Chapter 19

"He's building his army," Castiel said quietly, looking downward at his clasped hands. "He is drawing them to him with promises of hope and salvation, none of which he intends to keep. He's preying on their fears of being unheard and forgotten. He knows humans want a God who they can see and hear and he's using it to his advantage. Once he knows that his minions will follow him to whatever end he will unleash his full powers. The world will burn and anyone who tries to oppose him will be destroyed."

They were sitting in the living room again surrounded by the now forgotten books. Bobby and Ellen were sitting silently, their faces filled with worry. Dean sat on the couch next to Castiel, his face drawn in concentration.

"But he's healing those people…" Dean said quietly.

"In exchange for their souls. They believe they are following the next Messiah. Those people have condemned themselves, even if Lucifer is stopped. The deal has been made and there is no way to break it."

Dean shook his head. "This is insane."

Castiel nodded sadly. "The man with him, Jasper, he is not possessed by any demon; he is acting of his own volition. He knows who Lucifer really is and he was most likely promised to be spared from the destruction that is to come. But Lucifer needs a human to be his mouthpiece and to help drawn in the others. Once Lucifer has achieved his goal Jasper will either be turned into another demon or killed outright. It depends on if Lucifer finds him useful enough."

Bobby cleared his throat. "Castiel, if you knew all this before, why the hell didn't you say anything?"

Castiel's gaze dropped. "I… I did not expect him to move this quickly and be so effective. To find a vessel that could contain him was a difficult task enough, but to find a human willing to be his mouthpiece is even more of a challenge. I had thought we had more time."

Dean shook his head. "It wouldn't have mattered anyway. Even if you had told us we still don't know how to stop him or destroy him. We're still at square one and he's already playing the game."

"Well, it sounds like someone is willing to consider our offer," a voice said suddenly from one side of the living room.

Castiel stiffened at the sound of the all too familiar voice. They turned to see Zachariah standing in the doorway of the living room, a smug smile on his face. He was still dressed in the crisp clean suit and his mannerisms were that of a politician who was assured of victory. Dean's eyes narrowed.

"Dean," Zachariah said with a polite smile and nod. "It's good to see you again."

Dean rose to his feet, his eyes filled with rage as he glared furiously at the angel.

"Get the fuck out of here, you son of a bitch," Dean growled.

Zachariah looked at him disapprovingly. "Now, Dean, mind your manners," He said sternly, shaking his finger at him. "I think you can manage be much politer since we're going to be working together from now on."

Dean's fists were balled up in rage at his sides, his face reddening.

"You expect me to work with you?!" He said incredulously. "After the shit you've pulled! After you almost got my brother killed!"

"I believe if my memory serves me correctly it actually was Castiel who set your brother free to go after Lillith," Zachariah replied calmly.

Dean was shaking with effort to control his rage. "Oh… don't you even get me started on what you've done to Cas," he hissed furiously. "If I could I'd rip your heart out right now, you piece of shit!"

Zachariah arched an eyebrow at him. "If you understood all the circumstances, Dean, you would understand why I had to take the action I did," he replied coolly.

"Oh really?" Dean folded his defiantly arms. "Because he told me what happened, Zach. And he told me what you did, and I'm not seeing how those 'circumstances' deserved him getting tortured!"

Dean's body was rigid with tension when he suddenly felt a hand on his arm. He looked over to see Castiel's grief-filled eyes looking back at him.

"Please… don't, Dean…" He said softly.

Dean looked back to Zachariah. The angel was now looking at Castiel, his face twisted in disgust.

"Take your hands off the Chosen One, you abomination," Zachariah spat out furiously.

He glared at Castiel while Castiel quickly dropped his hand and looked away, the shame clearly evident. Dean moved to block Castiel from Zachariah's line of vision.

"Don't talk to him that way."

Zachariah looked at Dean calmly.

"I call it as I see it, Dean. And I am quite sure Castiel managed to omit a few important details about what led to his demotion. Correct, Castiel?"

Castiel didn't respond nor did he look up from the floor. Zachariah let out a derisive laugh.

"Pitiful," He sneered. "I should finish the job Simiel failed to do."

He took a step towards the fallen angel but Dean quickly stepped in front of his path, his body tense, ready for a confrontation. Even Bobby and Ellen moved, Bobby to stand behind, but next to Dean and Ellen to Castiel's side.

"You touch him… and you can be sure I will never help you, Zachariah!" Dean said warningly. "And I will let Lucifer destroy the world."

Zachariah looked back at him, a smirk on his lips.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah," Dean replied, taking a step closer. "That's so."

Zachariah took a step closer to Dean.

"So you're telling me you are willing to trust this… thing…" He gestured towards Castiel. "Who has lied and betrayed you? You really believe that he can actually help you defeat Lucifer without our help?"

Dean gave Zachariah a confident smirk.

"I trust him more than I'll ever trust any of you other angels. And, yeah, he's gonna help me defeat Lucifer. And it'll be without your help."

Now Zachariah let out a bark of laughter.

