Fear has filled this house before
But it takes a little faith to make it through the storm
And no matter what life has in store
Just know I'm proud of you and what we're fighting for
"However Long It Takes" by Sent by Ravens
One Year Previously...
Raphael bit his lip. A collection of moisture had gathered there, something like anger boiling under his calm facade.
"I am not going to repeat myself," he started with an air of forced calm.
"Neither am I," Castiel replied.
"I am ordering you to be silent!" Raphael finally screamed now, his fist slamming down on the table with frightening speed. Castiel couldn't help but jump in his folding chair, his mind still numb in shock.
The door to the room scraped open, and in the threshold stood the red-haired woman. She carried a clipboard, and an unamused expression.
"Raphael," she said with no expression. Castiel could see the tightening of her jaw, the muscles of her wrist contracting as she squeezed the clipboard in barely contained frustration. It was subtly terrifying look. "Please calm down. You're frightening poor Castiel."
"I'm not frightened–"
"I don't need to calm down–"
Both men, in an instant of odd synchronicity, fell silent as Anna entered the room fully. She wasn't that tall, but she seemed to tower suddenly over Castiel, her eyes focused on his.
"Anna, I am your superior, you cannot just come in and...mingle," Raphael was growling, straightening up and brushing unseen dirt from his suit. "This is my case, my rules."
"Oh, no, I'm afraid this is above you," Anna smirked. "You see, I've been promoted. To Archangel position." She produced a pair of Manila folders. Castiel noticed the near-insane meticulous neatness of her nails, her hands, her tiny golden wedding ring. "And as of now, Angel Blue is my priority."
Angel Blue? Castiel had had enough. His boyfriend was missing. He'd been arrested. He didn't even know where the hell he was right now.
...
Present Day...
Dean watched Anna pace the parking lot. She moved in a sort of ethereal beauty, a cold expression on her fine features. He wondered, then, if he would have been attracted to her had she not been with Heaven.
Sam looked puzzled. Dean hadn't exactly told him the whole truth involving Cass, and things could definitely get sticky if his younger brother got a hold on that vital information.
Cass looked equal parts horrified and angry. His eyes were narrowed, his fingers clenched tightly around the chipped ceramic of his coffee mug. Dean had nearly forgotten the fact that he'd been working for Anna until that fatal night. He tried to imagine the two as friends, but for some reason the image was of an entirely different nature.
After all, she had forced him into being a hit man based on fuzzy guesses where Balthazar was (if he was anywhere at all).
Dean cleared his throat.
"Um, guys, I don't mean to be a hard-ass here, but we've really got to kick it or we're dead meat," he hissed. "Pippi Bitchstockings is gonna skin us."
Cass shook his head at that.
"No, I do not think she'd kill me," he said, almost calmly. "Though she probably would eliminate you, yes. Most likely in a violent manner, perhaps decapita–"
"Alright, alright, Sunshine. Shut your trap and let me think," Dean snapped. Sam still looked vaguely perplexed, but he was smart enough to grasp the idea that Anna meant bad business to his brother and Cass.
"Look," he started. "I can distract her, or something. I mean, she doesn't exactly know my face. But that means you've got some explaining to do later, Cass," Sam looked pointedly at him. But Cass still looked apprehensive.
"No, Sam, I am pretty sure she knows your face," he said quietly, almost too quietly for them to hear. Sam paused at this, but Dean cut in before he could question further.
"Maybe if I go? Start shootin' up? She'd have to stop, drop, and roll her ass to save herself."
"No way, Dean. Not again."
"Oh, c'mon, Sammy! You don't think I'm able?"
"No. Not at all. In fact, I think you're an idiot."
Cass sighed loudly. Dean swiveled his head to glare at him.
"She'll only talk to me," Cass said, matter-of-fact. "She'll only be distracted by me. I am who she came for, I am who she'll leave for."
The table was quiet. Outside, Anna looked frustrated. There was no more time to argue.
"I don't like this," Sam sighed. "Cass, how d'you know she'd not coming to kill you?"
He was met with a solemn blue-eyed stare. There was the shadow again, the thoughts of another that Sam had grown so used to having himself.
He suddenly knew why Cass was so afraid of Anna, of Heaven.
Cass was just like him.
"Okay. I agree with Cass, then. He'll go out and distract her." He turned to face the incredulous Dean. "I trust him."
So do I, Dean thought bitterly. And that's why this plan sucks.
...
One Year Previously...
"Someone tell me what the HELL is going on," Castiel shouted, standing up from his chair. His mind was buzzing, his vision tunneling so that all he saw was his own warped reflection in the metal of the table. Dark hair. Pale face. He looked awful.
Raphael looked at him with an expression that reminded Castiel of a spider contemplating which way to best poison and devour a fly. Anna, however, carved a dry smile into her lips.
