Castiel turned his head to check on the Winchesters.
He watched as Dean handed his brother an iron railing in the vain hope of being able to defend themselves, before refocusing his attention on the incoming undead. That is…. until the zombies disappeared to be replaced by the smiling face and body of Chuck.
:
'Castiel.' he said dolefully. 'I'm afraid I let my temper get the upper hand back there, but I'm sure the Winchesters will cover each other's ass. So, we'll leave them to it for a little, shall we?'
'Why am I here?' The angel asked, confused as to why Chuck had singled him out.
Chuck puckered up his lips in a thoughtful pout.
'Do you know why I allowed you to be the first angel to reach Dean Winchester in Hell?'
'What? No. I...' Castiel replied. 'I was at the forefront of the host and found him before the others.'
'Tsk, Tsk, a good writer has a reason for every action his characters perform, and I have to say you carried them out to perfection, adding quirky touches I hadn't even planned.
OF COURSE, you were chosen to reach Dean. It wasn't arbitrary!'
:
Castiel remained silent as Chuck continued.
'You're vain and prideful, Castiel, you came off the assembly line that way.
The other angels were focused on the Apocalypse and Revelation, as were you up till a certain point, but they weren't infected by humans whereas you would be tainted by their characteristics, from the good ones to the bad.'
'You're talking in riddles,' Castiel declared, not understanding what this discussion was leading to and why Chuck had spirited him away from the graveyard.
'Strangely enough you were influenced by a pretty face, namely Dean Winchester's. Even without a soul, Castiel, you feel envy, ambition, craving, all sentiments an angel shouldn't perceive, but for some reason, you do.
That's why I kept you in the mix, near to the Winchesters, brought you back from the dead. I knew you'd pep up the narrative with unexpected twists. And you did, didn't you? Betraying your idol Dean, breaking Sam's wall through envy of the love Dean bears him, craving to have Dean look at you with the heart-eyes he focuses on his brother at every turn.
I'll give you an example.
I had written that you'd pull Sam out of the Cage, otherwise how could the Winchesters continue on with the story if one was missing for too long? But what I didn't expect was that you only pulled out his body, not his soul. You crafty little angel, you!
That way, Dean would get used to his brother's absence, but in the unfortunate chance of encountering him, then Sam would no longer feel the same affection for Dean as he once had.
Then I really enjoyed your plan when you let Lucifer take you as a vessel after Sam had refused. You saw how afraid Sam was of Lucifer and you wanted to make him feel worse. You certainly didn't allow Lucifer to go free because you believed it would help Humanity. I like you twisted little morals, Cass.'
:
'No, none of that is true,' Castiel replied with indignation. 'I did all I could to help both Winchesters. BOTH are my friends.'
:
Chuck gave a guffaw which shook the heavens. 'Oh Castiel. You are so full of yourself. Ever wonder why you're one of the few angels left on this Earth? Well apart from the fact that it was your actions which eliminated more than half of the heavenly host, it's not because you're particularly bright, but simply because you hang onto the coat-tails of the Winchesters who on the other hand are intelligent, capable and have good hearts.
Without them, you'd have been gone long ago.'
:
'These are all lies. You're twisting everything to fit your new agenda,' Castiel protested. 'The Winchesters love me.'
'They are used to your presence and it's always useful to have a healer on tap, even if your powers work on alternate strokes.
The Castiel in the other reality was you too and look how he turned out, a regular little Hitler, not that you haven't done your share of torturing yourself.
However, hanging around the Winchesters kept that side of you damped down, for they're accepting of the need to extract information from the enemy, but not THAT accepting!
You know,' Chuck mused. 'I couldn't have dreamed up a better villain than you. Whatever you do, it seems people end up forgiving you. Must be the tatty trench coat,' he chuckled.
'I've a little proposition for you Castiel. What would you say if I rebooted everything but left only you aware of all that's happened and make it so your angel powers are permanently at 1000%, no longer dependent on your grace?
I'll even let you pick the moment from where a reboot begins. Just think, you'd be saving the world, the humans, giving it all another go on the merry-go-round.
Truth is I'm fond of this version of Sam and Dean. They've surprised me in so many ways, especially how they love each other and what they're willing to do to keep their brother safe. I never once interfered in their relationship. That was only ever on them.
So, what do you say, Castiel? Interested? In a way you'd be the new god, having all that information at your fingertips. That's what you once wanted, isn't it?'
:
'I was a different person back then. What you're suggesting is wrong and I'd never accept,' Castiel replied curtly.
'You can lie to yourself but not to me,' Chuck chortled. 'So, what's your answer? There is one drawback though, you can only change one moment or action. The new time-line will continue on from there.'
'If I ever considered this plan, which I won't. What about Sam and Dean?'
'The Winchesters are the principle players in this time-line. They remain brothers always. After the change though, not even I know how things will play out.'
'Would the Earth go back to normal?'
'Depending on when you decide to interfere, things will reset to that moment. Angels demons and humans will revert to how they were then. I'll give you a moment to think it through, but not too long, you don't want those zombies to gobble up Sam and Dean.'
