Chapter 11: Angel Freight

Claire cried for what felt like hours; she couldn't stop. When she finally ran out of tears, she found herself unable to let go of Castiel, suddenly terrified that if she looked up, she would start hating him all over again.

It had been easier in Heaven, that strange dream world they've spent the past year in. There, his voice was soundless, a frequency she'd somehow understood. Here, his voice was a distorted version of her father's. There, he was bodiless. Here… here he wasn't. And she couldn't bear the thought of hating him again, so she kept on clinging to him.

"Claire." The worry in his voice was unmistakable. "What can I do?"

A laugh bubbled out of her. Finally, she found the strength to push away, batting away at the wings he most certainly did not have the last time she saw him. She looked up and felt relief washing away her fear. Maybe it was the fact that she'd spent a year with Jimmy's ghost. Maybe it was the sight of those incredulous wings. Maybe she was just a heartless bitch. Whatever it was, she could look up at him and smile, and after all they've been through, that was enough.

"I'm okay," she said, feeling a little wobbly. "Sorry I leaked snot all over you."

"It's fine," he said so earnestly she couldn't help but giggle. Then he turned to look at Enid, who'd been hugging the wall with her back throughout Claire's little breakdown. "Hello again," he said in his gravelly voice.

Enid simply stated, "you've got wings."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "Yes, I know."

"You're an angel. A real one this time?" To Castiel's bemused nod she eloquently added, "holy crap." Enid took a few steps closer, unaware that she had grabbed Claire's arm and was clutching it tightly. She opened her mouth a few times, looking like she couldn't decide what to ask first. Finally, she settled on "can you fly?"

Castiel winced. "Normally, yes." He folded the wings closer to his back, the feathers ruffling a little before falling flat. "Now…" He looked down at discarded feathers on the floor. They'd been carelessly stomped on, some of them nearly unrecognizable, stained red by the paint.

He continued, "They must look so very poor. They've never been clipped like this before. Normally I would put them away but…" he opened one of the wings, bringing it over his shoulder. They saw that there were metal cuffs wrapped around the appendage itself, creating ugly gaps between the feathers. "Do you see the etchings? They have to be painted over…" Castiel grimaced. "I'm afraid I still can't move from this spot."

"I'll do it," volunteered Enid, already pulling her sleeve over her hand and dipping it into the paint puddle on the floor. She then cautiously approached Castiel, who helpfully drew both of his wings over his shoulders, bringing the cuffs in Enid's reach. "Um, should I just cover the whole thing?"

He shook his head. "Just enough to break the flow of the design. The chains as well, if you don't mind."

Enid painted over the four cuffs around Castiel's wings, being very careful not to drip any paint directly on the feathers. She then proceeded down the length of the attached chains, replenishing from the paint puddle every so often. Claire helped by holding up the chains for her to work through and then tossing each length of chain aside once Castiel snapped it off.

"We weren't really in Heaven, were we?" Enid asked, only slightly awestruck by that point.

"In a manner of speaking," Castiel said, helpfully tilting his head so Enid could reach the runes on his collar. "I am a celestial being of heavenly intent; my own grace was used to create a dimension similar in physical properties to a single personified heaven. Admittedly, it was - is - a poor version of it. I'm sorry," he added, as an aside, "I did my best to create a stable environment for you, but the flow of energy was corrupted from the start. The seals Claire destroyed are absolutely abominable; they haven't been used since Lucifer's rebellion."

"Satan's real, too?" Enid blurted, accidentally brushing her paint-dripping sleeve on Castiel's chin. "Was that...?" She took a step back and pointed a finger toward the higher decks, where their fight with Tlaloc took place. Castiel squinted at the ceiling searchingly.

"Was he the guy we just killed?" she clarified.

"No way, he was just a demon, right Cas?" Claire said, holding up the next length of chain to be painted over.

"Tlaloc? You killed him?" Castiel seemed oddly proud. "No, he was a god, not a demon."

"We killed God?!" Claire and Enid cried in unison.

"No, just a god," Cas stressed. "Aztec, to be precise. There have been many gods throughout human history. Mankind is very unique among my Father's Creation. With shared belief, Humanity managed to create all sorts of creatures over time. Your souls are remarkably powerful." Puzzled, he added, "I've always wondered about that. It's quite odd, actually. Why breathe life into a being and then worship it in turn?" He looked at them expectantly.

