The road so far:

Thrown out of his home, Castiel uncovers he's half-angel, half human. He's a nephilim, possibly the only one left on earth. Saved by Gabriel the archangel, his true father, Castiel sets out on a life separate from humanity.

Many years later, Dean and Sam roll into Santa Cruz, California to investigate a potential Jinn attack, their first "normal" hunt since Sam opened the Devil's Gate and all hell broke loose on earth.

Castiel encounters the hunters and they take him as a suspect in the Jinn attacks, only to discover he has wings and a connection to their impending war.

Castiel realizes his connection to Dean and takes him out for drinks, but the date is interrupted when the angels return to earth for the first time in 2000 years and Castiel feels Gabriel leave for the first time since his father entered his life 12 years ago.

Dean and Sam confront Castiel and Sam tries to kill him. Castiel partially reveals his true nature by telling the brothers that the demon blood inside Sam makes him violent and unpredictable. Castiel uncovers something more disturbing when he realizes that Sam is addicted to demon blood.

The brothers leave and Dean is snatched by the angels Zachariah and Hester, who tell him he is the true vessel for the archangel Michael. Castiel intervenes and kills Zachariah and takes Dean to safety.

Gabriel reappears and tells them the apocalypse will happen, a war between Lucifer and Michael. He tells Castiel that they must leave this plane or else they will not be safe. Castiel decides to stay with the brothers and save earth, the only home he's ever known.


"The apocalypse." Dean stated.

He stared at a blank spot on the wall behind Castiel's head. As usual, Castiel looked slightly bored and wore an ill-fitting tan overcoat that swallowed his narrow figure. Dean couldn't believe that less than 20 minutes ago, this seemingly normal data analyst slash hunter had unsheathed an enormous pair of wings and brutally killed an angel. Right now he looked more like a homeless person than a ruthless, beautiful and rare supernatural creature. For some reason Dean couldn't believe that he was thinking about Castiel's appearance, especially considering everything that had happened to him in the last day.

Sometimes his life became too crazy to even process.

Sam sat next to him, tense as a drum.

"The apocalypse?" Sam said, repeating what Dean said, but as a question.

"Angels, Lucifer, the apocalypse, Nephilim, and me… the true vessel of Michael. Sounds more like a super fucked up kiddy bible show than anything legit." Dean muttered.

Castiel's eye twitched and he clenched his teeth. Dean noticed it, but didn't say a word. Then Dean realized that he had probably just read his mind.

"You're just not very imposing." Dean explained.

Castiel sneered a little bit. "So you've been sitting here for twenty minutes 'taking it in.' Why is it so hard for you to believe this is happening? Especially after the Devil's Gate?"

"We didn't even know angels existed. Now you're telling us they do, and so does God and Lucifer and they want to end the world." Dean said, trying to keep the shock out of his voice. "Excuse me, but it's a lot to process."

"God hasn't been a factor for many millennia." Castiel said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"What?" Sam said, practically snapping back to life.

"We don't think he cares. If he did, he wouldn't let the angels do this. We don't even know if he's still alive." Castiel said, shrugging. "He doesn't matter in this. You two matter, the angels matter, Lucifer matters and so do Lilith and he demons who want to bring him back."

"God is gone and you don't care? You know he's real, you know he might be dead, and you don't care?" Sam said, standing up. He rose a full five inches over Castiel and cast a dark look down at him. "It's the apocalypse. We're screwed as a species and you're telling me that God is out? How can you be so calm?"

Dean knew his brother had faith. He always had faith, even when he shouldn't have. Dean had lost it a long time ago. He'd been a self-professed atheist, but even now that he knew God existed, it didn't make much difference. Dean felt similarly to Castiel. Sam was clearly devastated.

"I've learned to live with it." Castiel said calmly, almost too calmly. He bore his eyes into Sam's, looking up at him and Sam backed up and sat down. Dean knew that his brother hadn't sat down by choice.

Dean knew that Castiel had muted him. Except he'd done it with his brain. Or his grace. Or whatever it was that gave him the abilities he had. Dean still could hardly fathom what Castiel was.

