Dean stared at Castiel as though he'd suffered a great betrayal. Which he had, but that was a completely different situation. And he hadn't seemed nearly as upset then. Nevertheless, Castiel backed away from the Doctor as though scorched. He stared at Dean standing on the stairs, Sam right behind him. Sam looked as though he were considering going back upstairs and ignoring...whatever this is.
Dean stomped down the rest of the stairs and pushed Castiel away from the Doctor. "Cas, what the hell were you doing?!"
If you've never seen an angel angry, lucky you. Those unfortunate few who have, know that even though they don't yell or even raise their voice, they're terrifying. Their face becomes one of utter contempt, if not absolute rage. Their eyes set completely on you, unmoving and unfeeling. That was how Castiel looked at Dean now. "I was conversing with the Doctor. I would like to know why you are acting like a child whose toy has been taken from him.
Dean stared at Castiel first with shock, then with shame. He didn't say anything, just backed away from him and leaned up against a wall.
Sam stepped farther into the room, inserting himself between Castiel and Dean. The Doctor stood a couple of feet to Castiel's right, watching them gravely. He felt guilty, like he was the reason the two friends were angry at each other.
After a minute of uncomfortable silence, Sam asked, "How were the gods, Cas?"
His words seemed to have a profound effect on Castiel. He didn't seem angry anymore. Just tired. "They were gone."
"Gone?" Dean repeated, standing up straighter. "How the hell can they be gone?"
"They were taken."
The Doctor asked, "By Hypnos?"
Castiel shook his head wearily. "No.
"Then who took them?" Sam asked.
"Dysnomia."
Dean asked, "Are we supposed to know who that is?"
Castiel fixed his irritated gaze on Dean. "Dysnomia is the goddess of lawlessness, and the daughter of Eris."
"Eris," Sam repeated. "I think I've heard of her." He looked through one of the many bookshelves in Bobby's house before finally picking one. It was large and bound in black leather. A single Greek word was written on the cover in silver ink. Νύξ. Underneath this was a picture of a full moon with a crescent moon on either side.
Castiel took the book. "This is one of the few remaining Books of Nyx. Most were destroyed centuries ago."
"What does that have to do anything?" Dean asked, staring at the book in Castiel's hands.
"Nyx was one of the oldest and most revered Greek goddesses, feared even by Zeus. She was the goddess of night and darkness, mother of anything mysterious or unpleasant. Eris is one of her more well known children, the goddess of chaos and strife." Castiel opened the book to a page with an intricate portrait against a dark purple background. It was of a thin, marble white woman with ink black hair flowing down her waist and acid green eyes and a black dress that wrapped tightly around her body. Her face was twisted into an evil smile. Her arms were raised to just above her head. In one hand was a thin black dagger. In the second one was a hissing black snake. Green fire burned around her feet and licked at her legs. Over her head was Ἔρις in silver ink.
Castiel continued speaking. "She's most well known for her part in the Trojan war."
The Doctor grabbed the book from him and stared at the picture.
"What did she do?" Sam asked.
"For all intents and purposes, she started it." He looked at the confused faces and sighed. "All the Greek gods and goddesses were invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, save one - Eris. As revenge, Eris threw the golden apple of discord to the guests of the wedding feast. The apple had "for the fairest" written on it and Hera and Athena and Aphrodite all claimed it. Paris, the prince of Troy, was chosen to decide who would get the apple. He eventually chose Aphrodite. Then-"
"Eris started the Trojan War, we get it, you can stop talking!" Dean shouted.
Castiel stared at him angrily. Before he could say anything though, the Doctor said, looking up angrily from his book, "You don't have to yell."
Dean looked ready to start a fight, so Sam intervened. "Cas, how do you know it was Dysnomia that took the other gods?"
Castiel wrenched his focus from Dean and turned it to Sam. "Gods always leave behind a type of energy behind. It works like a signature, and can be used to tell different ones apart. I recognized Dysnomia's at the hospital. I was able to trace it back to an art gallery in New York, but nothing beyond that."
