Hello! There's really no excuse for me not posting other than the facts that I binged season 12 and was less than thrilled and what I'm writing right now is based in season 10 and I think season 10 was pretty boring and filled with Hannah. But I'll get through it, I promise!

Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following! I really appreciate it!

Disclaimer: In no way do I have any rights to Supernatural or any of the characters you are familiar with. I only own Amriel and any OCs that pop up along the way.

Twenty Nine: Splitting Up

"Thank you for coming," Castiel greeted Sam and Dean when they walked into the Colonel Scoop ice cream shop, motioning for them come closer.

The Winchesters each shook the angel's hand, Sam looking around until he spotted Amriel talking with one of the paramedics. He caught her eye and nodded in greeting. She nodded back, excusing herself from the woman she had been speaking to so she could join them.

"Spears and Aguilera?" Dean asked, annoyed by the awful aliases Cas had chosen.

"I've noticed your aliases are usually the names of popular musicians," Cas shot back, and Amriel interjected.

"We've chosen to use popular actors. I'm Agent Hanks, he's Agent Ryan," she said with a proud look on her face, and Dean rolled his eyes, "Wow."

They walked over to a body on a gurney to see that the woman's eyes were burned out of her head.

"The other bodies are the same — burnt out husks," Castiel said, narrowing his eyes at the body and pulling the sheet back in place.

"So, what is this? Some sort of mass smiting?" Dean asked and Amriel said they had never seen anything like it before.

"Six humans died here," she told them, "and one angel."

Sam asked if the angel was one of theirs and Cas nodded, "He was a good soldier. This attack, though… I knew he wanted a war, but this… This is abhorrent, even for him."

"We should gather the evidence and get back to the command center," Amriel suggested, sending Cas a look that neither Winchester could decipher.

The four entered the command center to see that the place was bustling with angels. Hannah rose to greet them, and Amriel noticed that her eyes were on Castiel the whole time.

"Commanders," the brunette spoke, and Amriel groaned inwardly.

"Oh, this is just creepy," Dean mumbled, and Amriel shot him a glance.

"Sam, Dean, this is Hannah," Cas introduced, motioning to the dark haired angel before them.

"The Winchesters," she mused. "I've heard so much about you."

"What can I say? These two are big fans," Dean grinned and this time Amriel actually rolled her eyes.

An angel in a red shirt approached and took the box of evidence that Cas had been holding, saying that he would start to examine it, causing Dean to stutter, unable to get anything out as Hannah interrupted.

"Commanders, this morning, Josiah wasn't at roll call."

"Uh, roll call?" Sam asked, "You hold roll call?"

"They like to hear me say their names," Cas explained, and Amriel frowned slightly.

"I know a couple of women like that," Dean winked at the blonde, who shot him a glare.

"No one's seen Josiah since Ezra was murdered. We think that—"

Sam cut Hannah off, "You think Josiah's the killer. That he's the mole?"

"Well, who else? We searched the grounds, but he's vanished," Hannah told them.

"Not without wings," Dean said. "He's an angel, but he's still got to travel like a human, which means walk, drive— mean's he's gonna leave a trail."

Sam sat down at a computer and asked what Josiah's vessel's name was. Amriel answered that he was Sean Flynn from Omaha, and within seconds, Sam turned the computer screen to show a picture of a driver's license that had a familiar image on it.

"This the guy?" he asked, and Cas nodded his head. "All right. Looks like someone just used his credit card at a Gas-N-Sip in Colorado."

"And that's how we do things in the pros," Dean smirked.

"Commanders," the angel in the red shirt interrupted, "I have something. This phone's memory chip has a video time-stamped just before the explosion."

The video began to play, showing footage from inside the Colonel Scoop.

"And now the moment you've all been waiting for," the customer said, and as a woman asked what was going on and a little girl screamed 'no,' the man ripped open his coat to reveal a sigil carved into his chest. He rammed an angel blade through his heart as he yelled, "I do this for Castiel!"