"Why me?" Dean asked, breaking up Sam and Castiel's pissing match. He knew there would be trouble between them again soon. He just had to wait for the other shoe to drop.

"It's your blood. Michael has other suitable vessels, but you were pre-destined to be his host during the apocalypse. Your bloodline, your destiny, well, you were meant to be part of this war. We just don't want you be involved the angels think you will be."

"What about Sam?" Dean asked.

Castiel shrugged helplessly. "I only know what Gabriel told me and what I pick up from the angels."

"You can hear them?" Sam asked incredulously. "Do they know where you are? Where we are?"

"They can't find me. My father made sure of that many years ago. Now I will do the same for both of you."

Castiel closed his eyes and murmured something that wasn't in English to himself. He opened his eyes and, of course, they were glowing. The air seemed to quiver with power. Dean gulped. Although he was grateful to Castiel for saving his life and he still found him unreasonably attractive, he was more than a little scared of him now. The angel Zachariah had no trouble beating Dean into a pulp and, although he wouldn't admit this to Sam, he had not fought back. He hadn't fought back at all. The attack had been so swift, so powerful, that he couldn't. He was physically unable to fight Zachariah, nor did he have any idea how to kill an angel. Castiel had taken Zachariah on fairly easily, and he was partially human. Dean had no idea what that meant. He just knew that he didn't want to be on Castiel's bad side.

"This might hurt a little." He said to Dean.

Dean opened his mouth to say something, but Castiel ignored him. He placed his hand on Dean's chest and, yet again, he was filled with a momentary, searing pain that seem to shake him to his bones. The palm of Castiel's hand glowed and his eyes become white hot moment for a moment. In less than a second, his eyes returned to normal and the pain disappeared. He pulled his hand away and he looked please.

"What did you do to me?" Dean choked. "Holy fuck that hurt."

"I think it worked." Castiel said, sounding amazed. "I'm getting stronger."

Sam backed away, but Castiel grabbed him anyway. He pressed his grace forward and Sam let out a loud yell.

"Shit!" He gasped.

"What did you do?" Dean said, grimacing, standing up. "Thanks for the warning, by the way."

"I marked you. You are now invisible to all angels. They won't be able to find you, not even archangels like Gabriel or Michael." Castiel said.

"Will you be able to find us?" Sam grumbled.

"Yes." Castiel said, raising an eyebrow. "After all, I'm not fully angelic. I'm partly human. Like you, I have a soul."

"So, what do we do now?" Dean asked, changing the subject.

Castiel smiled a little bit, almost too happily for someone who was about to be thrown into an apocalyptic battle between Heaven and Hell. "I suppose we research and hunt some evil sons-of-a-bitches. Killing Lilith before she pops Lucifer's cage seems like a good goal to have, right?"

Dean couldn't help but snort when he said "Sons-of-bitches." Maybe they had more in common than he thought, angelic or not.

(~)

It had been three days. Three days and squat. They researched Lilith, Lucifer, the Devil's Gate, angels, demons, the apocalypse and they even read the bible. Castiel listened to the "angel radio" until he felt like his head was going to explode.

When they'd first arrived, their voices were so deafening that the voices had made his ears bleed. Now, it was more of a gentle roar and all it did was give him a headache. He understood it too; the words came to him in English, although it had originally come to him in Enochian. It didn't make sense, but a lot of his powers and abilities didn't make sense, so he didn't question it. It seemed that since the angels came to earth and Castiel tapped into their shared grace, that he was growing more powerful. He had easily taken down Zachariah (when, in truth, he hadn't thought he stood a chance), he'd healed all of Dean Winchester's wounds, and he'd flown the Winchester brothers and himself across the country with little to no "jetlag" as Gabriel had always called it. He felt his grace stronger than he ever had before. He felt more angelic, less human, and he could almost feel his soul burning away, the grace taking its place and making him a full-blown angel. Even his wings themselves felt more muscular.

Castiel felt like new man. Or at least a new angel. More accurately, he was a new and improved Nephilim.

