising to his feet.
"The wound will need time to heal, which means that the Trickster will need to take a short holiday." He said before putting away his medical kit. Gabriel suddenly seemed to jolt with energy as he shook his head.
"No way in hell am I sitting on my ass when she's still out there!"
"Gabriel, calm down, you will catch her at another time. It is best if we wait for your arm to heal and make a plan than rush into things like we did tonight. Don't you see where being reckless gets you? It lands with you nearly dead." Gabriel sighed with an aggravated look on his face.
"My life doesn't matter here, cassie! I didn't do this to be a secret agent, I did this to save innocent people. If we don't go after her soon then we're sending those same people into a slaughter house!" Gabriel said, rising to his feet. Castiel frowned.
"She's stunned, she needs to regroup. While she regroups, you regain your strength and then you can defeat her."
"That isn't fucking good enough!" Gabriel said, releasing his temper. The room fell completely silent. Gabriel regretted those heated words as soon as they left his lips. Castiel shut his mouth, looking much like a robot with his posture and the absolute indifference that was on his face.
"Gabriel, I know that you want to be a hero for this city but this city isn't worth your death. You can be the hero you dream of and I will help you be just that on the one condition that you keep yourself safe and out of harms way. I understand that the war has damaged your vision of your worth but please, for me, try to remember that I value you for who you are in every way. I've been deserted by everyone else but I just need for you to know that I need you. Now, you need to rest." Gabriel's eyes golden eyes met Castiel's piercing blue ones as his thoughts knotted together much like a tangled ball of yarn. He ran a hand through his hair before sighing, in defeat. Castiel had left him speechless.
"Thanks, Cassie. I needed that." He said in a softened tone after a brief pause. Castiel merely nodded in response before helping Gabriel up the stairs and into his bedroom. Castiel gingerly sat his cousin down on the bed before crossing over to the dresser, pulling out some pajamas for him and placing them in his hands.
"I'll be right outside. You should try to sleep, call for me if you need me." Castiel said. Gabriel merely nodded and blinked, sleepily before beginning to strip off his clothes in order to change into his sweats. Castiel left him and went to the kitchen, where he futzed and paced while nervously running his fingers through his hair. That was so close. If she had hit just the right vein, he would have died, he thought to himself. His emotions bunched up, creating a mixture of pain and panic. Castiel attempted to soothe them with deep breaths but it didn't work as well as he hoped it would. I need to calm down, he though to himself as he went to the sink and splashed some water in his face. His eyes fell shut as the water hit against his skin with a cold embrace. The emotional bundle that resided in his chest slowly began to unravel. Once he felt himself regain control of his emotions, he dried off his face with a hand towel before being interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing.
"Hello?" He asked as he answered.
"Oh hello! Is this Castiel?" A woman's voice asked on the other line. The voice seemed familiar though Castiel failed to recognize it.
"Yes, it is. I hate to seem rude but who is this?" He asked in the politest way possible.
"Don't worry about it, Castiel. I'm Mary Winchester, we met during the little bank incident. I would try to jog your memory more but after our little adventure at the bank, I doubt that your memory needs any jogging whatsoever."
"You're absolutely right. It is a pleasure to talk to you once again, Mrs. Winchester."
"Same goes for you, Castiel. How are you? Hopefully not too shaken up after the whole dilemma."
"It takes more than a few men with guns to shake me, Mrs. Winchester."
"Another tough man like my boys. Speaking of which, I was wondering if you'd want to come over for dinner at my home with my family on Thursday. It's a little way of saying thank you with some Winchester charm thrown in."
"Is this an interview of some form for the police because I recall answering all of Deans questions at the crime scene?" Castiel asked because why else would the Winchesters invite him over?.
"No, of course not. My boys would come to you in person if that were the problem. It's just a way for me to say thank you for helping me on that night is all."
"That isn't necessary, Mrs. Winchester."
"I know but I want to and please, call me Mary."
"Mary while I appreciate the offer, there is no need for you to make dinner for me. I would hate to intrude on such a family setting."
"You're not intruding, I swear." She then paused. "I suppose you leave me with no choice." Before Castiel even had time to ask, Mary's voice changed from soft to stern in seconds.
"Young man, you will be joining us for dinner on Thursday night or else I will be coming to you house and drag you there myself." Castiel didn't understand why it was so effective but for some reason, her sternness pushed him into agreeing.
