No One's POV
It started as a simple, mostly ordinary day with the Winchesters, two humans who Castiel now considered his friends; it hadn't started out that way, of course, the Winchesters were his orders, those he was tasked to protect, a task Michael had given him directly.
He had been so proud; Genesis, had been so proud of him.
But now, Castiel had chosen humanity over his own brethren; he had turned from Michael, from his own garrison, from Heaven completely, a choice he did not take lightly. He believed it to be the right one, for neither Michael nor Lucifer were right; their Father wanted them to care for humanity, to shepherd it, to be their care takers, not destroy it.
Castiel often doubted his mission, his new undertaking that he alone had assigned himself, not Michael; he often wondered and contemplated if Genesis would be proud of him, the youngest Archangel and Heaven's Commander, whom he had always been closest to and admired.
But, Genesis was no longer in Heaven, he had heard it himself, she was gone; to places unknown and out of reach, he was truly alone now, and he felt it more than ever, the weight of the universes and worlds on his back.
"Cas, you okay?" Sam asks, looking at Castiel worried from where he sits at the table in Bobby's study, Castiel suddenly grasping his head and hunching over in pain.
"No." Castiel simply answers in his plain sort of way of his.
"What's wrong?" Sam questions confused.
"Something's happening." Castiel answers, clearly listening in on what Dean would term "angel radio".
"Where?" Dean questions, tone and expression serious, but instead, Castiel only disappears, wind rustling and papers thrown around.
Appearing in a clearing, Castiel kneels in a clearing of fallen trees, the ground pulsing, but before he could touch it, is attacked; the attack is sudden, a blade coming at him fast and blurred, his assailant another angel, leaving him little time to counter before he's twisting away from his own blade that had gotten taken from him in the struggle, now in his attacker's hand.
Castiel is able to stop both his own blade and his assailant's blade from hitting him, twisting free in a move Genesis had taught him so many millenniums ago; twirling his blade in his hand, he steps back, reorienting himself before preparing himself to fight.
He wasn't prepared for another angel to come from behind, but in another quick twist and doge executing moves that Genesis had taught him, the first angel is killed, and Castiel turning on the second angel and stabbing him directly in the grace, wings imprinted on the ground with a blast of grace.
"Help." Castiel calls out, appearing suddenly within Bobby's house.
"Boys!" Bobby calls out as Castiel lays Adam down on a cot.
"Who is it?" Bobby asks.
"That's our brother." Sam answers, walking back in the study with Dean, both looking shocked.
"Wait a minute. Your brother? Adam?" Bobby questions, clearly startled and confused at what the hell was going on.
"Cas, what the hell?" Dean demands.
"Angels." Is Castiel's simple answer.
"Angels? Why?" Sam asks, the more rational one.
"I know one thing for sure. We need to hide him now." Castiel's reply is urgent as he immediately wards Adam with Enochian symbols on his ribs.
"Where am I?" Adam wakes up from his jolted, restless sleep with a start.
"It's okay. Just relax, you're safe." Sam calms, his hands held up in an "I won't hurt you" gesture.
"Who the hell are you?" Adam demands immediately.
"You're going to find this a little... A lot crazy, but we're actually your brothers." Dean begins, walking into the room and leaning on the door frame a distance away.
"It's the truth. John Winchester was our father, too. See, I'm Sam-"
"Yeah, and I'm sure that's Dean. I know who you are." Adam cuts them off, not wanting to listen to anything his two elder brothers have to say.
"How?" Sam asks, raising a brow.
"They warned me about you." Adam shrugs, seeming unconcerned.
"Who did?" Dean questions a little more urgently.
"The angels. Now where the hell is Zachariah?" Adam demands.
"So why don't you just tell us everything? Start from the beginning." Dean says gruffly, clearly a bit annoyed.
"Well, I was dead and in Heaven. 'Cept it—it uh, kinda looked like my prom and I was making out with this girl, her name was Kristin McGee-"
"Yeah, that sounds like heaven. Did you get to third base?" Dean questions, a smirk on his face, his posture a little more relaxed at Adam's words.
"Just uh, just keep going." Sam gestures for his brother to shut up.
"Well, these… These angels, they popped out of nowhere, and they tell me that I—I'm chosen." Adam continues.
"For what?"
"To save the world." Adam answers like it's obvious.
"How you gonna do that?" Dean questions.
"Oh, me and some Archangel are going to kill the Devil." Adam answers with a shrug.
"What Archangel?" Dean questions, clearly alarmed that Adam wasn't more concerned about the whole thing.
"Michael. I'm his uh, sword or vessel or something, I don't know." Adam answers, looking at the beer he was given; he really wasn't given much more information from Zachariah so he wasn't clear what was going to happen, only that he'd get to see his mother again.
"Well, that's insane." Dean promptly answers, looking at his half-brother shocked.