"What was the name of the gallery?" The Doctor asked.
"It was 'Temple of Art'."
Sam asked, "You're sure it was 'Temple' and not something else?"
"I'm certain."
Sam left the living room and went into the kitchen. A second later, he was back holding his laptop. Sam sat down on the couch and typed something into a search engine. "Get this," he said, "the 'Temple of Art' is a brand-new building that just finished construction a month ago and is holding a gala to celebrate its grand opening two days from now."
"Do you think Dysnomia will be there?" Dean asked, moving to look over his shoulder.
Sam shrugged. "Possibly. The website says it's owned by Adrienne Nox."
The Doctor stood thinking. He still held the book, and was on a page with a picture of a purple woman. "Adrienne means 'dark one', and Nox is another name for Nyx."
"Do you think it's her?" Sam asked.
The Doctor shrugged. "Might be her, might be one of her siblings, or Eris, might be a big coincidence."
Dream said, "Somehow, I don't think that's it."
"Neither do I," Castiel said, agreeing with Dean.
"Ok, then what do we do?" Sam asked.
"I have an idea," the Doctor said.
"I can not believe we're doing this," Dean grumbled, fixing his bowtie.
"I can't believe you agreed to it," Sam said, leaning against the console, then moving away when it burned him.
Castiel had flown himself, Sam, Dean, and the Doctor back to the TARDIS, which was still in Greece. It had taken an hour to get Sam to get dressed instead of asking the Doctor various unnecessary questions. Dean looked amazed for ten seconds, then got annoyed with the Doctor's smile.
Castiel stood watching the hallway, looking anxious as he waited for the Doctor. "What's taking him so long?"
Dean scoffed. "What, tired of waiting for your boyfriend?"
Castiel scowled at him before looking away completely. Another minute passed before he said, "I'm going to go look for him."
Dean protested, but he was already walking away down the hall.
In contrast to the console room, the hallway was a sterile white, and lit up with bright white overhead lights. Metal octagon shaped doors lined the walls, each with a circular window that let you see into the room. There was a silver metal plaque next to each door, specifying what that room was. Some were perfectly normal bedrooms, others were just weird. Castiel kept walking until he found the wardrobe room.
The room was utterly huge. It had 150 different levels and thousands of racks filled with clothes from every time period on Earth and many from other planets and galaxies. Castiel scanned the room until his eyes came upon the Doctor on the third level. Castiel flew to join him.
The Doctor didn't seem at all surprised to see Castiel suddenly standing behind him. He just smiled and said, "Hello!"
The Doctor took in Castiel's appearance. He had forgone his usual 'holy tax accountant' suit and trench coat and was instead wearing a formal tux with a midnight blue vest. His bowtie was somewhat skewed, having been done by Sam. The Doctor smiled widely at him. "You look lovely!"
Castiel blushed. "Thank you. You look nice as well."
The Doctor frowned at his black tux. "I guess, but it's probably a bad idea to wear this."
Castiel frowned. "Why?"
"Oh, something bad always happens when I do. Although, that might just be me." The Doctor smiled at him again before remembering something. "Oh, I almost forgot...where did I put it…" he muttered to himself as he searched his pockets. "Aha, here it is!" He pulled out a medium-sized dark stone on a silver chain. The stone's colors changed from dark blue to black and back again. The stone was flecked with silver, and sparkled like stars. He handed it to Castiel, who took it carefully. "I got this a couple of planets back and I wasn't really doing anything with it, so I thought I'd give it to you. It's called a Sympan stone. It's supposed to protect you against negative energy and stuff like that."
Castiel held the stone in his hand as though it were precious. "Thank you Doctor." He put the necklace down over his head so that the stone lay on his chest. He tucked it into his shirt.
Castiel was checking to make sure the stone couldn't be seen through his shirt, but the Doctor was staring at him. His dark brown hair was tousled, his lips were chapped, and his ocean blue eyes sparkled and shone.
