Title: Under the Influence of Djinn
Chapter: Twenty-nine
Summary: AU: The Djinn siblings created a terrible detailed nightmare for Dean out of revenge, nearly killing him, Lisa, and Ben. With Sam alive, Castiel missing, and Campbell cousins in tow, he tries to pull himself back together.
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Supernatural was created by Eric Kripke. No disrespect in intended with this work of fan fiction.
Sam's phone buzzed. It was a text from Jo that Cas had figured out what they were doing. Immediately after, Gwen received one asking her not to come back to the room anytime soon. Sam sighed, pulled out his wallet, and in the dim light of the theater, handed over twenty dollars. You'd think he'd learn by now about betting with any of the Campbell cousins about anything.
They watched the end of the movie and headed back to the motel.
Gwen opened Castiel's door with her key. Why she even pretended to be staying in the other room with Jo was a mystery to Sam.
Stepping past her into the room, Sam shook his head. Papers, mostly crumpled, were tossed everywhere. "Castiel? What are you doing?"
"Good, you're back. I need your assistance and Dean is otherwise occupied. I thought it best not to interrupt them." He beckoned them over with one hand, searched through the papers on the table with the other, and held up a piece of what looked like parchment. "Read this."
He reached out for it, but Castiel set it back down and looked for another.
"Sorry. That was all in Enochian. Here. Here's the translation. I wrote it out. Tell me your thoughts. Be honest."
"Thoughts about what?" Gwen gently kicked a balled piece of paper aside and stepped beside Sam. She tilted the paper so she could also read it.
He began to read the paper.
Castiel took off his tan coat and tossed it towards the bed. "It's the battle plan. Gabriel gave it to me to look over."
"This plan sucks," Gwen announced and began to pick up the papers, dropping them in the trash can.
"I know." Castiel sighed. "How do I tell them it's a bad plan? I mean," he shrugged, "I don't think I've ever seen such a bad plan before. It's…." He sighed again.
Sam couldn't believe how bad this proposed plan was. It was something someone with no experience might come up with. Or someone planning with an archaic rule book. "It's not just bad, it's big, grand, and one huge suicide run. You can't use all of your forces in one area, especially when you have these sort of numbers to play with. You'll get your ass kicked. There's no room for variation, which is fine - I guess - as long as the other side is playing by the same rules, but Raphael won't play by these rules. She'll play dirty. Anyone who would torture like she did won't hesitate to go dirty. Who came up with this?"
"Gabriel and Naomi."
"Gabriel? The same Gabriel who once put me in a time loop? Who shoved us all in tv land to make a point? That same Gabriel?"
"The same. Apparently when it's for the whole of heaven, his planning skills go right out the window."
Sam waved the paper. "Apparently." Or he could be devious enough to give Castiel a bad plan knowing full well he'd vet it with Sam, Dean, Gwen, and Jo. Maybe even Bobby. "And Naomi. The Naomi who had a big complicated plan that included letting you be tortured just to get the pieces for a spell she thought she needed?"
"Naomi is terrific at office politics and that sort of plotting, but to be honest, she's horrible at actual battle tactics. Battles, Sam. Different area of expertise. As for Gabriel…. He was a messenger. He was never trained to command the heavenly army. Perhaps that's the reason this is horrible. You'd think Michael would have trained him considering he chose Gabriel to take his place. Gabriel did leave however, so there's that. If the only battle tactician the angels have high enough to make a difference is a former foot soldier…." Castiel shook his head. "Surely there are others higher in rank than me."
Sam set the page down. "Don't sell yourself short, Cas. You were a soldier. Still are. You know battle planning. You were in on all the apocalypse stuff with me, Dean, and Bobby."
"I'm not selling myself short, Sam. I'm just thinking it's sort of funny that it's me Gabriel is counting on to advise him on this. Me. The one Zachariah determined was too stubborn and disobedient."
"Why is it funny?" Sam didn't see the humor in it. He thought it was damned practical of Gabriel. Smart, too. He was utilizing every resource he had in a roundabout way. Why ask them for help when he could have Castiel do it for him? "Gabriel obviously knows you talk to us and pretty much everything Dean and I have done. He knows Jo got you both away from Raphael's watch detail and managed to keep you out of Raphael's grasp. Hell, he probably knows everything about Gwen, too. He knows you won't go in there without something solid that has the best chance of survival for all of you. Or, barring that, that best chance at making the most damage to Raphael. He knows we won't let you take anything less back to him. Besides, Gabriel isn't exactly the poster child for obedience himself."
Gwen shrugged. "You know, it makes sense Michael didn't train him, though. He always thought he'd win everything in the end. Gabriel was a contingency plan that'd never happen so why bother training him for that day?"
Sam snorted. It was so like the angels, too. "Michael dropped the ball big time."