"I would love to come and have dinner with you and your family."
"Perfect! Come around six, we live on 8th Wildrone lane. It's about ten minutes away from the bank and I can send you directions if you need them." She beamed, Castiel could see the triumphant smile that he imagined she was wearing.
"No, I'm familiar with that area. Thank you again, Mary. I need to go but I will call you back with any further questions."
"Of course, dear."
"Actually I do have one quick question, may I bring my cousin as well?"
"Of course! The more, the merrier."
"Thank you, Mary. This means a lot to me."
"Anytime, sweetheart. We will see you on Thursday. I can't wait!" She said excitedly before disconnecting the call. Castiel glanced at the clock, surprised to find that twenty minutes had passed. It was time to check on Gabriel but first, he had to give him a little something to help. He looked through his bag to find a Twix bar, one of Gabriel's favorite candies because Gabriel hated the idea of simply choosing one favorite candy. He took the Twix, that he had bought for Gabriel and went upstairs to Gabriel's room. He walked soundlessly before gingerly pushing the door open and smiled at the sight of Gabriel sprawled across the sheets with his jaw agape, eyes closed as his chest rose and fell at a constant pace. He looked more peaceful than when he was awake. Castiel gingerly set the Twix on the nightstand.
Castiel had never been good at expressing his emotions, especially not in a physical sense so he knew that Gabriel would understand the secret message behind the candy bar. Gabriel had been the one who helped him express his emotions after all since his parents had no time to teach. The lessons started when he was no older than six and Gabriel must have been ten.
The sun shone above our heads and its rays rested along our back as we pushed against the dirt to help our swings glide through the air. The playground had been deserted for the past hour but we pretended not to notice. The only ones left were Gabriel and I since both of their parents had forgotten us...again. I didn't mind the silence all that much, I found comfort in it since I was with Gabriel after all. For example, if I were with my father and the room was silent, I would think the worse but when the room fell silent and I was with Gabriel, I knew that there was nothing to fear.
So this was oddly comforting for me especially after the day I had had. A friend of mine, Daphne, learned that she did rather poorly on her quiz and was close to tears. I didn't have the courage to comfort her with words or an embrace so instead I stared at her, trying to get her to understand my feelings. I stared until she whispered something in our teachers' ear. Mrs. Brontë frowned at me before grabbing my hand and taking me outside of the room, where she firmly scolded me for making Daphne uncomfortable. I didn't mean to, I just didn't know how else to tell her that I cared for her. I spent the rest of the day with my head down and my hands in my lap, thinking that something was wrong with me. No one noticed or they did and didn't care. But Gabriel however refused to let the silence last any longer with me frowning.
He takes the lollipop out of his mouth and furrows his brow at me, leaning over me, making our eyes meet. Gabriel's golden hair is messy and short and his limbs were covered in bruises and cuts from all of his "adventures". His eyes are blank slates with so much to see, so many colors, lights, sights, arts, sports, happiness and tragedy but they also had a glimmer to them, their own little spark of life. He is the seed of the man he would become but that didn't make him any less brilliant. Not really.
"What's got you down, Cassie? Do I have to teach someone a lesson or do you suddenly really like dirt?" He askes. I shook my head but didn't say a word.
"C'mon! Cassieeeeeeeeeeee." He whined, almost pitifully as he tried to get me to respond. At first it didn't work until Gabriel began to chant "Cassie, Cassie, Cassie, Cassie, Cassie," The chanting lasted until I finally snapped.
"I got yelled at!"
"What? You, Mr. Goody Two Shoes, got yelled at. Why?"
"I don't want to talk about it." I pout.
"Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee." He whines in the most annoying way possible until finally I give up.
"Fine. I was trying to make Daphne feel better for going bad on the quiz but- I didn't know what to do so I stared at her for a bit. Well- for awhile because then Mrs. Brontë yelled at me for making Daphne uncomfortable. I didn't mean to, I swear! I just didn't know what to do! I'm not good with- these things inside my chest that make me care for people. I don't like expressing them with words or with touch so- I stared. Okay?!" I reply with a pout, feeling those "things" boil in my chest as I complain to my cousin. I bow my head, trying not to see his reaction. Gabriel, however, surprises me by placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Hey, okay so- while I talk and walk like Indiana Jones, I don't really do good with emotional things and showing them to people so- I taught myself a trick. I found out that I could use symbols."
