[SPN] and for you I'll smash the stars

[tasogareika]

Title: and for you I'll smash the stars
Fandom: Supernatural AU - Soul Eater fusion
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairing: Castiel, Balthazar, Gabriel, the Winchesters (John, Sam, Dean) + Adam Milligan, Azazel. Mentions of several other characters, minor as well as major. Dean/Castiel.
Warning: Um. Nothing that I can really think of?
Notes: One of my #50275963074 AU ideas, written as a bid to try and cure my writer's block and get my writing engine working again, since I've been pretty bummed due to various RL issues that happened to me recently. The world in this fic is based off the animanga series Soul Eater, which is wonderful and is worth going through if you have the time for it. Unbeta'd, so all errors fall under my fault.

Also, shameless plug time: if you guys are up for some Jimmy Novak, please do check out my jimmybigbang fic, feel the freedom like no tomorrow! Any comments and stuff would be seriously appreciated. c:


and for you I'll smash the stars
7958 words oneshot.

If anything, Castiel would call their first meeting as nothing more than an accident. He wasn't even on the front lines in the first place, having been made to stay back with the other medics-Gabriel's orders, of course, and as much as Castiel didn't like to be placed in the sidelines he had little choice but to obey. After all, when one of the seven Deathscythes gives you an order its usually a good plan to simply not question it and follow said orders to the letter unless you want to deal with the repercussions of disobeying later. Besides, it wasn't as if Gabriel didn't have a good reason for it; despite already having graduated from the Academy for a few years already he still hadn't found his Weapon yet, and a Mesiter without his Weapon was as good as dead outside of Haven even if Castiel was the top graduating Meister in his batch.

“-which frankly, puzzles me, since I thought every Weapon would be groveling at your feet and begging you to be their partner in that case.”

Castiel glances up from the iPhone in his hand in order to stare at the direction of his friend. “I don't recall you having done that, Balthazar.”

“That's because I already found my Meister by then, if you can actually recall that,” Balthazar replies with a wave of his hand. “Not that I would actually do that even if I hadn't partnered up with dear old Rachel.”

The Meister finds himself quirking a small smile at 'dear old Rachel', knowing that despite the flippant way that Balthazar addressed his partner his friend does care deeply for her. Otherwise, there's no way that their partnership would have been able to last for this long-more than just a sound body and mind, a good camaraderie was also important in ensuring a healthy partnership between Meister and Weapon.

Many times Castiel does wish that he could have a partnership in the way that his friends do, but somehow things have never managed to work out for him. By now he's already lost count of exactly how many Weapon partners he's gone through; for some reason or another, it seems that there isn't anybody in Haven who suits him at all. In fact, Balthazar had pretty much been the closest he had as a suitable Weapon partner, and if wasn't for Rachel the Weapon sitting beside him now would have been his selected Weapon partner.

Castiel doesn't really know why he's so incompatible with people in the first place-its not as if he was violent or dominating like how some of the other Meisters could be at times, nor he is obstinate. In fact, everyone agrees that he has a pretty malleable and agreeable personality, and Castiel can't see any reason why he would reject any Weapon who wishes to partner up with him (although there were some who he knew he could never work well with).

He doesn't want to talk much about it, but these days the issue really bugs him considering how things are now for him. He remembers how during one of his worse days he had went up to Professor Missouri and requested her to do a through examination of his soul to find any abnormalities, but all she had done was to give him a glance and clap him on the shoulder, reassuring him that there's nothing wrong and that he would find his Weapon partner one day. Just look at Gabriel, she told him, He took years as well before he found Anna, and he's a Deathscythe now. He knows that Missouri is trying to give him support, but Castiel still can't help but feel useless-until he actually has a formal Weapon partner he can't go out on any official missions; the best he can do is stay with the medics and help them with healing the injured.

A loud crash draws Castiel out from his thoughts there and then, and the Meister snaps himself back to reality as he turns his gaze out of the first aid tent and pushes one of the flaps back to get a better look.

“What's going on?” he mutters, more to himself than to Balthazar as he glances at the giant cloud of dust rising up from the distance.

Balthazar cranes his head over Castiel's, squinting his eyes towards the dust cloud as well and takes a moment before he replies. “Beats me.”