"Um," Claire said intelligently. She exchanged a look with Enid. "I don't... um. I don't think I'm qualified to answer that question." He seemed disappointed, so she cheered him up by holding another chain for him to snap.

All three were spattered with red paint by the time Castiel was set free. With a relieved sigh, he shook his wings out. "Thank you, both of you."

Then, something strange happened: there was a crack of thunder, loud like the lightning had struck the ship itself. The smell of something burnt filled the room. Claire and Enid screamed, scrambling back. Castiel himself gave a pained cry, falling to his knees. His wings had disappeared.

"Cas?" Claire cried, falling down on her knees beside him. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I didn't expect that to happen." He groaned, eyes squeezed shut. "I'm sorry. The seals you've destroyed forced me to absorb a lot of power. Ugh, quite… quite a lot, over a long period of time." He opened his eyes, looking at her gratefully. "It was very good of you to release me when you did. I'm not sure my grace would have stayed intact for much longer."

"I saw that light go back into you," Claire said uncertainly. "If it's too much, why don't you just release it?" He was shaking his head before she finished her sentence.

Castiel said, "a discharge like that would be catastrophic. And Claire, I'm so very sorry," he looked at her sadly, "I can't heal your injuries. Healing requires a substantial amount of power and I, um, I don't have the necessary dexterity for it at the moment. I could burn you from the inside out."

"Oh Cas, don't worry about it, it's not so bad." She tugged on his arm. Enid took his other side, and together they pulled him back to his feet, bracing him as he swayed. "Just, no more freaky light powers until we figure out how to fix you," Claire added. "Will you be okay, though? You're not gonna explode or something?"

He grimaced. "The Grigori were said to have used this method before, to overpower themselves with the intent of launching suicide attacks in battle." At their alarmed looks he added, "but my grace should recover eventually. I might be able to release some of the stored energy, perhaps a little every time." He sighed. "Tlaloc was an idiot."

"A real jerk, too," Enid added.

Claire then asked, "we broke the spell, though, right Cas? Will Carl and the rest wake up now?"

"Wake up?" Castiel looked at her strangely. "But they aren't asleep."

Enid asked, "you can hear them from all the way down here?"

Still looking confused, Castiel answered, "Of course I can, they're right here. And they are very loud."

"They're… what?" Enid said.

Castiel frowned. "They are here, in me. Wasn't… wasn't that obvious?" He gave an exasperated sigh. "I've been trying to expel them ever since you've unchained me. They're being quite stubborn. It's good that Tlaloc put their bodies in stasis. Bodies without souls are very unpleasant. Don't worry, once their souls are safely inside their physical forms they should be fine." A concentrated look passed over his face. "Almost got it…"

"Heaven… is you?" Claire breathed, pulling away to point at him accusingly. "We've been inside of you this whole time?

"Um, yes? Didn't I explain earlier?"

Enid wondered, "Where'd we even fit?"

"I'm very large," Castiel told her honestly.

"Enid, shut up," Claire yelled when the other girl started to laugh.

"This is so wonderfully weird," Enid giggled.

"How is that weird?" Castiel asked, head tilted.

Claire glared at him. She knew exactly how ridiculous she sounded when she asked, "why didn't you let me have that motorcycle?"

"It's a very dangerous form of transportation, Claire."

"I couldn't even get a papercut in there! And, and… what about the thing with the hairdryer? You didn't let me have a hairdryer."

Sheepishly, he said, "I thought it was a weapon."

"A hairdryer, Cas. It's literally in the name."

"The shape is misleading. Also, I assumed the name was a pun."

"That doesn't even make any sense!" she cried out.

"I've noticed that humans are very fond of ironic namings. Did you know there is a type of rifle called Winchester?" Before she could reply, an odd look crossed his features. "Oh, I think I've got it now. You two might want to take a step back. Um, another one, please. One more, thank you. Yes, that's far enough."

Castiel took a deep breath. He held it for a second, eyes closed in deep concentration. Then, he threw his head back, and with the exhale, bright light poured out of his mouth. The light was no less pure than before, yet somehow more bearable to look at, with an almost earthy feeling to it. It broke into separate beams before ascending through the ceiling, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

"So weird," Enid said again.