Chapter Fourteen:
Relationship Roulette; he takes a shot, she takes a shot
To keep himself from worrying about Meg's impeding visit, Castiel re-reads his first report back to Michael. This one was a kind of summary and guide to explain what they had in their possession if, for some reason, Michael had to get rid of the dragon. This report was just the first draft really. Sent in several days ago, before Michael's return visit. Michael had chuckled and sent it back to him asking for him to take a really good look at it and see if there was anything he wanted to edit before handing it in. Castiel read over it, not seeing anything overly wrong in particular but the blood drains from his face as he reads. Noticing that he sent in the wrong copy. His cursive personal notes littered nearly the whole page.
Subject 2, known offspring of Subject 1 Female whose age is unknown, origin unknown, discovered 4 miles north of Freedersville Colorado. Subject 1 Female dubbed 'Eve' currently in stasis and under control in the US government's site, origin classified. 3 other offspring from Subject 1 were killed before hatching from leathery like eggs roughly 4 feet in diameter according to photo evidence of the destroyed nesting site. Tests suggest all 3 were females of varying physical attributes. See attachment for more details on Subject 1 'Eve', Subjects 1a, 1b, and 1c, and previous ownership of Subject 2.
Subject 2, dubbed 'Freckles' is male, estimated to be approx 6 months old. Adolescent to Adult age, more information needed to verify maturity level. Observations on behavior and mannerisms suggest him to be the equivalent of a 20 year old human. Though severely traumatized and still recovering from numerous injuries, the age estimate is probably too low. It is roughly 2 / 3rds as large as its mother, Eve.
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Sub-Phylum: Vertebrata Class: Reptilia Subclass: Diapsida Infraclass: Archosauromorpha Order: Dracoformes
Measurements as of February 26th: Subjects height to top of skull minus horns: 26 feet 8 in. Subjects length, chest to base of tail: 15 feet approx. Tail length: 20 feet 2 in. Neck length from shoulder to top of skull: 9 feet 5 in. Arrow shaped head, snout to back of neck length: 4 feet 10 in. Arm shoulder height:17 feet 3 in. Body width widest point: 7 feet 2 in. Individual wing length longest point, index finger tip to wing shoulder: 32 feet 4 in. Wing form similar to bat's wings. 4 fingers and 1 thumb free of webbing, ending in black claw. The bone structure and location is comparable to elongated human hands. Wing base attach as a second set of shoulders just behind forearm shoulders. Webbing attaches along both sides of torso to rump ending a foot before tail base. Rough textured membrane thickness varies 2 in to 6 in. Entire wingspan tip to tip: 72 feet approx. Wing thumb extremity: 8 in. Curved black claws on hands, feet, and wing thumbs ranging from 2 in to 5 in. Head width widest point at base of jaw: 2 feet 11 in. Tapering off to 1 foot 1 in. between nostrils. Horn length 1 foot 7 in. Fore-paw wrist to claw, longest point: 4 feet 3 in. Hind-paw ankle to claw longest point: 3 feet 5 in. Side fan "ears" longest point: 8 in. Head weight approx.: 400 lbs Entire weight: unmeasured at this time. Size of eyeball: 6 in. approx. greenest eyes I've ever seen.
Subject appears to be severely malnourished. Recommend immediate increase in rations.
More detailed descriptions and measurements will be located in following reports as they are taken.
Also commonly known as an 'Early European' breed or 'West' dragon. Not to be confused with wingless 'Asian' 'East' dragons, nor 'serpents' or 'wyrms' which have fewer limbs, and at the moment, remain undiscovered and entirely theoretical.
It is a reptilian creature of enormous size. It has fully developed wings that can propel it thru the air and presumably water as well. It can also sustain a hover pattern that only allows for minor flight adjustments. Meaning that the subject can only stay hovering still for a short amount of time before loosing height. It is built for mainly forward momentum in flight. Speed unknown. All are presumptions made based on appearance and body type as we have no record of it ever flying. The wing muscles show signs of atrophy due to its severely undersized living quarters for most of its life. He may never fly.
It is cold blooded in nature, and has scales of a strange quality. Reports showing they are lightweight but resistant to blunt force. When the scales are mature they are fireproof and surprisingly bullet proof but can be cut with a blade or needle. If the scales are not yet matured and hardened a little, they are flammable and bullets will also pass through them. They shot him. How else would they know that? The scales covering its entire hide allows for great amounts of heat retention. Meaning that it can go for many hours, sometimes days without having to replenish its external heat source. It all matters in the level of sustained activity. I stipulate that it warms itself by setting outside resources on fire and then resting on or near it. Absorbing the heat secondhand rather then internally. They can manipulate large items, but the claws get in the way of most intricate work. This specimen can no longer produce flame. Its back molars were used to create the ignition by rubbing the top and bottom rear molars together creating a spark from their unique mineral makeup. I can only stipulate that the body uses minerals from its food in creating the special 'sparker' teeth. Likely magnesium. Which might help explain why adding water was a terrible idea when trying to douse the flames, causing the explosion...
The flammable gas or spray is ignited immediately after it is excreted the hidden air sack inside its throat. The spray's chemical makeup is still unidentified. Sedation is necessary for surgery but have yet to find out a safe method of sedation that will not effect its normal functioning biology. All previous attempts to get at the contents of the flammable air sack have proved fruitless as it apparently needs to be conscious and willing to expel the air. Otherwise the air is most likely kept deep inside the lungs. Hopelessly out of reach unless we dissect the beast. I am unwilling to kill the damned thing just for some toxic air to study.
The flammable fume and spray is highly dangerous and noxious to humans if inhaled. And if we wanted flammable fumes there's plenty we can manufacture without killing our only viable specimen of 'dragon'. Seriously. Is this the only thing they're focused on? How to steal his defenses? That his weapons are the only thing we can learn from him?
Find a better way to word this paragraph → Its cognitive processes are limited and its capacity to adapt is apparently small according to my predecessors. They remarked that it is suffering from depression, but is comparable to how a wild carnivorous animal would act in captivity. I don't have much behavioral or previous physical information to go on. From what I was able to gather, is that the previous military facility destroyed most evidence of Subject 2's incarceration there. It was seen as humiliating that their test animal was able to get loose and run amok. Before their higher ups could get wind of their failure, they destroyed most of the evidence that proved it was ever there to begin with. The General claims that it was the security team that shorted out the storage computers, but most are saying that the dragon itself had a hand it the information elimination before they managed to get it back under control. Initially, the whole incident started when, during its 'sparker' teeth removal procedure, it had managed to fool them all into thinking it was still under sedation when it reared its head at the computer bank and set fire to every piece of equipment along the four walls where it could reach. The nature of its flammable liquid like material burns like an acid. No small amount of water can put it out, and so they had no choice but to let the fire burn the building to the ground. No one was injured but much information was lost. The fire spread and the dragon was left inside as the entire building burned and fell around him. Bastards didn't even try and pull him from the fire before the building was reduced to near ashes. It's a miracle that he wasn't crushed or burned to death.
Subject 2 was eventually pulled from the wreckage, dazed and half dead and still bound in a metal net, airlifted and dropped into an empty half-demolished underground missile silo nearby. They managed to remove the back teeth that it grinds to create the ignition spark. Without them it wont be able to set any more fires unless it has access to an open flame. They forcefully removed all four of his 'sparker' teeth and one other with crowbars and metal bats. They likely were going to kill him but the General stopped them from inflicting further damage.
Thankfully, everyone was safely evacuated before the fire spread, only minor injuries reported. The building is a total loss. Subject 1 'Eve' was being kept across the compound in a separate underground facility where she had been in stasis for months. Subject 2's body was very weak and one hind leg bone fractured when an I-beam fell onto it as the building came down. He seems to be fine now. Or he's hiding the wound well. I can't even tell which bone was broken.