Castiel lets his eyes follow the rising cloud as it goes higher and higher, quite unable to shake off the uneasy feeling that's growing inside of him. “Maybe we should-” he starts, but then cuts off with a shout when one of the tents nearby suddenly explode before his eyes. The force of it causes him to stumble back and nearly fall if Balthazar hadn't caught him in time.

“We need to check out the situation,” the Meister says when he's steady on his feet once more, glancing over at his friend. “Do you want to change now or later?”

“Considering all circumstances, its highly likely that its an enemy,” Balthazar replies, already starting to glow a pale blue at the edges of his body. “Better to be prepared than get caught off-guard.”

Castiel nods in agreement to his friend's observation and holds out his right hand, grabbing Balthazar once the Weapon shifts into his other form. For a moment Castiel can't help but appreciate the quiet sense of familiarity that his friend's soul gives to him through their resonance bond. It's not perfect, but its as close as he can get to it and until he finds his correct partner, Castiel is going to take when he can get. Twirling the spear in his hand once, Castiel makes sure to hold the Weapon firmly in his hand before starting to move towards where the explosion took place. Before he can even make ten steps forward though, a dark figure suddenly bursts out from the mess of cloud and dust and starts making a beeline right towards him. Castiel barely has any time to react before he crosses paths with the figure, and in that moment suddenly time seems to freeze on itself without warning.

Green, is all that Castiel can make out in that one moment before the world starts again and the mysterious figure dashes past him, moving too fast to be caught as he disappears into the distance.

They call the phenomenon Black Blood.

“It's a creation of Azazel's,” Gabriel explains. “The basic makeup of it is the same as regular blood, but its also infused with the Madness Wavelength. Anybody infected by it gains a whole lot of strength, but at the same time loses his sanity as the price of this power.” The Deathscythe puts a grim look on his face there and then. “He's been experimenting with it, and in our last mission Adam confirmed that Azazel's managed to produce a living carrier for this blood. We tried to capture and identify the carrier, but he escaped before we could do anything.”

“And the man himself?” Balthazar asks from beside Castiel, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

Gabriel shakes his head. “Azazel managed to get away as well. We did manage to get one of his subordinates though, so hopefully we can manage to get some information out from her-she seems to be pretty high up the ladder, from what we can tell.”

The Weapon lets out a small grunt. “The sooner we're done with this, the better,” he mutters, and Castiel can't help but agree with Balthazar on that account; Azazel's been rapidly rising amongst the Demons-a term for the ones who uses magic and the dark arts rather than through a proper resonance bond-and with this new development, its clear that Azazel's all but made himself Haven's number one threat right now. Even before this he had already been bad news, and now with this Black Blood...

Castiel brings himself out from his thoughts as Gabriel speaks again, addressing the crowd as a whole. “Its safe to assume that Azazel's going to be with the carrier of the Black Blood, so keep an eye out for either of them. Every search party will have someone adept at Soul Perception in order to sense the Madness Wavelength; if you encounter either Azazel or the carrier, do not engage them. Are we clear on that account?”

“Yes sir!” comes the united response, and as Castiel joins in the reply he also makes a resolve to meet the dark figure once again. Its clear that whoever he is, that person seems to be with Azazel and as much as Castiel does know better, he wants to see the stranger once more. Something about those green eyes call to him, and Castiel isn't one to go against his instincts like that when they ring so strongly in his mind.

The second time they meet is at Blue Earth, Minnesota. It's a scouting mission this time around, and Castiel had tagged along as a medic since Meisters with healing abilities were hard to come by and resources were already stretched thin enough as it is from the continuous attacks that Azazel and his lackeys were dealing across the country. Since Balthazar had a mission of his own with his Meister, this time he was partnered up with Adam Milligan for the duration of this particular mission.

Adam wasn't a bad partner too, Castiel thought to himself as he followed the party down the streets. While his Weapon form was quite unorthodox (a glove, but it wasn't as if there hadn't been weirder looking Weapon forms before), it was still useful once one knew how to make use of it. Unfortunately, the skills of Adam's Meister was much left to be desired, and at times Castiel still couldn't help but feel sorry for what Adam had to go through due to his Meister's utter incompetence.

