Eight

Castiel and Brooke came out of their room a few minutes later, in one body.

Sam and Dean turned at the sound of footsteps.

"Where's Cass?" Dean asked.

"Here," Castiel replied, lowering Brooke's natural voice by several octaves.

Dean jumped, just a little. "Right. I… shoulda seen this comin'… Still weird."

"Get used to it," Castiel replied.

Dean shook his head. "You—you got a twenty on Jack?"

"Not exactly." Castiel explained what he'd discovered. "Angel Radio is playing a distress signal."

"Awesome," Dean said.

"All of Heaven's gates are open, even the ones that Metatron closed."

"What could that mean?" Sam asked, concern clear in his voice.

"I dunno. But it's not good."

"More awesome," Dean said.

"All right, well, you go," Sam told Castiel and Brooke. "We got Lily. When we're ready, we'll pray."

Castiel, possessing Brooke, nodded, and then turned and left.

###

Heaven was eerily silent when they arrived, its lights flickering ominously. They had been expecting that. What they had not been expecting was the strange, black goop trailing its way down the stark hallways.

"Hello?" Castiel called, in a deeper version Brooke's voice, as they wandered down the halls, following the goop. Her voice echoed, but no one answered. "Hello?" Castiel called again. They turned a corner—

Two dead angels lay on the floor, that black stuff oozing from their noses and mouths.

Castiel went cold with dread. These were his brothers and sisters, and there were so few of them left. What was it now? Seven, assuming that only these two had died, and no more. Seven angels in all of existence. Brooke, inside her body, witnessed her husband's crushing fear and depression, and her own heart broke. Even she did not wish to see the annihilation of the angels.

Breathing heavily, Castiel knelt before the angel in the male vessel. "Zuriel," he murmured, placing a hand on the angel's shoulder.

The angel farther down the hall sat up with a gasp, and coughed, spitting up more black ooze. It was Dumah.

Castiel got up and went to her, saying her name.

Dumah blinked up at him, confused momentarily by his vessel. "Castiel," she said, after a moment. "Brooke," she added.

Brooke had admit she was surprised that Dumah had even acknowledged her.

"What happened?" Castiel asked.

"I don't know," Dumah said, staring at nothing, breathing heavily. "We were just…" She seemed confused for a moment, somewhere far away, and then shook her head, looking around. "Sorry," she began, and then her eyes fell on Zuriel. She gasped softly. "That stuff—when it touched me, everything just went black." She stared around at the puddles on the floor and then looked up at Castiel again. "I thought you were supposed to be on Earth."

"We're looking for someone," he replied, standing up slowly, a memory fighting to gain the surface of his mind. But he pushed it down, glancing back and forth between the two directions of the hallway. "Jack. We have to find him." He took a step down the hallway—

"Don't leave me," Dumah begged, still sitting on the floor.

Brooke could feel the angel's fear piercing her, even with Castiel inside her body, protecting her on all levels. Even still, Dumah's absolute terror washed over Brooke's mind like a tidal wave. She was afraid that the thing that had left these trailing black puddles would return and kill her.

"Can you walk?" Castiel and Brooke asked, together, and two separate versions of Brooke's voice issued forth from her mouth.

Dumah glanced around at the floor, putting her hands underneath her, as if to push herself to up, yet she struggled.

Castiel said her name, lowering Brooke's hand to her, and pulled her up. She followed them down the hallway.

…

They spent a long time searching Jack's personal Heaven once they found his door, going through each of his memories. And yet, no matter where they looked, he was not there. It was difficult for Brooke because a lot of Jack's happiest memories involved times when she'd been with him, and, although she knew that they were there to bring him back to life, being reminded of his death was… awful.

Now, they walked through a small shopping center. There was the Impala, parked in front of Lil' Skipper's Beach Cafe. There were bags of food and cups of soda sitting on the hood of the car.

Dumah walked over to the food and placed her hands on the car, where the engine was, underneath. Then she touched one of the burgers. "It's cold," she said.

"He's not here," said a voice behind them.

Naomi.

They turned to face her.

"Hello, Castiel," she said. "Brooke. Dumah. Jack's gone."

"How is that possible?" Castiel asked, trying to push down his panic, as well as Brooke's.

"Perhaps the angel side of him knew he was in Heaven," Naomi said. "In any case, he left."

"Naomi, what is happening here?" Dumah asked.

"We're under attack," she replied. "It stormed the gates. It defeated our defenses. There are so few of us left, we couldn't even stop it!" She was clearly upset, her voice growing louder and more desperate with each word.

"It," Castiel repeated. "What do you mean by it?"

"The Shadow," Naomi said, staring at him. "The thing that rules the Empty."

Oh fuck, Brooke thought, fear setting her blood icy. She burrowed herself deeper inside her body, not to hide, but to become closer to her husband.