Without thinking about it, the Doctor moved forward. He took Castiel's face in his hands and pulled him closer. Their lips met softly. Castiel was unresponsive at first, but after a moment he moved his mouth against the Doctor's. Castiel's arms wrapped around his neck, connecting the two of them.
They stood like that for a minute, softly kissing, before they heard a high-pitched yelp. Castiel broke away and whipped his head around. Sam was standing a few feet away, staring at them with wide eyes.
Sam spluttered a bit before saying, "Uhh, Dean was wondering what's taking so long."
The thought of Dean made Castiel feel a wave of guilt. It was easy for him to imagine Dean standing in front of him instead of Sam, angry and hurt. He probably wouldn't be very hurt, Castiel thought bitterly. He doesn't care. Thinking of Dean was upsetting him, so he stopped and said, "We were just leaving." He hurried past Sam and down the stairs, forgetting for a moment that he can fly.
Dean looked up at Castiel as he reentered the Console room. "Hey Cas." He'd been in a bad mood pretty much since meeting the Doctor, so it seemed strange that he wasn't upset anymore.
"Hello Dean," Castiel replied, trying not to let his voice break.
"Listen man, I'm sorry for being such a dick earlier. I was just in a bad mood, you know?"
Castiel nodded. "I understand Dean."
"So we're cool?"
"Of course we are Dean."
Dean started to smile at him, but then looked over his shoulder and frowned. "What's wrong, Sammy? You look like you've seen a ghost." He smiled at his own joke. No one else did.
"I'm fine," Sam told him as he walked into the console room with the Doctor trailing silently after him. Sam was trying hard not to look at Castiel.
"So!" The Doctor said, clapping his hands together. "Everybody ready to go?"
Dean nodded stiffly and Sam muttered a 'yes'. Castiel said, "We're ready."
"Wonderful, allons-y!"
"Do you have an invitation?"
The Doctor stood at the front of their small group. The woman asking them for their (non-existent) invitations looked incredibly bored.
Dean looked at the Doctor irritably. The alien was in such a good mood and he couldn't tell why. And what the hell were they going to do about the invitations?
The Doctor smiled cheerfully and pulled an old looking wallet out of his pocket and flipped it open. "Right here. I'm the Doctor, and these," he waved his hands at the others to indicate them, "are my friends."
The woman scanned the paper before moving to the side and saying, "Please go in and enjoy yourselves."
They walked into the entry hall. It had sterile white walls turned purple by the lights. The only decorations were a few tall floor vases filled with fake purple and white plants. They walked through to the main room, which was filled with paintings and statues. A large white stage sprouted from the wall at the opposite end of the room. People filtered through, wearing tuxes and evening gowns, drinking champagne and laughing gayly. It made Dean's skin crawl.
In the center of the room was a single life sized statue of two people. It was a man and a woman, twisted around each in a strange combination of dancing and fighting. The woman had a short sword in one hand lowered to her waist, the other hand wrapped fiercely around her partner's neck. The man had a dagger in his right hand, which was raised above him ready to strike her in the face, his other hand wrapped tightly around her waist. Their faces were so close together it was easy to imagine them moving closer to kiss. While the rest of the statue was intricate and elaborate, their faces were only carved enough to make them appear human from a distance. The woman was carved from black marble with streaks of silver, green, and purple. The man was made of white stone with streaks of red and orange. Their bodies were barely covered by Grecian style robes. The base on which they stood was grey with streaks of black and white.
The Doctor stared intently at the statue. He leaned over to Castiel and asked, "Is it just me, or is that statue familiar?"
Castiel didn't answer. He was looking around the room, searching for something and not finding it. "There is a lot of godly energy here, but I don't see any gods." He turned to Dean and Sam. "Spread out, stay near the walls, and look for anyone with black hair and green eyes or who seems to be giving off any sort of energy." Without waiting for an answer, Castiel set off for the other end of the room.
The four spread out and didn't see each other again for half an hour. Dean was bored and had given up looking for gods and was instead eating off of a plate of bacon wrapped sausages. He decided to look for Cas. He found him standing near a wall alone, staring at the center statue. "Hey Cas."
