Calling All Angels

And the Holy Becomes Unholy

"So, we're meeting Dean and Sam, who are hunters?"

In the borrowed car, Adam had just finished briefing Lily on what was happening. He'd asked Castiel to transport her to the car via the angel route so he didn't have to wake her up, and now that she had woken up, she wanted answers. He had been driving most of the morning, and dawn was just uncovering the dry scrubland around them. "Yep."

"They also happen to be your half-brothers?"

He stifled a sigh. "Apparently."

Lily twisted round in her seat. "And you're an angel?"

The man – er, being? – in the trench-coat stared at her serenely. "Yes. My name is Castiel."

She frowned at him. "You don't look very angely."

"That is because I am wearing a vessel."

"A – a vessel?" The new prophet let her jaw hang open as she tried to understand. "You mean, like, that's some random guy you just 'took over'?"

"His name was Jimmy Novak, and he was a very devout man," Castiel said, as if they were having a casual, everyday conversation.

Lily rubbed her head. "But, why?"

Castiel blinked. "He believed in God."

"What? No, I mean why do you have to have a… vessel?"

"Because angels like to play dress-up," Adam said, smirking when Castiel threw him a disparaging look.

"Our true form is too much for humans to be able to perceive," he explained. "To see my true form would be to loose your ability to see."

Lily gawped. "Seriously?"

"I'm afraid so."

"But you said you were possessed?" This was directed at Adam, who squirmed at being reminded.

"Yeah it's not exactly a day at the funfair," he told her. "But you don't have to worry about this guy. My brothers trust him, so he's good."

Castiel frowned. Adam missed it, but Lily didn't, and she wondered why the compliment wasn't taken that way. Deciding that angels were too confusing to try and work out now, she tried to settle into the seat. A dull ache washed across her torso, and she sucked in a breath as she rubbed her ribs to try and soothe them. "My chest hurts," she told Adam. "How roughly did you move me from my bed to the car?"

"I didn't," he said, not taking his eyes off the empty road. "They hurt because Castiel put… something on them."

"Enochian wards," Castiel supplied. "I carved them into your ribcage to protect you from harm in some situations."

"You carved them into my ribcage?" she echoed incredulously.

"Yes. Dean, Sam and Adam all have a similar ward protecting them from angels."

"Sons of bitches ain't finding me," Adam said with a wry smirk.

His comment threw Lily off. "Why would Adam need protection from angels?" she asked. "Aren't you guys good?" She turned to Castiel, expecting him to berate Adam for cursing his species – but the angel wouldn't meet her gaze, instead seeming to find something more interesting outside the window (which was ridiculous – there was road, sky, and dusty earth). She looked at Adam's dark face, and refused to believe it. "Come on," she scoffed. "You're angels."

"My brothers do not always act in the best interest of humans," Castiel said slowly, now gazing at his lap. "You see, we are soldiers, disciplined and obedient."

"They'll manipulate whoever they want to do whatever they want however they want," Adam added bitterly. "As long as they achieve their goal, they don't care who gets hurt along the way."

Lily frowned. "I don't get it," she said softly, turning back to Castiel. "Then why are you here?"

Castiel shifted uncomfortably. "Some of us rebel," he answered. "It is not common, and not undertaken lightly. And often severely punished."

The human girl was becoming more and more confused by the second, but she felt some gratitude towards the angel in the backseat of the car. "So you're risking punishment to be here?"

"I'm already being punished."

"How?"

Castiel turned inwards for a second, his eyes losing their focus, before he addressed Adam. "We're close. We should be able to see it in twenty five minutes or so." Adam nodded to the rear-view mirror. Lily heard a gentle flapping sound, and when she looked round Castiel had gone.

"Don't worry, angels do that," Adam assured her.

Staring blindly out the windscreen, Lily tried to order what she'd learnt. "Angels aren't really evil, are they Adam?"

He shrugged. "Some are. I've met one who was a legendary dick." That was too light a word, but he didn't want to bother choosing a more befitting one. Why waste effort on the devil?

"So then why did Castiel make out that they were?"

Adam sighed, wishing he didn't have to answer this question. "I don't know really Lily. I guess, maybe, they're more political? You heard what he said: they're soldiers. Are soldiers good or bad?"

Lily's voice was small. "Yeah, but…"

"Forget about it," he told her. "Castiel told me he might have an idea about what we're facing. He said he'd tell us when we meet the others." He looked across at her, taking in the deep frown lines and the hand on her forehead. "You wanna try get some more sleep until then?"

"Maybe," she mumbled, and so he left it at that. The remainder of their journey passed in silence.