Castiel, also, was nearly floored by his fear. He thought back to all those black puddles on the floor. It made sense now.

"I'm surprised you didn't recognize its handiwork, Castiel," Naomi said, almost accusingly, as if he had brought it here. "I thought you were old friends."

"How did you know?" Castiel demanded.

"You're the only one of us who ever escaped," she said, still in that accusatory tone. Castiel had cheated death, and Naomi was pissed about it. Or jealous.

"What does it want?" Dumah asked.

Naomi looked at her with a tight smile. "The boy," she said. "The Empty considers Jack its property. And who knows? Maybe it's right. He is half-angel."

"So, what do we do?" Dumah asked, staring at the ground.

"We get Jack the fuck outta here," Brooke snapped, rising from inside her body and overriding Castiel momentarily.

Naomi stared at her. "We have to give the boy to it," she said.

"No," Castiel said.

"Tell me, what choice do we have?" she demanded. "If we don't meet its demands, Heaven will fall. 46,750,000,000 humans souls will be cast in the wind. What's one Nephilim boy against all that?"

Even Castiel, now, felt a seed of doubt.

No, Brooke said. Remember your vision of the future? Before Jack was born? He's meant to save us all, Castiel. You saw a world without hate and without fear. Jack was never supposed to die. Not now. Not this way. And he certainly is not meant to be taken by the Empty.

"You know I'm right, Castiel," Naomi was saying, stepping closer to Brooke. "This is what we have to do. Help me. You and Brooke."

"No," he said, and began to walk away.

She reached for him, saying his name, and then suddenly lurched forward, gasping.

"Naomi?" he said.

Her body was being encapsulated in tendrils of black ooze.

"Run!" she yelled.

He ran, Dumah following close behind.

…

The search for Jack became frantic after they'd witnessed Naomi's death. The Empty was following them. Castiel and Brooke could feel it somewhere behind them, yet out of sight, but not for long.

They'd left Jack's Heaven and gone straight for Kelly Kline's, entering into a park, water running nearby.

"You're sure he's sure?" Dumah asked.

"We know him," Castiel said. "He's here." And on they went.

Soon enough, they came across a house. And, from inside, they could sense a presence. Two, actually. They stepped up to the front door, breathing deeply. "Jack?" they asked, as one, as a lower-and-higher-pitched version of Brooke's voice issued from her mouth at the same time.

Jack slowly opened the door, staring at them in wonder. "Brooke?" he asked.

"Cass is here, too," she said, smiling, as tears streamed down her face.

Jack glanced around, as if expecting to see Castiel pop up out of nowhere. "Where?"

"Here," Castiel said, deepening Brooke's voice. "I possessed Brooke so that we could find you together."

The two of them, together, enveloped the boy in a hug, smiling, crying, laughing. They pulled back after a few moments—too short—to greet Kelly Kline.

"Hello, Brooke," she said, smiling in a knowing sort of way. "Castiel."

"Kelly," they said, still crying, and hugged her, too.

"I'm so sorry," Castiel said, on his own, closing his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Kelly's arms around him, as if he could hide his face against her shoulder forever.

She pulled away from him in concern.

"I failed you," he said.

"You didn't," she said, shaking her head. "Neither of you. You didn't. Jack—he's wonderful." She looked at her son with tears in her eyes.

Castiel consented to that. "Yeah," he whispered.

"We've been getting to know each other," Jack explained. And then, "What are you two doing here?"

"We all found a way to bring you home," Castiel explained.

Kelly released a deep sigh.

"So… I'll be alive again?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. But to do so, we—we need to use magic that will draw on your soul."

"W-What do you mean my soul?" the boy asked, staring at them in concern.

"It'll be just a small piece," Castiel explained. "And I know it's too much to ask, but it's the only way."

"No," Kelly spoke up. "I—I don't know."

"Frankly, I agree with Kelly," Brooke said, surfacing to speak her mind. "I can think of far too many ways that this could go wrong. But… Castiel insisted that it's Jack's choice. And… he's right. So, we thought we'd come and… give him the choice."

"Besides," Castiel said, "it's not just Jack's life that's at stake. It…" He sighed. "The Empty has invaded Heaven… because it wants you."

"Why him?" Kelly asked.

"Because Jack is half-angel," Castiel explained, "and, we angels—when we die, we go to another place. It's a place that's just… endless nothing. And this entity—it won't stop until it finds you, but if you're not here, if you're alive…"

"Then it'll leave Heaven," Jack said.

"Smart," said a voice from somewhere behind Kelly.

Castiel lifted his head, smiling. "Dumah," he said.

Cass, Brooke warned him. That's not Dumah. I can't see her. She's not an angel.

Immediately, Castiel, in Brooke's body, pushed Kelly and Jack behind him.

Dumah's face suddenly changed, covered in a goopy, black, tar-like substance.