"Not necessarily." Castiel finally speaks, having been silent the entire time, and standing in the far corner of the room.
"How do you mean?" Dean turns to Castiel.
"Maybe they're moving on from you, Dean." Castiel shrugs, but not particularly believing it, but a small shred of hope buried deep in his grace; Michael was known for his strategy and his relentless drive.
"Well, that doesn't make sense." Dean replies.
"He is John Winchester's bloodline, Sam's brother. It's not perfect, but it's possible." Castiel simply answers; nothing made sense to Castiel, nothing on Earth Alpha10, he was constantly confused by human customs, constantly confused if this was his Father's will, and he felt lost.
"Well, you gotta be kidding me." Dean exclaims.
"Why would they do this?" Sam questions out loud.
"Maybe they're desperate. Maybe they wrongly assumed Dean would be brave enough to withstand them." Castiel shrugs with ambivalence.
"Alright, you know what? Blow me, Cas."
"Look, no way. After everything that's happened? All that crap about destiny? Suddenly the angels have a Plan B? Does that smell right to anybody?" Sam challenges.
"You know this has been a really moving family reunion, but uh, I got a thing, so-" Adam tries to leave.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, no, no, no. Sit down. Just listen, okay? Please." Sam pleads, moving in front of Adam with his hands out as if to stop his movement.
"It's unbelievable." Adam scoffs.
"Now, Adam…the angels are lying to you. They're full of crap." Sam answers.
"Yeah, I don't think so." Adam shakes his head, obviously not believing his half-brother, and too convinced by Zachariah.
"Really. Why not?" Sam challenges.
"Um, 'cause they're angels." Adam points out, clearly not believing his older half-brother.
"They tell you they were gonna roast half the planet?" Sam reveals.
"They said the fight might get pretty hairy, but it is the devil, right? So we got to stop him." Adam shrugs.
"Yeah, but there's another way."
"Great. What is it?" Adam questions.
"We're- we're working on it." Dean answers, unwilling to let Adam know that they were at their last wit's trying to actually figure out that plan.
"Look, Adam… You don't know me from a hole in the wall, I know. But I'm begging you. Please, just trust me. Give me some time."
"Give me one good reason." Adam challenges.
"Because we're blood." Sam answers as if that's the answer to everything.
"You've got no right to say that to me." Adam replies viciously.
"You know, Adam, you may not believe it, but dad was trying to protect you. Keeping you from all of this." Sam simply replies before walking out of the room.
"Uh, why don't you, uh, go keep an eye on Adam?" Sam whispers in hushed tones to his brother.
"Is this really necessary?" Dean questions to Sam.
"Well, I mean, we got our hands full, Dean... A house full of flight risks." Sam tells Dean with a shrug, it would hopefully stall of Dean from running off to doing something reckless and Sam could research.
It didn't help.
Mere hours later, Castiel was chasing after a runaway Dean in anger, finding him with a half-cocked idea to say yes to Michael to prevent both his younger siblings from becoming vessels to Lucifer and Michael.
"What, are you crazy?" Dean yells, Castiel taking him by surprise as he throws him into the alley.
"I rebelled for this!? So that you could surrender to them?" Castiel yells, beginning to punch Dean, feeling more rage than he ever had before.
"Cas! Please!" Dean pleads, being thrown again, back crashing into the far wall of the alleyway.
"I gave everything for you. And this is what you give to me." Castiel demands furiously, holding him up against the alley and throwing another punch.
"Do it. Just do it!" Dean barely can murmur out, face beat up and looking quite defeated under Castiel's beating, but in another heartbeat Castiel simply disappears.
Castiel wandered aimlessly through several universes and worlds, feeling lost, adrift in his mission, hopeless and downhearted, unsure of his place; Michael was angry, no, furious at his betrayal of his orders and to Heaven, his unit no longer needed nor wanted him, Gabriel had long since abandon Heaven, and he himself had turned his back on Heaven and his orders because he believed it right. Maybe he was all wrong.
He didn't know what to do, he needed direction, guidance, and comfort. Only one had ever given him that. Had truly ever given him that; Genesis, the youngest of the Archangels and Commanders. She had always been there for him, a steady, assuring presence when the others had brushed him aside. Even Gabriel, his favorite brother, had often been too busy with his duties, but Genesis had always allowed him to totter after her, to stand in the shadow of her great wing span, both figuratively and literally. Never more did he miss her guiding presence than he did now.
She would know what to do; she always knew what to do.
Castiel focused, stilling himself in the quietness and blankness between the worlds, listening and waiting, the draw of Genesis blinding grace drawing him to her; in a flap of wings, he was gone.
"Gen…" Castiel whines, his tone full of pleading and whispering, soulful, admiration. "Genesis."
And yes, I switched Hammer of the Gods and Point of No Return. In canon, Point of No Return is the episode right before Hammer of the Gods... I thought it fit better this way.
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