Research, research and more research. It'd been a while since Dean had done so much and to be perfectly honest? He hated it. After years and years of looking things up and being a huge fan of the Angel Battles, Dean thought he knew everything. He'd seen fliers around numerous times, seen sign up sheets all over the place for people with angels. So now that he'd filled a bunch of them out and had a ton of fliers with him, he didn't understand what he was supposed to do with them and how he was actually going to end up in the Angel Battle Arena.
"What the hell!" Dean shouted, enraged by the whole thing. "Why won't anyone answer me!"
"Maybe it's because you and Cas aren't known yet," Sam grumbled, glaring up from his cheerios that morning. "Or it's a sign."
"No, there are no signs." Castiel said solemnly, "There is no one to give them anymore." He looked up at Dean, tilting his head curiously, "Why not ask Mrs. Milton? We've only done a few weeks of training, it's not over yet."
Sam furrowed his brow and looked at his brother disapprovingly, "You aren't even done training yet and you've already signed up for this stuff!"
Dean shrugged, "Figured I'd better get a leg up on it," he looked over at Castiel, standing across the room with his arms firmly placed over his chest. "Cas doesn't seem to mind."
"That's 'cuz you brain washed him." Sam countered, sticking out his bottom lip in a pout.
Castiel smirked and leaned over Sam casually, "Dean did no such thing, Sam. I made this decision on my own." He spoke smoothly, his voice low and oddly soothing.
Sam fought the faint blush darkening his cheeks before looking up into those gorgeous blue eyes, "What do you mean? Why would you want to do this on purpose?"
"It's a sort of trade, he helps me if I help him." Castiel explained, moving around the table to Dean's side, a hand gently sliding over his master's shoulder, "That and I've been told by other angels it isn't so bad. I want to know what my family has been through, so I can better connect with them and help them later on. It sounds silly but if I have to do as Dean wishes anyway, I might as well make the most of it."
"You're settling for listening to Dean?" Sam spat angrily.
"No, Sam. I'm choosing to listen. Yes, it is inevitable that I will have to listen to him, however he hasn't forced me to do anything. Dean isn't going to make me do anything so I've made my own choice." Castiel sat down next to Dean, across from Sam but not taking his eyes off the younger Winchester.
Sam glanced at Dean who remained oddly quiet, he sighed and nodded, "Alright Cas, if you think it's a good idea. Just don't be afraid to back out of it."
The angel nodded, "Of course, Sam."
The three were startled when the phone rang, Dean darted to it like a jackrabbit and, after fumbling the phone, he answered. "Hello? … Yes this is Dean Winchester … … Oh my god no way …"
Sam and Castiel exchanged nervous glances as Dean started to jump for joy, "What do you think the odds are he got a normal job and he's this happy about it." Sam muttered.
Castiel shook his head with a smirk, "Not likely. That's his 'I finally got what I wanted' jig, I'm pretty sure."
Dean put the phone down and looked at Castiel excitedly, "We're going to be in an arena! Our first fight!" He threw his arms in the air then around Castiel's shoulders, kissing him fervently.
Castiel pushed at him weakly, not really trying. "Okay, okay," he chuckled, "Where and when?"
Dean grinned madly, "We gotta jump a state over, we're joining a battle for Saturday afternoon."
"Where exactly?" Sam looked up, trying to figure out mentally when Dean would have to leave.
"Denver," Dean smiled.
"You're lucky that you only have to take the 70 straight there, but you'd better get going Dean." Sam hopped up, "You don't have a ton of time." Sam was eager for Dean to go, he wanted his brother to see as soon as possible what these fights would do to Castiel, to all angels. It was different than watching it on TV, or at least Sam hoped it would be for Dean.
"We could fly-"
"No," Dean interrupted Castiel before he could fully finish his sentence. "We're driving, that's that."
Castiel pouted and nodded, "Better pack your things then," he glared out at the car, not looking forward to another road trip. They were so slow; things could be so much more efficient if Dean wasn't a fraidy cat.
