Title: Under the Influence of Djinn
Chapter: Twenty-five
Summary: AU: The Djinn siblings created a terrible detailed nightmare for Dean out of revenge, nearly killing him, Lisa, and Ben. With Sam alive, Castiel missing, and Campbell cousins in tow, he tries to pull himself back together.
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Supernatural was created by Eric Kripke. No disrespect in intended with this work of fan fiction.

It seemed to Sam that the second Naomi appeared, she focused on Gabriel. Sam made a discreet movement with one hand to check his inner jacket pocket for the angel knife, then took a few steps where he could keep a better eye on Naomi. There was no guarantee he could stop her if she tried anything, but he could at least try.

"Gabriel." Naomi's eyes seemed to light up and Sam would swear she'd started blushing. "Dean, you had me fooled." Her smile was wide and delighted. "I came down to see if you'd had enough time to think about what I'd said and I see you did. Fast work finding -"

Dean shook his head. "This isn't on us. Gabriel has been around since Sam woke up topside. He's been hanging out here."

The pleased twinkle in her eyes disappeared. "Excuse me? That's over a year."

"Yup."

Gabriel didn't say anything.

"But…." She took a few steps towards Gabriel. "You were aware of the contingency plan. I know you were. I was there at that meeting." Sam could see the cold anger replacing that pleasure in her eyes. "You did know that Michael went down into the cage with Lucifer?" When he still didn't say anything, she snorted. "You child. Why am I not surprised that you, even now, shirk your duties? That's you all over, isn't it, Gabe? Running away and always letting someone else fight the fight."

A wounded expression crossed his face. "I faced Lucifer and tried to get him to chill. I died, Naomi."

"An anomaly." She waved a hand. "I was foolish to think you'd abide by that order of Michael's. I suppose his trust in you was misplaced. My trust in you was misplaced. At least he's not where he can see it. To have the closest three all betray him…."

Wow, was she good at that whole guilt trip thing. Even Jo seemed to be impressed and he'd heard about Ellen's guilt trips.

Gabriel held up his hands. "I didn't know Michael was gone, okay? I just heard about it now."

"So you'll take your rightful place as Michael's successor?"

"Sure. I'll step in."

"Good." Naomi was all business then. "Good. We'll have to surprise Raphael, kill her. I know the idea is distasteful, but we can't contain her. I've already looked into that option. As long as she's alive, some of her followers will work to release her or negate whatever other action we take."

He shook his head. "No. I'm not fighting Raphael."

"Not even with two-thirds of the factions of heaven behind you? I've not been idle, Gabriel. Raphael is out of line and there are plenty who know it and see what she's doing. I've even managed to secure Castiel's band of misfits as allies, though Samandriel has proved difficult to sway. For some reason, he doesn't trust me."

"Imagine that," Dean said half under his breath.

Sam covered a snort of laughter as a cough.

"He seems to think I want to do harm to Castiel." She seemed perplexed by that.

Jo rolled her eyes. "Well, you sort of did harm him by not stopping Raphael when she tortured him for months. I can see where Samandriel is coming from on that." She looked up at Castiel, tapped his leg with her hand, and hissed, "hey, who is Samandriel?"

Resting his hands on his hips, he glanced down at her. "A friend. Colleague. A good soldier."

"He's worked tirelessly to continue the resistance against Raphael," Naomi informed Castiel, looking at him. Surprise, then curiosity, flickered through her eyes as she studied him. One hand started to stretch out to him before she seemed to catch herself and drew it back. "He's kept your troops together and has been holding out hope that you'll return to lead them again."

"I thought Raphael killed all of them."

"No. She killed many, but I granted the rest asylum and hid them in my offices."

By the look on Castiel's face, Sam could tell he didn't trust Naomi either. "I thank you for that."

"I don't think you need to thank her, Cas," Dean said. "She had plans for them when she took them in. It wasn't out of the goodness of her heart."

Naomi shrugged. "Of course I had plans for them. Would you not have seen the advantage of adding Raphael's enemies to your own forces against her, Dean? You'd have done the same."

"Sure," he agreed, "but without letting Cas be tortured."

"Are you still going on about that? It's done. I can't change that it happened."

"Then how about you freakin' apologize for leaving him there?"

Her lips parted, anger beginning to simmer in her eyes.

Sam grasped the knife.

Gabriel's eyes narrowed and he reached for the box of chocolates again just as Naomi took a slow, deliberate step towards Dean. "You fight her, Naomi. Take the army and go after her. You don't need me."

Her attention was diverted back to him. "I do need you. I'm not an archangel. I could hardly win that fight."