Not long after they set off, Dean was relieved to see that Sam had fallen asleep next to him. That relief became palpable though when that sleep became restless; Sam would mutter incoherently, twitch, and at one point he started sweating. Loathe to wake him up, Dean let him fight it out, only waking him up when he saw something on the side of the road.

"Think that's them?" Squinting through the sleepy film that covered his eyes, Sam could make out two figures stood by a car. They both looked fairly young, but one was clearly male and the other female. Heart racing, he agreed, and Dean pulled off the road to stop in front of them. They hesitated before getting out. "Ready?" Dean asked, watching his brother carefully.

Sam was looking at Adam. It was actually Adam, standing right there… he hoped. "Yeah." And with that, the Impala's doors opened, and the Winchesters stepped out into the dim sunlight.

The four of them stood in a loose square, seemingly sizing each other up. The girl – Lily – looked nervous and tired, and Dean found it hard to believe she had been chosen as a prophet. She was so young; she shouldn't be involved in this already. As for Adam – well, Dean was surprised at how okay he seemed. There was something different, though: he looked rougher, but not in a bad way. Rougher as though he could protect himself or another if he needed to. However, there were noticeable dark shadows beneath his eyes. Dean wasn't surprised. It took Hell escapees a while to become accustomed to peaceful sleeping again, but from what he'd seen with Sam Cage escapees were a whole different kettle.

"Adam," Sam said.

Their brother nodded. "Sam."

Then, before Dean could put out his own greeting, Sam stepped forward, arms wide, saying warmly: "I'm so glad you're here!"

The ensuing bear-hug (which was the only way any hug from Sam could be described as) stunned Dean – and also made him the teeniest bit envious. Sure, Sam and Adam had been through a lot together, but Dean had understood the kid better when he was alive for the second time, even if that time had been brief. He would've liked at least a nod of acknowledgement before the two got sentimental on him.

"Hey," he said to the girl instead, holding out his hand. "You must be Lily, right?"

"Yeah," she answered hesitantly, taking his offering. "And you're Dean?"

"Yep. That emotional giant over there's my brother, Sam." And he jerked a thumb in said giant's direction. "So, we hear you're a prophet?"

An anxious smile told him that the girl was trying to be brave about it all. "Apparently," she said. "Never saw that one coming when he told me."

Dean grinned at the joke to give her some confidence, then picked up on what she'd said. "He who?"

"That angel friend of yours. Um, Castiel?"

"Cas?"

"Uh, yeah," Adam interjected, "I called him in and he told us." Now separated from Sam, he finally gave Dean a smile. "Hey Dean."

"Hey kid," he responded, even returning the smile. "It's good to see you."

"You too."

Surprisingly, there was a lot Dean wanted to say in that moment. He wanted to tell Adam he was sorry: sorry that he left him behind, that he hadn't been able to go back for him, that Adam had been stuck down there for longer than he should have been – hell, he should never have been there in the first place! The kid had gone through so much shit, all because he had some Winchester in his blood. Dean knew Adam didn't care about that, but he was sure that Adam's life would have been more peaceful if John Winchester hadn't been his father.

Adam wiped his hands on his trousers, then gestured vaguely between them all. "Sam, Dean, this is Lily. Lily, these are… my brothers."

"Hey Lily," Sam said, practically beaming at her.

"Hi," she squeaked, and Dean could've sworn she edged closer to Adam.

"We heard you've been having a bit of trouble lately," Sam continued.

Lily nodded, and looked as if she was about to speak, but someone beat her to it. "She's being hunted." Lily nearly jumped right into Adam as Castiel materialised next to her, all deep-voice and intense-staring.

Dean had to hide his grin. "Yeah, it was mentioned in the memo, Cas. Do you know what by?"

"An Enochian Priest."

He blinked. "Right. Well, we encounter them every day, so let's get to it."

"No we don't, Dean," the angel said, looking confused. Dean raised an eyebrow and waited. "Oh." Cas' face cleared. "You were being sarcastic."

"Glad to see you're getting it, buddy."

"So you guys don't know what this priest thing is?" Adam asked.

Sam shook his head. "'Fraid not."

"Guessing you've seen one?" Dean asked.

Adam looked at Lily, who nodded gingerly and took her cue. "It's like… a huge skeleton. As in, too big to stand up straight in my hallway. It had a purple cloak, a purple hat, and this weird, staff thing that had some kind of energy ball on the end of it. And it's eyes…" She visibly shuddered. "It's eyes are just black holes."

"So we're up against Gigantor Bones?" Dean and Sam shared a look, and Dean nodded. "Doesn't sound too hard."

"Hold on Dean," Castiel interrupted. "This is no ordinary skeleton we're talking about. This is an Enochian Priest – they are very old and very dangerous."