Dean nodded and bolted up the stairs, leaving the two less excited individuals to talk amongst themselves. Castiel sighed and looked at Sam, "We haven't even finished training yet, I'm not sure this will go well."
Sam nodded and stood up from the kitchen table, "I don't think it'll go well at all, Cas. Whether you have training or not, Dean's deluded and he's going to keep going until you get hurt. That's why I'm telling you to stop when you need to stop."
Castiel watched Sam carefully, part of him believed the same, another part… a new part of him believed in Dean. Even if Dean was deluded and naïve, even if he didn't understand what really happened to people out there… Dean needed to see it, and Castiel trusted his owner more now than he ever did. "Dean will do the right thing," he said plainly, "Our connection is strong enough that he'll feel when I need to stop, I think anyway. We haven't completed training so that's where I get worried."
Sam couldn't really believe what he was hearing, an angel bound to Dean by force trusted him more than Sam did. Either that or Sam knew his brother better. "Have it your way Cas, but I'm not gonna let this go on any longer than it has to."
Castiel nodded and smiled, "I trust that you won't, Sam. I appreciate the help, I do."
A smile came to Sam again and he gave a quick nod to Castiel in return, "You're welcome." He'd met up with those anti-establishment types a few times already. An uprising was on the horizon; he could see it. It may not be in the future for this year but he could see it would be in his lifetime.
Hours later…
Dean nudged Castiel urgently, pulling him from his deep slumber and causing a short moment of panic. "What what!" He cried, sitting up and nearly cracking his head against the ceiling.
"We're here." Dean smiled, petting his angel's head lovingly.
Castiel stared up at the Denver arena, a coliseum built for the Angel Battles. He swallowed nervously and glanced over at Dean's excited expression. "I'm scared, Dean." He said plainly, seeing no point in hiding it.
Dean paused for a moment and nodded, "Cas… I promise you it'll be okay."
"You can't promise that, Dean. We have no idea what angels will be here." Castiel protested anxiously, "Do you even know which Battle this is? Or anything about it?"
"Not exactly, but we'll figure it out." Dean didn't want to admit that since he'd gotten Castiel he hadn't been paying that close attention to his ultimate goal. Last he'd checked, about a month or two ago, a massive number of battles were being held leading up to the World Tournament. The winners would move on to the bigger battles, and so on. He'd been attempting to get into any fight so he'd lost track of which ones were part of the huge circuit and which were just little ones, just for practice and fun.
Castiel shook his head and started walking away from the car, "You know these things never end well, especially when you say 'we'll figure it out'."
Dean waved a hand at him, "Pssh. That's not true."
"Oh yeah? Tell me again, what happened during training when we first tried to 'fight' Anna and Chuck?" Castiel sneered playfully.
"Hey it turned out okay," Dean frowned, not liking the memory.
"Uh huh, they kicked our asses." Castiel raised an eyebrow, "You were too excited and lost focus… Again. Dean you have to make sure you pay attention or-"
"I know, Cas. I fixed it afterward, didn't I? Besides, Mrs. Milton's training wasn't dedicated to the fighting aspect, it was just basics for first time owners." Dean led them to the hotel they'd be staying in, if they won the first match then they'd be staying and fighting the subsequent ones. However there was always a chance they'd lose horribly and go home right after. He was hoping that wasn't going to be the case, not because he wanted to fight but because he didn't want to get hurt that badly.
The two checked into the hotel that was set up right next to the arena, the one they were assigned and would stay in until the rest of their fights. Castiel fidgeted and dropped into the bed, still fully clothed. "We have some time, sleep is a good idea." He muttered to no one in particular.
"Good idea, except you sleep better naked." Dean went to his angel's side and slowly started to remove the material, jacket and shirt went first. "Calm down, Cas. You'll be fine."
Castiel furrowed his brow as he watched his skin come into view, piece by piece. Dean carefully removed the lower garments; he didn't want to agitate his partner before getting to see him in the nude again. "What if someone attacks?" Castiel whispered.
