An archdemon had been detected in close proximity to the Righteous Man. He was not under the same level of protection that was afforded to prophets, but some investigation was required. The Righteous Man seemed to have a propensity for getting into dangerous situations that were often disregarded by Heaven as typical, yet an archdemon warranted some real concern. The objective was to assess the situation and resolve any potential threats, though they took their vessels in case violence became necessary.
When the angels arrived at the Singer household, the archdemon known as Crowley had just left. Castiel suggested that their mission was made moot by his absence, but Uriel denied the request to immediately return to Heaven. The archdemon may have left, but there was something unusual occurring in the house and as long as the angels were invisible and incorporeal there was no harm in observing a while longer.
"The woman is clearly a demon and this man does have characteristics of the Abyssal," Uriel commented as he examined Sam. The angels listened to Sam and the others discussing the possibility and extent to which he was a demon. Tambriel and Uriel moved closer to Sam and Ruby, while Castiel kept his distance. Castiel's evaluation appeared to be unexpectedly complicated and he wanted to be as far away from unknown variables as possible. He moved a few feet further from Dean.
"They may be demonic, but Dean Winchester does not appear to be endangered by them," Castiel pointed out, but a few seconds later Ruby threatened to punch Dean in the face. Tambriel and Uriel stared at Castiel pointedly. "I believe that she is unlikely to follow through on that threat and any resulting injury would likely be negligible."
"Her threats might be underwhelming, but he is more concerning." Uriel's eyes narrowed as he watched Sam. "He appears to be quite powerful."
None of the three angels had seen anything quite like him before. Sam was still human in many ways, but in some respects he was unmistakably Abyssal. There was something else that worried Uriel, something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"They are so concerned with the fate of Hell," Tambriel commented.
"What do you expect from demons?" Uriel added, dismissing his detailed investigation of Sam and directing his attention to the scene as a whole.
"Their primary interest seems to be largely in the welfare of Earth," Castiel countered, but he didn't bother to discuss the matter in depth. It was noteworthy that the fates of both Hell and Earth were being discussed, but it was not completely unexpected within the context of a mixed group. Castiel's primary concerns were ensuring Dean's safety and observing as much about the situation as possible. He did not need to stretch his imagination to justify the actions of demons.
Tambriel approached Ruby and extended a hand to sense what forces he could. His eyes closed in concentration before he recoiled a few inches. Castiel and Uriel both turned their attention to him in concern.
"The demon, she is pregnant. It is not merely the vessel's state." Tambriel's tone betrayed the discomfort that he felt. "It appears that the child is part demon."
"That does not make sense. Our father has never allowed demons to breed, and there have been no revelations from Joshua. If this is not our father's will…." Castiel mused aloud. "As their creator, only Lucifer would be capable of enabling this sort of advancement, but he is still imprisoned."
It was well-known in Heaven that Lucifer had been trapped in his cage for millennia. To doubt that would be to doubt the power and effectiveness of Heaven. Lucifer had been bound by Michael himself and all of the fallen angels under Lucifer's command had been killed or imprisoned in Heaven.
"Lucifer is still bound. There is another explanation for this." Uriel spoke with a confidence that was partially to reassure his subordinates, but also to demonstrate his absolute faith.
"We should consult with our superiors about the child," Castiel suggested. "This situation is... unsettling."
Uriel looked at Ruby, then at Sam in a silent contemplation that concerned Castiel. It was obvious to Castiel that the situation was beyond their rank. Matters of first impression should have been immediately sent up the chain of command, at least to the higher choirs and possibly even to Raphael or Michael. The amount of thought that Uriel appeared to be giving the child indicated a weighing of options that Castiel only would have found justified under more pressing circumstances.
Uriel's concentration was broken when Sam opened the box to reveal the syf. The three angels immediately became uncomfortable. Tambriel averted his gaze, Castiel stood in contemplative silence, and Uriel scowled. They all knew what the syf was, but none of them were prepared to have the additional surprise loaded onto what should have been a fairly simple mission.
"That should not be here," Tambriel said as he struggled to monitor where the syf was without looking directly at it. "It was cast out from Earth. This is wrong."
"It's blasphemous," Uriel corrected. He walked over to look at the small pieces of black wood and shook his head in disgust. "The perfect work of our father, corrupted by our brother, adulterated by some archdemon, given to these... things."
"They do not understand what they are dealing with. They may yet dispose of it," Castiel offered in a feeble attempt at optimism, but he too felt a sickening sensation. While it was clear that Sam and Ruby recognized the syf's uniqueness, they obviously did not understand its significance, and were unlikely to destroy it without further investigation.
