Title: Under the Influence of Djinn
Chapter: Thirty-one
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.
The sense of anticipation was high. The fight would begin at any time and Sam thought he could actually feel the tension in the room sliding over his skin.
The television was on, but no one was watching it.
He sat with Hezekiah, chatting with him and trying to get to know him somewhat. If they were all dying today, it'd be nice to know something about at least one of the angels with them.
Daphne (or Nia when she popped in) paced the room in slow steps, back and forth over and over. Occasionally, she'd look out the window with her gaze turned upward to the sky.
Dean and Jo were sitting pressed together on one bed, whispering softly to each other. Sam could see the worry starting in Dean's eyes, though he seemed to be hiding it well enough from Jo. Sam could imagine what was going through Dean's mind about Jo. He'd just gotten together with her and he could lose her in this fight.
"Sam?"
He turned his attention back to Hezekiah. The angel had changed from a button down shirt into a bright green t-shirt with 'Team Gabe and Cas' on it on the front and a drawing of a pair of angel wings on the back. The vessel of one of the garrison members ran a t-shirt printing shop and all of the garrison save Nia were now wearing one. He supposed it'd make it easier to tell them apart from Raphael's troops, though the design reminded him of those 'Team Edward' and 'Team Jacob' shirts he'd seen in stores. "No, we didn't personally take out over a hundred and seventy demons in less than an hour."
Hezekiah seemed to be becoming more at ease with him. These angels here had it in their heads that he and Dean were folk heroes and legends, complete with fantastical stories about the things they'd done. The stories Hezekiah had been telling him were slightly true, but extremely exaggerated in the details. The same with the stories of Castiel and he was willing to bet Gabriel as well.
"Are you sure?"
"Our lives, remember?"
"Huh." If Hezekiah was disappointed by that, it wasn't showing. "Sure. Okay. Here's another one. Did Dean really kill Zachariah? I mean, was he really the one?"
"He did."
A slow smile curved Hezekiah's lips. "That's so cool, Sam."
Sam studied him, wondering where the cool part came in. He also wondered about the way Hezekiah and some of the others spoke. It wasn't like other angels Sam had talked to. He'd noticed that in some of the garrison their speech patterns were, for the most part, indistinguishable from humans. It was a lot like how Castiel's speech had changed. It was still him but it was more relaxed and less like he had a stick up his butt.
"Zachariah needed killing," Hezekiah assured him in a fervent tone.
"You've embraced the whole free will life haven't you?"
"After centuries of anyone who didn't toe the party line being taken out to Zachariah's woodshed for a beating and reprogramming, yes." He shrugged. "When Gabriel left, we figured he was different because he was an archangel, but then Castiel came along and questioned everything. I remember thinking that if he can think for himself, then why can't I? Castiel upset everything in their eyes. He was a serious embarrassment to Michael. I mean, low guy on the totem pole mouths off and just keeps doing it no matter what gets thrown at him? And then he survives everything on top of it? Total embarrassment. I wanted to be like Castiel. Him and Gabriel." He looked away, over at Jo and Dean. "They couldn't even find Gabriel, so we tried to do it, too. We went as off the grid as angels ever get."
"And here you are."
"Yes. Here we are. Dean and Jo have feelings for each other."
The change of topic surprised Sam and he nodded. "Yeah, they do. It's been a long time coming."
Hezekiah frowned. "What's it like? Loving someone that way? Does it hurt?"
Sam thought about it, remembering back to Jess. It no longer hurt like it had to bring up those memories of her. He could look back and be grateful he'd had that time with her, even if their meeting was tainted by a demon. "It can be the most wonderful thing in the world. When it's new, it's thrilling, exciting. When it gets a little older, you start understanding more about her and about yourself. As for it hurting…. Depends."
"On what?"
"Life." Or death, he added silently.
Looking away, Hezekiah cleared his throat. "You know Raphael really will send troops down here, right? She'll want to eliminate any allies Castiel has ever had, including humans, and especially since he's on heaven's radar again. Raphael will be afraid of Castiel somehow coming back again. She'll wipe both heaven and earth clean of anyone even faintly connected to him."
Daphne moved to the window and when she spoke, Sam knew it was Nia there. "Ready yourselves. The first wave is almost here."
They all stepped outside. Sam saw Dean give Jo a quick kiss before he moved forward to stand beside Nia. Angels in the garrison encircled them. They were staggered in which direction they faced, either outside or inside the circle. One by one, enemy angels appeared. Sam turned and saw Hezekiah lunge forward. He grabbed Jo and Daphne by the waist and disappeared.
Sam had no time to question if they'd been betrayed as the battle on earth began. He waded into the chaos and gave a silent prayer that they'd survive it.