"The Empty," Castiel growled.

"Pretty good, huh?" it asked, as the goop disappeared and it assumed Dumah's shape again. It glanced behind Castiel at Jack, stepping forward. "You ready to go?"

"You stay away from him," Castiel and Brooke both growled, stepping forward, also, to block the Shadow's way.

It smiled, sighed. "Castiel, you know how this goes. The good souls here, the bad souls there. The angels are mine." It was still smiling, speaking in a trembling voice, as if on the edge of hysterical laughter.

"Enough," Castiel said—

"STOP INTERRUPTING!" the Shadow screamed.

It was hysterical.

Castiel and Brooke remained unflinching, staring at it with grim determination.

The Shadow, in Dumah's form, swallowed, smiled, nodded. "Start paying attention," it said, in a giggly, crazed voice. "I'm taking him." It smiled at Jack.

Kelly shook her head.

"And where I'm taking you," it said, now speaking directly to Jack, "is worse than Hell… because at least Hell is something." It was breathing heavily, in almost-sexual manner, as if it derived sick pleasure from the idea of dragging Jack off to the Empty. And then, "Oh… Oh, God, they look scared." The Shadow pretended to be sad, contorting Dumah's face into a mask of sorrow. And then it looked at Castiel and Brooke. "Does that hurt you?" it asked.

Castiel and Brooke could only stare in confusion and horror.

The Shadow laughed. "Good… Because I want it to." Its face turned ugly, then.

Enough of this, Brooke snapped.

Castiel, in silent agreement, called for his angel blade so that it appeared in his hand, and lunged for the Shadow. Immediately, he was knocked away, and sent flying towards the back of the house. Brooke's body slammed into a kitchen counter. Before they could pick themselves up, the Shadow was there, kicking her body over and over again. It was a being stronger than any angel, and the kicks hurt when they landed, breaking bone and crushing organ.

"No!" Kelly cried, but her voice was nearly drowned out by the ringing in Brooke's ears. "Stop!"

The Shadow stopped kicking them long enough to turn and fling Kelly aside. There was a sound like glass shattering.

Then Brooke's mind was filled with strange static. It was Dean praying, but she could not hear what he was saying directly, and Castiel was too hurt and to translate what he was saying for her. He lay on the ground, trying to get Brooke's hands underneath him. Trying to stay conscious. He glanced up at the Shadow, wondering why he was no longer being kicked, and saw it holding Jack by the throat, squeezing, choking.

NO! Brooke screamed, taking control of her body, forcing her limbs to cooperate, the Grace in her body screaming as she stumbled to her feet.

"Take me," they said, together. Castiel and Brooke, as one. Parents, desperate to keep their child alive, at any cost.

"A little louder, please?" the Shadow said, still gripping Jack's throat in Dumah's hand.

"Take me in his stead," Castiel said, loudly, clearly. "Take me—

"Take me," Jimmy Novak had begged Castiel, long ago, after the angel had possessed Claire, his daughter. "Please, just take me."—

"Take me," Castiel had begged, as he'd watched Brooke being tortured, terrified that Efram had been about to rape her. "Me! Take me!"—

"You?" the Shadow said, sounding disgusted, as Jack continued to make awful choking sounds as he attempted to gasp for air.

"I'm the one you want," Castiel growled. "I'm the one who woke you up."

The Shadow hesitated, then released Jack, who fell heavily to the floor.

Brooke was flooded with relief.

"You?" the Shadow said, quietly, turning to face Castiel. "But you're already mine."

Castiel shook his head, making a face. "Not for years. Eons, maybe. But, if you'll agree, I will go now, and I will go willingly."

Inside her head, a slow trickle of something was making its way into her thoughts. She would die in a heartbeat for Jack, but if the Shadow took Castiel, it would leave her. Castiel would be lost to her all over again. And then she realized that it would not matter, for she would die soon after he did. The Grace in her body would kill her all over again.

If it meant saving Jack… then that was okay.

There was a moment of silence.

"Deal," said the Shadow.

Brooke, I love you, Castiel said to her, closing her eyes, tilting her head back. I love you so much. I'm so sorry.

Castiel—

"Oh, but not now," the Shadow said, with a wicked little giggle. "No, no, no, no, no." She smiled, stepping closer to them. "No, you see, I meant what I said. I-I want you to suffer." It spoke quickly now, the words tumbling from its mouth. "I want you to go back to—to your normal life, and then forget about this—forget about me. And—And then when you finally give yourself permission to be happy, and let the sun shine on your face, that's when I'll come. That's when I'll drag you to nothing. And I won't let you sleep until you've watched your precious wife die, watched her organs fail all over again, but this time you won't be able to save her. And when she dies with your name on her lips, Castiel… That's when I'll put you to sleep, so you'll never remember her again."

Castiel was crying, now.