There was a beat while everyone let that sink in, then Dean shoved his hands into his pockets. "Alright then Cas. Enlighten us."

"Enochian Priests were made by God," Castiel began, looking at each one of them in turn. "He created them after He made the angels and archangels, and they were designed to act as 'tutors' to the angels, to teach them about His vision. He gave them great power, and told them much. Unfortunately, this corrupted them, and the archangels were forced to vanquish them. They were sent into Purgatory, and God left the archangels in charge of all angel-kind." He locked eyes with Dean briefly, and it was hard not to miss the guilt threatening to spill out from their blue depths. "This one appears skeletal because it was stripped of its glory before being banished. I doubt it is capable of direct speech, but that does not mean it is not clever. I believe it seeks to acquire Lily's soul for itself."

"Why?" Adam demanded, and Dean took note of how he and Lily had seemingly gravitated towards one another, though they were both transfixed on Castiel.

Cas shrugged. "I cannot say for sure, but from what I know of them, I would say it would manipulate her soul into working for it. Lily would be left soulless, or at best used as a puppet." Lily whimpered, and Adam wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"That's not going to happen," he told her. He looked to his brothers for confirmation. "Right?"

It was a big ask. Adam couldn't have been back from the Cage for more than a few days at most, Dean figured, but already he wanted to be able to guarantee a girl's safety from a nasty they'd never encountered before? Thinking the odds were probably stacked against them, Dean gave the only answer he could; "We'll do our best," he said, and beside him Sam nodded. Adam looked disappointed. Dean could only hope that he was old enough – and perhaps now experienced enough – to know that that was the only truthful answer he could've given.

Castiel had suggested they found someplace to stay rather than working out how to fight the Priest in the middle of nowhere. Because the motel Adam and Lily had come from was slightly closer and cheaper, they agreed to reconvene there. Adam and Lily had been talking when Dean and Sam drove away, and now the two Winchesters were sat hunched over 'borrowed' books from Castiel in a dingy room at the Boarder House motel, trying to find anything that could help them gank their new foe. It was slow (as in, practically non-existent) progress, and Dean was becoming tired and irritable as time dragged on. Why couldn't they be facing something simpler?

"How do you do it, Dean?"

Dean looked up from the passage he was reading. "Do what?"

His brother took a second to form the words. "Cope," he said, "with what happened in Hell."

Mildly surprised by the direct statement, Dean fixed Sam with a hard glare. "Our experiences of Hell were very different Sam."

"I get that, but I just feel like I could use some guidelines, you know?"

"Well here's one." Dean smirked, the action devoid of all humour. "Be thankful you never hurt another soul down there."

Sam sighed. "Dean –"

"Come on, what do you want me to say, man?" Dean asked. "It's not like you can compare my experiences to yours and draw up a 'Beginner's Guide to Hell-Style PTSD'!"

"That's not what I'm asking for," Sam said softly, a hint of exasperation to his words.

"Well that's all I got," Dean snapped, turning pointedly back to his book.

There was a noise of frustration from Sam. "Dean, don't you think we should be talking about this?"

Dean clenched his jaw. "No we shouldn't."

"Why not?"

"What's there to say?" Met with silence, Dean looked up again, and Sam saw in his eyes a ferocity that said he really, really didn't want to talk about this. "Hell isn't a holiday that you can compare with your neighbours, Sam, and I'm sorry to say this but if you want to learn how to cope, do it on your own. I did. And yeah, maybe I only spent a measly forty years down there – you spent one hundred and fifty. Fine, you win."

"I can trump that."

Reflexively, the Winchester brothers shot to their feet, turning to the door where the interrupting voice had come from. Adam stood under the frame, his shadowed eyes fixed on the space between them as if he couldn't quite see them both. A cold silence followed his words, penetrated by Sam; "Adam –"

"Don't." Adam's gaze snapped to his giant brother's face, his companion from Hell. "You have no idea what I went through down there alone. Neither of you do." His voice was low and his words were clipped, eyes skating back and forth between the two brothers, and Dean thought he looked like an animal on the defensive.

Sam persisted. "That's not true. You and I were there together, Adam."

"Yeah, and then we weren't. You got lucky – someone cared enough to pull you out. Well I wasn't that fortunate, and once you were gone –" He cut himself off, hands fisting at his sides as he struggled to control the trembling of his body.

Shaking his head, Sam tried again. "I didn't want to leave you behind Adam, believe me. And if it's any consolation at all, I didn't get out… 'whole'."

"Oh yeah, that's real reassuring." Adam's smile was bitter and cynical, and Dean felt a little riled at the venom that was directed at his brother.