"What are symbols?"
"They're- huh- okay so they're a thing that doesn't mean what it looks like it means." He then leaned down and picked up a rock. "So what's this?"
"A rock."
"Yes but if I said that this is our great grandmothers rock that she passed down to her daughter and her daughter passed down to our dads. What does it mean now?"
"It's special and important."
"Exactly! So- you just have to find rocks for people you care about. So what does Daphne like?"
"Sweaters and hot chocolate."
"Okay so if you drew her a picture of those thing, what do you think would happen?"
"She would feel better." I say with the ghost of a grin on my lips.
"And how would you feel?"
"Better because she knows that I care and that I made her feel better." I say with a smile plastered on my face.
"See?" He said with a smirk. I jump to my feet and wrap my arms around him, chuckling.
"Thanks, Gabe."
"Anytime, kiddo, you should get going your dad is here." I frown and pull away from Gabriel, glancing to the parking lot to find a familiar black sports car. I grab my bag and then started rush to the car, looking back to Gabriel and waving goodbye.
After placing the Twix bar on the night stand, Castiel began walking out of the room when he felt a folder brush against his feet. He furrowed his brow before kneeling down and collecting the folder. He held it in his hands and allowed his eyes to skim over the "Confidential" stamp that marked its face. He heard Gabriel stir in his sleep so Castiel collected the folder before creeping out of the room. He entered the living room, set the folder down on the coffee table and paced around a bit. Temptation whispered him promises of explanations but his heart scorned him for the very thought. He decided to distract himself by turning on the news, which was covering "The Trickster" story. He observed as a frightful women with bright orange hair , that frizzed out despite being held in a bun, blinked exposing her horrible bright blue eyeshadow. While Castiel was a man who often saw past judging people based off of appearances, he would admit that the reporter seemed to combine the worst elements together to create a rather cringe worthy sight. She was standing in front of the parking garage that The Trickster had last made his appearance.
"Here I stand in downtown after a night of crime that has exceeded our local history but in the darkest period of the night, "The Trickster" struck apprehending twelve of the most dangerous criminals that this city has seen. He infiltrated the central epicenter of the crime spree, giving us irrefutable evidence that this was more than a simple burst of crime with witnesses from the apprehended criminals, computers that were found inside this very lot that exposed a strategic plan for this night and headsets that were found on each criminal that helped them communicate to one another. While the vigilante may have failed at handing us the head of the snake but he did manage to give us evidence that will not only help keep these criminals behind bars where they belong but will help us identify their leader. Lilth Matthews, an ex-convict for thievery, assault, battery, and numerous other crimes, has been identified by more than half of the captured convicts as their leader. The Topeka police are now railing up and declaring an international man hunt for Matthews. While the Trickster may have been unable to hand her directly over to the police, he gave us a means of ending this crime for once and for all. Now back with Rob about the latest celebrity drama." The woman disappeared and then was shortly replaced with a young man with perfectly coiffed hair and the posture of a fencer. Castiel flicked off the TV and then glanced over to folder once more. Temptations whispers grew louder and louder until finally he huffed and grasped the folder. He leaned against the couch before opening it up and beginning to read. The folder had inclosed all the details of Gabriel's service in the army. Castiel read at first with an unamused look upon his face but then things turned for the worse all too quickly. His eyes widened as he leaned in the slightest, his eyes skimming and mind absorbing every gory detail of Gabriel's service. He had been captured and tortured, why didn't he tell me? We tell each other everything, he thought to himself. The details seemed to grow more and more gory, until red hot rage boiled through his system. WHY HIM, Out of everyone in the world, Gabriel didn't deserve that! The rage ran through his system, making his blood pump faster and faster through his system.