It was drugged again, just as it was starting to regain full consciousness, and put in the back of a semi truck. It was transferred to three different storage container trucks before it ended up in Michael's possession yesterday. We are already building a much larger holding facility for the poor dragon, enough room for him to stretch and move around. Hopefully it can build up some muscle mass and get the wing muscles a chance to move and become stronger.
What good would that do since it's unlikely that he will ever be allowed to fly. Well at least he's not going to be cramped up all the time.
What the hell am I supposed to do with him? My superiors took a look at my cryptozoology reports and seemed to think that I was the best candidate for finding a purpose for this sad thing. If I can't by the end of the year, they will likely remove me from my tenuous position and probably dissect it completely. As weird as this sounds, I don't want to see this thing be killed. True it's ridiculously dangerous, but there's something about it that screams for mercy. I want to learn all I can from him but I'm not sure if he's willing to cooperate. I guess I will have to give it my best shot or he will die and I'll be sent home again to deal with my messy divorce and try and find another job. That's assuming that I wont be the laughingstock of the entire crypto community. Man, why did they pick me?
Delete this ramble of mine before sending it in. If I show sympathies for this thing they might take me off of the project and I doubt that they'd find someone who gives a damn about him.
For future reports, I can write about all this stuff.
Some potential militaristic purposes of the dragon are:
Heat signature is low so it is hard to detect using flier imaging.
No motors so no extremely loud sounds.
Scales dampen radar a bit so hard to detect with current detection devices.
Same goes for IR.(Infrared)
Massive strength so large payloads can be deployed.
Fire can be produced by exuding a viscus produced spray like substance that is ignited in the mouth. Good for anti personnel.
Send this in once you get it looking like a proper report.
Castiel's blush is all over his face when he takes a permanent marker and vigorously blackens out his extra comments. A scowl marring his otherwise distinguished and stoic features.
Castiel turns over the paper quickly as if that will keep his boss from seeing and reading it days ago. He buried his head under his arms on his desk and moaned. "I am so screwed." with that oh so helpful voice in the back of his head actually being helpful this time. 'Michael read it and didn't fire you yet. I'd say you're good. Just don't do that again.'
He agreed with his other half and shoved the paper into his desk, slamming it shut and looking at the clock yet again. 10 minutes until Meg shows up. Michael was initially going to escort her in but had last minute things to deal with. Castiel didn't bother to ask. He had his backup already here and spending a little quality time bonding with Dean.
He got up from his desk, glancing hatefully at the drawer that held his literary shame and left his office. His grin widened as he saw Balthazar and Dean playing a game of rock-paper-scissors for who gets to eat the last beef jerky stick. Barely a crumb to Dean but he was clearly playing for keeps.
"Aaaaand go!" they pumped their fists in the air and Dean came up with rock again. "Dean! I don't think you understand the concept of this game." Dean growled at him, eyes narrowing. "You are allowed to choose other things besides rock. Here, this is paper," he flattened his hand and showed it to Dean. Dean rolled his eyes and copied him. "This is scissors, scissors cuts paper." and made his forefinger and middle finger cut the air and then cut the paper. Dean exaggerated the movement and huffed at him. "Rock breaks scissors," showing in one hand a rock and the other scissors and smashing it. "And paper beats rock." covering up the rock with the paper hand. He jut out his hands to the enormous Dragon looming over him. Questioning why this was such a difficult concept to follow.
'why?' Dean signed.
"why? Why what?"
'Why paper beats rock. Rock is strong. It can break paper.'
"Hannaaahhhh... he's doing that thing again where he's talking too fast. Can you please come over here?" Balthazar whined. "oh hey Cassie. Dean-o and I were just about to do battle."
Hannah arrived and sighed dramatically at Balthazar and nodded respectfully at Castiel. "Hey Boss. Can I be excused? I'd like to go back to work now."
"Later, later, now tell me what Deanzilla is saying." Balthazar grinned and motioned to Dean again. Dean sighed just as exasperatedly as Hannah did, and signed his questions to her.
"Paper beats rock because that's just how the game is played. I know it doesn't make any sense." she shrugged. "My 4 brothers and I usually just wrestle our disagreements out. I usually win." She puffed up with pride. Dean gave her form a once over and then a thumbs up. She must have some serious skills in combat. She grinned wider and signed, 'thanks', before remembering he isn't actually deaf. "They stopped letting me win when I started leaving scars. Now, they do the smart thing and concede the fight before it starts. Usually."
Dean smirked at that and signed, 'wouldnt want to meet you in dark alley'. And huffed a laugh.
"Nor would you want to try me at Rochambeau!" which got a confused stare from the dragon and men. "your game, its real name. Rock-paper-scissors. Same rules, paper still beats rock." she shrugged again up at Dean.
Castiel spoke up. "If a tree seed started to grow inside a rock crevice, over time its roots and expanding water will break the rock up. Dean, paper comes from trees and that is how paper can beat rock."
"Leave it to you to find a scientific way to explain rock-paper-scissors."
"You're welcome." he grinned and asked Dean, "So why do you pick rock every time?"
Dean shrugged and signed, 'feels right'.
"Huh." Balth and Cas said at the same time.
The door to the warehouse gave the warning tone indicating that someone was on the other side. A guard was already there and asking for credentials. Castiel's heart-rate skyrocketed. He spent all this time messing around with old reports and playing around with Dean rather then getting himself prepared to meet his Ex-wife again. Balthazar's hand was on his shoulder at some point and he just now noticed it. He took a breath and gave a grateful look to his old friend and patted the hand for it to release him. He schooled his features and started the long dreaded walk to the entrance.
Dean was suddenly very tense. He could smell the spike in fear from Cas and then from Balth but slightly dulled. Like he was expecting the visitor to cause this reaction in Cas. He lifted up his head to easily see over everyone there and inhaled sharply when he saw a familiar biped walk closer. She stopped short, looking up at Dean and smiled wide.
Dean couldn't believe his eyes. Why the hell was she here? How did she find him? Is she just here to make fun of him? Take him back to that hell hole? Kill him for disrespecting her at the soldier base? He was bound and determined not to let that happen. He liked it here with Cas and Hannah and even Balth. He growled low at her, baring his fangs and splaying his wings wide to show her that he is not to be fucked with.
Her startled gaze fell from Dean's display to the man that was walking up to her. Filling her old line of sight to Dean. "Castiel! What are you doing here?!" She belted out. Taking several steps away like she wanted to run.
He sighed heavily to steel his nerves. He wasn't going to answer any of her questions. She didn't deserve that yet. She left more questions then answered all those months ago. "The real question is, what are your intentions here. Dean doesn't seem to like you very much." he said, not having to turn and look to hear Dean's upset grumbles.
Dean is clearly agitated and decides to start pacing to loosen up some of the tension in his muscles. Cas still reeked of anxiety and now anger. Meg was pissing his Cas off. She herself smelled of distress. Good. He started growling louder at Meg from behind his bars. His wings akimbo with the thumb claws flexing in and out of fists. A small current of air being pushed around by his huge wings in the confines of the warehouse as they opened and shut in loose fists. His hands dig into the concrete, pebbling the floor wherever he walks. Balth even takes a few steps back from the cage but Dean barely notices. Eyes only for the traitor.
"I -I came because I care about him." she stammered and looked over to see Dean pace the other way now, eyes filled with unmistakable hatred. "Even if he doesn't like me right now," the way she said it implying that he will forgive her. He snorted at that and lifted up his lip more to show off his sharp fangs. Her breath caught in her throat for a second but she forced out, "I can't change the past." and stood firmly in place. Seeing her former husband here of all places was startling but her mind supplied the facts. Balthazar was calling him up that morning for the dragon so of course he'd have been searching for it for as long as it takes. She caught herself before congratulating him on finally getting what he had always wanted. Proof. The praise died on her tongue as she looked at Dean again. Guilt crashing in all around her. Two men in her life that she cared for and left alone. Nothing for it. She had to keep going. "I don't want to see him get hurt."