"We could take it and destroy it ourselves," Tambriel suggested.
"We should avoid intervening if possible." Castiel's neutral expression began alluding to a frown.
"What's the problem, Castiel? Are you feeling your illness?" Uriel asked in such an ambiguous tone that Castiel was unsure if he was offering genuine concern or delivering a veiled threat.
"I am unaffected by my condition. I just do not see why we are still here. Dean does not appear to be in imminent danger, and we should inform Heaven about the child and the artifact."
Before Uriel could answer, all three angels heard Sam admit to telekinetically throwing Dean. Castiel experienced fleeting annoyance at the comedic timing of providence.
"He does have three rib fractures," Tambriel commented matter-of-factly as he examined Dean.
"The brother admits that he doesn't have control over these powers. He is dangerous," Uriel said with growing conviction.
"He seems sincere in wanting to resolve this dispute peacefully. He might be a somewhat unpredictable element, but the risk of an immediate problem is minimal. Their confrontation is verbal," Castiel argued, but he felt the credibility of his stance failing.
"And how frequently do experienced killers resolve their conflicts with words?" Uriel's question was rhetorical.
Dean became upset and left the room, quickly followed by Sam. Uriel instructed Tambriel to watch Ruby while he and Castiel followed the brothers upstairs. In Dean's bedroom, the brothers discussed the importance of not keeping secrets while they were covertly watched. Castiel felt a pang of sympathy when Dean expressed frustration at discovering multiple unpleasant surprises. After finally agreeing to come clean with each other, the brothers hugged and dried their eyes before heading back downstairs to reassure Ruby and Bobby that neither brother had been killed.
Uriel and Castiel followed Sam and Dean back down to the study, where Ruby and Bobby were waiting. Ruby had been sitting at the desk, but stood when Sam came in. She looked at him with a concerned expression, but seemed a little comforted by the brothers' close proximity. She put her hands on her belly for a second and smiled at what was almost certainly a kicking sensation. Sam rushed over, eager to feel the movement. Uriel watched that interaction and frowned at some sort of internal decision.
"We need to deal with this, now," Uriel stated.
"What?" Castiel asked in disbelief.
"They're a danger."
"I do not believe that they will harm Dean—" Castiel started, but Uriel cut him off.
"Not everything revolves around your pet."
"He is chosen by our father. You should treat him with respect." Castiel raised his voice slightly, but he continued to stand at respectful attention to Uriel.
"He is still human. I remember his place, as I remember my own. Brother, you would do well to remember yours." Uriel's tone was blatantly threatening.
Probably the most fundamental principle ingrained in all angels was the instruction to obey one's superiors, but there had never been an edict from Heaven stating that angels should respect humans. Humans were to be watched over and protected, but they were a lesser order of beings. Their judgment, comfort, and preferences carried no weight to an angel without being specifically elevated by divine order.
Castiel knew that he no longer had any authority over Uriel, but his brother's disrespectful comments toward Dean were disturbing. Dean might be human, but he was important. He was the Righteous Man, a designation given to him through the will of God. It was true that Castiel had not been informed what the title entailed, but it had been vital to save him from Hell. He had been Castiel's charge once before and he continued to be the angel's concern, not just as a matter of physical safety but also general wellbeing. And if there was one thing that Castiel had learned from observing Dean's interactions with his brother upstairs, it was that his little brother meant a great deal to him.
"This is not your decision to make," Uriel said before taking a few steps toward Sam.
Castiel looked to Tambriel for solidarity, but found none. The angels were still hidden from normal perception, providing Uriel an opportunity to attack without warning. Castiel did not want to be insubordinate, but he could not bring himself to allow the unfair act… and he reassured himself that revealing their presence was not technically disobeying an order.
Without any explanation, three men appeared in the study. One was a large black man with a shaved head in a grey suit and purple dress shirt. Another was a lanky, blonde man in a brown tweed suit. The last was a fair-skinned man with nearly-black hair and bright, blue eyes in a dark, blue suit and a tan trench coat. The man in the trench coat was clearly upset at the black man, who seemed rather put out about something.
"Castiel, you shouldn't have done that."
"They deserve a chance to clarify the situation," the man in the trench coat replied.
Bobby and Dean both began looking for weapons as soon as the men had appeared. Dean found a pistol within arm's reach, grabbed it and aimed at the closest intruder, the blonde man. The demon alarms had failed to go off. Dean hoped that was because the intruders were something vulnerable to bullets, and not because Crowley had simply disabled it altogether.
"Hey, asshats! You better start explaining who you are and what you're doing here!" Dean yelled, but none of the intruders appeared to be remotely concerned by his actions. In fact, they seemed to largely ignore him.