Castiel was a reasonable man, who was often calm in the face of chaos but he was also awfully loyal to those who deserved his loyalty. He had been born that way and being born within a family that was held together through the bonds of brotherhood rather than having a tight nit relations with parents, certainly helped keep that trait alive. His family was Gabriel and his cousins, who helped raised him more than his parents had. His cousins, Lucifer, Micheal, and Raphael, helped him as well but not to the degree that Gabriel had. Perhaps it was the age difference between him and his elder cousins, perhaps it was the fact that they were occupied taking care of their immediate family in the face of a neglectful father but it didn't matter now. It only made the fire grow inside of his stomach until he feared that it would boil over. The pieces of the puzzles clicked together as he realized connection after connection that Gabriel was a brother, friend and a father all in one. This understanding only made the truth more painful. How could this happen? He asked himself. Gabriel helped Castiel more than he would ever know but God repaid him by having people torturing, killing everyone he loved, kidnapping, and doing who knows what else to him. Out of everyone in Castiel's life, his absent father, his selfish mother, those who bullied and tormented him all his life, those who left too soon, why was Gabriel punished? The rage and sadness bubbled and boiled together, creating a frenzy of power and passion within his chest. The frenzy stirred so forcefully that Castiel was controlled by it, like the puppet is controlled by the puppeteer. His fury rose him to his feet and sent the files across the room. Not even caring as he did, the frenzy sent him kicking, punching, throwing anything in reach. His emotions ran free and wrecked havoc until finally there was a knock on the door. Castiel froze and cussed under his breath as he cleaned up his mess to the best of his ability. He sighed, supposing that this was the best that it would get before crossing to the door. He then opened the door and his eyes meet a familiar pair of jade ones. He blushed a bit as he realized that those eyes belonged to a certain Dean Winchester. Dean, whom he had met from the bank, the same Dean who's jade eyes seemed to haunt him much like a ghost. Dean, whom had freckles that splattered across his cheeks much like a splatter of paint across an blank canvas. Dean, whom had lips that were a fair shade of pink and were surrounded by a soft scruff. Dean, whom had a smile that revealed two perfect sets of porcelain teeth and dimples, and was dressed in his uniform that was rather tight or at least seemed to be to Castiel's eye.
"Oh- Hello." Castiel said, hoping that he didn't look too insane though he did with his hair that stuck up at odd ends and clothes that were wrinkled. To put it simply, he looked much like Einstein after spending hours upon hours working out his theory of relativity or in words that Dean would use, he resembled Frodo after destroying the ring. Dean looked more than puzzled by the mans appearance since after all when they met at the bank, he held himself completely differently. At the bank when madmen were pointing guns to his head, Castiel was completely fine but now, he resembled one of those madman himself. Whatever had happened, it obviously was far from peaceful.
"Hey there." Dean said with a grin before continuing. "I just came by to check on you. I went to your apartment but your neighbor said that you would probably be over here." Castiel nodded, understandingly.
"I understand. Did you need another interview, Officer Winchester?"
"No, we're all covered on that. I was just coming by to see how you're doing and to be fair, you look rather crappy." Dean said, keeping his tone lighthearted and Castiel chuckled.
"Yes well I feel rather crappy as well."
"Why? What's wrong? Did the incident at the bank shake you?"
"No, that isn't what is bothering me."
"Then how about you and I go out for some breakfast and you can tell me about it?" Dean suggested. Castiel furrowed his brow and cocked his head to the right.
"That won't be necessary. I am perfectly alright here." Castiel replied, which caused Dean to roll his eyes.
"Come on, please. Mom hasn't shut up about you since the bank. I want to learn a bit more about you. Anyway it would be completely against the Winchester code if I just went without cheering you up at least a little bit." He smiled. Out of all the things that flattered Dean, Castiel decided that his grande smile was by far the best.
"You're not going to let me say no are you?"
"No chance in hell." Dean said with a cheeky grin. Castiel sighed before running a hand through his hair.
"I suppose I can go."
"Perfect. Grab your coat, Cas." Dean chuckled.
"One minute." He said before walking into the house, grabbing his coat, scribbling a quick note for Gabriel and hiding the files. He returned shortly after, wearing his traditional trench coat.
"Shall we go?" He asked and Dean only smiled.
"Hell yeah, let's blow this Popsicle stand." Dean chuckled while Castiel merely gave him a mocking look. Dean then realized how stupid he sounded and ran a hand through his hair.
"I am never going to say that ever again, I promise." Dean insisted while Castiel shook his head with a grin on his lips before replying.
"It's alright though a touch too childish." They walked to the impala, who was a beauty to behold even for Castiel, who knew nothing about cars. They slid into the impala on either side, bucking up before taking off.
"While I don't have much expertise in the car realm, I can certainly tell that this car is a beauty."