"Neither do I." Cas ground out. Glaring pointedly at her.
"Meg shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Ok. There's no point beating around the bush. Azazel wants him back. He knows that the zoo was destroyed and that Dean was taken. He doesn't know who took him yet but he is royally pissed and when Azazel gets pissed, he gets creative."
"Find the point and get to it." Castiel folded his arms in front of his chest. As if blocking Dean from harm.
"Azazel threatened my brother! I tried calling him but he wouldn't answer his cell. And he always answers, he's practically a cyborg."
"For what reason would Azazel harm your brother?"
"He thinks I know where Dean went. All the others that worked at the zoo skipped town when he did and somehow he knows that I was still in the area."
"So? Call the police! What does Dean have to do with your brother getting kidnapped."
"If I don't hand him over, Azazel is gonna kill my brother!"
Dean was upset at all the shouting from his former friend and his new friend. Apparently his old master wants him back and is threatening to murder someone if he doesn't return home. 'I dont want to go back.' he signed near frantically. Hannah was able to read the distressed sign language and translate for him as he went on. 'I like it here. Cas is nice. Azazel isnt. I dont want to go!'
"You don't have to go anywhere Dean. You're safe here. Meg is now leaving."
"You can't be serious Clarence!"
At that Dean perked up his ears. Cas is Clarence? But Clarence was Meg's ex-husband. The jerk. No way is Cas him.
Meg looked to Dean at his confused glances she said, "Dean, this is my ex-husband Castiel. I used to call him Clarence because he used to be an angel." she looked up into Castiel's eyes and was sad she no longer found love there. "He didn't tell you that did he?"
Dean shook his head. Cas didn't say what his ex's name was but he didn't hide the fact he was married before from Dean. Seems a silly thing to do. Cas nodded at him and said, "But we got divorced. You left me. You didn't even give me a reason why!"
The other workers in the building were just leaving out of respect for their boss's privacy. They quietly got their things and snuck out when the shouting started. The guards were still there, trying hard not to intervene, and hanging back unless their boss gave the command. Cas didn't even notice or care that the warehouse was near empty. Here he finally got the chance to take some answers out of her. "Why the hell did you take off in the middle of the night with all your stuff? Like I was going to steal it from you or something. Like I would have done something bad to you or your stuff if you said something about how you feel towards me before going. I'm not that petty. I would have listened. Why didn't you even try talking to me about what was bothering you? Why did you just up and leave?"
She fidgeted a little, wringing her hands in her bulky purse. Refusing to look him in the eyes. Her long black wavy hair fell in front of her face when she looked down at her suddenly interesting feet.
"Answer me, MEG!"
"Because I wasn't in love with you anymore! I couldn't take the pain that I knew you'd be in when I left. I couldn't see you go through that and I can't make you understand what I was feeling."
"And what are you feeling now? Huh? That you actually care? Because from where I'm standing it looks like you only care for yourself and your brother. You don't give a damn about me or Dean. You are gonna sell him out to save your own skins instead of standing up to your old boss. We aren't the ones that signed up to be the devil's bitch. I'm not gonna let Azazel or you torment him OR me any further!" he shouted and pointed towards the door.
Meg's jaw dropped she was not expecting anything like this. "You value his life over a humans?"
"I value his life over yours any day of the week." he declared, "I'd value a dog's life over yours at this point. At least dogs are faithful!" he shouted and jabbed his hand towards the door again. Narrowly missing hitting her side. She flinched and he dropped his hand down immediately. Scared what he'd do if he actually hit her. His apology died before it was uttered and a firm look was aimed at her wide eyes instead. A moment passed with her heavy, near panicked breaths were heard at the same time as his own angry breaths being forced out of his nose. For all the world sounding like an angry bull snorting at the matador, readying a charge.
"I think you should go." Balthazar spoke up, relatively calmly as he stood in front of Dean's cage. Dean stopped his pacing and was glaring at her. To hear what happened from Cas's point of view, added onto what he just witnessed, she really was a coward. She had every chance in the world to take out Azazel in the past while she worked there. Poisoning the bastard, sniper shooting him, hell, she could have even let loose some monsters like Dean did and have them do the job. His mind threatened to fog white again at that memory that popped up but he shoved it all aside. No time for memory lane bullshit. He focused on the here and now and felt the fog lift. His train of thought came back at full steam when he saw his best friend standing there, feeling some of what he was feeling. She didn't even bothering to try and patch things up with him. Who wouldn't want to be Cas's friend? Cas was amazing! Why wouldn't he be an awesome husband? He's kind, and caring, and generous, but not a wimpy pushover. He gets shit done and takes care of everyone under his supervision. A natural born alpha. Everyone can tell he's a good leader. Dean included. Even though Dean is supposed to be considered a test animal, Cas is changing the way he sees Dean, and vice-versa. Dean's not some mindless heartless beast. Every single day that passes, Cas and Dean are getting closer in their friendship. Dean cares so much for Cas, more then Meg did for Cas, and more then Dean felt for Meg as well. Azazel was just an asshole. He can see that now. Controlling. Manipulative. Demented. Above all, just cruel for the simple enjoyment of it. There was no reason for Dean to want to return to that life.
Castiel lifted his finger again, pointing firmly at the door and looking quickly around the warehouse, seeing that there was now just a skeleton crew here. A part of him wondered where his team went, how much they saw, but was now grateful that they'd left before watching him loose his temper like this. He ground his teeth together so hard his jaw hurt.
Meg spoke up suddenly, "I can help you! I can help Dean! Just listen to what I have to say, let me stay."
"Speak quickly then get out." Cas growled out.
Meg nodded a little. Coming to terms with the fact that she was outgunned here. "Ever wonder how I was able to find Dean?"
Castiel squinted at her unkindly.
"The military wouldn't tell me where he was so I had to use another method. This is the main reason why Azazel knows that I know where Dean went."
"Spit it out already!"
"Dean has a tracking chip in him."
All eyes went to the dragon. He had no idea what that was and looked back to them, shrugging. He turned to Hannah, 'what is that?' the others honestly forgot she was still there, standing still and quiet until Dean faced her again.
"A tracking chip is a tiny machine that people put in animals so that when they get lost that person can find them again, usually using a radio signal. Sometimes they use satellites as well, if its a GPS equipped tracker chip. Uh, you know about cell phones right?" Dean nodded. "Well, think of this like a tiny tiny cell phone that someone put inside your body. They have another cell phone and are able to pick up the location of your phone with it."
Dean backed up into the rear of his cage. Looking all over his body and turning, twisting, freaking out. Wings flapping to get out of the way so he can search under and over them. 'get it out!' he signed quickly and ran up to the people on the other side of the bars. He reached through towards Meg who must know where it is. She backed up with a gasp and held up her hands for him to stay back. Balthazar was faster then her retreating form, and went around behind her, holding her in place before she decided to take off again.
"Where did you put the tracking chip?" Balthazar growled out this time into her ear.
"I don't know where it was injected! I just know that he has one and I was able to find him with this." She produced a small machine and then pulled out the antennae from the top, waving it in Dean's direction and they all heard a clicking sound as she aimed it at him then slowly aimed it away as the clicking faded.
"Give me that." Cas demanded and strolled over to Meg.
She hesitated for a second, holding it to her chest. "I give this to you and my brother is as good as dead!"
Balthazar spat out, "It's not our fault you decided to work for Azazel. Now hand the lovely walkie talkie over or I'll hand you over to Dean and he will take it from you in a decidedly less friendly and gentle way."