Castiel glanced up, amusement in his eyes. "Don't ever let him hear you say that, Sam. He'd be mightily offended by the idea that he was less than complete in his duties."
"It's the truth." Sam picked up one of the wrinkled pages and smoothed it, revealing Castiel's own handwriting. "They're all arrogant. Every angel."
"Sam." Gwen cleared her throat and slid her eyes to Castiel and back.
"Cas included," he added. "But he got over that."
With a sigh, Castiel rested his hands on the table top, shoulders hunching and attention on one piece of paper. "Yes," he said slowly. "We were…are…arrogant." He nodded. "And that, in the end, is Raphael's weakness. It's the same problem Lucifer and Michael suffered from, Sam. Think about it. They were so arrogant as to assume they'd win out, that the fight would happen, maybe not exactly as planned, but that it would happen and end the way it was supposed to."
"It didn't happen that way." He saw where Cas was going with it and waited to see what else he was going to say.
"Why? Why didn't it happen that way?" He straightened. "Why didn't they prevail and the apocalypse finish playing out? What stopped them?"
It was Gwen who said it. "Two brothers they thought were weak inconsequential humans to be used as they saw fit. With a little help from you and another human."
Castiel smiled. "Exactly. The ones they underestimated. The ones they pegged as weak." He began to pace and it was rather like watching Dean when he was putting a plan together. "Raphael sees me as weak. She did everything in her power to make me weak. So maybe, when I go in, I let her think I still am."
Gwen's phone rang and she excused herself to take it outside.
In the end, Sam had to laugh, because the plan Castiel ended up with was actually far more of a plan than he and Dean ever had. It showed, rather well he thought, how qualified Castiel really was for this and Sam was almost excited for Castiel to show it to Gabriel.
Dean Winchester was totally worth the long wait.
Jo rested her head on his chest and laid still, enjoying the languid heaviness of her body right now and the feel of Dean's fingertips drawing idle circles on her back. Slowly, she ran her hand across his chest, his stomach, and lower, beneath the sheet.
He sucked in a breath. "You're insatiable, woman."
"Don't you like this," she teased in an innocent tone.
"You know I do, you temptress." His left hand fumbled at the nightstand for a long time and he finally raised up on his elbows to look. "Oh, damn it. We're out."
"We could raid Gwen's luggage," she suggested, tossing off the covers and heading for Gwen's bag. Jo rifled through it with little concern for putting anything back where it had been. It wasn't like Gwen would even notice anyway. Her housekeeping skills were rather lax and she packed by rolling things in balls and shoving them in her bag. "Did we really use all those Cas gave you?"
"He only gave me four, Jo." He got up and checked the floor around the bed. "We're definitely out."
"Damn." She searched the side pocket. Nothing. Gwen didn't have any condoms stashed in her bag.
"Okay. This is not a problem. We get dressed and go down to CVS. Or Walgreens. Or whatever the nearest drugstore is." He reached for his jeans. "Pick up a couple big boxes."
"Each. Maybe we should shower first."
Dean set his jeans on the bed and shook his head.. "Uh-uh. We'd have to shower separately because no way am I showering with you and not taking some fun time."
"Good point," she conceded and looked around the room. "Any idea where my panties are?" Earlier, he'd twirled them around his finger and let them fly across the room.
"Uh…. Nope. Go without."
Going to her own bag, she pulled out a fresh pair and began to get dressed, not bothering with a bra. After all, they were making the ten minute roundtrip to the drugstore and back. It wasn't like they were making other stops.
In minutes they were dressed and at the drugstore down the street, looking at an empty shelf in stunned silence.
"You've got to be kidding me," Dean murmured.
Crouching, Jo swept her arm across the empty shelves, hoping that at least one box would materialize. "Where the hell are the condoms?" Standing, she went to the bored clerk at the front register. "Hi. There are no condoms on your shelves. Got any in the back?"
"Sorry no," the girl replied. "Group of frat boys came in about an hour ago and bought us all out. You can try Walmart."
"Where is it?"
Armed with directions, they drove to the Walmart on the edge of town. Jo was half afraid they'd be out, too, but that wasn't the case. Dean bought six of the biggest boxes available, flavored oils, warming oil, and a case of beer. On the way back to the motel, Jo laid her hand on Dean's thigh, sliding it high without actively groping his crotch. Just a little preview for when they got back in the room.
Dean parked and was opening the door before he'd even got the keys out of the ignition. "Get the bags, we'll leave the beer for later."
Jo grabbed the bags and hurried to the door. She was already plotting the fastest, most efficient way to get her clothes off. Kick off the flip flops, pull her t-shirt over her head as she unbuttoned her jeans with her other hand….
Dean was putting the key to the lock when Sam left the room two doors down and approached them. "Not now, Sammy."
"Yes now."
"Sam." He made a gesture at Jo.
Sam crossed his arms. "You've been in there for hours. Take a break."
