Okay guys, thanks for your patience dealing with the cliff hanger :P Things only get worse from here...
Also! This week 29Pieces drew me an AWESOME fan art of Cas' portrait of Meg from the previous chapter, so definitely go check that out on her deviantart page (Under "Thorny Beauty" by 29-pieces-of-me)!
Chapter Five
Meg would be the first to admit that angels hadn't exactly been on top of her list of worries, which, in retrospect, was really stupid. She had just held out the hope that maybe they would think Cas was dead, and wouldn't bother to come looking for the angel who they probably considered to be public enemy number one.
Castiel was standing next to her as the angels strode into the room, two dark-haired men, and a blond woman who turned a haughty glare at Meg, which the demon returned in full.
"Brothers, sister," Castiel greeted, with a confused expression on his face. "I don't understand, why are you here?"
"Castiel," one of the male angels said, his voice low and cold. "So the rumors are true; you are not dead after all."
Castiel smiled and shrugged, gesturing to himself. "No, I'm alive, as you can see, Elias. It is good to see you again, though—"
"Stop," the female snapped and stepped forward. "Do you know what you have done, Castiel?" she demanded.
Cas' eyes squinted slightly and his smile faded. "I—"
"You decimated Heaven!" she snarled. "You killed so many of our brothers and sisters and all because they wouldn't join you. Because of our loyalty to Raphael—an archangel who had more right to the rule of Heaven than you!"
"Oh, Sarah," Castiel said with almost a look of pity on his face. "You never did see what he was truly planning. I was only trying to save you. All of you. And then, I wasn't myself, and now I'm even less of myself." He shook his head. "But I am done fighting now. Now I just watch the bees."
"What are you talking about?" Sarah demanded, looking slightly confused by his rambling.
"Perspective," Castiel stated, smiling again. "In my convalescence I have finally had the time to think, and to truly enjoy the simple things. Like the poetry of a honeybee as it makes its way between the flowers. It is a perfect plan that needs nothing else added."
"Enough!" Elias cut in as Sarah still stared in confusion at Castiel. "You must pay for your crimes, Castiel. We will see to it if no one else will."
"Hold on," Meg said firmly, stepping slightly in front of her angel. "If you think I'm going to let you take Castiel away for execution or whatever, you're wrong."
"And what do you think you can do about it, demon filth?" Elias snarled, his face twisting into a sneer. "Your presence here just proves how far Castiel has fallen. Fraternizing with a demon. You disgust me."
"Hey, words hurt," Meg snapped, her grip tightening on the blade in her hand. "And you do know this is a hospital, right? Plenty of people to attract the attention of should you try anything too supernatural."
"We took the liberty of putting everyone else here into a deep sleep," said the third angel still standing by the door. "They won't know a thing."
Well, this is just going from bad to worse. Meg mentally catalogued their options of escape. She was coming up with zero and none. Unless Cas could beam them out of there.
"Come, Castiel," Sarah told him. "If you don't put up a fight, we might make it easy on you."
"Perhaps if we all sit and talk," Castiel suggested. "Maybe play a game? We may be able to come to a better conclusion than violence."
The three angels looked at each other before Elias seemed to have had enough.
"This is ridiculous. Have it your way then, Castiel, we will drag you back to Heaven if we have to."
He strode forward, and was about to grab Cas, who was stupidly just standing there, when Meg took action, striking out with the angel blade and slicing Elias across the forearm with it. He gasped in shock and stepped backwards, holding the wound with his other hand.
"How dare you?" Sarah snarled, drawing her own blade and turning her attention to Meg. "Where did you get that blade, you abomination?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Meg smiled sweetly at her before readying a strike.
She was never able to make contact because Sarah flung her backwards over the bed with her angel mojo, and Meg slammed into the wall hard, losing her grip on the blade and feeling the plaster crack against her back before she crumpled to the ground.
"Meg!" She heard Cas cry, followed by the sounds of a scuffle. "Please, let me go!"
Meg's sight cleared just in time to see Sarah in front of her, kicking the blade away from her reach before grabbing her by the front of her jacket and yanking her to her feet with her angel blade pressed under Meg's chin.
Castiel was being held in a similar position by the other angels and Meg swallowed hard, knowing this was likely the end of them.
"Please don't hurt her!" Cas was pleading, seeming overly distressed for Meg's sake. "It's me you want, leave Meg alone!"
Sarah scoffed in Meg's ear. "Don't tell me you're actually fond of this abomination," She pricked the underside of Meg's chin as she said it, forcing the demon onto her toes if she didn't want to be skewered.
"Meg is my friend, please," Cas pleaded.
"You're making this worse, Clarence," Meg hissed before the blade was pressed even more firmly against her throat.
"Shall I kill it?" Sarah asked hopefully. Meg hoped she got a chance to slam a blade into her throat.
"No!" Cas cried as he was forced into the chair and held down by the third angel.
Elias glanced between Meg and Castiel and finally shook his head. "No, we can use her. We need to know where the Winchesters are, and if Castiel is so fond of his demon whore, then she can be the leverage to get him to tell us."