"So turn the tap back on to Castiel and let him have a go. He was powered up and will be more so soon. It doesn't take the power of one of us to defeat one of us. Look at what Sam and Dean did with Lucifer and Michael. You just have to be smarter than Raphael and that's not exceptionally difficult."

"He tried already. Without you, who was supposed to find him and join him, he failed."

Dean held up a hand. "Wait, what? Join him?" He gestured between Gabriel and Castiel with one finger.

Naomi looked at him like he was an ugly bug. It wasn't quite as bad as some of the looks they'd gotten from angels before, but nearly so. "Isn't it obvious? The two of them brought back? The changes Castiel had then and the changes he's apparently having now? If not for that, then why? To what purpose would he be powered up before if not to join that power with Gabriel's own and defeat Raphael? Then this, whatever is happening to him now, would likely be to assist in keeping heaven in order." She returned her attention to Gabriel. "If you had done your duty instead of hiding, Castiel never would've been tortured in the first place. None of this would have happened."

As she spoke, Sam edged towards Gabriel.

"You're putting his torture on me? All of this on me?" Gabriel pointed at her and looked at Dean. "See how she is? Not like she couldn't have stopped it. Hell no, she blames me. That's it. I'm blowing this popcorn stand. Sayonara, sweetheart."

Sam grabbed Gabriel's arm even as he was saying the last couple words and dragged him close, pressing the tip of an angel blade to his throat. "I don't think so. You're staying here and we're figuring this out now."

"Fast thinking, Sam," Naomi said in an approving tone.

"Shut it," Dean told her. "You know what? I'm sick of you angels. All of you. Acting like babies. You," he pointed at Naomi, "are a manipulative bitch."

"You shouldn't talk to me that way, Dean."

"Bite me."

"Is that an invitation?" She bared her teeth.

He turned to Gabriel. "Man, if Raphael is tearing heaven apart, you have to take care of it. Maybe you'll fight, maybe you won't, but you can't run away from it."

"Heaven needs a leader who somewhat understands humanity." Castiel sighed. "When Raphael is done putting her foot down in heaven, she'll turn her attention to earth. She'll make it for the angels only and the angels she approves of, which is a small circle and growing smaller all the time."

"That's not exactly true, Castiel. About earth." Naomi crossed her arms. "Raphael is taking power from all areas of heaven. That's not how heaven was meant to be run. We don't have long before her leeching manages to destabilize heaven completely. We need to take care of her before that happens or…."

Dean blinked, head cocking a fraction. "Or the domino effect wipes out everything. Heaven, earth, hell…all of creation. Raphael is making her own little apocalypse without all of us, isn't she?"

Naomi nodded. "Unintended, I'm sure. She likes the power and she's getting power at the expense of creation."

Gabriel slumped in Sam's embrace. "Fine. I'll fight Raphael for the good of heaven and earth." He shook his head. "But if I die again, I'll be very pissed at all of you."

Sam felt it was safe to release him and did so, stepping back again as the conversation continued, the focus now on Castiel and his circumstances.

With Gabriel's acceptance of his duty taken care of, Naomi's attention slide to Castiel. After a moment, Gabriel's did as well. Some sort of agreement appeared to have passed between the two in that silence. Castiel again sat beside Jo, pressed against her. The touch comforted because he thought it'd be better to have support for whatever they were about to discuss.

"Tell me about your 'human' life, Castiel."

Gabriel said it like it was a joke and Castiel crossed his arms. "What is it you want to know?"

"How about we go over the little things? How does your vessel feel about all of this? You and him, one body?"

"He doesn't care."

"Why is that?" It was obvious to Castiel that Gabriel already knew the reason.

"Because he's not here. He's in heaven. I think. Should be. He was a devout man."

"So, you're alone in there, knitting together with the body." Naomi stepped back and leaned against the dresser, giving him the illusion of room to breathe. At his nod, she asked, "Do you eat?"

"Of course I do. The body must be sustained. I also sleep about three hours a night."

Her frown deepened.

"What powers are you developing?" Gabriel rested his hands on his hips, eyes narrowed.

"Why? What does it matter?"

"Oh, it does matter," Naomi assured him. "It could mean…." She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Don't you think it's odd that you no longer require your vessel's soul to be present?"

"Anna had no need of a soul when she was reformed," he reminded her and Gabriel both, though he wasn't sure if Gabriel was aware of everything that had happened with Anna.

Naomi made a noise low in her throat and said, "Anna was different. She grew as a human after ripping out her grace and falling so, in a sense, she was her own vessel. You, however. You had a vessel. You were killed and reformed more than once. Why did you get a pass on needing the soul this time?"