"Please! You must be joking! You expect to defeat Lucifer with a fallen angel, an old man past his prime, a harlot who can't control her own whelp, and a man addicted to demon's blood! That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!"

Dean stared back at him calmly.

"Yep. That's exactly how I'm going to do it."

Zachariah shook his head in disbelief.

"Your brother himself is worthless! He can't even function right now!"

"Actually, I think I'm functioning pretty damn good at the moment."

Everyone turned in shock. There stood Sam in the opposite doorway, leaning against the frame. His face was pale and sweaty and his eyes had dark circles under them. Despite this, he had a defiant smirk on his lips.

"Sam?" Dean said nervously as he took a step towards him. "How did you get out?"

"Ellen left the door open so she could hear if I needed anything," Sam replied, his gaze never leaving Zachariah. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

He gave a nod of his head towards Zachariah and his smile broadened.

"But he is. Wanna see what I've learned in my books?"

Before anyone could respond Sam stepped forward and swung the door shut behind him. His right hand, which had been hidden from view, could now be seen dripping blood and a familiar bloody symbol was drawn on the door. Zachariah's eyes widened.

"No!"

Sam quickly finished the symbol and slammed his hand in the center. Zachariah suddenly disappeared in a flash of bright light. The room fell deathly quiet.

"Holy crap."

Sam couldn't help but chuckle at Dean's reaction as he collapsed weakly into a chair.

"Thought that would come in handy eventually."

Ellen rushed quickly to Sam side and began wrapping his hand with a nearby towel. Bobby shook his head in amazement.

"Just when I think I've seen it all," He said with a sigh.

"You OK, Sam?" Dean asked with worry.

Sam gave a dismissive wave with his uninjured hand.

"Fine. This second detox actually isn't as bad. I think it might be the drugs Ellen gave me. Or the fact that I know how screwed up drinking demon blood actually is now. Or maybe both." Sam turned to look at Castiel. "You OK, Castiel?"

Castiel nodded his face slightly pale. "I… I'm fine. Thank you, Sam."

Dean shook his head and ran his hand over his face.

"Dude, we have to do something. Lucifer is already way ahead of us and now the freaking angels are after us. We still need to keep looking for answers, but we also have to figure out what exactly Lucifer is up to. And, as much as it sucks, we're not going to figure it out by sitting here."

Sam arched an eyebrow at him.

"You mind filling me in?"

"Lucifer is recruiting followers by healing them in exchange for their souls," Bobby said quickly. "He's working with some guy named Jasper who helping to suck people in."

Sam nodded slowly and looked at Dean. He sighed.

"I already know what you're thinking, Dean, and it's crazy."

Ellen looked up at Sam and then looked at Dean.

"What are you thinking?" She asked nervously.

Dean smiled weakly and Sam shook his head.

"He wants to go to where they're recruiting the people and see what's going on," Sam said with a sigh.

Ellen and Bobby looked at Dean in shock.

"Have you lost your mind, boy!?" Bobby yelled. "You can't just walk into that place! You're the one who's supposed to kill Lucifer! You think they're not going to try to axe you as soon as you step foot there!?"

"They won't hurt him."

Every turned to look at Castiel. He still didn't look up.

"Lucifer is full of pride. He doesn't believe a mere mortal can defeat him so he doesn't view Dean as a threat. But he also won't allow his followers to kill him. He believes the fight should be between him and Dean alone. If anyone were to attack him Lucifer would see it as a personal affront."

Bobby frowned. "And how the hell do you know that?"

"Because Lucifer was once one of my brethren and I knew him well. His pride was legendary. He will not go after Dean if Dean doesn't try to attack him."

Dean took a deep breath. "So then it's settled. Sam and I will go."

Sam let out a bitter laugh.

"Dean, there's no way I'm going. I may feel alright, but I'm not exactly 100% yet. That'd be like throwing an alcoholic in a room with an open bar. It'd be over in seconds."

Dean hesitated, but sighed as he knew Sam was right.

"Fine then. You stay and Ellen will stay to keep an eye on you. Bobby, you keep researching. Look for any information that might help us. Castiel will come with me."

Castiel's head jerked up in surprise. "I am?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, you are. So go pack a bag cuz we're leaving pronto."

Bobby shook his head. "Dean, I don't like this one bit."

Dean sighed. "I know. I know. But I don't see any other options. Don't worry." He gave Bobby a weak smile. "We'll be fine."

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Have I ever mentioned how awesome my loyal readers are? : )

Thanks for all the feedback! I got a few comments about Jasper and I have to say that he's not really modeled after anyone specifically and there's no particular meaning behind the name other than I thought it sounded cool! The idea, though, is based on Biblical reference of there being many false-prophets during the End times.

I also must say that I did borrow that bit with Sam from somewhere… but I'm not saying where! ; ) I wanted to give Sam a little something badass to do, though, since he's going to be sidelined for a while.

Keep the feedback coming cuz it keeps me honest and makes me happy to know you guys are still reading! : )