"Sure, good luck with that, hot stuff," Meg tried smiling at Elias but he turned away in disgust. Angels. She remembered when Castiel was the same way. "Sam and Dean are in the wind. Castiel doesn't know where they are. No one does."
"Shut up," Sarah slammed the hilt of her blade into Meg's jaw, making stars appear behind her eyes again.
"What do you want with Sam and Dean?" Cas asked, eyes narrowing.
"Like you, they must pay for their crimes. This whole Leviathan fiasco," Elias said.
Cas shook his head adamantly. "No, it wasn't them; I let the Leviathans loose. That's my fault."
Elias shrugged, pulling out his own blade. "Does it matter? Hardly the only thing they've done. I'd rather have all of our problems go away at the same time."
"Don't we all," Meg muttered as she was maneuvered into another chair that Sarah positioned facing Castiel before the angel moved behind it with her blade still against Meg's throat.
"Now, here's how it's going to go, Castiel," Elias said, circling the angel and looking like he felt oh-so-powerful. Meg almost snorted. "You're going to tell us where your Winchester pets are, or we'll carve up your little demon girlfriend. And don't worry, we have plenty of time before the next shift of nurses comes in; enough time to get exactly what we need out of you."
"Yeah, and what if he does tell you?" Meg asked. "It's not like you're going to let us live."
"No, but you'll be rewarded with a swift death."
"Please, Elias, I haven't seen Sam and Dean, I haven't talked to them. I broke Sam's wall and they are very angry with me right now. Even though I tried to fix it." Castiel looked up at the other angel pleadingly, like a child hoping he would be understood. Meg's heart twisted painfully. She couldn't let these feathered dicks hurt Castiel. He didn't deserve that.
"Even if you don't know where they are right now, I bet you know how to find them." Elias pressed the tip of his angel blade up under Castiel's chin, raising his face to look him in the eye. "I bet they have a safe house somewhere too. Where is that?"
"I don't know," Cas pleaded.
"He doesn't know, you asshat," Meg snapped. "He didn't even remember who he was until a couple weeks ago and he's had his brain scrambled. Can't you tell he's off his rocker?"
Sarah hit her with the angel blade, and Meg's head snapped back with a gasp. Damn, that angel could pack a punch. Meg still thought she could take her, but she wasn't going to take the chance when Cas had a blade at his own throat.
"Crazy or not, he can give us the information we need," Elias said. He bent over Castiel and leaned in close, their faces only inches apart. "Now, Castiel. The Winchesters."
"I won't betray them," Cas said. "It's the least I can do after everything."
"Fine." Elias straightened and nodded to Sarah. Meg braced herself as the angel blade dug into the flesh beneath her collarbone and burned along her chest. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming, not wanting to give the angel that satisfaction.
"Again, Castiel. Where are the Winchesters?"
"Please, Elias…"
Sarah cut Meg across the face this time, before she started to slowly sink the blade into her shoulder. Meg gritted her teeth, but a soft groan escaped anyway.
"Stop hurting her!" Cas cried, struggling against the angels again.
"Tell us where the Winchesters are!"
"I don't know!"'
Meg screamed in shock as Sarah slid several more inches of blade into her shoulder. The lights flickered and Castiel almost surged from his chair but Elias and the other angel shoved him back down and pressed a blade to his throat. Meg was wondering if Cas' 'wobbly' grace would blow up at any minute.
"Stop hurting her, she's only been taking care of me," Castiel tried to appeal to them, even though Meg knew he was only succeeding in making it worse.
"This only proves my case," Elias sneered at him. "You, an angel of the Lord, needing a demon to care for you." He laughed bitterly. "And I thought rebelling and joining the Winchesters was bad, but you really do just keep falling farther, don't you?"
Meg gasped and slumped forward as Sarah ripped the blade out of her shoulder. Meg looked up at Cas to see the saddened expression on his face.
Elias wasn't done though. "Besides, do you really think this demon cares? She is only here for her own gain. To use you."
"That's not true, Cas," Meg ground out, before Sarah hit her across the face again.
Thankfully, Cas didn't seem to believe Elias anyway. He looked at Meg with a sad affection. "I am grateful for your care, Meg. I…I know I have done wrong," he added quietly, turning to Elias. "But I don't want to fight anymore. I am done with fighting. I just want to stop hurting the people I care about."
Elias was silent and for a moment, Meg actually though he might go easy on Cas. Take pity on him. Elias crouched down in front of him, but then started to sneer.
"Well, Castiel, never fear. You will not hurt anyone anymore. You have made your bed. And you are going to lie in it." He stood up and strode over to Meg, grabbing her by the throat and yanking her out of the chair. Meg gasped, and clawed at his hands as he slammed her against the wall.
"Elias stop!" Cas screamed, but the other angel was still holding him tightly and Sarah had gone over to join him.