Samandriel's journey to the top tier hadn't been fast or easy. The tier itself had fought him and he'd had to find a way past the natural defenses that had been set up. Several times he'd almost lost consciousness and had held on with all of his remaining strength to keep from losing his place on the tier. He knew that if he let go, he wasn't going to get back up there. He was tired, hurt, and bleeding, vaguely wondering how much time had passed.
The flicker of the lights was steady now and he heard a groaning coming from all around.
Up close, he could see several streams diverted into Raphael's own stream. She was taking power from all over. That she'd consider that okay no longer surprised him. He'd seen what she was capable of.
Finally hoisting himself up beside Raphael's power stream, he took the patch from his pocket. He fumbled at the stream, his vision blurry, and managed to fix it into place. The panel itself seemed to scream, but the patch held. The streams that had been diverted returned to normal and the flickering stopped, the room once more bathed in steady light.
Samandriel smiled and let go of the nameplate. For a moment, he glided towards the floor, but then exhaustion hit. He closed his eyes, lost consciousness, and fell.
There were no guards on the way to Raphael's domain.
"Uncomfortably like a cemetery in here," Gabriel commented in a low voice. "Surely she's got some sort of guards with her. They can't all be waiting for the signal to attack."
"Maybe she's just that confident in her powers now. Maybe she's not expecting a personal confrontation." Or maybe she'd gone completely round the bend and killed them all. Castiel didn't suggest the last one. He didn't think Gabriel would appreciate it.
"Maybe."
They'd seen the army waiting for the signal, all lined up and ready. The sight of them like that had reminded Castiel of one of those movies he and Jo had watched. Star something episode something. He tried to remember the name as he and Gabriel searched for the marker Naomi had told them about, the one that'd take them to a shortcut that wasn't on a map of heaven.
"You have any idea about these shortcuts of Naomi's?"
Castiel found the marker and slid it to one side, revealing a hidden doorway. "No."
"Me either. Wonder if Mike did."
"She worked for him."
They stepped into the corridor and the door slid shut behind them.
Gabriel snorted. "Naomi works for herself. I'm totally restricting her access when this is over. Last thing I need is her loose all over the place causing trouble."
"Wise plan. I'd get all of her shortcuts from her first, however."
The corridor was short and when they stepped out into the next hallway, they were right outside the area Raphael had chosen for her command center. There were still no guards. They both stood still, staring at the door.
Castiel swallowed hard. "Attack of the Clones," he said softly.
"Attack of the what?" Gabriel glanced at him.
"Clones. Star Wars. It was Episode Two. I remembered the name. It's a movie Jo and I watched. There was a scene with troops everywhere as they prepared for war. Seeing Raphael's army ready reminded me of that scene at the end."
"Sure." He pointed at the door. "Can we focus on this?"
"Sorry. I'm…afraid."
"You're not alone, bro. But let's go in there and get this over with. Sooner we take her down, the sooner everything gets back to something close to normal."
Castiel opened the door. Raphael had the area looking like a throne room, complete with billowing curtains around the edges and tall columns that resembled marble. Perhaps they were marble. He saw enough gold and shininess to realize that Raphael was trying to make the room look like God's throne room, an area that had been off-limits to angels since He'd left.
Gabriel slipped around past Castiel and made his way to the side, disappearing past a tangle of red and gold curtains.
"Well, well," came Raphael's voice. "Come in."
Said the spider to the fly, a tiny voice in Castiel's mind said. Ignoring the racing of his heart and the sweat on his palms, he stepped through the curtains into the main room.
Raphael crossed her arms and took a few steps forward. She was in the center of the room by a large gold throne. The throne was decorated in different colored gems. "The upstart returns. This isn't possible. I cut off your wings, amputated them. How do you have wings? I made sure the stumps were thoroughly burned. I made you human."
"You tried and failed. I've become much more than I was."
"You return to fight again. Either gutsy or stupid." Her expression indicated she thought the latter. "I beat you down once and I will again. This time, I'll kill them all while you watch and, once you know they'll be in their respective loops for eternity, I'll kill you. You won't be able to save them."
"I'm not alone."
"You weren't the last time and I still had no trouble beating you down."
Gabriel stepped into view, moving to stand beside Castiel. "Oh come on, Rafe. Lighten up."
An ugly light glinted in Raphael's eyes. "So it was true. I knew Naomi was up to something when that book of spells disappeared."
"You sent assassins after me on a possibility? I did hear about them."
She shrugged. "Better to be proactive about it. You should have stayed dead, Gabriel. Heaven is mine to rule."
Castiel thought he could see Gabriel's heart breaking. Up until now, Gabriel had still hoped for an easy resolution. Cas could have told him there'd be no easy end to this.