Amriel felt Cas take a hold of her hand, squeezing tightly as the ice cream shop exploded and the video went dead.

"What the hell was that?" Dean asked, turning to face his friend with an accusing look on his face.

"I don't know. I didn't — I would never ask an angel to sacrifice himself to kill innocents. I'm gonna be sick…"

Amriel saw the way his face had paled, and she worried that he was truly going to vomit.

"Cas, why would an angel blow up a Colonel Scoop's in your name?" Sam asked, trying to figure out a reason for himself.

"That's not what he was doing. Roll it back. There," Hannah pointed to the girl in the booth. "That was an angel. Esther. She's one of Metatron's."

"So this was some kind of hit?" Sam asked, and Amriel began to rack her brain, trying to figure out if she knew that sigil from somewhere.

"I don't know," Cas said once again, squeezing her hand like his life depended on it.

"Stop saying you don't know!" Dean hissed, and Amriel took a step so she was standing between Cas and the Winchester, ready to put an end to things quickly if she needed to.

"You can't think I would allow something like this. That we would allow this," Castiel looked at Dean, wishing his friend would believe him.

"Cas, I know you try to be a good guy, okay? I do. You try. But what you and Amriel got here, this is a freakin' cult."

"Dean," Amriel warned, but he just kept talking.

"And the last time you had this kind of juice, you did kill humans and angels, and you did nothing but lie to me and Sam about it the whole damn time!"

"Can we, uh… Can we take this somewhere else, guys?" Sam asked, and Amriel nodded quickly, pulling Cas towards their office, not really caring if Sam and Dean were following them.

As soon as the door was closed behind them, Amriel glared at Dean and told him to calm down.

"Seriously, Dean. Will you stow the baggage?" Sam agreed with the blonde. "Look, we've got a case. Let's work it. Did you two know the angel in that video?"

"Yes, his name was Oren," Cas nodded. "He was a new recruit. He worked in community outreach."

"And what does that mean?" Dean asked, and Cas looked to Amriel to explain. It had been her idea, after all.

"Some of our troops are stationed at a local hospital," she told them. "Their job is to help where they can, minor miracles, nothing that would gain attention."

Sam asked what had been going on in the video when Oren stabbed himself, and Cas went on to explain that the Enochian runes carved into his chest were possibly meant to focus energy, and that when he stabbed himself it unleashed the power of his grace.

"So, what about the girl?" Sam asked, "What happened to her?"

"If she was the target, if the blast was focused on her, then more likely than not, she was atomized," Cas answered sadly. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, the two of you don't do jack. Me and Sam will head to the hospital, see if we can find somebody who knew this walking nuke," Dean told him, looking between Cas and Amriel, the latter of whom wore an annoyed look on her face. "What? You got a problem?"

"Yes, Dean, I do have a problem," she snapped. "These are our people. We can help!"

"That's sort of the problem. I mean, the Manson girls aren't gonna give us a straight answer with Charlie in the room, so just hang back," Dean pointed to Cas, and Amriel raised an eyebrow. "What? Obviously they answer to him. Do they like it when you do roll call?"

Amriel tore her eyes away from the older Winchester, staring down at the floor. He was right. They were always so eager to do things for Castiel but when it was her asking, it was like pulling teeth.

"What, does that make me a Manson girl, then?" Amriel looked back up at Dean. She read Helter Skelter a month ago. Of course she knew what he had been referencing.

"No, uh you're not," Dean began to backtrack. "Because he actually likes you the way you like him."

"So, I should just sit here?" Cas asked, and Amriel wasn't surprised when Dean said yes. She was surprised, however, when Castiel said that they would follow Josiah's trail to Colorado.

"What?!" she blurted out, turning to face him, unable to see the surprised way the Winchesters looked at each other behind her back.

"We have to do something, Elle. If you don't want to come, I'll go alone-"

"Sam will go with you," Dean interrupted, and Amriel looked over her shoulder at him, glaring slightly.