:
Castiel turned Chuck's proposal over in his mind not realizing that merely giving God's suggestion thought, meant he was already considering it.
The positives were that Earth and its billions of inhabitants would be safe, as would the Winchesters. Then Chuck had also said his angel powers would be as strong as ever and undrainable. That would mean Castiel could heal as many wounded as he wished.
Another positive was that he'd be the only one who knew the time-line had changed while retaining memories of the original.
The negative and in Castiel's mind there was really only one. He'd be betraying the Winchesters once again, though this time it would benefit the Earth and possibly this entire reality. Chuck could be in the process of destroying this universe for all Castiel knew.
Then in the depths of his mind Castiel did acknowledge his fondness for Dean which probably merited a more evocative description than merely fond.
:
Chuck watched and waited as the angel gathered his thoughts. He already knew Castiel would accept. After all, he was the one who had created the angels, he was aware of their virtues and of their limits.
Castiel would convince himself that he was accepting for the good of all humanity when in reality it was for himself, for the prideful sense of righteousness that all angels possessed, convinced that their way was the correct one.
What Castiel didn't know was that Chuck had decided to save the world anyway.
He'd experienced a flurry of spitefulness when the Winchesters hadn't submitted to his story-line and had switched off the lights in a huff, but he was telling the truth about Sam and Dean. He admired their stubbornness and he especially admired their reciprocal love.
But the storyteller in him was curious to see how Castiel would go. Would he accept and spice things up, or would he disdainfully reject it?
:::::::::::::::::::::::
Castiel
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Castiel stared up at the house where Dean, Lisa and Ben could clearly be seen through the window, seated around the dinner table.
For a few months, he'd let Dean grieve for his brother then come visit.
Though he did feel twitch of guilt for what he'd done, he was convinced that he'd acted for the best. The world was saved, Dean wouldn't have to suffer through all that had come after this moment in the other time-line, no Leviathans, no Purgatory, no Mark of Cain, no Men of Letters, no Jack, no infinite realities.
This instant right here, right now, was Castiel's game changer. He wasn't going to pull any part of Sam from the Cage but leave him to Lucifer. Humans were nothing if not adaptable and Dean would learn to live without Sam, then Castiel would be here to console Dean as best he could.
In the meantime, he'd keep an eye on what was going on in Heaven. He wouldn't muck things up like he did the last time, searching for Purgatory. He'd try a different approach, a more pacific one, with Raphael.
:
When Crowley appeared at his back, Castiel gave an inward smile. The demon was here to ask for his help to discover where the door to Purgatory was situated, to tempt Castiel with the power of the monster souls to use for his little vendetta in Heaven, but this time Castiel wasn't interested, besides there would be no soulless Sam to help his grandfather Samuel and the Campbells with the computer tech and lore.
''I am not interested, Crowley,' Castiel replied.
'What! I hear that Raphael wants to set up another Apocalypse. You're not interested in stopping him?'
'It's only gossip. Raphael is all talk. He's got his work cut out ruling Heaven.'
'But he's weak, you could take control if we get the soul energy from Purgatory. All we need to do is find the entrance,' Crowley insisted.
'I said no. You go ahead if you wish. I must leave. I have work to do.'
:
Dean
:::::::::::::::::::::
There was no doubt Lisa's bed was comfortable and welcoming, as was she, but Dean found himself missing the skanky motel room beds he used to collapse on after an exhausting hunt, though Dean knew it wasn't the beds he was missing, but the one who used to sleep in the bed next to him. Sam.
It had been three months since the younger Winchester had thrown himself into the Cage but Dean still couldn't get the nightmarish image of Sam's fall out of his mind.
He'd only turned up on Lisa's doorstep because he'd promised Sam, but it didn't feel right. He should be camping out somewhere searching for a way to get Sam back. And there had to be a way!
No-one had contacted him, not Bobby, nor Castiel. Not even Crowley had shown up to smirk at his situation. And he hadn't looked for them either. They reminded him too much of Sammy.
His gut clenched at the thought of what Sam must be going through, the tortures a pissed Lucifer and Michael would be inflicting on him. He'd been to Hell, knew what pain was. Sam should never have had to suffer it.
Dean had never felt so alone, so useless.
:
Did a promise still count when the person he'd made it to was dead?
It was at that moment that Dean realized he couldn't do this any longer, couldn't stay with Lisa and Ben, even if Lisa had been so understanding and patient and Ben a good kid who enjoyed having Dean around.
His conscience wouldn't allow it, his love for his baby brother wouldn't allow it. Not any more. He had to save Sam, not respect a promise!
:
So it was that Dean took his leave of his temporary family and went off to search for the only one he really cared about. Sam.
He knew where he had to go, Sioux Falls, for the simple reason that Bobby had the books without which Dean had no hope in Hell of discovering a way to get to Sam.
Well aware of the fact that they'd already searched through the entire library back before Sam took his fateful decision, Dean could only hope they'd missed some tiny clue which could help him now.
When he turned the Impala into Bobby's yard, he felt in his heart he'd made the correct decision.