A/N: How about a different POV, maybe even two? Spice things up a bit?

Chapter 4: Rage against the machine

Present:

Castiel never told Dean how prayers worked, not really. Sure, the boys knew he could hear them when they wished to pray to him, but they never knew how much emotion their prayers carried. Back when he first took Jimmy as his vessel, Dean's prayers had that fearful note to them, as he was seen as a divine creature, and became much more friendly as the time progressed.

Castiel learned a lot about emotions just from Dean's prayers. Sam prayed to him once and Bobby might have too, but they didn't feel things the way Dean did, so much so strongly, all at the same time.

So of course, when Dean prayed to him, something he hadn't done in years, Cas felt every spec of his sadness and pain and fear that he might have lost the angel for good. And who knows, maybe if it wasn't for the wall of emotions hitting him all at once, Castiel might not have stumbled as a group of Leviathans were leading him to see Eve. He might not have pushed one by accident, causing him to fall down a steep cliff. And he might not have used the moment of everyone else's surprise to attack them and free himself. With a Leviathan blossom in the pocket of his trenchcoat, Castiel hustled towards the portal, hoping that Dean would make it there in time too.

Walking back to the portal point, Castiel's mind filled with thoughts of his and Dean's previous conversation. He meant it when he said that this place brought out the worst, especially guilt.

There were a lot of things Castiel regretted, not just opening Purgatory and freeing the Leviathans. There were a lot of things he wished he could have done differently, a lot of things that didn't need to happen at all. There were a lot of times he hurt his family, his brothers and sisters, but more importantly - he hurt Dean and Sam. Still, to this day, his biggest regret was taking Jimmy's body and leaving his family behind.

Castiel swallowed it all down and pushed forward - he had to get to Dean and they had to stop Chuck, trap him in a cage, and he had to keep fighting. Not for himself, but for them. The Winchesters. The only real family he ever had.

Castiel paused, a lump stuck in his throat, choking him. For a moment he thought he was getting too emotional, his feelings getting the best of him, but he had better control than that. No, this was something else. Something else entirely. Something tugged at his very core, pulling back, ripping him away, but before he could realize what was happening, he got yanked through space and time.

Past:

Bobby lifted his hand, took off his cap and scratched his head, while the worry creased his forehead. Sam disappeared with that demon, and he didn't like it one bit, but the boy seemed to know what he was doing, so Bobby let him.

"Boy, my ass." He muttered at his own thoughts. That was no boy, not anymore. That was a man, one that had gone through so much, but came out that much stronger. In some ways, he reminded him of John. Strong-willed and stubborn, once he set his mind to something, there was very little that could stop him. But there was also more. Sam had something John never did - he had Dean. The kid was always compassionate and kind, and for Bobby, it has been a privilege to get a chance to see the great man he turned out to be. He could only hope that he might get to see some of it with Dean, if Sam ever managed to revive him.

Not that the thought wasn't preposterous, but then again - so was time travel.

A loud crash suddenly startled the old man, and he grabbed his sawed-off, but barely made it out of the kitchen when the ground started to shake. It progressed, and Bobby stood in the doorway, deciding if he should run for safety into his crummy basement, or out the door, but the fact that Dean's body was still upstairs in one of the spare bedrooms made him indecisive. He really should turn that basement into a bunker or something when he has a weekend off.

The shaking turned violent, his shelves falling over, books and stuff scattering everywhere, plates and glasses falling out of the cupboards and smashing into pieces. There was a distant noise, a screeching of sorts, and it only got worse with the progression of the earthquake, so much so that Bobby had to cover his ears, feeling that his eardrums could rupture at any moment. This was not a natural occurrence.

And then… Just like that… It all stopped.

Bobby's first thought was to get to Dean, it somehow felt as if this was connected to him. (What else could it be about, ya idjit?) Reaching his room, Bobby swung the door open, only to find the kid sitting, his hands gripping the edge of the bed, looking up at Bobby with confusion and fear in his eyes.