"Look kid, it's not as if we didn't try to get you out," he said. "But Hell makes harsh bargains, and we couldn't wing it. We're sorry, okay?"

Adam looked at him blankly. "You're sorry," he repeated. "Right. I feel so much better knowing that."

"Hey, now that ain't fair –"

"No, you wanna know what's unfair?" he cut in loudly. "What's unfair is having what little happiness you have in Heaven pulled out from underneath you by a bunch of lying weasels, who call themselves angels, then proceed to use you as bait for your own brother before deciding to shove an archangel into your skull anyway. Said archangel then takes you on a joyride to destroy the earth, but only ends up getting you thrown in to a prison designed for the frigging devil for three hundred and twenty five years."

Whatever Dean had been planning to say in retaliation was blown apart by his half-brother's final words. He stared. "Three hun…" It just didn't comprehend.

Sam was having similar trouble. "You were there for another two hundred years?"

"More or less, yeah."

"How are you keeping it together?" Dean asked, partly in wonder, partly out of genuine concern.

"Oh I'm not," Adam replied cheerily, as though someone asked him if he enjoyed a recent holiday. "But I've got a little help." He tapped the side of his head.

"You have a wall too?" Sam asked eagerly.

Adam pulled a tiny frown. "No," he said, "I've got Michael."

"Michael?" Dean repeated sharply. "That son of a bitch hijacked his way out too?"

"Not exactly; more like, he gave me a piece of himself to take with me and act as a 'buffer' for the memories."

"Are you out of your mind?" he near-shouted. Adam gave him a bland look. "This is Michael we're talking about – you know, the douche who forced himself into you and got you stuck in Hell in the first place? What made you think bringing even a tiny piece of him back out would be okay?"

"You don't know him." Adam's tone was hard.

"I know him well enough to know that he's only concerned with his so-called 'duty'." The thought of Michael wearing his dad's young body made Dean tense up, and he clenched his jaw to expel some of the anger that surged through him. "If he uses you again in any way Adam, I swear to God –"

"He won't."

"Yeah, and how do you know?!"

"Because I know him!"

"Bullshit."

"Dean," Sam interjected softly. "It's true." Dean threw his brother a look of disbelief, so he continued. "In the Cage, Michael never tried to hurt us. Not once. He would fight with Lucifer most of the time, and perhaps once or twice we'd be caught up in the fray, but when Lucifer came for us Michael would try and stop him – especially if he went for Adam."

The memory of Michael as John surfaced in Dean's mind again, in particular one thing he said: 'Unlike my brothers, I won't leave you a drooling mess when I'm done wearing you.' He'd healed Sam, made his parents happy too… "So the guy has nice moments," he concluded. "That still doesn't excuse what he did to us."

Sam looked exasperated. "I know, but after all that time –"

"I've known Michael for three hundred years," Adam said suddenly. Both Dean and Sam turned to him questioningly. "He had to promise me a lot of things before I said yes to him, and being in the Cage may have made him break those promises, but he protected me down there. He regretted that Sam and I were there, that we were caught in the middle of his and Lucifer's fights, and yeah he may not have had a lot of time to spend babying us but at least he never abandoned me." Sam shifted, and Adam continued to glare at them both fiercely. "When a way out was made, Michael used nearly all of his power to make sure I got out. This piece of him I took was for my protection, not for his gain – and I know that because during three hundred years I realised that Michael did actually care about us. He looked after me, and continues to do so even now." He locked gazes with Dean, who could've sworn there was fire burning behind the boy's eyes. "So don't you dare tell me I haven't thought this through when the fact is, Dean, that I'd trust Michael over the two of you any day."

Noticing Sam flinch as though his words had actually hit him, Dean glowered at their younger brother, grudgingly thinking that he was just as stubborn as any Winchester he knew. "Fine. But any sign that he's messing with you –"

"He won't."

"I'm gonna make him regret it. Okay?" Adam scowled at him, and Dean felt some tiny slither of victory. "You may not see us like we see you Adam, but to me and Sam you're family. Dad didn't want you in all of this crap, but now you're in he'd expect us to watch your back."

Adam scoffed. "I'm honoured." He turned to leave, slinging one last comment over his shoulder. "Great job so far, by the way."

It was a stark contrast to how their brother had greeted them, and Dean and Sam were left reeling. In fact, Dean couldn't tell what surprised him more: Adam's sudden mood swing or the fact that his final embittered words had actually stung. With a huff, Dean closed his book with more force than necessary and strode towards the door. "Where are you going?" Sam asked.

"To get a beer." The door closed before any more could be said, and Dean escaped.