Despite this, it had been three days and they hadn't found much of anything.

"I think we need to go hunting." Castiel announced.

Sam and Dean looked up from their laptop and books. Sam looked irritated, but Dean actually looked relieved. He'd been with them three days, albeit he spent the time flying rather than sleeping in the cramped motel rooms where they chose to stay. Castiel could tell that the brothers were still on edge with each other. Sam was not pleased with his presence either. Despite the fact that Castiel had "cleansed" Sam of his rage and temporarily quelled his craving for demon blood, the younger Winchester did not like him.

"I'm down." Dean said, slamming the book shut. "What's the plan, Cas?"

Sam furrowed his brow when Dean used the nickname. Castiel frowned a little bit and dug into his brain. He was honestly trying his best not to read their minds since they were supposedly allies, but Sam Winchester worried him.

Sam wanted to hunt. He desperately wanted to hunt because he thought kidnapping and interrogating a demon would be more effective than researching, but he didn't want Castiel to come along. He also didn't want to be near demons because he was afraid the craving would come back. Castiel frowned more and shivered involuntarily. He couldn't help it. Due to his hatred of demons, a small part of him still saw Sam Winchester as an abomination. Even worse, he felt this way more strongly every time Sam thought about demon blood or wondered what happened to his demon-gifted psychic powers.

"You've been tracking omens, right?"

Dean nodded.

"Well, I have a spell that should be able to detect where there is the largest amount of demon activity. I can't use this spell for everywhere where there are omens, but if we pin it down to one or two places, I should be able to track, very specifically, where the demons are. I can transport us there and we can kidnap one." Castiel said.

He tried not to sound happy. He hadn't been hunting in months. He'd been itching for it, dying for it, and now he was finally going to be able to do it.

"Sounds like a really good plan. Damn dude, we should take you with us everywhere." Dean said, shooting him a grin that sent happy chills down Castiel's spine and assured him that his soul remained fully intact.

It took five more hours of research, but they were able to pin down two locations where demons almost certainly were and another three hours for Castiel to track down the ingredients for his locator spell. The spell would show them where the most demons were and they planned to go the place that was closet to their current location of Erie, Pennsylvania. Sam had protested against picking their location of choice on number of demons, but both Castiel and Dean had assured him that they could handle it.

Using a map, some very smelly herbs, a few human teeth, and human blood, Castiel tracked the demons.

Castiel pointed at the part of the map that remained unburned. This indicated where the demons were.

"Dayton, Ohio." He said.

Sam stared at the street name and typed it into his computer. He pulled up an image on Google Streetview.

"Residential." He said, turning the screen to show Dean and Castiel.

"Demons pick the worst places. God, this could be a high casualty rate." Dean said with a groan.

"I doubt it. It's a concentrated area. There are at least 15 demons in this neighborhood. Strong ones too. All of the humans might be possessed. We're going to need a lot of weapons and salt." Castiel said.

"I thought you could just whammy them with that light power you have?" Dean said, sounding nervous.

"Well, yes, I can burn their souls out of their hosts, but these are strong demons. I also prefer to exorcise them if I can. If I sense humanity, I do my best to save them." Castiel said.

It was a lie. Castiel had long ago given up on exorcising demons. He felt slightly guilty for the lie, but he was eager to get into the fold. The Winchesters still didn't like killing humans, possessed or not, in the line of duty. The power Castiel had felt when he worked the spell indicated that they had stumbled across some powerful demons—demons that would almost certainly be able to tell them more about Lilith, her whereabouts and possibly even information about how she planned to unleash Satan.

"I don't think that's gonna be an option here." Dean said.

Castiel nodded, twisting his facial features into a mask that he hoped looked somber. The truth was, he didn't care. When it came to humans, he often didn't.

(~)

While Sam was gathering weapons from the Impala, Dean confronted Castiel. Although he had come to Castiel's defense, again and again, he was still terrified of him. He was unlike any creature Dean had ever come up against and they were working together instead of fighting. He didn't know why Castiel cared about the fate of the planet so much, especially if he could "hop dimensions" as he'd so casually stated.