He shrugged, annoyed by Naomi's intense scrutiny. "I don't know. Maybe because I proved that free will in an angel can be a good thing?"

Jo's hand touched his back, moving across it in slow sweeps.

"How sure are you that this body is your vessel's?" Gabriel's question produced a strangely satisfied long look between Jo and Dean.

"Why wouldn't it be? It looks like him, sounds like him…." But there were the missing skills, like driving, that should have been there and hadn't been.

"You don't look so certain, Castiel." Naomi pushed off from the dresser and came towards him. "Would you consent to an examination? Gabriel and I can carry you home."

He was surprised she was even asking as he recalled her usually doing things without asking permission first. "From you? No. Up there? No."

Gabriel held out a hand, stopping her from moving closer. "How about here? In front of everyone? Dean and Sam can hold blades on us."

Naomi didn't look thrilled with that idea.

As long as everyone would be here and Dean and Sam could stop Naomi if she tried anything, he supposed he'd be okay. "Fine." Besides, if Gabriel was concerned, and it looked like he was, maybe he should be examined by them.

Gabriel's idea for them to hold blades on them as they examined Castiel was a good one. Since Dean knew how well angels guarded those blades, Gabriel especially, he knew neither would try anything with that threat on them. Smart of Gabriel. It relieved Castiel's anxieties somewhat and lowered his, Sam, and Jo's suspicions. Well, maybe Sam and Jo's. Dean still didn't trust any of the angels except Castiel.

Naomi stepped around to stand behind Castiel. "How do you have wings? Raphael swore she made you human and my agent said nothing about wings."

"I didn't know they were still there until Moira showed up. I can't feel them at all. I thought they were gone."

"Mmm." Her lips pressed into a thin line and Dean saw a ripple of fear cross her face. She'd already come to some sort of conclusion and it wasn't one she liked.

Stepping to the chairs, she dragged one to the clear space between the beds. "Remove your shirt and sit facing the back of the chair." At his hesitation, she cocked her head. "Please?"

Dean thought she wasn't used to saying that word, for she seemed to think Cas would automatically do what she asked of him.

Instead, Castiel sank onto the bed and reached for Jo, pulling her close. "Jo, I don't want to. If she decides I'm some sort of abomination, she'll kill me."

Gabriel cast a sharp glance to Naomi. "Naomi." When she crossed her arms and gave him a defiant stare in return, he said her name again.

She paled slightly and, with an annoyed sigh, she removed her blade from her jacket and laid it on the bed beside Jo. "There, Castiel. Your companion can hold it for me. Now will you remove your shirt so we can look at your back?"

Jo picked up the blade, slid a single glance to Dean, and put all of her attention on Cas. "It's okay. I'm here. We're all here. We won't let anything happen to you. The two of them together may have some answers to the physical questions we've had. We need answers. You need answers."

She continued to talk him back into acceptance and Dean was again struck by the bond between the two. It was primarily a mother to child bond, with a bit of sister and friend rolled into it. Her tactics were effective and exactly what Castiel needed to take this step. Dean had to admire Jo for figuring out how to handle Cas as the 'person' he was now.

Finally, Castiel nodded, unzipped his hoodie, removed it, then removed his t-shirt. He straddled the chair. Jo knelt down in front of Castiel so he could hold her hands if he wanted to and laid Naomi's blade on the floor by her knees. He apparently did want to hold her hands, for he grabbed them and Dean saw Jo wince at his grip.

Sam stayed in position, where he could take out Naomi if needed. Dean almost smiled. Funny how he didn't think they'd need to gank Gabriel.

The two circled Castiel in silence for nearly five minutes.

"You can't feel your wings?" The negative answer had Naomi turning to Gabriel, brows raising in question.

Gabriel nodded.

"May we manipulate them? Test movement?"

"I suppose." Castiel shrugged.

Reaching out, Gabriel grasped thin air along Castiel's shoulder blades and pulled, yanking Cas back a few inches. "Did you feel that?"

"I felt the tug, but otherwise nothing."

"Interesting. Naomi?"

"I see." Her hand flashed forward and returned holding a long, soft feather. "Castiel, how old are you?" After he told her, she held up the feather. "Peculiar. Quite peculiar."

Dean moved forward, beside Jo. "Care to share with the rest of us?"

Gabriel took the feather from her and handed it to Dean. "It's too soft for his age. The older we are, the more sculpted the bigger feathers are. Aerodynamics. This…isn't right."

Cas closed his eyes. Pain rippled across his face, though Dean was pretty sure it wasn't physical, merely emotional.

The feather in Dean's hands was extremely soft and definitely without the sculpted feel he'd noticed on bird feathers. He handed it to Sam, who frowned as he studied it.