"What… What the hell happened?"

Still past:

When Michael originally blew him to pieces, it was Chuck that put him back together, all of him, or so Castiel thought. The truth was, he never assembled him nor Jimmy's body. He just made a brand new Castiel with the memories of the old one.

It was that old one he was suddenly facing. Well, not really, he was the older one.

He remembered this, he remembered when he first took Jimmy's vessel, put on that trenchcoat and turned his back on Jimmy's family. He was about to step into the world for the first time after saving Dean from hell, only this time, he had a future self suddenly standing in front of him, and wasn't that a turn of events.

The angel tilted his head, squinted his eyes as his grace reached out towards Castiel.

"You are of the future." The angel stated and Castiel rolled his eyes. Stating the obvious was something he used to do a lot back then.

"Yes." He replied with a gruff, but before he could say more, the angel spoke again.

"I don't understand. You are fallen?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It is a long story, one of which I have no time to tell. I need to find a way back." Castiel said, looking around, as if his surroundings could tell him why he was brought back through time. But then he refocused on the angel again.

"You. You could take me back." Of course he could, he still had his grace and his wings, he could just fly him to the future.

"I am not sure I should. I should check with my…"

"Or for the love of… Look, I left Dean back in Purgatory all alone, and I need to get back to him now, the whole world is at stake. I don't have time for you to check in with… Zachariah or Naomi or Michael." Castiel said and reached towards himself, trying to get his point across. But the second his fingers touched the trenchcoat, he felt this incredible pull, as if his whole being was magnetized. The angel must have felt it too, because his eyes were wide, his grace powering up unbeckoned. Castiel should have known better than to try and interact with his past self.

The angel's eyes gave that icy glow, his wings entering the shadow plain and pulling out a fearful display, but the angel itself seemed as if he was choking. Great, what had Castiel manage to fuck up now?

In one second there was an angel before him, mighty and strong, and in the next, there was just Jimmy, confused and scared. But that wasn't all. Oh, no, that wasn't even the best part.

Castiel could feel his grace, surging through every fiber of his being and his vessel, taking years off it's looks, and he could feel his wings spreading wide and stitching themselves back together feather by feather. And Castiel? Castiel smiled.

He smiled, feeling incredible for the first time in over a decade. He had his powers back, he had his strength, he had his wings, he was… He was an angel again.

Glancing down at the poor scared form that was Jimmy, he offered his hand and helped the man up on his feet.

"Thank you, Jimmy. I will forever be in your debt. Now, go. Be with your family." Jimmy just nodded, still dumbstruck by this whole event and didn't move from the spot, so Castiel reached, set two fingers against his forehead and let him and Amelia and Claire have their happily ever after.

Still very much in the past:

The very first worrisome thought that crossed Castiel's mind was that he managed to screw up the past, but then the buzzing of his grace told him that the past wasn't as he remembered it. The mere fact that he was walking the Earth over a year and a half sooner than he originally did told him that whatever brought him back was also changing the events.

The angel radio buzzed in his head, and Castiel huffed, missing hearing his brothers and sister, but not missing the way the sound made everything so much harder. It was not just their voices, it was also the way they could influence him, but he was smarter now, he knew better. Even with Zachariah screaming about angels needing to find out who was messing with time, Castiel knew he could just… Shut it off. Shut it down. He knew there was only one person who could rewrite this story and alter it. God. And Castiel knew he had to stop him.

Finding Sam and Dean was the priority, but that was easy. Not just because he knew the younger version of himself just pulled young Dean out of Hell (almost two years before it was supposed to happen), but also - he could sense him. This Dean still hadn't had the sigils carved into his ribcage yet, so any angel could easily find him. And that just won't do.

Yup, still in the past:

Thunder roared, lightning flashed and the winds picked up, and Castiel let out a small chuckle. Making a dramatic entrance was always Zachariah's idea, never his. The angel thought Dean would fear him more and follow his lead if Castiel's first expression was a powerful one. He could have just teleported in, that would have blown Dean's mind. Zachariah even tuned the radio to listen in to their conversation and spoke into Castiel's ear, telling him exactly what to say to Dean.