"And what will you do, Dean? Stay here?" she asked.

Amriel didn't want to leave him here with all of their troops unattended, so she suggested that she would stay with Dean. The older Winchester rolled his eyes at her, saying that he didn't need supervision.

"I will not have you interrogating our people—" Amriel stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She knew it was Cas, so she fell silent, allowing him to speak.

"Elle will stay here with you and keep an eye on things. Sam will come with me to Colorado. Is that amenable to everyone?"

Sam nodded, while Dean looked annoyed, and Amriel didn't like how tense he was. It was almost like he was always hopped up on adrenaline, now matter how calm the situation around him was. It unnerved her, honestly.

"Fine," Dean agreed, and when Cas turned to gather some things from the desk, Amriel approached Sam and ushered him into a corner so they could speak without being overheard.

Amriel stared up at the man, still amazed by how tall he was in comparison to her vessel, and she finally said, "Please watch out for him. I would rather go with you two, but I think I need to keep an eye on your brother."

"I will, I promise," Sam said in that serious tone of his, and she knew he would do as he said. "I trust you, Amriel. I wouldn't leave Dean with just any angel."

Cas and Sam were on their way to Colorado, and needless to say it wasn't the most exciting road trip Castiel had ever been on. He missed traveling with Amriel— she would tell him about TV shows she was watching or joke with him in Enochian.

Sam had just told Cas that Abbadon was dead, and that Dean had killed her using the First Blade. Cas knew it was going to happen eventually, but he wasn't sure what that meant for Dean now.

"Does Dean seem different to you?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the road as he spoke.

"Yeah. Lately, he seems to be… amped up. You know, on edge," Sam answered.

"He does seem angry. I mean, he's always a little angry, but now it seems like… more," Cas said sadly. "I think a part of him actually believed that I ordered those angels to, you know… Sam, you don't, do you?"

He spared a glance at the Winchester in the passenger seat, watching him furrow his eyebrows before he finally answered.

"No, man. Cas, listen. You and Elle got a weird thing going on back there. Those other angels… The way they stare at you, it's like you're part rock star, part L. Ron.," Sam told him. "But I can tell some of them don't feel the same way about Amriel. What's that about?"

"They put their faith in me, and I only agreed to lead them if Amriel was seen as my equal. She's… had a hard time adjusting to the role, but she's trying…"

"Maybe that's the problem, them putting their faith in you. People have been doing messed up crap in the name of faith, in the name of God, since forever."

Cas could see where Sam was trying to go with this. There was no way he was trying to do what he did when he opened Purgatory.

"Well, I'm not trying to play God," Cas told him, "I'm just trying to get my people home."

"I need you to let me talk to her alone," Dean said to Amriel outside of the room that held an angel that he was going to interrogate about Oren.

"I really don't think that's necessary," Amriel argued back. "You're not exactly the most tactful person and she's done nothing but her job."

"You don't trust me?" he asked, swiftly approaching her so they were nearly standing chest to chest.

Amriel looked him up and down, taking in his tense stance and a look similar to the one he wore when they first met on his face. She shook her head, determined to keep him from hurting any of her team.

"It isn't that, Dean. I just want to make sure that things go smoothly. If you won't let me sit in, you won't get to talk to her." She was going to stand her ground no matter what, regardless of what the Winchester said.

Dean stared back at her, almost like he was trying to get her to back down, but when he realized that she wasn't, he conceded.

"Fine," he sighed, taking a step back as Amriel smiled slightly, opening the door for him and following behind quickly.

Dean sat across from the angel wearing a doctor's coat, and Amriel leaned against the wall beside the door, making eye contact with the angel and nodding so she knew Amriel had her back.

"So what do I call you?" Dean asked, starting things off better than Amriel had him to.

"My angelic name is 18 syllables long. Let's stick with Flagstaff," she answered, and Amriel smiled to herself.