"Bastard." she said with tears falling from her eyes. She handed it over and Balthazar let her go. Cas motioned for a guard to come over and she was held firm in his grip.
"Cuff her and put her in my office until I decide what to do with her." Castiel ordered and she was led away.
Balthazar poked around the machine for a moment and got it to work again, aiming at Dean and hearing the clicks again. Dean clicked back with a raised eyebrow.
'is it trying to talk to the chip?' He signed and Hannah translated.
"Uhh, yeah. That's kinda what it's doing. The chip is talking back. We just have to find out where in your body it is."
Dean shuddered. There was something inside his body right now. Something that was used to track him down like an animal. He felt so invaded and small. Like property again. A voice from long ago said, 'if found please return to -' and it cut out again. He got the impression it was for a missing dog. More images flared up and he saw sheets of paper with the word 'missing' written on the top in big bold letters and a face underneath it. The faces all changing along with the backgrounds of the papers. A feeling of determination every single second a new MISSING picture popped up and another victim's face on the front. They flashed by like a flipbook but stopped suddenly as one was being held up by a familiar face with no name. That tall brown haired kid again. Holding up one of them and those strange biped hands reaching out from his viewpoint to take it from the other one's hands. Holding it up to his face. This one had a different word on the top and a face that felt so damned familiar on the front. WANTED. The photographed biped's face was handsome enough for a biped, freckles, just like he had, short blond hair that spiked up and the tall kid seemed to be upset that the piece of paper even existed. Looking at it like it had insulted his mother. Or looking at the photo of the guy and then the tall kid... maybe... brother?
"Dean? You ok? You're doing that thing again."
He shook his head a little, eyes coming back to look over to his friend. 'what thing?'
"You get all spaced out, start to lay down, and it looks like your heart is racing. It's gonna be ok. The last time you got like this you actually collapsed. We don't want that, ok? So whatever is going on in your head, forget about it."
'thats the problem.'
"What does that mean?" Balth asked, hand raising like he wanted to pat him on the arm. He looked at the arm in question and dropped his own. Something that big probably wouldn't even register as anything to the huge thing. Dean moved his head sluggishly to Balth and grinned a little. He nose bumped Balth in his stomach for the effort. Balthazar had to steady himself after that and patted the bridge of Dean's nose. Dean snorted and then lifted up his head again to alleviate some of the weight from his forearm so he could keep signing. Hannah translated.
'trying to remember past. It hurts my head.'
"Remember your past?" Dean nodded. "What are you trying to remember?"
'tall kid brown hair.'
"Ah. Yeah. You said you can't place where you know him?" another shake of Dean's head.
'always there. Here. In my head. Past.' the white fog in Dean's head threatened to take him down but he tried to shove past it again. 'wanted, missing.' he signed and panted heavily, eyes screwing shut.
"What's missing?"
Dean huffed a laugh between pants. Cas was surprised he could tell the difference. 'everything missing.'
"We will figure it out later, ok? But right now Balthazar and I need to come closer to find the chip. Is it ok with you if we do that?" Dean shrugged and swallowed down a pant to start to calm his breathing and heart. 'sure' he signed. Balthazar followed Cas into the cage, holding out the radio and waving it all over. The clicks didn't seem to be able to pinpoint where they were coming from but since Dean was so huge it might be easier once they're right on top of him. Dean laid down and stretched out a little. Resting his head out on the ground at Cas's request. From the office, Meg was surprised that the others were actually in the cage with Dean and no weapon of defense on either of the men.
"Is Dean really letting them do that?"
The guard regarded her with skepticism. "You spend all that time with him and you never even got close?"
"It's a dragon. How stupid do you think I am?"
The guard shrugged. "Maybe stupid isn't the right word." he said and added. "Dean has let the boss come close for days now. Shaking hands, patting Dean's head, wings, arms. Hell, Jay even told me he saw that Mr. Novak was allowed to stick his hand inside the dragon's mouth to check out his missing teeth. Like some kind of circus performer sticking his head in a lion's mouth. I think the dragon actually likes him. Not in the 'biblical' sense, but Mr. Novak is the only one that Dean had let get close. Since Balthazar is Castiel's friend, he was the second one to be allowed into cage without getting hurt. Everyone else gets a growl, hiss or a threat to set them on fire. Even though he can't ignite it, that stuff is still scary as hell if you get it on you. Any spark at all and you are a goner along with everyone and everything else around you."
"And you let Clarence in there with him?"
"Nobody 'lets' Mr. Novak do anything. He's the boss. We all answer to him, and he is a good man. We would follow him even if he wasn't our boss because we know that he is a natural born leader. He looks out for all of us and so we try and look out for him."
"By letting him go into a cage with a monster?"
"Dean is no more of a monster then you are. I heard that you let him be tortured for months. Who is the real villain here?" Meg shut her mouth after that. Practically pouting.
Back at the cage, Cas and Balth are looking up towards Dean's back. "It seems to be up there but..."
'but what?' Dean signed, hand outstretched a little.
"We would have to uh, get on your back to look closer." Dean considered this and shrugged. "You're really ok with this?"
'why not?' he signed and then turned his head to look at both of them at once, 'just dont hurt me.' He signed and looked at them a little warily now.
"Dean. I swear. We will not hurt you. And I don't think that our weight will cause you any discomfort. Is there any sore spots or sensitive areas we should steer clear of?"
Dean huffed a laugh. 'dont step on my eyeball and youre fine.' He signed and Hannah translated with a chuckle.
"No promises." Cas deadpanned. Dean stretched a wing out and nudged Cas in the side then lowered it to the ground.
"Did you... did you just give us a ramp?"
Dean shrugged again and nodded, wiggling the wing a little. Cas and Balthazar silently agreed that Cas should go first because Dean was more at ease with him. It was such an odd sensation to stand on another living thing that was so so much bigger then any other land animal currently in existence. He felt a thrill run down his spine at that first step. He tensed when Dean shuttered a little. "You ok Dean?"
'memories.' his brow furrowed. 'white fog covering them up.'
"What? A white fog?" Cas stepped off of his wing wrist again and came around to Dean's face.
Dean nodded a little and looked like he was trying to do calculus in his head. He shook his head and was a little surprised to see Cas right there in his personal space. He had to duck back a little just to focus on him. 'dude back up'.
"Apologies." he said and backed up. He then folded his arms and insisted, "Tell me about this white fog."
Dean looked over to Balth who was also coming around to talk. 'find chip first'. He motioned with his nose for them to get on with it. His wing folded forward a little but Cas frowned at it. There weren't exactly easy footholds on the webbed surface. Dean signed, 'I wont let you fall'. And with that hand he cupped it and held it close to his shoulder for Cas to use instead of the wing. His wing came around and held steady so Cas could hold onto the thumb while he climbed onto the hand.
Cas took a deep breath and put his food onto Dean's hand thumb and reached for his wing thumb. Dean held tight but not crushingly so as he guided Cas up. One Cas got both feet on Dean's hand he lifted it up the rest of the way with a grunt of discomfort at the odd angle. Cas hastily climbed off of the hand and the wing guided him further onto the wide back. Cas had to watch where he stood because of Dean's rather large sharp spikes all along his spine. One wrong move and he'd be singing falsetto. Castiel then held out a hand as Balthazar got up onto Dean's hand and was also lifted. They steadied themselves on his back and he let his hand drop, jostling the two on top.
"I can see my house from here." Balthazar joked and Cas squinted at him. "Charlie and the Chocolate factory? Really high up in the air? It's a famous quote, Cassie." he said exasperatedly. "Movie night. You're not skipping it again." he jabbed a finger at Cas who stumbled a little. Dean's wings were suddenly there, snapped upright to keep him from falling.