Calming the weather down, Castiel strolled to the barn and knocked on the door. He didn't have time for games and trickery. He needed to talk to Dean, and somehow convince him that they were in danger, that God was after them and that they needed to act.

On second thought - Dean just might think he is insane. But he couldn't lie to him, he knew better than to attempt that, lying always backfired. Play it by the ear it is.

"Um… come in?" Dean's voice sounded so confused, it amused Castiel for a second, before he did just as the man instructed. The scene was almost the same as he remembered it, though there were a lot less symbols on the wall and some of them were even demonic summonings he didn't remember were there the last time. In the middle of it all, armed to the teeth, stood a much younger version of Dean than the one he left behind in Purgatory, and Bobby, the original one.

"That him?" Dean whispered to Bobby.

"Nope." Bobby replied, and who exactly were they expecting? A smell of burnt herbs reached his nostrils and he could detect each and every compound of the spell they used, only missing one more ingredient to summon a very specific demon. But why try to contact Crowley? How did they even know about him?

Sensing them with his grace, Castiel knew for sure they were the younger versions, ones that should not be acquainted with the King of the crossroads, and shouldn't they be trying to summon Castiel?

Wait a minute.

Pamela Barnes still had her eyes.

"Who the hell are you?!" Dean shouted, cocking his sawed-off and aiming it at Castiel. The angel knew it wouldn't hurt him, but that didn't mean he wanted to get shot.

"I am Castiel." He replied mindlessly, still trying to piece together the full picture, but certain information was missing simply because it was different from the past he remembered, and his past self didn't know any of it. Yet.

"Yeah, that doesn't help much, so Imana ask again, Who. The. Fuck. Are. You?!" Dean shouted, looking really pissed off, and Castiel paused, focusing his attention on the hunter.

"I'm the one that… that… that pulled you out of Hell." He said, missing his lines. He might not be using slang much, but he didn't speak like a thesaurus anymore either.

"Oh, really? So whydcha leave my brother behind?"

"Your brother? Sam?" Castiel asked, confused. Why was Sam in hell? Wasn't he supposed to be with Ruby? No, that was in the original timeline, a year from now. Right now, Sam was supposed… Sam was supposed to be dead and Dean was supposed to be selling his soul for his life. Did he not do that? Had Dean perhaps found another way to save Sam? But then, Sam should be in Heaven, not Hell.

This time traveling alterations were really confusing.

"Yeah, my brother Sam! Whydcha leave him?"

"I… I wasn't aware he was in Hell." Castiel said, and it was the truth. Not he, nor his past self knew Sam was in Hell, though he had his suspensions if the angel knew, he might have left him there. He did not like that.

"But can you? Get him back?" Dean asked and Castiel could see the man dared to hope, his gun lowering an inch, before Bobby cleared his throat, surely not liking the tone in Dean's voice. "What are you anyway?"

"I am an Angel of the… I am an Angel. And a friend." Castiel said, screw the Lord. He wanted to emphasize he was on their side, but the last part he said flew right over Dean's head, who chose to focus on the first piece of information.

"Get the hell outta here, there's no such thing." Dean said, at least he was sticking to his lines. This is where they get into a debate over vessels, only Castiel wasn't using one right now, so they could skip that. Dean was supposed to mention Pamela, but that never happened. So… oh, right, Castiel was supposed to show him the shadow of his wings. The drama. Castiel sighed. That was not who he was anymore. Perhaps just talking to Dean could work?

"Dean…" Castiel tried, taking a step towards the hunter, making his first mistake. Dean's trigger happy finger squeezed the shotgun, sending shotgun shards straight into his chest. It hurt. On an emotional level. Castiel glanced down at his ruined suit and let out a heavy sigh. This was not working.