Castiel didn't turn to look at Dean, instead keeping his eyes on the statue, particularly the woman's face. "Hello Dean."
Dean looked at the statue, trying to tell why Castiel was staring at it so intently. He found nothing unusual, and said awkwardly, "You look nice."
Castiel did turn to him this time. "Thank you Dean." He waited a moment before adding, "You look very handsome as well."
"Thanks Cas." Castiel fidgeted under his gaze. "Cas, is something wrong? You've been acting weird every since we got here."
Castiel blushed. "Actually, something did happen."
"What?"
Castiel sighed. "When I went to check on the Doctor earlier-"
Dean rolled his eyes, "Him again."
Castiel scowled at him and continued, "I went to find the Doctor and we…"
Dean looked at him. "You what?" His voice was cold, as though he were preparing for a large blow.
"We kissed."
Castiel stared at Dean, waiting for a reaction. Finally, he said, "Ok."
Castiel blinked. He hadn't been expecting that. "Ok?"
"Yeah, ok. If you want to kiss an alien that's probably hiding tentacles in his pants, then you I can't stop you." Dean looked down at his plate as though he were about to puke. "I'm gonna go throw this crap away."
Castiel asked in a confused voice, "I thought you liked it?"
Dean started to walk away. "I lost my appetite." He left.
Castiel stood against the wall, feeling hurt, confused, angry, and extremely guilty. What had he done? He may have ruined his friendship with Dean for someone he'd known for three days. And why was Dean so angry anyways? He said himself he didn't want Castiel, could never want him. He had no right to act like this.
Castiel sighed and scanned the room again. There were gods here, he could feel it, he just didn't know where or how they were hiding. There was something strange about the statue, but he didn't know what. If he were human, he'd have a headache.
On the left side of the room was Sam, staring at a painting. He was rubbing his forehead, and looked like he was in pain. Castiel quickly walked over to him. "Sam? Are you alright?"
Sam looked at him. "Yeah. I'm fine." His tone was unconvincing.
"Is it the wall?" Castiel asked. Sam hesitated a moment before nodding. "You need to stop pushing it. Too much, and it will fall apart completely." He didn't mean to sound harsh, but he'd told Sam this before. He'd pulled Sam and his soul out of Hell and built a wall in his head, and he wouldn't have that effort wasted because Sam couldn't listen to basic instructions.
"I know, I know," Sam said, his hand covering his eyes. "Where's Dean?" he asked.
Castiel averted his eyes from Sam. "I don't know. He's avoiding me."
Sam frowned. "Why?"
"I told him that the Doctor and I kissed."
Sam winced. "Yeah, that must've sucked."
Castiel nodded. "In a manner of speaking, yes."
Sam asked awkwardly, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
Sam sighed. "Good." He looked at the painting again. "Do you know what I noticed?"
"What?"
"All the paintings and statues are of people."
Castiel frowned before looking around the room. He soon realized that Sam was right. There was not a single piece of artwork that didn't somehow involve people. And a lot of the people had black hair and green eyes.
Castiel grabbed Sam's arm. "Find Dean and the Doctor. Tell them to leave immediately."
Sam frowned. "What? Why?"
"Because, this is a trap."
He didn't say anything else, instead walking away and searching the crowd for sight of the others. "Dean!" he shouted, ignoring the annoyed looks he got from people. As soon as he was near Dean, he grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the door.
"What the hell man?" Dean asked him, tugging his arm away.
"Dean, we have to leave."
"Why?"
"It's a trap, this is all a trap-"
Castiel was cut off by the sound of someone testing a microphone. "Hello!" They turned to face the stage. Castiel felt the blood drain from his face. The woman on the stage was Dysnomia. She was smiling happily, like a child about to receive a grand present. "I'd like to welcome you all to the Temple of Art!" The crowd applauded her. "But before we get into that, I would like to introduce two very special people." She gestured towards the statue in the middle of the room. "The goddess Eris, and her consort, the Master!"