“Target spotted at eleven o'clock!” one of the scouts suddenly shout, stopping Castiel both literally and figuratively. He turns his head to the direction of where the scout has pointed out, raising his gaze to the rooftops soon after and sees the figure from before now standing from above, looking down at them.

Even from this distance, Castiel can still see the sheer green spilling out from him and there's nothing he can do but to simply stare. A moment passes, and then two before the figure shifts and Adam has to call Castiel out through their resonance before the Meister snaps back into reality once again. He only has enough time to get himself ready before the figure moves, jumping down from the rooftops and diving straight for the forefront of the scouting party.

“Spread out!” the leader of the party orders out and Castiel instantly scatters with the rest of the team, Adam getting ready to attack if the chance or need presented itself. Still, avoiding any sort of battle was the best option that Castiel had, and he tries to distance himself as far away from the ensuring fight as he can even as he starts to hear the cries of his comrades attacking and being attacked and slain without pause. So many of them dying… and yet there was nothing Castiel could do about it, because of his own lack of a (proper) Weapon.

The thought of that made Castiel grit his teeth, anger and frustration churning in his gut even when he could do nothing more than to push himself to run faster. As much as he did want to fight, Castiel knew that he would only be looking for his doom-Adam wasn’t his Weapon and there was no way he could perfect Soul Resonance that quickly. Even for someone like him, managing a perfect resonance bond would take time and effort.

What kind of Meister am I if I can’t even do anything to help? Castiel thinks to himself as he clenches his ungloved hand into a fist, wanting to simply just punch his frustrations out to the nearest wall available. He pushes down his irritation though, forcing himself to focus back on his current objective. The cries were fading away, which meant that he was putting good distance from the Black Blood carrier; if he could just get to the mirror and back to Haven, then maybe-

Cas! Adam calls out, a flare of warning in his voice. Castiel doesn’t hesitate and turns around, gloved fingers snapping as a sphere of fire explodes right at his attacker’s face. The Meister takes a leap back as soon as he lets out the attack, steadying himself on the balls of his feet and shifts into stance, knowing that running isn’t an option for him now. If the carrier already managed to get this close to him, then there’s no way he can leave in peace. He watches as the smoke clears, managing not to flinch at the wall of crystallized Black Blood now crumbling into pieces before his eyes. Under the dim lighting of the streets it’s still hard to make out the face of the carrier, but even in the darkness he can see the green of the other’s eyes, standing out just like those of a cat’s.

Castiel readies his attack, gloved fingertips already starting to rub together as the Black Blood user flicks his wrist, drawing out a blade of hardened blood out from his forearm and lunges forward right in the next second. The Meister snaps his fingers once more, attempting to bring up and blow and fireball right in the other’s face, but the carrier anticipates the move and swiftly sidesteps the attack as well as the ones that follow after that. Castiel grits his teeth together, snapping his fingers in quick succession as he attempts to land a blow on the other, but none of them are successful.

The Black Blood user leaps forward once he’s close enough to deal a direct attack, the blade of hardened blood gleaming under the lights as he attempts to strike. Castiel quickly jumps back and snaps his fingers one more time, bringing out a blade of pure fire in his gloved hand that he uses just in time to clash against the Black Blood. The two blades meet in a howl of fire and wind, the force of the strike so strong that it sends out a shockwave which rocks Castiel to the core of his very soul and the Meister's forced to squeeze his eyes shut from that as well as the light of the fire.

Adam! Castiel calls out mentally to the Weapon, and Adam sends an acknowledgment over in response as he takes control of the flames, spreading them out from the blade to coil around the hardened blood, attempting to melt through it. The Meister hears a snarl from the other and forces his eyes open, looking through the fires and right into the bright green irises of his enemy's eyes as they stand at a deadlock against each other.

Adam makes a grunt as he shoves whatever power he can muster out through their resonance, attempting to try and keep the Black Blood user in place. We need to hold him down long enough for the reinforcements to arrive.

Castiel keeps his eyes trained on his opponent as he acknowledges his partner’s words with a grunt, drawing out his own power as well to keep the other in check. The man snarls, eyes flashing under the light of the sword as he attempts to pull out his weapon but to no avail.

“It’s no use,” the Meister starts after a pause, and the Black Blood user snaps his head up to stare at Castiel when he says those words. Castiel looks back into those eyes-eyes which look far too sharp and alert for a person who’s supposed to be caught in the throes of the Madness Wavelength. “You can’t escape from these flames unless you melt your blade, and if you do I can cut you down easily. So just stay put here if you know what’s good for you.”