Take the deal, Castiel, Brooke said.

I can't… He shook Brooke's head, trying to banish from his mind the idea that he would have watch her die, slowly and painfully.

I accept my death, she said. We're doing this for Jack. Take… the deal.

He took a shaky breath. "I accept."

The Shadow smiled, laughed, then fell to the floor. Then it left Dumah's body, a mass of goopy black tentacles that rose up to the ceiling vent in the kitchen and disappeared through it.

Dumah gasped. Brooke looked down at her and could see her angelic form again, which had been suppressed by the Shadow. "Where am I?" she asked, staring around at the kitchen.

"Easy," Castiel said, offering her Brooke's hand. "It's all right."

Dumah allowed herself to be pulled up, but she still looked extremely confused.

"Why?" Jack demanded, suddenly, coming forward. "Why did you do that?"

"Because we made a promise," Castiel and Brooke said, speaking as one, their voices overlapping. They gazed at Kelly, who smiled back. "Because we love you, Jack. And Sam and Dean—they love you. And they are fighting for you at this very minute." They smiled at their boy, then. "We hope that…" Castiel and Brooke took a breath, together. "Sam and Dean don't need to know what happened here. What we did, Brooke, Castiel, us, we're at peace with our choice. We don't want them to worry." They waited, with bated breath.

Finally, with sad eyes, Jack said, "I won't tell them." Then, whispered, he added, "I promise."

"Then we should go," Castiel and Brooke said, still speaking in tandem, and smiled at him.

They watched as Kelly turned Jack to face her, gently, and fixed the collar of his shirt. She smiled at him, holding back tears, and took his face in her hands.

"We didn't get enough time," Jack whispered to her.

"Shh," she said. "It's okay. Go. Have a great life. I'll be waiting." She pulled him into a hug. When his face was hidden in the crook of her neck, she did cry. "I love you so much," she told him, staring at the ceiling as the tears fell from her eyes.

When she pulled back from him, Jack leaned forward and gently rested his forehead against hers. And breathed.

Brooke, inside her body, felt her heart swell. She had taught him that, and he had witnessed her and Castiel doing that exact thing hundreds of times. It was something that her mother had taught her, when she was young, and had suffered from nightmares. She had taught it to Castiel, years later. And then, finally, to Jack. To help calm the nerves and steady the soul.

My boy, she thought.

Our boy, Castiel said. Aloud, he asked Jack, "You ready?"

Jack gave a small nod.

Taking a breath, Castiel stepped forward and took Jack's face in his hands, activating his Grace, his powers. Brooke saw her hands light up from the inside, with a golden glow. Jack's eyes trailed upwards to the ceiling. And then he vanished.

…

After saying their goodbyes to Kelly, they left her personal Heaven. They were only halfway out the door when Naomi's voice sounded from the hallway.

"Hello, Castiel. Brooke."

They spun, with wide eyes.

"Relax," she said. "I'm here to thank you."

They looked at her sideways, their mind spinning.

She walked toward them. "What you two did… I know it wasn't for our benefit… but you saved us." She smiled at them.

Awkwardly, as one, in two voices, they said, "You're welcome." It was almost a question.

"I think that deserves a reward, don't you?" Naomi asked.

They squinted their eyes at her.

"Like, for example, the Archangel Michael's location."

Slowly, they stepped toward Naomi. "You know where he is?"

"We have an idea," she told them. "And, word is, you've been looking for him."

###

When the two of them, in one body, returned to Earth, and to the bunker, they stayed in one body for the rest of that night, knowing that if Castiel were to return to his vessel now, it would ruin their reunion with Jack. Separating themselves after a possession was always a terrible, depressing affair that required a lot of time to get over. Time, and comfort, and sometimes tears, for it always felt as if they were tearing themselves apart. So, for now, they remained together, to enjoy Jack's company until everyone went to bed.

They sat with Sam and Dean and watched Jack eat a hamburger, and they smiled. And they ignored Dean's constant jabs at them for being in the same body. They only had eyes for the boy.

But even Sam and Dean were more somber than usual, and they, too, could not stop staring at the boy.

"Is, uh, something wrong?" he asked, as he chewed his burger.

"Uh, no," Sam said, chuckling a little. "No, not at all."

"Just damn glad to have you back," Dean said. "And we know where Michael is." He glanced at Castiel and Brooke. "Not quite sure how you guys pulled that one off."

As one, they decided upon a diversion, and as one, they spoke, so that Brooke's voice was split into two octaves. "Well, we, uh… We still don't know where Dark Kaia is, or the spear."

"Yeah, but we will," Sam said, with conviction. "We'll figure it out. We'll find her. I mean, we found her before."

"That's right," said Dean. "And then Michael. And that son of a bitch is gonna pay." He raised his beer. "Come on."

They all lifted their bottles and clinked them. Cheers.