Oh, yeah, everything is unbeta'd. All my mistakes are my own. Also, didn't do quite as many re-reads and edits so there will probably be more mistakes than usual.
Disclaimer: Kripke owns all Supernatural characters. I'm only borrowing them.
Pairing: Dean/Castiel - very graphic. This is my first attempt at something like this because this muse wouldn't leave me alone. Please let me know what you think, constructively.
Overall Warnings: Rated M for swearing, graphic sexual content with S and M undertones, implied forced sexual torture and other adult subject matter.
This chapter is mainly Swearing and other adult subject matter.
Chapter 16 – The Lesson
Castiel waited for the death blow all the while he reviewed every memory he had of Dean, especially the most recent ones. He wanted to reach out through their bond to feel his charge one last time but knew that Dean would feel him do that which would distract him from what Balthazar was supposed to do. He just wished Balthazar would hurry up because it was imperative that it be done before Castiel died. Castiel frowned slightly, wondering what was taking Joshua so long.
Unable to sustain his curiosity, he opened his eyes to see Joshua trimming some moss off of the oak tree using an angel sword. Castiel cocked his head as he watched, wondering if he'd already been killed and was now stuck in this heaven, or if he'd just imagined the whole scene in his mind. He saw Joshua had finished and now stared at him like before. He appeared to be waiting for something but Castiel didn't know what. He guessed that there was only one way to find out so he asked reluctantly, "What are you waiting for?"
Joshua arched an eyebrow and countered conspiratorially, "You tell me." Castiel frowned heavily, trying to decode that answer. Meanwhile, Joshua continued conversationally, "Bad thing for trees, moss. Just hangs on and slowly corrupts the tree. Things like that need to be cut off before the tree goes bad."
Castiel narrowed his eyes, hoping he misinterpreted the correlation. He corrected harshly, "Dean didn't corrupt me."
Joshua's face instantly displayed shocked surprise at the conclusion reached. He stared searchingly at Castiel and wondered, "Why do you think I was referring to him?"
"Are you not?" Castiel clarified quickly.
Joshua smiled slightly while he answered easily, "No, no, I was talking about the tree but since you brought it up, I have to wonder, what he did to make you want to punish him so? Or were you planning to request a stay of execution? Until after he broke the bond with you?" Joshua added knowingly.
"Is that allowed?" Castiel verified swiftly, jumping at the chance to avoid hurting Dean in any way.
Joshua smiled blindingly while he reminded comfortingly, "All things are possible, through Him, as you well know. And, considering He wants you to assign the punishment, it is really up to you, is it not?"
Castiel sagged slightly with immense relief before he nodded and replied quickly, "Yes. After the link is broken. Please."
"As you wish," Joshua confirmed easily. "You might also want to rethink the actual punishment."
Castiel's brow furrowed slightly in confusion at that statement and he questioned, "What do you mean?"
"I'm just the gardener, as you know," Joshua admitted humbly. "I just take care of the garden but death is always tragic as is the act of dying if the death isn't quick. It doesn't allow for growth. If moss coats a tree, there are two choices. One is to let the moss have its way and tree slowly dies. Once it is over, nothing is gained. There is only regretful loss. On the other hand, if the moss is completely removed from the outside tree, the tree will continue to grow and become even stronger, having overcome the infestation that once surrounded it. Growth is a good, natural, just like Father likes."
Castiel's brow still furrowed as he puzzled through the allegory. He wondered, "Are you suggesting no punishment? That is not possible. There must be punishment for what I've done."
"That is your decision," Joshua counseled wisely, "but tell me something, Castiel. Would you do it again?"
"No," Castiel answered with swift honestly now that he was fully aware of his limits and the enormous, overpowering evil of the Leviathans.
"Have you learned from it?"
"Yes," he replied swiftly.
"Are you repentant?"
"Yes."
"Then what is your punishment?" Joshua asked again.
"Whatever He believes is just," Castiel returned automatically.
Joshua smiled widely and nodded. "Exactly."
Castiel narrowed his eyes at Joshua and accused knowingly, "You knew His judgment all along."
"Yes."
"Then why . . .?"
"He has His ways," Joshua intoned with a hint of laughter.
Castiel almost glowered at him before he commented irritably, "I find nothing amusing about this. Why would He . . .?"
"Have you never wondered where Gabriel got it from?" Joshua wondered with unrelated amusement. Castiel rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, automatically praying for patience. Joshua chuckled slightly then acknowledged, "Yes, I know His judgment but you had to understand, it is not easy to be just and merciful with some, and yet He is."