Gabriel shook his head. "What's happened to you?"
The shock of looking at the ugly thing Raphael had become would be bad for Gabriel. The last time he'd seen her, she'd hardly been the bloated tick she was now. Castiel studied her. She was straining the body of her vessel, similar to how Lucifer had with that poor man he'd taken as a vessel before Sam. The skin had a plastic look to it, as if it was stretched as tight as it could go. The power Raphael was leeching from all areas of heaven was too much for it and for Raphael herself. Her true form had that same look about it: bloated and stretched too far, a shiny balloon that would deflate with a pinprick.
"I've discovered the power we all had at our disposal and never took. I command everything now, brother. I command even more than Michael ever did. Death and Moira bow to me."
Alarm flashed across Gabriel's face. "You can't do this without consequences, Raphael. You need to stop before you destabilize heaven completely. Haven't you noticed the lights going out? You're destroying heaven itself."
She waved a hand and smiled. "Who cares? Everything still ends and without having to use those stubborn, disobedient Winchester apes. I did this. I made it happen. I'm accomplishing what Michael and Lucifer couldn't. I'm greater than either of them."
"Don't make us kill you." The half whispered words held a wealth of emotion. Gabriel drew his knife.
"You're welcome to try, but I've learned a few things since you've been gone."
"You can't do this."
"Who is going to stop me?" She spread her arms.
Gabriel looked down with a pained sob, and when he looked back up, his answer was a power blow that shoved Raphael back across the room. Castiel imitated the gesture, his power adding to the blow. Raphael slid back further. They pushed again and Castiel felt heaven tremble as Raphael's connection to heaven was suddenly severed. She lost her balance and fell out of heaven completely.
"Did we do that," he asked Gabriel, who looked as bewildered as he felt.
"Does it matter? Go with it."
They flew after her, looking for the free falling archangel. She wasn't exactly free falling, more like gliding, but she reached the Winchesters first. They touched down. Raphael's initial force were all dead. Sam was unconscious, Dean staggering from the blow Raphael dealt him. Castiel looked for Jo and didn't see her. Neither did he see Daphne.
No. Had Hezekiah and Nia both betrayed them?
The thought had barely formed when Nia, in her true form, swept around them in a circle several times before leading a sudden flurry of angels without vessels towards the heavens. He heard rather than saw the commotion as the garrison met Raphael's army coming down and hoped Naomi had gotten their own heavenly forces in the right place to join that battle, surrounding Raphael's army.
The earth shuddered.
He and Gabriel started towards Raphael and Dean.
Castiel found himself grabbed and saw angels already escaping the battle in the skies. He swung his knife, slicing at the angel who had engaged him. Sweat stung his eyes and his fear made him fight even harder. He had to get to Gabriel and Raphael.
The angel misjudged his move and Castiel killed him, whirling even as he pulled the knife out.
Gabriel was on the ground scrambling back, Raphael triumphant above him.
"No!" Castiel willed himself across the parking lot.
The fight was like others Dean had been in and not at the same time. Every time he or Sam tried to engage an enemy and take them out, one of the garrison stepped in for them. It was maddening because he was actually spoiling for a fight. Jo and Daphne had been taken and as soon as this was done he was tracking down Hezekiah. Nia, too. Whichever one was responsible was going to answer for that action.
He saw Sam take a hit and fall to the ground. Sam tried to get up and fell back down, going limp. Stepping over to him through the fighting angels, Dean checked to see if he was alive. He was. Dean stayed beside his brother, keeping guard over his prone body; ready to kill any angel who tried to hurt Sam further. Two garrison members came to join him, helping him deflect Raphael's soldiers.
One by one the enemy angels were killed, with a few of their own besides. In the sudden quiet, Dean felt he could move away from Sam and stepped into the center of their battleground again. Turning to survey the numbers of dead, he found himself face to face with Raphael.
She snarled, her fist drawing back.
Dean staggered from the hit, the pain a pretty sure indicator that his jaw had been broken. He was hit again and lost his balance, crashing to the ground. Blood clouded Dean's vision, turning everything a reddish hue.
Gabriel stepped between him and Raphael and engaged her, but she fought every bit as dirty as Dean had expected. He had the horrible thought that Gabriel didn't stand a chance against the madness Dean had seen in Raphael's eyes. He had to help Gabriel. The world depended on Raphael losing this fight.
The knife in Gabriel's hand dropped to the ground and Dean reached for it. Pushing to stand, he moved forward even as Castiel's voice cried out. Dean sank the knife into Raphael's flesh. A bright light encased him and he welcomed it because it meant her death. He closed his eyes. His ears rang and then he heard nothing, a warm wetness leaking from his ears as he was thrown to the hard asphalt parking lot.