"Whoa shit!" Balth stumbled and held out his hands to the wings on either side of him. Cas did the same on instinct and Dean turned his head to check on them. "Ok. Uh... thanks?"
Dean gave a quick nod and lowered the wings just enough so that they could see out again.
"Ok, let's uh, get to work." Castiel said and with Balthazar's help, they started to scan Dean's wings first since they hadn't been folded up yet. Balth felt around for any odd bumps but Dean's whole hide was bumpy with the uneven scales. Texturing to split up his outline in the woods. Smooth shapes were easier to pick up in messy surroundings like trees, rocks, and shrubs. Here in this concrete building, he stood out as the messy shape amid straight lines and blank spaces.
"Right wing is done, you can lower it if you want." Cas patted it and Dean folded it in a little. His left wing twitched as their scans now hovered over that one. Dean started to bite his lip and kept stealing glances at the two on his back. He couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't the first time bipeds were on him, but not even Alistair or Azazel got up there. He forced himself not to think about it but kept coming back to the idea that having passengers wasn't the same for him as it must be for horses or other living rides. He felt more like he was able to keep them safe if they were right there. He caught himself thinking that he didnt want to let them down again. His right wing came back up slowly of its own volition and he let it. They didn't seem to notice or mind. Their feet kinda tickled though as they walked along his spine, avoiding the spines that stuck up at regular intervals. Not so many that he couldn't be flexible, but enough to keep him from curling up carelessly. He poked his own self more then once with them.
He wondered if it would hurt if he gnawed off the sharp points so he didn't have to worry about poking out an eye or hurting a biped on accident. One of the spines between his shoulders was shorter then the rest, and it was this one that Cas and Balth were moving to next.
"The clicking is getting more frequent over here." Cas announced and Dean had a little difficulty turning his head around so tightly. He adjusted his position and both of the men were knocked down to the side. Dean caught them with his wing and kept on adjusting so he was leaning on one side. Finally able to look at them.
"Dean! Warn us next time you decide to roll over!" Balth admonished as he straddled his friend. They both used Dean's wing forearm to stand up, more or less and hover the radio over his two sets of shoulders. The clicking turned into a hum because it was going so fast and Balthazar rubbed his hands along Dean's stumpy spine.
"It must be in here." he murmured to Cas who nodded. There was scarring all around the spine now that they took a closer look and realized that it was only half the size it should be. "Dean? Did someone remove this spine when you were younger?"
Dean looked to the one in question and when Balth put his hands on it and nudged it, the memory came flooding back. Alistair and his knives. Tearing. Cutting. Ripping. Dean shifted forward sharply and just as the two were about to fall off he caught them both in his right hand. Clutching it tight like they were an oddly shaped tennis ball, his hand easily overpowered them both. He thumped it to the ground, palm side up and gave only the briefest looks of apologies as he dumped them to the ground like dice. His hand flipped back around, palm side down again, and slammed down next to them to push off from the ground. His torso and rear lifted to a hasty crouch and scooted away quickly as if he were going to be beaten.
He whined from the corner, watching Cas and Balth disentangle their limbs and get to a stand again with much grunting and awkward hand placing. Dean was shivering from the memories. Alistair made sure he would remember this one. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to steady himself. He is safe now. Alistair isn't here. He's safe. Cas said he wont hurt him. It's safe. Safe. His wings twitched and he curled up tighter on instinct as Cas and Balth finally stood up again. Looking rumpled as all hell. They walked over, but were closer to the bars then before, ready to jump out of the cage if Dean really was having a mental breakdown.
"Dean?" Cas crept closer, hands out to show he was unarmed. "Dean, you ok buddy?"
Dean just looked at him with a mix of fear and trust. He nodded a little and signed, 'u wont hurt me'. Seeming to take comfort in that. Cas looked back to Balth and they both started to smell of something bitter. Dean took a second to get a good whiff. They were about to lie. That's what liars smell like. 'no hurt right?'
"Yes, Dean. We wont hurt you." the scent stronger then ever.
'liar'. He stated. His heart hurt and his lungs felt too tight. 'liar'. He signed again, sadness drenching his whole form.
Cas shook his head. Refusing to loose what trust they had been working on. "The chip is imbedded in that shorter spine. I'm guessing that when they removed it, they implanted the chip and let the spine grow around it. The only way to get the chip out is if we remove the spine again."
Balthazar gave him a look, and Cas defended himself, "He deserves to know. This is his body and his choice."
Balth resigned, "Dean, Darling, we have to remove it. If there is another machine like this one, then they'll be able to find you again. If you don't want that to happen, we have to remove it and destroy it immediately. I swear, we can do it with you sedated. You wont feel a thing." Balthazar said, "I'm sorry we lied."
He considered this and saw and smelled that they were now telling the truth. The bitter scent vanishing. He took a few more sniffs to confirm it and the others looked at each other.
"Did you just sniff us?" Dean nodded. "Why?"
'can tell your feelings better'. He signed and Hannah translated.
Hannah spoke up, "He must be able to detect our pheromones and hormones in the air. Our abilities to do the same are not nearly as honed in but we can detect them too. It's more on a subconscious level. You know how you meet someone and you just 'know' if they are a good person or not?" the others understood and she grinned. "He's just more aware of them then we are."
'you all are good'. He signed and smirked a little. They obviously took it as a huge compliment but had to get back to business.
"We're gonna have to discuss this. Dean? Sit tight, ok? We are just gonna have a chat with our 'guest'." Cas ground out and went forward to pat Dean on his forearm. Dean lowered his head and nuzzled Cas's chest. His hands went up and started to affectionately rub Dean's long nose. A deep purr rumbling all around him and through him as Dean's eyes fluttered closed. "You like this?" Cas asked even though the evidence was vibrating his whole body. "Ok, I'll be back later alright?" He rubbed extra hard along the nose and ended with his knuckles dragging between his nostrils at the front. Dean resisted the urge to pull in the biped for a proper cuddle after that. Cas laughed and Dean loved that sound but before he could snake his hands around his best friend, Cas slipped away and through the bars. Balth was already halfway to the office.
Dean huffed, but sat up dutifully as he watched them go back into the office to speak with the traitor.
Castiel walked back to his office with the small radio in hand, gripped tightly as if it were Azazel's neck. "It's in between all four of his shoulders. A spot riddled with nerve bundles and intricate muscles. Azazel is a real piece of work. A wrong move and Dean could have been paralyzed. His arms and wings useless. It's gonna be hell trying to get it out from that area too. We could end up crippling him for life. I can't pinpoint the location but it seems to be under a spike that is shorter then the others on his back. Did they remove it when he was younger?"
Meg sat up straighter and the cuff clinked together as she wrung her hands. "Maybe? I seem to recall Azazel wanting to put a damned saddle on him and ride him like a horse. He had Alistair remove two of his spikes shortly after he first got there. One behind his head and the other right where you're saying."
"Who's Alistair?"
"Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention." she said, Castiel wasn't sure if she was playing coy or honestly forgot, "Alistair is the one that 'trained' him." Air quotes in full force accompanied by a distasteful sneer. "When I first met Dean, it was after the first time he was tortured. I had no idea what they did. I swear. I thought it was simple training. Training a wild bear is not the same as training a dog who is eager to please. They were trying to make him docile and break his will." she rubbed a hand over her eye and it came back wet. Castiel shifted his stance and refused to feel anything for her. "They broke more then that. I had no idea what was really going on. He's not the first monster to go to the zoo and -"
"He's not a monster." Castiel cut in firmly.
Meg raised an eyebrow and leaned over to look at Dean. "Sure Clarence."