"Of course, Mr. Novak. I was just telling my subordinate here to vacate, then I shall explain everything. From the beginning."
Raphael spluttered out a protest, but whatever Anna had said before seemed to scare him into reluctant submission. He took a slow step back, hand wrapped around the stark clean of the doorknob–as he left, he turned to face Castiel one last time.
"You have no idea how much it hurts to fall, Cassie," He snarled. "But you will."
The door closed.
All was silent.
Anna turned once more to face him, and he found himself wishing then that she were as blatantly evil, as clearly shadowed as Raphael. She looked too sympathetic standing there, her head tipped lightly and her hand outstretched to rest on his shoulder.
She came closer, and Castiel smelled vanilla perfume, bullet casings, new plastic.
"I'm sorry, Castiel," she said, shaking her head. A strand of scarlet hair blew into her face, and she ignored it calmly. "But this isn't going to be easy."
He back away, shoving her hand from his shoulder.
"Just give him back," he whispered, hating how quiet he sounded. How low. "Just give him back. Please."
Anna sighed, folding her hands behind her back and rocking on her heels. She looked off-put by the room they were in, and her eyes kept flicking to the stains on the floor, the cracks in the ceiling.
"Oh, honey," she said softly. "It won't be that easy."
Castiel bit his tongue, shaking his head. It had to be. It had to be.
"I'll pay you. I'll give you anything. Just give him back! Please!"
He was screaming now, trying to rip that calm, condescending face from Anna's neck. She didn't look phased by it, however, or frightened. She only smiled sweetly (white teeth, red lips) and took a step closer. She took Castiel's hand in her own, and her fingers were warm and sharp.
"Anything, Castiel?" she asked.
...
Present Day...
Anna knew they were inside. Castiel Novak and his new best friends. She nearly gagged at the thought of it. He was probably already under the famed charm of Dean Winchester, already totally and completely in love with the disgusting, crude man. What a revolting practice, love. She chewed her nail bitterly. It turned everyone into a mindless whore.
The diner door swung open, and Anna let her hand fall to her side. She forced a grin. This was her moment, she could not screw it up. Everything depended on it.
Everything.
Castiel Novak crossed the lot infuriatingly slowly, wary distrust written all over his features. Anna could practically smell the Winchester on him, smell the hunter filth. They were wasting their time with the surreal. Reality was much more terrifying.
"Anna," he said, once he reached her. The slow wind shook his trench-coat, rustled his hair. Anna tucked her own locks behind an ear, and smiled again.
"Castiel! Have you done your part? We had a deal, you know,"
She knew the answer. She was practically breathing in the anxiety, and it was sweet and sticky in her throat. Ambrosia to her heart.
"The deal is off," he replied, predictably. He was so boring, Anna decided. So flawed.
"Well then, Castiel," Anna tapped a finger against the bridge of her nose. "I guess I'll have to tell you. We found your boyfriend."
His eyes widened, and Anna decided she hated their color. It was almost imperceptible, his shock. She found herself envying the forced calm, the careful tamping of emotions.
"Where? Is he alright? Is Balthazar–is he alive?"
She smiled again.
So simple, this manipulation of the innocent.
"Oh no, Castiel, we don't just give away gifts. We expect one in return, don't we?"
Castiel gritted his teeth, visibly shifting. But he gave a silent nod.
"Where are the Winchesters?"
The ever-so-slight panic.
"No. Not them. I won't give them up."
"Then Balthazar remains missing."
You can't do this–" Castiel started, the wind whipping his voice away and into the dull gray of the highways.
"You don't make the rules," Anna snapped back. She was losing patience, losing ground.
He looked away, and she could see the shame, the apology welling under his skin. He clenched his fists, closed his eyes.
"Kitchen," he whispered. "They're in the kitchen."
Anna reached out and took his hand, a crude imitation of when they first met.
"Good job. You will be rewarded. You have done Heaven a great favor, Mr. Novak."
He didn't look up, anger lacing his voice.
"Just tell me where he is."
The moment she'd waited for.
It was all to brilliant, all too perfect for her to comprehend.
"He's coming, Castiel. He's your replacement. He's coming to kill the Winchesters."
...
A/N: Okay, so sorry for the weird-ass Domestic!Cass/Balthazar stuff. Yeah...heheh...I kinda hopped onto the angst bandwagon, there. I blame Kripke.
So anyway, Lucifer and Meg will return! There's two major plotlines here, and both connect back to Castiel and his brothers, and why the Winchesters are wanted by both. Also: anyone else feelin' the Naomi in Anna? Totally unintentional. I swear :D
Adding Bobby, Ellen, and Jo soon as cameos. Any requests for other appearances, please PM or review.
Cheers, folks. Thanks for the lovely support.
-chaoswalking.