"He never abandoned you, or anyone else. He was always there, working behind the scenes, through others. Through Anna in the beginning, through Chuck, through me, and a lot through your human a lot more than the man will ever acknowledge. This is why he was the righteous man."
Castiel stared thoughtfully at Joshua, processing everything that was said. He could easily see the truth in some of the examples but not all. He did acknowledge, though, the difficulty in being merciful with his enemies.
Joshua sighed heavily at the final item that he had to impart. He drew himself up and intoned formally, "Castiel, Angel of Thursday, who has confessed to sins against our Father, His judgment is as follows. Since you have attempted to prove yourself a better God than Him, he willingly gives you his most troublesome task. Once you have completed the said task, you will be fully restored within His glory."
Joshua paused, obviously reluctant to finish, but then he plunged forward swiftly, "You are to be cast down into Lucifer's box where you will remain until you have negotiated a binding truce between Michael and Lucifer so that all of you may return to the positions that were assigned to you at your creation."
Castiel's eyes grew exponentially wide at the enormity of the task assigned to him. He knew at that moment in time he should have stuck with death. Then he remembered his conversation with Dean and knew that Dean had once again been right. The box was much, much worse, especially since he'd played a huge part in both of his brothers currently being locked into the box. Something that he knew for a fact they would hold against him the whole time he was there.
Unconsciously, he softly vocalized his human's favorite curse, "Son of a . . ."
"I wouldn't finish that if I were you," Joshua warned with a slight twinkle in his eye. "Good luck, Castiel. We are all rooting for you. Do not forget that your Father does still love you."
Castiel rolled his eyes then blinked at the sudden appearance of his brothers screaming into each other's face. He felt the icy cold and knew he was already imprisoned. He wished that he'd at least gotten a chance to tell Dean himself but knew that it wouldn't matter if Balthazar succeeded. He prayed that Balthazar would hurry before his brothers noticed his presence.
He didn't know if it was his prayer or something else but suddenly both of them turned to face him. Lucifer smirked widely and commented casually as he stalked forward, "Well, well, well. Look what we have here. It's about time you had to pay for your audacity."
"I get him first," Michael claimed with serious warning.
"What? Why?" Lucifer exclaimed hotly. "And don't give me that I'm older crap, either. I want a real reason for a change."
"Because he Motov'd me with holy oil," Michael recited venomously.
"Ooow," Lucifer winced sympathetically. "That's right. But I blew him up for that."
"So?" Michael growled menacingly.
"Touche," Lucifer acknowledged regretfully.
By now, they had backed him into a corner while he frantically urged Balthazar on with prayer. He knew things were about to turn very ugly for him, and Dean, unless Dean broke in time. He saw Michael win the argument then turn toward him with a malevolent smile. Castiel steeled himself for what was to come, blocking the output of his mate bond, as much as he could.
"Why does he look constipated?" Lucifer wondered curiously.
Michael paused to figure that out because he wondered that as well when suddenly Castiel let out a pained moan and fell to the floor in a heap.
"Did he faint?" Lucifer questioned with moderate disappointment. "Thought he was tougher than that. Huh? It's not nearly as much fun if they're unconscious. Who knew he was such a wimp?"
Michael started to snark back but Castiel gasped out an agonizing yell of pain. Michael's attention turned back to Castiel and Lucifer shifted closer, both of them at a loss to explain their younger brother's behavior. Lucifer frowned and questioned curiously, "What the hell is wrong with him?"
Castiel didn't have even a millisecond to feel relieved as his bond with Dean seared his body in excruciating agony. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. He really believed that he couldn't live, either. His vessel convulsed through the tremors of radiating pain.
"Holy crap," His brothers exclaimed at that same time as they finally remembered when they had seen this before. They turned to each other and concluded simultaneously, "He's mated!"
"Oh my Father," Michael commented with dreaded exasperation, running a hand through his vessel's imagined hair. "What the hell was he thinking? There hasn't been a single mating in the last millennia."
Lucifer, in the meantime, studied Castiel curiously while he observed dryly, "To a human, no less. Or, at least, that's what it looks like. Wow. And everyone thought that I made bad decisions. Even I know better than that."
"What an idiot," Michael insulted wryly. He threw up his hands and turned away in disgust, stating, "Well, it's no sense torturing him now. He won't feel a thing that we do to him. We'll have to wait to see if he lives through this."