Castiel looked intensely pissed at her. "He may be the first thing that I've seen in person that wasn't human or animal, but he is far from the worst monster out there. Now keep going with your story and don't disrespect him again."
Meg considered Castiel's outburst and continued, "The other... creatures... that Azazel had at the zoo were monstrous. Dangerous. Until he trained out the bad behavior. Just.. with a little more negative reinforcement then is necessary. The other handlers explained it better, since the creatures were generally intelligent and dangerous, you had to use a firmer hand then you would with a normal animal. You know me. I'd never seen anything that bizarre in my life! I believed them, they seemed to know what they were talking about because they had more experience. I mean, when we were together I let you do your own thing. I thought it was interesting as well but I never believed that it was real. Then..." she hesitated. Reluctant to talk about the day she left to the guy that she left standing right in front of her with a loyal armed guard standing behind him. "Uh, Castiel? Can he step outside? I don't feel comfortable discussing this with Rambo over there."
Castiel glared at her, knowing what she wanted to talk about and then half turned around to wave his hand to the guard to wait outside. "Can you make sure that there's no surprises waiting for us outside the building? If our guest here invited backup?"
"You really think I'd come here with backup? Like I'd just steal him away?"
"Isn't that why you came here? To do just that?" Castiel bit out and said, "Tell me why you left that day to hunt monsters and came to work for one instead."
"Fine." she was going to cross her arms but the cuffs pulled at her wrists instead. She made an irritated noise and pushed her hands to her knees. "When I was packing up with my brother, I heard Balthazar's voice messages all morning. It was getting really annoying. I was tempted to just unplug it while we worked but left it alone for you."
"Thanks for the consideration." He growled out.
"Any-way. You heard them too, since you're here. You're welcome." she said snidely. Like she should be given a medal for not being an excessive bitch. "At first I thought it was just another one of his wild goose chases, but as we got done packing, it sounded like he really did find something. On the drive to my brother's friend's house, it kept playing in my head. Over and over. I suppose I kept on thinking about it so I wouldn't have to think about what I was doing to you." her voice got quieter at the end and she finally looked him in the eyes with a glimmer of regret.
Castiel refused to acknowledge it and waved his hand for her to continue. "So..." she said, nearly a whisper. "I did some digging of my own. When I wasn't busy trying to find a new place to put my stuff. I found this thing online. Do you know what hunters are?"
"Hunters?"
"Yeah. Not regular animal hunters. Like monster hunters. Guys that go out and find and kill the dangerous monsters out there."
Castiel ruminated on that and remembered that months ago, Balthazar and his gang came across that website for hunters to exchange information on the monsters that were out there. The best ways of killing the different kinds. How to find them, what the monsters feed on, and where the latest unclaimed 'hunts' were. The whole thing was set up like a wiki page and a message board. Everyone used aliases of course and apparently it was in a kind of code that only hunters understood. Jealously guarding their secrets from the public eye. Cas didn't blame them and almost wanted to give them an award for keeping the whole world safe from these things. He'd heard what they found at the 'zoo' and even though one side of him was dying to know what all the monsters were and looked like, he was grateful that they were dead and no longer hurting people.
Balthazar was suddenly there behind him and Castiel startled at his voice, "Yeah, you remember, Cassie. Those two hunters that we found when the mother dragon was found. They were posing as FBI agents outside of Freedersville just before the shit hit the fan. Never did find out what happened to them. They just disappeared." Balthazar shrugged.
Castiel tried very hard to remember the names of those two hunters. He recalled back in the day, hoping that they were safe and wanting to talk to them about what all they'd seen.
Meg pipped up, "There were hunters out there? Looking for them?"
Balthazar looked at her with distrust but said, "Yes. Cassie and I were trying to track them down to ask them all about the big bad in the woods. You thought one of them was cute." Balthazar nudged Castiel in the side. "Had those stars in your eyes when I showed you his mug shot." he chuckled and said, "Were you always into the bad boys?"
Meg's eyes went wide. "You what?"
"What do you mean? Isn't that why you left me? You found out I was bisexual?"
Meg mutely shook her head. Dumbstruck.
The room went quiet. Castiel trying to process this. "Wait, wait... then why did you leave?"
"You thought I had left because you're gay? You really think I'm that shallow? I don't care if you're gay."
"Bisexual." Balthazar corrected. "I'm gay, and you're straight. These are the most common ones here, Darling. But if you'd like me to educate you on the whole rainbow of possibilities in sexuality, then I have a class starting Monday."
"Balth, please." Castiel said, holding up a hand. Now's not the time. "Meg. Why did you leave?"
She squirmed in her seat and said, "I'm sorry. I did love you. Still do, although the cuffs could be considered kinky at this point if you felt the same way." She winked but it fell on a hard face. "I may love you, but I fell out of love with you. I couldn't see us together in the future. I always felt like I was second in your mind. Your research coming first. I felt like you were just waiting for me to leave so you could play around with your scientist buddies. I left before you forgot about me."
"We could have talked about it."
"And said what exactly? What we're saying now? It would never end. You have to dissect everything I say. Pick it apart."
"Because that's who I am! I have to find out the truth. You tell me now that you left me because you don't love me? Then I accept it. I don't like it. I don't understand it, but if you don't want to talk about it, it's not like I can force you." he glanced to the window where an armed guard was patrolling the area. A wry smile snuck out from his mask, "I suppose I could. But I would never do that." He sighed and pulled over a chair to sit in front of her. "I just... needed a reason for you leaving. Not knowing was worse then hearing that you just didn't love me anymore."
"But that's the thing. I didn't hate you. I just... dammit. I hate having to talk about my damned feelings like this. You're not even giving me a way out." she gestured to the door.
"Stop running from your problems. Grow up." Castiel snapped.
She gaped at him and fell silent again. After nearly a minute she nodded. "Ok. Yeah.. that's what I do. That's exactly what I do. Hit the nail on the head with that one didn't ya?"
Now Castiel squirmed a little. Balthazar was debating if his presence was still wanted and just a look from Castiel screamed 'yes' so he made himself comfortable as the mediator in this. He cleared his throat, "Meg. You and I may not have been the bestest of buddies, but I must say, that I understand a little what you're going through. From what Cassie has told me, you've been in several bad relationships before, yes?"
She nodded a little and shrugged.
"So in the back of your mind, you expected Cassie to be just another bad match. Not the whole time, but your experiences pointed to a bad ending and rather then talk about it or deal with it, it was just easier to run from it." Another nod and she wiped her tears away again. Castiel watched quietly. "You thought it would be easier for him if you'd left him all at once instead of a little at a time. Drawing out the process." He didn't have to see to know she was nodding. "From what I gather. The pattern continued. With our mutual friend." he pointed out Dean beyond the interior window who was watching the office like a really big hawk. "We got the reports saying that you were the one that befriended him, and over time came to care about him enough to overthrow your employer, a very very dangerous man, to save his life."
She sniffled a little, "Yeah. I couldn't let him suffer any more. I would have acted sooner but I was scared for my life, his life. All of them. My co-workers didn't see the creatures as anything more then dumb animals. Most of them are, but the ones that are more human... I couldn't live with myself, lie to myself that it's just a job, they are better off in a zoo then killed by hunters, or, out killing people. As much as Azazel is an asshole, he was doing some good. He claimed to be a hunter and that zoo was for educational purposes. To learn everything about the monsters that other hunters went after. A good portion of the information in the hunters network came from his damned zoo. His partner, Nick something, would take what Azazel learned and would tell the other hunters the best and most efficient way of killing the dangerous wild monsters."
Castiel and Balthazar shared a look. They honestly didn't consider that. They were still fairly new to the 'monsters really are actually real and there was a war going on this whole time under their noses. "What could be learned from torturing a dragon?"