Sam reached out with his mind, but realized with alarm that they weren't demons. While Dean's pistol and yelling had done nothing to draw the intruders' attention, Sam's ineffective use of powers was somehow noticed by all three. Castiel looked bothered by the gesture, but the other two appeared to be a strange combination of annoyed and vindicated.
"Your little demon tricks don't work on angels," the man in the grey suit told him.
Sam, Bobby, and Dean exchanged looks of growing concern. No one knew exactly what to make of the statement. They all knew abstractly what angels were, but no one had ever proven that they existed, let alone provided accounts of what they were like. Ruby silently stepped backward, away from the men who claimed to be angels. Noticing her subtle retreat, Sam slowly started moving to stand in front of Ruby. He glanced over at Bobby and Dean, who seemed to appreciate her fear that the men might actually be angels.
"Uriel, we should go," Castiel said in a strangely neutral tone that disguised his plea as a simple suggestion.
"Our mission is to assess and resolve threats," Uriel replied.
"Threats?" Sam asked, but the angels ignored him.
"These demons are not our concern. They are not even within the contemplation of our mission," Castiel argued. The mention of demons suddenly clarified and worsened the situation. Sam could feel Ruby grip onto the back of his shirt anxiously.
"Whoa! Whoa!" Sam threw up his hands in a gesture of non-hostility. "Ruby isn't a threat. She's good. She's on your side."
The angels looked at him in apparent recognition of his words, but their expressions were largely unmoved. Castiel was proximately sympathetic, but Tambriel and Uriel barely even blinked.
"You think that this is about good and evil?" Uriel asked. Castiel looked to Uriel, unsure of whether an appeal to abstract concepts of morality would make any difference.
"But... you're angels," Sam said quietly in confusion.
"And?"
It was like all the air had been sucked from the room. Sam's heart was pounding. His mouth was suddenly too dry to speak, but he couldn't even think of the words to say if he'd been able. There were three things that claimed to be angels, two of which were eyeing Ruby menacingly. His side had no idea how to fight an angel, let alone defend against one, which meant that their best hope was to talk their way out of the situation. But the angel's complete indifference to the fact that Ruby was a good demon was crushing.
"Uriel, they are not threats to the Righ—" Castiel began.
Uriel turned slightly to give his subordinate more of his attention. "You think this is about one man? Your judgment truly is impaired. If you cannot see the seriousness of this situation, then your illness is worse than we thought."
Castiel seemed thrown by Uriel's words. He didn't understand what Uriel was arguing and that made him falter. "This... is wrong…. The mother is questionable, but the child and father have souls."
Dean kept the pistol aimed at Tambriel, but spared a worried glance at Sam. Sam looked back in anguish, apparently also catching the comment about the 'father' being lumped into the discussion of 'demons,' though neither brother wanted to interrupt the angels' conversation as long as Castiel was trying to talk the others down.
"And you would let the demons use that against us?" Uriel countered. "War is coming. I know you can feel it. Many of our brothers and sisters will see combat for the first time. You are an honored soldier, but hesitate because of a soul. What do you think our young siblings would do? They will hesitate and be left vulnerable."
"Then they would hesitate for good reason." Castiel's voice was raised and his body tensed.
"And they would die. I will not allow it."
Castiel looked at each of the occupants of the room in turn, then circled around to stand between Sam and Uriel. He faced Uriel with regret. The fear that other angels would refuse to kill a demon with a soul was real; Castiel was proving that himself. But the question remained whether a demon with a soul would exploit that sort of weakness. At the moment, the threat was limited to Sam and some unborn child, but it was unclear how widespread the situation could potentially become. Castiel had faith that Sam would only kill an angel in defense. Sam's belief in some affiliation between angels and goodness supported that faith. Yet Uriel was not thinking of just one person, or one demon, or one soul. Uriel wanted to end the moral conflict before it grew into a more systemic problem, and possibly with demons more prepared to fight back.
"Brother, you followed my judgment and command for millennia." Castiel's face was intent, but he spoke with a quieter, pleading tone.
"But you are no longer in command." Uriel's voice softened slightly. When it came down to it he did not like how events were unfolding anymore than Castiel. "You are too weak to defeat us. If you stand down now, I will ask that instead of punishment you receive further rehabilitation."
Castiel frowned with disappointment for a moment, but he was resolute. A long, silver, three-sided blade fell from his sleeve into his hand, which he immediately raised, adopting a defensive stance. Without taking his eyes off Uriel or Tambriel, Castiel turned his head slightly toward Sam and Ruby.
"Don't let them touch your head or torso."
"So be it," said Uriel.