"Why are you helping us?" Dean whispered, grabbing Castiel by the shoulder of his nearly ubiquitous trench coat.

Castiel turned to face him and sighed. "I told you, Dean. I don't want this planet to go up in flames."

"Why do you care if you can just go somewhere else?"

"This is my home and I don't want to see its creatures destroyed by angels or demons."

"Can't you find a new one?" Dean asked.

"Yes, but it won't be the same. I don't belong in a parallel universe with Pagan Gods, Dean. I don't belong in Heaven or in Hell. I belong here. If I went somewhere else, I don't know what would happen to me. I don't know what would happen to my soul or my grace." Castiel said.

He looked resigned and for some reason, Dean could tell he was telling the truth.

"Do you actually care about humanity? Do you care about me and Sam?"

"Yes." Castiel said, his voice sounding somewhat pained. "Dean, I don't want Michael to take you over. If he did, there would be nothing left of you."

"Why does Michael want me?" Dean asked for the fiftieth time. "Can't he take someone else? Someone who would just say yes easily?"

Dean was still incredibly relieved about the clause that angels had to receive consent in order to take a host. In his mind, this made them way better than demons.

"Every angel has one true vessel. There are many humans who can contain angels, but only one human is meant for an angel. Your body, your blood, your soul, and even your biology are meant for him."

"What about you? Is this a vessel?" He said, pointing at Castiel's face and body. "Are you possessing some poor guy?"

"Strictly speaking, no. I was born in this body and if I die, I will more than likely die in it. There isn't much that is known about my kind, but I know that this is my body and no one else's. Yet, despite this, this human body isn't truly me. There is much more to me than skin and bones and guts." Castiel said.

"That's one reason you want to stay here."

"Yes."

"Earth is glorious, Dean. Its creatures, its natural beauty, everything about it deserves saving. This is our home, not the angels' or the demons'. I won't see it lost." Castiel said.

With that, he turned around and continued to load a pistol with salt rounds. Sam returned a few minutes later with a cache of weapons.

Castiel stood in front of Dean and his brother. He looked at them both, blue eyes burning holes into their skulls.

"Get ready to fight." He said coarsely. He reached forward and grabbed them both by the shoulders and with a flutter of wings, they were gone.

With a thud that made Dean's stomach leap into his throat, they landed a few streets over from where the demons nested. Dean fingered the gun that was strapped to his side and Sam hoisted the bag of weapons over his shoulder. Slowly they approached the neighborhood, Castiel keeping his eyes closed and senses awake, trying to sense the demons. Within 10 minutes, they arrived in the neighborhood where the demons were. They stood on the end of the street and Castiel silently pointed at a large white house that could only be called a McMansion.

Dean nodded and clutched his weapon close. Castiel grabbed them and transported them into the house. They landed inside a garishly large empty room on the second floor, which Dean secretly admitted to himself was a good idea. Better to go down then up. The upstairs seemed empty, but they heard voices downstairs.

"There are at least four of them." Castiel whispered. "They're all possessed. Paint this floor with Devil's Traps. I'm going to go check out who were up against."

He vanished.

"This is really bad." Sam murmured, pulling a bottle of spray paint out of their weapons bag. "Dean, four demons? One house? What if they possessed kids?"

"Then we'll kidnap daddy demon and exorcise the kids." Dean hissed. He grabbed spray paint from Sam and began to paint the walls and the floors.

He and Sam had only finished one Devil's Trap apiece in the one room when they heard a crash and screaming downstairs.

"Now! It's time!" Dean yelled.

He took off running out of the room, Sam following behind him. They barreled down the stairs to see Castiel facing off with three demons. A fourth demon lay on the floor dead already, eyes burnt out of his skull. Dean tried not to cringe when he saw it was the body of a teenage boy. One was wearing the body of a 40-something housewife, another was wearing the buttoned-up father, and the third was wearing the body of an attractive brunette who looked to be college-aged.

"Angel." The male demon hissed. "How dare you."