Everyone stared at the statue in confusion. Castiel saw the Doctor standing with Sam. His eyes were wide with shock and fear. The Doctor whispered quietly, "No…"
Before their eyes, the statue changed. No longer made of stone, there were two very real people standing in front of them. The smirking woman quickly swirled around and used her sword to decapitate the man nearest her. Blood sprayed onto her black and silver dress. The man turned from her and whirled his dagger through the air until it sunk into a woman's throat. She fell to the floor, gurgling blood.
For a moment, no one moved. Then everyone was screaming, running towards the doors. But it was no use. More statues were transforming. People were literally leaping out of paintings, armed with swords, spears, and knives. Blood decorated the white floor and walls.
They tried to fight, but there was only four of them against over a dozen gods and goddesses known for destruction. Eventually, they were all captured and brought before Eris and the Master. Their captors forced them to kneel with their hands tied behind their backs. Everyone else was dead.
Eris and the Master stood on the base that had been a part of their statue. Eris held her bloody sword in her hand, hanging loosely by her side. The Master stood beside her, golden eyes glowing. As soon as he saw the Doctor, he sat down in front of him with his legs crossed. "Hello Doctor," he said happily.
"Master," the Doctor breathed out. "How"
The Master placed one finger over the Doctor's mouth and said, "Shhh."
Eris smiled down at the five of them. Then she looked up again at the others. "Brothers, sisters, children. Each of you have done well this night, and each of you shall be rewarded. Of course, those who decided not to join us, shall be punished greatly." She looked almost sad when she said this. It didn't last. "None of you did so well, however, as my dearest of children, Dysnomia." She smiled at her daughter, who stepped forward. It was creepy how alike they looked. The only real differences were that Eris's features were sharper, and Dysnomia looked younger.
Eris cradled her daughter's face with her hands and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. She continued to look at her Dysnomia even as she addressed the rest of the room. "Dysnomia, the dearest of my children, planned and organized a marvelous game for us and captured the two beings I desired to possess most greatly. For this, she shall be honored above all others in the new world order."
Eris removed her hands from Dysnomia's face and walked in front of Castiel. "Angel of Thursday, Shield of God. Hmmm." She traced Castiel's face with one sharp-nailed finger. "I've never taken the powers of an angel. I wonder how it shall feel."
She moved onto the Doctor, who was still staring at the Master sitting in front of him. "And of course, the alien." The Master made a noise of displeasure at her words. She smiled at him. "No offense." She returned her hungry gaze to the Doctor. "Do whatever you please with him." The Master allowed a cruel grin to grow on his face.
Finally, she stood in front of Dean and Sam. "And the Winchester brothers. I am pleased that Hypnos didn't kill you. Now, I shall have the pleasure of doing so myself. Really, the only problem is that I'm not sure which of you I should kill first. Of course, whoever is second shall have to watch the first die. Now, for whom would that be more painful…" She studied their expressions carefully before deciding. "Yes, I think I shall kill the long haired one first. He is the younger of the two, I believe?" One of her children nodded.
Eris smiled brightly. She raised her sword above her head. The four of them tried to fight, but the gods were too strong. They couldn't move.
The silver sword shone in the purple light. Eris brought it down hard. Sam flinched, trying to fight, but it kept coming -
The sword fell to the ground. Eris screamed and held her hand. An arrow was stuck in the palm, golden blood leaking from the wound. She quickly pulled the arrow from her hand, wincing as she did so.
Eris looked up at the doorway. A young woman with red velvet colored hair stood there with a bow raised and another arrow drawn. More people filtered into the room, armed with bow and arrows, swords, spears, and even a couple of guns. The red haired woman said, "Attack at will."
The room descended into chaos once more. Eris and her family fought the newcomers, but they were evenly matched. The gods that had been guarding them were to busy fighting to even try. Soon, another one of the fighters approached the gang and cut the rope holding their hands together. He directed them back to the red-haired woman. When she saw them. She shouted our, "Retreat!"
And they were gone.