She listened intently as Flagstaff and Dean went back and forth, Dean asking questions with a sarcastic tone and Flagstaff answering honestly, up until she asked if she could get back to the hospital. Before she knew it, Dean had thrown the table between the two and pushed Flagstaff and her chair backwards, catching them before they could hit the ground. The moment Dean had an angel blade to her throat, Amriel's voice rang out.

"Enough!"

"Don't let him do this— please," Flagstaff breathed, and Amriel could see the fear in her eyes, but she knew Dean wasn't going to do anything. She wouldn't let him.

"Oren. Friends?" Dean asked, and Amriel raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued by his question.

"Constantine and Tessa," she answered, and a flicker of something Amriel didn't recognize ran over Dean's face.

"Tessa? The reaper, Tessa?" he asked, and Flagstaff asked if he knew her, but Dean ignored the angel, tucking the blade away and sitting her chair upright.

"Dean, stay right there," Amriel ordered, using an authoritative voice that even he knew not to defy. "Flagstaff, please, come with me."

Amriel took the angel out into the hallway and put her hands on her shoulders, looking her over for any signs of injury.

"I'm sorry it got that far. Dean… Has his ways, but I promise you that I wasn't going to let him hurt you," she said, watching Flagstaff glare back at her.

"His use of force was completely out of line. I cannot believe you let him—"

"I said you were safe in there. I know how to handle the Winchesters, Flagstaff, and I will not have you questioning my actions," Amriel stopped herself, taking a deep breath before she continued. "I appreciate your cooperation. Please return to your duties."

She watched Flagstaff walk off and once she was out of view, she went back in the boiler room to find Dean pacing.

"Was it really necessary to threaten her with a blade?" Amriel asked, watching him stop mid-step and turn to look at her.

"Why? Did it bring back some memories?" Dean shot her a suggestive look and the angel felt a wave of disgust roll through her. Something was going on with him and she did not like it.

"Don't test my patience, Dean, seriously," she shot back, "I'm not some lackey you can walk all over."

Amriel watched him stroll right up to her and lean down, their faces only an inch or two apart. She could see in his eyes that something wasn't quite there, but she wasn't sure what was missing.

"Oh really?" he said in a low voice, "You think I wouldn't slice your pretty little neck with an angel blade?"

"Castiel would never forgive you if you did, and neither would Sam," Amriel hissed, making sure she held eye contact with him the entire time. She didn't want to give him the chance to disarm her.

"That's what you think, Blondie. Sure, they'd be mad at first, but in the end you're just another disposable angel," Dean paused, looking her up and down again, "Only you just so happen to be in a much better looking meat suit."

Using both hands and as much force as she could muster, Amriel shoved Dean back, watching a smirk cross his lips as he went for the door.

"I'm going to go find Tessa. You stay here and, uh, play Commander," he said, opening the door and slamming it shut behind him.

Once he was gone, Amriel released the breath she had been holding in.

Sam and Cas pulled up outside of a warehouse in Pray, Montana. A man at a gas station in Colorado had told them that Josiah had been heading here, and Castiel could feel that it was radiating power.

"I haven't felt anything like this since… since Heaven," Cas told the Winchester. "We have to get in there."

"All right then," Sam said, pulling out his kit to pick the lock.

When his lock pick didn't work, Sam threw his shoulder against the door a few times, but no matter what he did it wouldn't budge.

"Step aside, I got this," Cas finally said, throwing his body into the door before jiggling the handle a few times. When nothing happened he frowned, "I don't got this."

They split up to try and find a way into the warehouse, and neither of them had any luck. Sam had checked the windows, while Cas looked for any sort of warding, and he was surprised by what he found.

"I think I found something," he said to Sam, holding up his hand to reveal a spell etched above the doorway. "It's Enochian. I believe it's some sort of riddle… 'Why is six afraid of seven?' Now, I assume it's because seven is a prime number, and prime numbers can be intimidating."