"We took a break," Jo protested, holding up the Walmart bags. "We needed some provisions. Drugstore was out of fun stuff."
"This is important."
Dean snorted. "So is this."
"Dean."
"What? What's more important than Jo and I finally getting busy? You think we haven't waited long enough?"
Sam ran a hand through his hair and gave a quick explanation that had Dean shoving past him and going into the room Sam had come from. Jo and Sam followed, Jo still holding the Walmart bags.
Gwen was surprised to find Bobby Singer calling her. The discussion was brief, but pointed. His buddy Rufus had found a similar pattern of killings to those she'd been searching for and there was a possible lead. She wrote the details down on the small notepad she had in her jacket pocket and promised to call him back shortly.
After hanging up, she sat for a long moment, staring at the paper.
Everyone had cautioned her about looking for that demon, Bobby Singer included, yet Bobby had found her a lead. Maybe. "It's up to you," he'd told her. "Think about it and call me back. I'll get you in touch with Rufus if you want."
Did she want? This might be the only lead she'd ever have and if she let it go, she might never have closure. It could be nothing or it could be everything. Which path did she take and how much would she regret it if she let this slip away?
Going back inside, she sat at the table and watched Castiel plan and Sam advise. When they were done, her heart beating fast and hard in her chest, she opened the notebook and laid it in front of them.
Castiel's grin immediately faded. "No."
"Cas?" Sam glanced at him in question.
"No, Gwen."
"Are you telling me, or pleading with me not to?" She knew which, she just needed to hear him say it right then. She needed to hear that he cared enough to want her here and not out there chasing after that demon.
"Don't do that. You know I'd never presume to tell you what to do. "
Sam picked up the paper. "What is this?"
"It's the demon." Castiel shoved back his chair and got up. "She wants to go after it."
"The…." Sam's brows rose. "The demon that got you back in? Cas, you got that from an address?"
He looked away. "I heard it in her thoughts."
Gwen nodded. "Yes. It's the demon. Or at least Bobby's buddy Rufus thinks so. He's run across a similar case in Montana and remembers one from Wyoming several years ago. I need to call Bobby back soon. You know how fast a lead like this can disappear."
"I do." Sam closed the notebook and slid it across the table at her. "I'm going to go get Dean and Jo."
"Don't interrupt them, Sam. I -"
"No." He got up. "You're not running out of here without all our input. They can go back after we talk this over."
At first, Dean was adamant she not go. He went back over everything he'd once talked with her about and, when he was done, Sam stepped in, then Castiel. The conversation went on for what felt like hours and Gwen realized her mind was made up. No matter what any of them said, she was going. This was something she knew she had to do.
Jo didn't try to talk her out of it. Perhaps she knew the futility of it. She wished her luck and told Gwen not to hesitate to call if she needed backup.
They took her to the bus station and said their goodbyes. All except Castiel. He stayed with her.
"Don't go." Castiel wrapped his arms around her and she didn't resist the embrace.
"I have to."
"No, you don't. This road leads to death, Gwen."
She drew back far enough to look up into his face. "Are your burgeoning angel powers telling you that or is it just good, old-fashioned, human worry?"
"The latter, but all the evidence I've ever seen in such cases supports my conclusion."
"You think I shouldn't follow up on it."
"Yes. You should leave it be."
Stretching up a hand, she ran it through his hair. "I have to do this."
"You don't."
"Dean and Sam understand."
"In this area, you don't wish to emulate their side of the family."
"I have to do this. I have to at least see if there's a connection. I'll regret it if I don't. Maybe if there is a connection, I can stop the bastard and save someone else."
"Please, Gwen. Don't go after that demon. You don't know what you might find. John Winchester searched for what killed his wife and uncovered Azazel. We both know how that turned out. John's dead."
"But Dean and Sam are alive." She pressed a kiss to his lips and pulled away. "I'll keep in touch. You do the same. Let me know how all the heaven stuff comes out, okay?"
He hugged himself. "If you stayed, you could know immediately."
"If you text or call, I can too. I have to go." She didn't say goodbye because she hoped it wasn't goodbye. At a last glance, he was still hugging himself, watching the bus as it drove away. She hoped it wasn't the last time she'd see him.
The heavenly power room was unlike anything Samandriel had ever seen. It housed the power stream to every angel there ever was or had been, a huge room organized by types of angel, levels of powers, and rank within type and level. Cupids were on the lower tier and everyone else stacked above, with the archangels on the top. It was dizzying to contemplate.
The remains of the team spread out to search for Castiel in their type, level, and rank. They'd lost two on the way in and given Raphael's guards the slip. Hopefully, they wouldn't be caught before they completed this task.
Everywhere, there were dark patches that indicated deaths. So many dark patches. Glancing around, Samandriel mentally calculated that they were down to nearly half the angels that had originally been formed. As he looked, more streams turned dark and stopped. The light to the room itself flickered and dimmed.