"Isn't it obvious?" she asked and said, "He's the first one that Azazel could get to. The mother was safely in the government's hands, but the baby was still out there. Someone kidnapped it and he had to go find it and bring it in. For everyone's safety."
"But Dean isn't dangerous."
"Dean... was." she affirmed. "Before I started working there, the other handlers told me that he was brought in in a semi and when he was taken out, he tried to escape and injured several of the hunters there. He got loose and ran for the exit but the others were too fast. He took a detour and let loose vampires to attack everyone that was chasing him."
Twin gasps were heard and she looked up again. "He let loose known killers because he didn't want to get caught." She looked pointedly at Dean, "When he saw that the front gate was impassable, he turned on the vampires and then started killing them. Stomping them into the dirt like they were insects. Punishing them for failing to kill everyone there."
Castiel's voice came out quietly, "how many died?"
"None. At least, no humans died. He killed 4 of the 6 vampires. The hunters got the rest."
Balthazar rubbed a hand down his face, "Wait. Why on earth would he kill the vampires? Shouldn't he have just let them kill the hunters? Joined in the killing himself if he really was all that evil?"
"I don't know. All I know is what I was told."
"By Azazel or by the handlers."
Meg squinted suspiciously and nodded. "He might have lied. Gotten the handlers to tell everyone that Dean was truly heartless."
"Ya think?" Balth spat out.
"Look Johnny English, I only know what I've been told and what I see with my own eyes. Dean was not the cuddly kitten that you have in that cage over there. He was impulsive, temperamental, unpredictable and just plain mean."
"Wouldn't you be all those if you were held captive?"
"He changed alright? He and I would talk whenever I went to feed him and I grew to like the big scaly bastard. Alistair's training was working and Dean became more docile. He liked me well enough but had fights with others. He didn't like the other handlers, creatures, his master or trainer. Azazel tortured out his stubbornness and made him into a perfect pet. They broke him. I couldn't take it anymore. I could see him loosing himself day after day. Something they were doing to him was taking away his personality. He mentioned he was loosing memories but he wouldn't tell me what all he did remember so I couldn't tell him what he was forgetting. I couldn't be his memory holder." She sniffled again and wiped her face with a tissue Balthazar handed her. She nodded her thanks and blew her nose. Castiel no longer felt the need to have her cuffed but he still didn't trust her completely. She was after his friend after all.
"I made up my mind when he said, 'I'm a good boy.'" another sniffle. "Just like that, all simple. Like a pet. Pathetic. Desperate. He thought his worth was solely what Azazel said it was. I went straight to the nearest military base I could find online and told them everything. I needed someone with more man-power then Azazel and his hunters on payroll. After a couple of days, they told me when the raid would be and to make myself scarce. I wanted to join in but I also didn't want to see what they were going to do with the other monsters. They told me they were only planning on keeping Dean. I told myself that it was for the best that the other monsters were finally going to be at peace. It's not like you can just release them into the wild again. That would be monumentally stupid. Most of them were just dying for the chance to kill again. Some were harmless and I tried to convince the General to let them go free but he told me that it was either all or none. I found out that the government was in league with some hunters and they'd already gathered what information they could from the other zoo monsters. They had no need to keep them alive. Just Dean. Because they wanted a male for their female dragon. A set. They wanted to learn all they could from him so that they'd know how to kill other dragons should they find more."
"We already know all this." Castiel cut in. "We know. We read the reports. They killed the monsters and burned and buried them. Dean was taken to the facility and they skinned him, tested on him, beat his teeth out with fucking metal bats and left him to die in a burning building." he ground out, standing up again and leaning over her. "You took him from one torture table and threw him onto another."
She shook her head slowly, mouth aghast. "I thought... I thought they were going to help him."
"You thought wrong." he went to stand next to the door, looking out at Dean. Dean was standing, clearly anxious and staring at the office, he lifted up a huge hand and waved meekly. Castiel's heart went out to him and he waved back. Dean seemed to breath a little easier and sat down again. Still watching. Castiel was grateful that Dean couldn't hear what was said behind inside the office. "Michael, my boss, was able to buy Dean from the General and bring him here. We planned on testing him but since he was so... damaged, we had to wait several days before he'd even look at anyone with something other then fear or hatred." Castiel sighed, hating the look Dean had in his eyes. Every bad emotion you could think of, alternating from one to the other. "And yet," he started, looking to Balthazar and then Meg, "he seems to like me. I don't know why. Maybe he was trying to get in good with the 'boss', so I wouldn't beat him for disobeying or some such. I admit that once I got to really spend time with him. I got to liking him too. He is not the animal he'd been treated as for so long. He just looks dangerous. I can tell all he wants is a friend. Someone that he doesn't have to do a trick for to make them like him. He did anyways, he was trained to think his only worth was how well he obeyed."
"And how sad is that?" Balthazar added.
Castiel was uncomfortable talking about his and Dean's relationship so he went to the door and shut it again, giving an encouraging smile to Dean before doing so so Dean wouldn't think he was being shut out. Even though he was. "Meg. You said that Azazel is after your brother."
She nodded, "He said if I don't hand over Dean, my brother is as good as dead."
"As good as. So, does that mean, not dead dead?"
She squinted at him. "Generally that means DEAD dead. What else could it mean?"
"He had access to things that can turn humans into monsters. Maybe he planned on doing that with your brother." Balthazar realized. "Maybe he's trying to build up his zoo again."
"What?!" Meg nearly screamed. "No! Nonononno he can't!" she jumped up and went for the door, only to be stopped by both men. "Let me go! I know what he's planning on doing!"
"What? Just tell us what you know, Meg!" Castiel insisted, knowing that she's hiding something from them.
"Azazel knows how to get a dragon! He was planning on using my brother to get one from the General!"
"Hold on. HOW? How do you 'get' a dragon?"
She wrested her arms from their hold and went to pace the far wall, clearly debating how to tell them what she knows, but also knowing that once they know, there is no way in hell they'd hand Dean over to her. Her conscious won out in the end. "It's the mother, Eve. Azazel needs to get to Eve and hand over my brother to her."
"What like a human sacrifice? This some kind of witchy thing?"
"What? No. Don't be stupid." her eyebrows furrowed. "Eve needs to eat a human." They both grimaced at that but she kept on going. "Whatever she eats, whole and still alive, will come out as a brand new baby dragon."
Clearly they weren't quick on this uptake.
"Dean was once a human." she jabbed her cuffed hands out towards Dean's cage.
Crickets were louder then they were in that room.
"What?" Balthazar spoke up first. And second, "What?" shaking his head in utter disbelief.
"Eve attacked and swallowed dear old Dean in there when he was in the woods hunting her down."
"Ok, so now you're telling us that Dean was a hunter?" and after he got the nod, "And that he was a human?"
"Yes. Generally monster hunters are human." She waited for them to catch up. "Eve got to him before he could get to her and she ate him. I don't know when exactly, but soon after we hear of a baby dragon being smuggled out of those woods by some unknown people. They go into hiding until Azazel finds him and brings him to the zoo. You both know the rest."
"Wait wait wait... how the hell do you know that he was a human?" Balthazar asked. Castiel was still silent.
"He told me."
"He told you."
"Yeah, Sugar, he told me. What, he didn't tell you?"
"No! Of course he didn't tell us! I think that would have been the first thing to cross his mind would be to tell us!"
"Why?" she demanded. "Look at it from his point of view. He tells you he was human, you try and find out where he came from, how he got to be a dragon, then everyone and their uncle will be after his mother to make more dragons. He's trying to protect his mother! She is the real key here. Dean told me that he and Eve were not supposed to be mates, Eve was going to make him his own mate and they were supposed to run off together and live long happy dragon lives together in the mountains."
"Cassie, you don't believe this do you?" he turned to his friend who had yet to say a word after the revelation. "Castiel?" he prompted again.