"You were naked all the time, I don't see why you'd have any issues fighting-"
"Not that, dork." Castiel scolded him, smacking the side of his head lightly. "I mean what if someone cheats while we're sleeping and tries to kill us?"
"No one's ever done that in the Angel Battles, Cas." Dean reassured him calmly, "You'll be fine, and so will I. Just rest and I'll see you in a few hours."
Castiel sighed and wriggled against the unfamiliar sheets, not certain if he liked or hated the slightly scratchy material underneath. Dean's arms came around him within seconds and pulled him down into a strong and warm embrace. Castiel exhaled gently through his nose and snuggled closer, his cheek pressed against Dean's comfortably.
"Shhh…" Dean pet Castiel's head, his fingers trailing down that long, slender neck. Castiel shuddered and moaned quietly from the touch.
The two drifted off into a calm sleep, their minds preparing for the next day; their first real fight.
Still only fourteen years old, almost fifteen, Sam Winchester ran down the street in the dark of the night. A ski mask in hand, all black clothing, gloves included. Sam bolted to the meet up place, bunches of people in Lawrence were ready to stand up for angel rights and he was finally going to meet them. He arrived at the park where several people came out of hiding, they looked a little nervous and all eyes were on him. Sam knew that no one in his town had done anything to help the cause, not yet anyway. He was the first person to assemble them but he didn't realize that they were so unprepared to lead on this.
Even though many of the individuals in front of him were adults, everyone still looked to him to start the whole thing. "Uh, hi everyone." Sam spoke softly, walking to the center of the group and waving them in a little closer. "I'm Sam, I brought you all here tonight so we can cover something important."
He saw that they all came as prepared as himself, masks and gloves and dark clothing. There was one major 'angel accessory' store in town and Sam didn't plan on letting that thing go unpunished. He was sick of everything he'd seen and heard until now, the least he could do was put his words into action.
"We're going to start small tonight but that doesn't mean we're going to stay there. 'Angles on Angels' opened up its own store last year and their business is growing rapidly. Everyone wants in on this angel deal and every time someone buys something angel related it tells the bigwigs up there that we want more. So they make more, which means more testing and more torture." Sam pulled up a wad of images he'd stuffed into his shirt and handed them out.
Each page had a single image on it, each one a different angel in a different form of torture. "I won't let them think that's what we all want, at least not in Lawrence."
Looks of disgust passed through the groups and they all lifted their heads with a new determination. "Ready when you are, Sam." This was the response he got.
"Good, now let's go take that place down a peg." Sam smiled and pulled his ski mask on, running back to the street, only a few blocks away from their destination.
"Hey Sam!" A female voice called to him from the crowd, someone he recognized to be Jess from his class. "What do you plan on calling your activist group?"
Sam paused and looked at the handful of people, "My group?"
"Well yeah, you brought us together so it's your group. What do you plan on calling us?" She walked up to his side and crossed her arms over her chest.
Sam scratched the back of his head for a moment and shrugged, "Hadn't thought about it, anyone have an idea?"
"Make it obvious," Someone else spoke up casually, "Freedom Fighters."
A few nods from the others was enough for Sam, "Alright, works with me. Freedom Fighters, move out."
Author's Note:
Thanks everyone for all the reviews! And the support of course :) I'm glad you liked the last chapter, perhaps I should have put up a warning? Anyway this time I did advance the plot a tiny bit (I'm sure you noticed) I hope you all enjoyed it, I'll accept suggestions as to who Castiel's first opponent should be; either an angel that has been shown in the show or if I should make some up XP (Note: I already have plans for Gabriel and Lucifer so no suggesting them, plus Michael's the main one so I'm kinda losing out on angels here) Is everyone ok if I make some up?
EDIT: For anyone who read this already, sorry I fixed a few things ha ha -_-;; Realized I messed something up so I fixed it now.