"Could it be from his transformation," Sam asked.

"Maybe," Gabriel replied. "They're new growth, but with his age, the longer ones shouldn't be like this." He reached out a hand towards Naomi in a quick movement.

She let out a tiny cry of surprise and pain. "Gabriel!"

He held out a feather, much like Castiel's except it had that sculpted rigidity. "This is what it should look like."

Sam took it and held the two side by side. "Definitely a difference."

"We're going to spread one out, take a look underneath." Now Gabriel moved something Dean couldn't see, presumably one wing. "Wingspan also isn't right. There's mobility, but movement is stiff. Function appears to be atrophying."

Naomi nodded. "I concur. They should be moved manually every day to stop that from happening." She leaned close to Castiel's back in a sudden lunge, her nose almost against his skin. Horror slid into her eyes. "Gabriel." His name came out strangled.

He too leaned close, closed his eyes for a second, and stepped back. "How much pain were you in, say, the couple months before you were put on earth?"

"Constant. I was tortured for months."

Jo looked up at them. "When I woke up, I tended to what looked like whip wounds on his chest and stomach. There were also marks on his back."

"A couple bad ones?" Naomi laid a hand flat on his back. "Right about his shoulder blades?"

"They'd healed up mostly by the time he woke, but yeah. There were a couple there. They were the last to heal."

Dean had a pretty good idea where this was leading and, in his opinion, Raphael needed to die, like, yesterday.

Castiel raised his head. He blinked fast a few times. "Raphael cut off my wings, didn't she?"

Naomi hesitated, bit her lip, and nodded. "Yes. I'm so sorry. I…. I had no idea what she'd done or what she planned to do. I thought she was merely going to turn off the power stream to you…." Her other hand also touched his back and she looked like she might actually cry. "I can't even heal the remaining damage. What did Raphael do?"

Gabriel also laid a hand on Castiel, but removed it almost immediately. "It's not something we can heal."

Naomi's hands dropped away from Castiel.

With what looked like gentle movements, Gabriel folded the invisible wing back in place.

Slowly, Naomi drew herself up tall. "If I'd known the price, I would have found another way. This butchery of one of our own is unacceptable. I am sorry, Castiel."

"But torture is okay," Dean asked. "Can't say I'm comforted knowing where your line in the sand is, Naomi." Strange to see an angel look ashamed of herself. Dean drank in the sight. "Now you apologize? When you thought he was only tortured on the surface, you were all for letting it go, but now that you know Raphael was into mutilation you say you're sorry. You really are some piece of work."

Sam handed Castiel's shirt to him. "Cas, did you have any idea your wings had been cut off?"

"Obviously not, Sam. I did think I was really human. Then I hoped I was when I started to realize I wasn't." He pulled the shirt over his head. "I was in and out of consciousness for awhile. Could have been days or weeks. I'd wake up to more pain and pain on top of that. She broke me."

"No, she didn't." Naomi shook her head. Dean thought he saw the tiniest bit of respect in her eyes. "If she'd broken you, you'd be complacent and you're not. You took what Raphael left you with and made a life from it. I don't know that many of us could do that. You're much stronger than Raphael probably ever understood or will understand."

"Let's get the troops organized. Jo, would you give Naomi her blade back?" Gabriel reached over to the chocolates box and snagged a final one before putting the lid back in place, and setting it aside.

She pursed her lips and returned it before sitting back down on the floor with her back against the nightstand and legs stretched out.

It seemed to Dean that Gabriel was standing up taller than he'd been when he'd stepped into the room.

"I need to stay hidden as long as possible and we need to send someone in to turn the tap back on to Castiel." There was an air of authority now to Gabriel's voice.

"Raphael has that area guarded." Naomi's tone was deferential.

"Then we'll just have to break in."

"What if I don't want it back on?" Castiel stood in a smooth movement. "What if I like how things are now and don't want it to change?" He reached for his hoodie and slid it on.

Gabriel's tone was sad. "I think change right now is inevitable for all of us. You need your wings back and I think a burst of power from heaven will take care of the atrophy and immature state of them."

"You don't know that."

"I can guess and, Castiel, you can't be human because you aren't. I think you'll be very much like one when you're done growing and, if you still want to be left alone after Raphael is taken care of, I'll support that. I can relate to that desire. I won't begrudge you that chance to be on your own away from us. After all, I did learn to appreciate humanity during my time here. I'll come back when we have plans finalized and we can discuss strategy." He looked at Naomi. "Ready as I'll ever be."

The two were gone before anyone could say anything and, by the set of Castiel's jaw, Dean knew he was going to have a fight to convince him to even listen to Gabriel later.