"Even if you were a freaking angel, why would you rescue me from hell? Why would an angel do that for me?" Dean asked and Castiel looked up at him, trying to seem as open and earnest as he could, but probably looked only tired.

"This is where I am supposed to say 'What's the matter, Dean? You don't think you deserve to be saved?' But we both know you have self-worth issues. Next I was supposed to tell you that I saved you 'because God commanded it.' And that is sort of true. He did orchestrate all of this." Castiel said, his eyes darting the ground. He took a deep breath and looked up to meet Dean's gaze before speaking up again.

"The truth is, Heaven wants you as their champion, they want to use you. They have used me too. I know I don't have your trust, and I know it takes a long time to earn it, but I am honest when I say I am your friend. And if you are willing to give me a chance, I would like to prove it to you. Let me help you. Let me help you find Sam."

"And just how can you help me find him?" Dean questioned.

"I was able to pull you out of Hell, I can do the same for him. Where is his body?" Castiel asked.

"He left with it." Bobby spoke up this time, frowning at Castiel.

"He… He is alive? How… How did he manage to get down to Hell like that?" Castiel asked, confused. Something really didn't add up there.

"He was…" Bobby started, but Dean cut him off. It seemed as if Bobby was more inclined to believe him then Dean.

"Doesn't matter." Dean interjected. "What matters is that he is down there and we need to go get them, so can you do that? Can you take me down?" Bobby tried to protest, but Castiel knew well that once Dean set his mind on something, there was very little way to persuade him otherwise. If Dean wanted to go down to the pit, he would go down.

"I can." Castiel replied, pleased. He wasn't being shut out, and that was progress.

"How?"

"I can fly us there." That would have been his second mistake. Dean didn't like to fly, Castiel should have remembered that. He should have phrased it differently, but instead he got the stink eye from Dean. Unfortunately, before he could rectify his mistake, he felt something coming. Heavy winds rattled the barn's roof, thunder and lighting, even the lightbulbs exploded as his brother descended upon them. Castiel rolled his eyes.

There, standing by the open door, Zachariah appeared, looking furious.

"What is the meaning of this, Castiel?" He shouted, his eyes flaring with grace, his wings coming out to the shadow plain, flapping angrily. "What are you doing? Have you lost your damn mind? You have your orders, you were supposed to do what they said!" He shouted, waving his hands around dramatically.

Castiel tilted his head and regarded him with a small frown on his face as Zachariah indulged in a long monologue over what happened to angels who disobey, and yaddi-yadda. "You do as you are told!!!" He finished his big speech that Castiel didn't even hear. He just glanced Dean's way and turned to face the angel.

"Fuck you." He said, the feeling of those words filling him with strange giddiness. "Fuck you." He repeated, stepping forth towards Zachariah, whose eyes went wide, he was after all, a coward deep down. "Fuck you!" Castiel yelled, feeling his grace bubble up in delight, surfacing, and giving out waves of his raw power. "Fuck you! I won't do what you tell me!" He shouted, stepping forward as Zachariah stepped back. "Now, run along, and give them a message from me. Tell them to go screw themselves and that the Apocalypse isn't happening. Tell them to come find me if they have a problem with that. And tell Michael I have his sword, and he can't have it." Zachariah's eyes went wide as saucers before he flapped and disappeared. Castiel breathed in and out, strangely satisfied and feeling incredible. Behind him, Dean spoke in awe. "Dude! Was that Rage against the machines? Did you just quote a metal song?"

Castiel huffed in amusement, but Dean's question did give him an idea, one that seemed really appropriate for this current situation, so he turned around to face Dean, offered him his hand and gave him his most serious look. Then he said:

"Come with me if you want to live."

A/N: Wow, I am really digging this Castiel, what do you guys think? He is still a badass, but with attitude. What did you think of this turn of events? I know a lot of people though that Castiel pulled Dean from hell, but I bet you didn't expect to see this version of him? Excited to hear your thoughts.