Lucifer squatted down beside his seizing brother and continued to cock his head to one side then the other as he studied this oddity. Finally, he pursed his lips and thought aloud, "Think it's someone we know?"
Michael turned back to his younger brothers and stared for a moment before figuring out the question. He clarified hesitantly, "You're trying to guess who his mate is?"
"Why not?" Lucifer wondered sardonically. "It's not like we have anything better to do right now. I'm bored."
Michael shrugged and sat down against the wall by Castiel's head so that he faced Lucifer. He recited clinically, "The only companions that we know of are the Winchesters, Bobby Singer, and Crowley. Well, maybe Crowley but I don't see any of the rest of them and you did say he bonded with a human, right?"
"But demons are basically mutated human," Lucifer corrected logically.
"True," Michael allowed, now clearly distracted by Lucifer's new subject.
"Meg said that he learned to kiss from a pizza man," Lucifer related easily, causing Michael to choke out a laugh at his brother's obvious gossiping with demons.
"Oh, that's sick, even for you, Luce," Michael complained with a grimace of distaste.
Lucifer shrugged without concern then added, "Well, she said that he did use tongue on her."
"So what? Is he mated with a pizza man or a demon?" Michael questioned for clarification. Lucifer shrugged uncertainly. They both jumped slightly in surprise when Castiel suddenly jerked upright, perfectly lucid.
"NO! Damn it," Castiel cursed in a loud shout and lashed out with his grace in anger.
Both Lucifer and Michael fell back slightly as they adjust to the strength of the pulse which rebounded off the walls and back at them. Lucifer pouted, "Hey, watch it! You big baby."
"Gabriel!" Castiel shouted out with both his mouth and his grace.
"Oh, good luck with that," Lucifer snarked under his breath.
"Right," Michael agreed sardonically as they both crossed their arms over their chests. They were prepared to start teaching Castiel a lesson now that he would be able to respond to them. Castiel's very livid glower, however, made them wonder what was going on.
"Wait a minute," Lucifer stated hesitantly with confused concern on his face. "How come you don't look half dead?"
"Hello!" Gabriel announced loudly as he appeared right beside Castiel. He saw Lucifer and smirked mockingly as he taunted, "Lucy, I'm home! Did you miss me?" He barely paused before barreling into his next snark, "Obviously, you did since I am so obviously alive. Need to work on your aim there, little brother."
"I'll show you little, you little two-bit . . ."
"Enough!" Castiel shouted with the strength of a sonic boom, completely out of patience with everything. He stepped right in front of Gabriel so that Gabriel wouldn't be distracted and snarled urgently, "Balthazar didn't do it. He screwed everything up and you have to fix it. Now, Gabriel!"
"Hey, buddy. I'm not –"
Castiel slammed Gabriel back into the wall behind them and got right in his face. He threatened menacingly, "You really don't want to push me right now, Gabriel. I am not in the mood. Balthazar fucked it up worse than before and it has to be fixed. We are almost out of time, damn it."
"What?" Gabriel started while he restrained his driving impulse to smite his testy little brother. Castiel growled and touched a finger to Gabriel's temple, sending him the conversation with Balthazar and his orders. Gabriel growled warningly at the invasion, quickly losing patience, so Castiel obediently stepped back in acquiesce, knowing that Gabriel was now aware of the enormity of his situation.
"Of all the stupid, featherbrained ideas you've had lately, Cassie," Gabriel gritted out. "That one was the absolute worst. And what the hell were you thinking asking Balthazar to fix it. You know what he's like. How he felt, about you, about . . . What the . . . you know what, never mind. What's the countdown?"
"Two Earth hours," Castiel admitted guiltily.
Gabriel rolled his eyes in exasperation and warned harshly, "You so owe me big time for this. I mean, BIG!"
He swung around to glare menacingly at his other brothers and warned dangerously, "And if you two break him before I get repaid, I'll take it out of both of your asses, since you've both been such monolithic asses for such a very, very long time now." With a snap, he was gone, leaving a very depressed Castiel with his very intrigued big brothers.
"Oh, Cassie," Lucifer called tauntingly with a very strange faked accent after exchanging a quick look with Michael, "you have some esplainin' to do." Castiel sighed heavily and braced himself for what he knew would be a very, very unpleasant eternity.
Please read and review. Hopefully this made up slightly for the last chapter but my muse is still mostly in time out.