"It's because seven ate nine," Sam said with a smile, and the door opened with a loud creak.

"It's wordplay," the angel mused, "and the answer is the key, like the doors of Durin in Lord of the Rings."

"Wait a second, you know about The Lord of the Rings?"

"I'm very pop culture savvy now," Cas said in a matter-of-fact tone, and Sam's phone began to ring.

"Hey," Sam answered, hearing his brother's gruff voice on the other end of the line.

"How is he?"

"He's uh… He's Cas. What about you? How's it going? How's Amriel?"

Castiel froze at the mention of the blonde angel, listening closely for Dean's response.

"She's great. I'm great. Went out, got some air. Met an old friend. Say hi to Sam, Tessa."

"Your brother's a psycho, Sam!" Tessa huffed, making Cas frown slightly.

"Ha, ha. Stop," Dean deadpanned, and Sam asked what was going on, but the older Winchester wanted to know what was going on with the hunt for Josiah.

"We're about to head into a warehouse in Montana. Why do you have Tessa?"

"I caught her about to go postal at a theater. I'm taking her back to base camp, so do your thing and head there when you're done. See ya soon," Dean said before hanging up.

The two walked into the warehouse, Castiel looking around as Sam followed behind slowly.

"You sure you don't want to go back? Look, if Dean is right about Tessa…"

"No, I uh.. I do," he fumbled in response, "Just give me a second."

Cas kept going even though Sam had stopped, wondering what he was doing. He went to ask, but Sam called out for him to wait, and before he knew it he had fallen to his knees to avoid two spinning saw blades that had appeared from the wall out of nowhere.

"The Last Crusade," Sam mumbled, helping Cas up so they could keep going.

They rounded a corner to find a glowing door before them, and Castiel felt absolutely elated. This is what they had been searching for. He was going to return to Heaven…

"We found it," he mumbled, heading towards the door that was clearly resonating power and calling out to him.

"What?" Sam asked, and Cas bristled, annoyed that he couldn't feel it too.

"It's the door to Heaven."

"Seriously?"

"What else would Metatron go to such great lengths to protect? I can hear it, Sam. If we control the door, we can take the fight to Metatron… We may not even need to fight at all."

"Cas, wait-"

Sam was too late. Castiel opened the door, only to find a room with awful party decorations. Inflatable palm trees, streamers, and terrible music was playing in the background. Sam walked over to a table and picked up a card, reading from it.

"Welcome to your own personal Heaven, Castiel. Good luck finding the real one."

"But why?" Cas asked to no one in particular, and he noticed that when Sam turned around to reply, his eyes widened at something behind him. Looking over his shoulder, Castiel spotted a badly burned man leaning against the wall next to the door.

Cas leaned down next to the man, recognizing him despite the charred skin.

"It's Josiah. He reeks of holy oil…"

"Yeah, looks like he got Home Alone-ed," Sam said, motioning to an empty bucket of holy oil that hung above the door.

"So all of this — it was a lie," Cas frowned, startling when Josiah jerked awake and grabbed his wrist.

"Supposed to be here.. the gate. He told me, after Ezra, he told me that I should come to him. Metatron told me I could go home… I just wanted to go home."

"Here, let me—" Castiel moved to heal him, but Josiah stopped him.

"No!" he shouted, "I would rather die than owe my life to you, Castiel. You play at being noble. You play at being one of us. But I look into your eyes, and I don't see an angel staring back at me."

Cas was speechless, and he watched as Josiah died before he stood up and backed away. What had he meant, he didn't see him as an angel? That's all Castiel knew how to be. He had failed miserably as a human. Shaking the thought from his mind, Cas finally tuned back in to whatever Sam was saying, but not really paying attention.

"We need to get out of here," he finally said.

Ignoring the look Sam had given him, Cas took off down the hall, back the way they had come, thinking about what Josiah had said.

It was going to be a long ride back to the command center.