"Dean... was human?"
Meg was about to be sarcastic but saw the look in his eyes. "Yeah. He was."
"What was his name? His real name?"
"Umm... he told me once. Let me think..." she said, walking to the window and looking out. "Chester something... Winchester. Same first name. And he had a brother."
"Sam." said so softly it could have been mistaken for an exhale.
Meg cocked her head. "Yeah, that's right. Sam and Dean Winchester."
"Hunters." he looked up at her again.
"Yeah, they were both hunters. Sam got away but Dean was caught." she said, and suddenly realized something, "Sam was the one that took him back!" both men shot looks at her. "When Dean was still a baby dragon, Sam must have found him again and stole him back, took him home again until Azazel found them and kidnapped Dean from Sam!"
"Did he uh, did Dean ever say what Sam looked like?" Balthazar asked, never taking his eyes off Castiel.
Castiel mouthed the words as Meg spoke them. "Tall with long brown hair."
"Son of a bitch." Castiel said and then faced his friend, "Balth, didn't you say those FBI agents in Freedersville were really Sam and Dean?"
"Yeah, and you thought the shorter one was hot." Balthazar looked to the office door. "That Dean was hot."
"You got to be kidding me." Meg finally said. "You had the hots for a dragon?"
"He! He wasn't a dragon at the time!" Castiel sputtered out. "All I saw was a few pictures online! I just wanted to ask him -"
"Out?" Balthazar chuckled.
"ASK HIM about what he FOUND." Castiel shouted. Face flushing.
Meg chuckled now, "Well, you can ask him now, but I'm pretty sure the answer is obvious."
"Fuck you, Meg." Castiel shot at her and went to the liquor cabinet. "Balth. Where the hell did you put the stuff?"
"What stuff?"
"The stuff I use to calm the fuck down. I can't go out there looking at a fuckin' dragon and seeing a human trapped in that cage after he'd been tortured and abused and WHERE THE HELL IS IT BALTH?!"
Balthazar snapped to attention and went to the cabinet, digging around and pulling out a bottle of pills, holding it out of Castiel's reach until he let his arms fall impatiently to his sides as Balthazar pulled out three pills and handed them over. "Not with alcohol Cassie."
"Don't call me Cassie!" he said and dry swallowed the pills. One got stuck in his throat and he started coughing until Meg handed over his cold coffee from the desk. He nodded a quick thanks and downed the rest of the bitter drink. Once he got his breathing under control he glared at everyone in the room.
"Better?"
"Give me a goddamned minute." He spat and paced a little. Forcing himself to sit down and jerkily twiddle his thumbs.
After another moment passed, Balthazar and Meg just looked at each other. "So, hows life, Darling?" he asked her, arms folding.
"Good, good, brother's still missing, presumed monster. But other then that..." she said casually. "You?"
"Same." he looked to Castiel who was calming down and huffed a laugh at the stupid joke. "Less monster now looks like."
"Shut up, Balth." a small grin on his lips.
"Oh! And he's back." Balthazar clapped a hand to Castiel's shoulder. "So. What's the plan boss man?"
"Plan? What plan. I only just found out that I'm keeping a formerly human monster hunter in a cage. The original plan for the day was to teach Dean how to read and write." He laughed humorlessly. "Does he know now that he was once human?"
"Who knows. He used to know at least, enough to tell me about his 'past life'." Meg shrugged. "Alistair must have made him forget somehow."
"Then we gotta help him remember again." Castiel said.
"Would that actually help anything?" Balthazar chimed in. "We tell him he was human, that it's wrong to keep him in a cage, what do you think he's gonna do?"
"Try and break out, find his brother."
"Exactly. And how the hell do you think Michael will handle that?"
Castiel thought about it and said, "Not ideally." he sighed heavily. "and, if he gets loose, he will no doubt cause a panic. People see a dragon walking around town, and there will be blood. Either his or theirs or both. If he's not killed, he will be just taken into another facility like this one. Tortured again. Dissected." his eyes cast downward again."
"At least we know more now." Balthazar offered. "Maybe we can figure out what to do."
"Well, get him out of here for one. Somewhere where he will be safe from people."
"He wont leave without his mother." Meg said. "All he talked about was her and his little brother Sam. He also had someone else that was close to him, he called him his dad friend. Whether that means his dad's friend, or his friend that is a dad or what."
"Must be talking about Bobby." Castiel said aloud and Balthazar nodded.
"Bobby? How did you know about Bobby?"
"Dean wrote it down yesterday. He also wrote down Sam's name and his own in the concrete. It was the first real proof that we had that he was far more intelligent then we thought. I suppose now it shouldn't be surprising. Seeing as how he was once a famous hunter." Castiel looked to Meg who wasn't following, "We found all kinds of reports on Sam and Dean, many were saying on the hunters network that they were responsible for turning the tide in the monster war years ago. Right after their father died. Went on a monster killing spree that lasted a long time. Apparently they were the best hunters around. Well respected."
"Any news on what happened to Sam after Dean was caught by Azazel?" Meg asked Castiel.
"I haven't found anything. Either he's not hunting monsters, or he's dead. The hunters network said he was in mourning over the loss of his brother during that dragon hunt. Of course only a handful of people knows about the dragons, the rest think it was just a random monster. Sending condolences." he shrugged. "If I were him though, I would do everything in my powers to get my brother back." He looked to Meg and understood a little more what she was going through right now. "We're gonna help you get your brother back too. And I think I know the best way how."
Meg leaned forward in her chair, eager to have an old ally in this. "anything, i'll do anything."
"That's good, because you're the only one that can do this."
Dean was worried. Cas and Balth and Meg were all in that office together and there was yelling and stomping and banging going on. He didn't know who was gonna walk out of there alive at the end of it all. He hoped Cas would make it at least. Meg betrayed him before once, she might do it again. Balth... was an ok guy but not one of Dean's biggest favorites. But Cas... something told him he could trust Cas. He doesn't lie to him. Always looked out for him and was the first to treat him with respect here. Dean started to feel a nice warmth inside him whenever he saw the guy with the nice blue eyes look at him. Yeah, Cas was awesome. Dean waited somewhat patiently for them to come out of the office but it looked like they were discussing something in there. He heard his name once or twice but didn't hear the context or rest of the sentences. He did hear his Cas shout the words, "Ask him what he found," And then a few seconds later, "Where the hell is it Balth?"
Dean had no idea what that was all about and hoped that someone would please just tell him what's going on. Did he do something wrong? How can he fix it if he doesn't know what he did? His breakfast was finally served, cooked medium and put inside his food dish behind and to his right. He flicked a side fan in that direction, listening to the two women shut the small door again and lock it. He could force the puny lock but there's no point, he couldn't fit out of that little hole anymore then his head to his horns. A few more feet out if he angled it upwards to look at the ceiling unobstructed by bars. But again, what's the point?
Dean waited another minute, staring at the office before the delicious scents coming from his food dish beckoned him over. He took the few steps on over and started to eat quickly, keeping his attention tuned to the door for the first sign of movement or voice loud enough for him to hear clearly.
He finished his meal and licked the bowl clean. The cage cleaners never really have a chance at getting to it before he just does it himself. His straw was replaced and he asked Hannah for some tree limbs to add to his nest. At first she was hesitant but seeing the look in Dean's eyes told her that he just wanted to make a more comfortable nest with some structure. She agreed and a few people brought in some two by fours. Not really what Dean had in mind but he was grateful all the same, and started to weave the nest with the lumber forming a nice base wall. He tested it out and purred for a few minutes, feeling more at home. The office quieted down and he found himself dozing. Dreaming of Cas and his nice scent, his nice smile, that ridiculous tan coat, and his blue eyes.