"You know why the people you care about always get hurt, Castiel?" Elias asked, all the while, smiling at Meg. "It's because you make poor decisions for the 'greater good' and it goes badly for everyone involved. It's no wonder the only friend you have left is a demon." He flung Meg to the floor and she hit hard, the breath leaving her body before he kicked her onto her back. Elias stood over her with his blade drawn.
"So, Castiel. I'll give you one last chance. Tell me where Sam and Dean are, or I'll kill the demon, and then I'll make sure you stay alive long enough to see me rip the Winchesters' guts out."
"Stop, please!" Castiel screamed. "I was the one who did wrong! Punish me!"
"But that's exactly what I'm doing," Elias said in a pleased tone, watching the angel's distress. He crouched over top of Meg and grabbed a fistful of her hair to keep her still. She growled at him and struggled in his grip. "You see, you're so miserable, threatening your own life would never work. But you do care about your friends, oh so much."
"Meg!" Cas cried.
"Don't worry, Clarence, I've got this one." And then, Meg twisted and reached for the second blade she had stowed against the small of her back and slammed it up into Elias' ribs.
He screamed and fell backwards and Meg scrambled to the other side of the room. It hadn't been enough to kill him, unfortunately, but it was enough to stop him for a few seconds.
"Cas!" she yelled, hoping he could break free.
Then something else caught all of their attention. Doors were being slammed open, forcibly, and a definite concentrated effort was being made on the locked doors that led to the patient ward.
Elias scrambled to his feet, a hand on his wound as he crossed to the door. Meg smiled. "Probably the authorities. You should get out of here before I alert them."
The angel yanked the door to the room open, just as a huge crash sounded and alarms started to go off as the ward entrance was forced open. Meg met Cas' eyes, trying to get him to acknowledge that they needed to do something. But then, Elias staggered back several steps and tried to slam the door to the room shut.
"What is it?" Sarah demanded.
"Leviathans," Elias breathed.
"The hell?" Meg snarled. "You brought chompers here?"
"They're looking for Castiel too, most likely," Elias snapped. "We need to get out of here. Bring the prisoners."
"Yeah, I don't think so," Meg scoffed, readying her blade.
What was left of the door slammed open and before Elias could say another word, the Leviathan standing there slammed a fist into his chest. Elias stood open-mouthed as black goo seeped from the wound, and past his lips. He shuddered and fell to the ground, choking, as the Leviathan ripped his hand from Elias' body. He looked over at Cas and gave an oily smile.
"Ah, Castiel. It's been a while."
"Cas!" Meg hissed. Sarah and the other angel had let him go to deal with the Levi and it was time to get out of there—preferably now!
Thankfully, Castiel got the hint, and appeared next to her in the blink of an eye before grabbing her. Angel travel was nauseating, but Meg would take that over Leviathans any day. They appeared in the garden, and Cas steadied her as she stumbled, trying to keep from vomiting.
"Meg, are you alright?" he asked, worry in his eyes as he held her upright and looked at her wounds.
"I'm fine," she said more gruffly than planned, and tried to shake him off. "We need to get to my truck. Now."
"I'm sorry," he said softly, his hand on her cheek, touching the cut there. "I led them to you and you got hurt. Just like the demons."
"Look, Cas, we can talk about whose fault it is later, right now, we need to get out of here!"
He gave her one last pained look before they were teleporting to the parking lot and Meg was fumbling for her keys and phone in her pocket, both thankfully still there. They got in and she started the engine, ignoring the pain in her shoulder as she cranked the wheel and gunned it out of the parking lot.
"Where are we going now?" Castiel looked almost worried, and Meg remembered how he had talked about the hospital being like a sanctuary. She was going to have to keep an eye on him. Hopefully he wouldn't devolve into having panic attacks to anything. She drove straight for the highway out of town while she flipped through her phone contacts.
"Meg, it's not safe to drive while using the phone."
"Shut up," she snapped as she found the number she was looking for and listened to the ring tone for what seemed like an eternity before someone finally picked up.
"What?" came an irritated voice over the line.
"Well, hello to you too, sunshine," Meg said sarcastically. "Do me a favor and let's skip the sweet talk, I don't have the time."
"Meg, what's going on, we're busy. Is it Cas?" Dean's voice became more cautious as he mentioned his angel pal.
"Yeah, Cas has been awake for a while now, actually, sorry I didn't call. Was kind of busy keeping demons and angels, and now Levis off his back. We're currently on the run and need a place to stay, know anywhere decent?"
Dean cursed and spoke to someone—presumably Sam—in the background.
"Hey, I don't have all day," Meg urged, eyes sliding over to Cas who was turned around in his seat for some reason.
Dean cursed again. "Yeah, there's a cabin in Oregon, I'll text you the location. Sam and I will meet you there. Just make sure that—"
"Meg!" Cas yelled, and Meg just barely looked out the window in time to see a vehicle coming right at them in fast pursuit. She only had time to brace for impact before the other vehicle slammed into them.
So, it's another cliffie, I know. But you only have to wait until Monday!