"You know it!" Dean grinned, patting the dashboard. "She's a 1967 but drives like she's brand new."
"I wouldn't overestimate it too much, Dean. She is still a machine."
"SHHHHHHHH you don't want to upset her now do you?" Dean said before stroking the impala.
"It's okay, baby, cas didn't mean that." He said reassuringly to the car. Castiel furrowed his brow a bit before shrugging, he had never seen someone so worked up about a car but then again, considering he had an emotional breakdown less than ten minutes ago, he decided that he had no right to judge.
"I didn't intend to offend you and your baby." He said simply and Dean chuckled before placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, Cas, I'm just pulling your leg." Dean reassured him. There then was a short pause as they drove toward the dinner, the sun had replaced the overcast and now sat high in the sky.
"It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day." Cas noted.
"Yeah and maybe if were lucky, it'll even be a good one." Dean added, grinning to cas. It was in fact a very good day for the both of them. It was the start of something that they both didn't expect and that's what made it great.
Lucifer Milton was a controlling man, a cunning man, a witty man but more than anything he was a bad man. He plays as the idyllic villain within our tale but most certainly not the only one. He loves his games of chess and he loved capturing his pawns. He also loved winning. His love for winning spawned when he was a child and grew when his father disowned him. He felt a hunger for control, for getting what he wanted and more than anything he wanted revenge. How would he get his revenge? By staining the streets of his fathers city with crimson and have the smell of burning skin wafting through the air. He wanted to laugh in his fathers face as he shot the current mayor. He wanted the ashes, he wanted to see his father to sob and he wanted to see the destruction of the city that stole his father away.
When he was a boy, he was the bad kid that would send kids walking the other way but as he grew, he changed into a shark, craving for blood. He had no brothers to care with Gabriel in war, Raphael in business and Michael being a general asshole. It was all for the better though, it meant that he could focus on his mission. He raised an army of criminals rather seamlessly since he knew that this would be no simple task. His army was fearsome and maintained his standards, which is why the failure of last night was shocking and disappointing. They had failed, destroying far below his goals. He lost some of his core fighters to a bastard vigilante. A bastard that his right hand failed to eliminate. The same right hand in command was bowing before his feet with her hair covering her face. Rage boiled through him as she explained the failures of the night. The crystal cut glass that was filled with scotch began to shake within his hands.
"I'm sorry, sir." Lilith said. A silence captured the room until the silence died with the crash of the glass bottle against the wall, just inches from Lilith's head. Lilith ducked her head to hid away from the glass shards.
"You ignorant, stupid, foolish girl." He spat before calming his voice. "I trained you myself for this conquest and you failed, are you capable of anything, dear Lilith?"
"Yes, I am, sir."
"You obviously aren't. You failed in the presence of some vigilante, how disgraceful?"
"We weren't anticipating him. We will be better off next time, I swear."
"You aren't commanding the next plan of attack, dear. Do you honestly believe that I would let a failure like yourself try another attack?" He said with a smirk on his lips. Lilith's eyes widened and she shook her head.
"No, please, I'll do anything. This operation is like a child to me!" She insisted. He then walked to her, tilting her head up and then looking her dead in the eyes.
"Then, my dear, since you're so desperate then KILL THE FUCKING TRICKSTER!" He shouted.
"How am I supposed to do that?!" She asked ,to which, Lucifer laughed and shook his head.
"My right hand woman must be able to think on her own and if she can't then shell be asked to retire a bit earlier than expected without benefits." He said, his voice surprisingly harmless. Lilith pulled away, surprised.
"That's it."
"I said that you'd retire but I didn't say exactly how you'd retire. Maybe- just maybe- you'll get into a terrible car accident." He then paused before smirking. "but who knows? God works in mysterious ways. Now get out of my sight." Lilith frowned, her eyes wide for a second she wiped that look of horror off of her face and then rising to her feet. After the door slammed shut behind her, Lucifer walked to the window and stared out at the city that was embracing the sunlight. He looked down to his chess board and picked up a black pawn. He looked to it with a smirk on his lips before speaking.
"I don't know whose side you are on, Trickster, but that doesn't matter because you're mine for the taking. I'll win this game without a care about how many pawns pile up since after all, I am more worthy than anyone else." He smiled before setting the pawn to the side of his chessboard. The game had certainly gotten more interesting.