A sense of urgency filled him and he hurried forward.
Samandriel found Castiel's name, below Azariel, Anna, Balthazar, and a few other names that had no power output. There was a patch on Castiel's power beam, cutting it off. Drawing his knife, Samndriel pried at it. His knife slipped several times until he managed to get the tip under the edge of the patch. He grasped Castiel's nameplate with one hand to brace himself and, with a grunt, he worked the patch free.
The power stream that emerged was hot and so bright that Samandriel couldn't see anything. He was blinded by that brilliance. His vessel's stomach lurched and he had the sensation of whirling in circles through the air, connected only to that nameplate he still grasped in one hand. His body hit another panel and he laid still, panting, until his sight returned.
He was way up on the tiers, in a section that had only one remaining stream aside from Castiel's. The name on that light was Nia. Castiel's nameplate and beam had both moved and he was listed above her, on a new, smooth panel.
Castiel was no longer in the lower ranks. He was below the archangel tier, slightly to the right of it and of Gabriel's name.
Below him, Samandriel heard his team calling for him to hurry down so they could leave. Staring up at that tier, Samandriel had an idea. The fingers of his free hand were cramped about the plug that had covered Castiel's power stream. "Go without me," he yelled down. "Report back that it's done. I'll be out as soon as I can."
He watched them go, slid the patch into his vessel's pants pocket, and gave an experimental push with his wings towards the archangel tier. Instead of flying up to it, he lost height, barely managing to grasp the bottom edge of Watcher names. This wasn't going to be as easy as he'd hoped. He was going to have to climb and that archangel tier suddenly looked very high above him.
Samandriel started his climb.
Nia waited with her team, watching the motel. She strained to hear and see anything from heaven that would indicate Samandriel's team had succeeded.
Her first in command, Hezekiah, stepped up beside her. "Why are we here?"
"Gabriel wants Castiel protected until this is done."
"Are you sure?"
"If we all have to die to protect him, we'll do it."
"Of course we will, but…."
Turning Daphne's head, she looked at him. He was torn between following Gabriel's orders and staying away from the politics. She wondered if Hezekiah realized how like Castiel that was.
There was a loud crack, like a lightning strike, Hezekiah grabbing her arm, his face turning to the sky. The clouds opened up, as if ripped in two, a flash of brilliant white light streaking downward to a spot perhaps a block away from them. Nia heard a scream and the sensation of raw power rolled over them.
"It's done," she whispered.
Hezekiah released her arm. "We'll move into place."
She stood still after they'd gone, waiting and watching again.
To her surprise, Castiel didn't return to the motel on his own two feet.
"You just wish you had my mad flirting skills," Dean teased Castiel as they walked back from the restaurant.
Castiel was quiet. He kept glancing at the sky and turning his head this way and that, like he was hearing something they couldn't. He wouldn't say either, ignoring any questions towards that end.
"Cas?" To be fair, he hadn't been the same since they'd taken Gwen to the bus station. It was apparent that he'd formed an attachment to her and it wasn't merely sex between the two. This contest had been a way to try and lighten his mood and might have succeeded if Castiel hadn't had some sort of feelings for Gwen.
"It wasn't a fair fight," Sam said.
"He did well." Jo snuggled closer against Dean as they walked. "For a guy that only learned how to flirt recently, I'd say he almost won."
"Not even close." Dean grasped Jo's belt loop.
Stopping, Castiel frowned. The bag of leftovers dropped from his hand. Both hands started shaking.
"The spaghetti wasn't that bad, Cas," Jo commented as Sam reached down and retrieved the bag.
Slowly, Castiel turned his attention to the sky. "I can feel it coming…." His whisper was rough and hoarse. "Oh crap…."
Light appeared from the sky, bathing Castiel in an intense beam. The hairs on Dean's body stood up from the humming presence of that power.
With an agonized scream, Castiel shuddered violently, back bowing and head thrown back, the shadow of his wings appearing on the side of the building before he collapsed in a heap on the ground.
Sam reached him first, hand touching Castiel's cheek. "He's feverish."
Sweat ran down Castiel's face. He was out cold.
"What the hell?" Crouching as well, Dean touched Castiel's forehead. His skin felt like fire it was so hot.
"Dean, we need to get him inside."
"You think?" Bending, Dean hauled Cas up and put him in a fireman's carry. "Get the door open, Jo."
Jo hurried ahead of them.
Castiel let out fevered groans. The heat from his body was making Dean sweat.
They'd just gotten inside and laid him on the bed when there was a knock on the door.
Sam jerked it open and Dean straightened.
Daphne stood there.
She sighed. "You boys might want to let me in." For the briefest of seconds, Dean saw wings spread out behind her. "My name is Nia and I'm here to keep you all alive."