"Oh, I more than dare." Castiel hissed, brandishing a knife in front of him. His eyes glowed white and he was crouched in a fighting stance.

"You are deeply stupid then." The older woman said. "Could that be… the Winchesters? Are you that stupid, angel? Bringing the vessel here?"

"He's not their goddamn vessel." Castiel snapped. He lunged at the woman, who teleported out of sight. Castiel followed her, leaving him and Sam to fight two demons.

Dean leapt into the fray, slashing at the young girl. She stood there, backing up slightly, her eyes black as coal.

"I don't want this." She warned, holding a hand out.

Dean ignored her and raised the knife. The girl sighed and flicked her wrist, sending Dean flying. Sam promptly took over, firing at the girl with a salt-packed rifle. The girl wailed and lunged at his brother, clawing at him with fists that had never seen a fist fight before. Dean scrambled to his feet and dove to grab the rifle that flew from Sam's hand. The male demon jumped in front of him.

"Ruby, you little bitch. Fighting back! Nice!" The demon snarled.

The demon punched Dean in the face, making him see stars. It was nothing like the angel Zachariah's punch though and Dean recovered quickly, returning the punch. The demon stumbled backwards and his eyes turned black. He moved his hand and sent Dean barreling to the ground.

"Goddamn telekinesis." Dean groaned, struggling to move.

In the fray, Sam was holding the girl against the wall and chanting an exorcism under his breath. The demon knocked him off her and disappeared.

The demon held Dean there and gave him an appreciative onceover, as if he were a piece of steak he was about to devour. The demon grinned and began laughing maniacally.

"John Winchester's boy certainly knows how to put on a fight! You've got more fight in you than that coward ever did!" The demon cracked. "My boss is going to love this. Wait until Alastair realizes I took on the vessel!"

The name Alastair meant nothing to Dean, but the mention of his father did and Dean was stunned into inaction. The demon bent over and wrapped a hand around his throat. "Oh what joy it will give me to kill the vessel. Even if your fine feathered friend does just bring you back." The demon hissed.

Dean struggled and broke the hold. He kicked the demon in the balls, which was a low-blow, but effective. The demon howled and stumbled backward. Dean leapt to his feet and tackled the demon, slashing at him with the knife. The demon growled and punched him in the face.

Castiel appeared moments later holding the body of the female demon. His face and shirt were covered in blood.

"Enough." Castiel shouted. He threw the body to the ground. The woman, who'd undoubtedly once been a soccer mom, was gutted, her prim blue cardigan slashed open, a deep knife wound in her stomach seeping blood and the slightest pink of entrails. Her eyes were burned out and her face was blistered red with garish burns.

Castiel threw the demon with his own version of telekinesis. Dean watched from the floor as he moved forward. His eyes burned white and he shoved a hand against the male demon's face. The demon screamed and white light poured into the human host. Castiel grinned and pulled his hand away and the demon slumped to the ground, eyes charred.

"It's over." He announced. "Dead."

Castiel grinned and it was positively ghastly.

Dean just now noticed that Sam was unconscious on the floor. The demon wearing the young girl was nowhere to be found. Castiel bent over and lifted Sam up. Castiel brushed a hand over his face and Sam woke up.

"What happened?" Sam muttered. "That bitch knocked me out."

Dean just pointed at the bodies. Sam's mouth fell open. "You burned their eyes out?"

"They're dirty fucking scum." Castiel said. He smirked. "God, it felt good to get that out. It had been way too long."

Dean stared at the bodies. Getting a closer look, the woman showed signs of torture. Her arms, face, and shoulders were covered in blisters and third degree burns. She'd been stabbed repeatedly, bloody knife slashes melding with the burns. Her eyes were charred black, the eyeballs gone, the sockets the only thing visible.

"You tortured her." Dean said thickly.

Castiel shrugged. "I got what we needed . I know how Lilith is going to free Lucifer."

Dean was about to congratulate him, but then Castiel spit on the dead bodies, his smirk growing wider, and teleported them back to Pennsylvania. The look in Castiel's eyes made Dean's blood run cold.