The man doesn’t say anything out loud in response, but he does quiet down and actually stop in his struggles-something that quickly takes Castiel by surprise. It’s a common fact that anyone held in sway by the Madness Wavelength can barely listen to reason at all, only driven by the impulse to crush and destroy everything around him. But yet here is a person clearly under the power of Madness, but somehow is able to retain his sanity well enough to distinguish reason and even listen to it.

Still, Castiel can’t help but be skeptical about this sudden development. Is he actually… listening?

Adam sounds just as confused as Castiel himself when he replies. I dunno, but it sure seems like it.

Maybe he isn’t wholly under the influence as we might have gue- the Meister stops when the other suddenly moves, already having melted his blade and leaping backwards once he’s free. Castiel curses himself for being so foolish to fall for such a trick so quickly, drawing out the power of his resonance bond once more as he twists the fire around and sends it flying in a stream towards the other. The man swiftly dodges the move with a leap into the air, using the momentum of his jump to propel himself towards Castiel with a newly drawn out blade from the same forearm.

Rather than facing the strike head on, this time Castiel makes the decision to avoid the attack, ducking down low just before the man can deal a strike and then twisting around to snap his fingers. A burst of flame explodes right in front of the Black Blood user, sending him flying backwards and eventually crash onto the cobbled pavements.

Nice going there, Cas! Adam cheers out as Castiel gets up onto his feet and looks to the other man, watching the limp figure sprawled on the ground with smoke and dust rising up from him. The Meister takes a moment to recover his breath before he starts to move towards his opponent, needing to check and ensure that he had indeed managed to knock out the target. If he had, that would at least make things a lot easier.

He’s about ten steps away from the man’s side when he does move, abruptly jumping to his feet in one fluid motion and Castiel can see bits of Black Blood crystallized on his face; they must have hardened in order to prevent excessive bleeding from the damage he had received. The Meister quickly gets into stance again, ready to attack if the need arises; the man starts to get into stance too, but stops before he can assume his pose and scowls deeply. Castiel is confused by the expression for a moment before he hears shouting in the distance and turns around to see the reinforcements making their way over.

The Black Blood user growls from where he is and the sound causes Castiel to turn his head back-and when he does the man is already fleeing, jumping up to the rooftops and getting himself far away from the forces of Haven as possible. For a moment the Meister is tempted to give chase, but the battle has worn him out, and the continued resonance has already put a strain on both him as well as Adam. Pushing on in his current state would not be a good idea.

As the reinforcements hurry on to chase after the Black Blood user, Castiel removes the glove in his hand so that Adam can shift back into his human form. He glances around the battlefield to survey the damage that had been done during the fight. The battle had been somewhat short so damage should be minimal, but it didn’t hurt to be certain. He starts to move in order to survey the place better, but a few steps later he finds himself stepping on something under his shoe and picks it up.

“It’s a pendant,” Castiel says out loud, blinking as he studies the item-it’s not even an expensive looking one, just a strange horned thing hanging from a half-burned cord. The Meister supposes that this belongs to the Black Blood user; if that is the case, then it would be easy enough to track him down with Ellen’s abilities. Keeping that in mind, Castiel starts to pocket the item away but before he can do it, Adam is suddenly at his side and abruptly takes the charm away from him.

Confused, Castiel starts to open his mouth and ask what’s going on, but Adam answers the question before the Meister can ask it. “I think Dad has one just like this.”

There were the Deathscythes, and then there was The Deathscythe, and John Winchester happened to fall into the latter category (even though he was a gun and not a real scythe-very few Weapons were actual scythes these days). The Weapon partner of Haven’s current leader (Michael Morningstar), it was a fact that John was pretty much the top authority for anything that happened within the city. Castiel had only ever talked to him once, and it was an experience he had no desire to go through again so soon. But yet now here he was, standing in John Winchester’s office with both Gabriel and Adam (who was actually John’s son) and currently listening to what seems like an argument, all things considered.

“They can’t be alive,” John says, although somehow it feels like a lie even to Castiel’s ears. “He can’t be alive.”

Gabriel frowns. “But you said it yourself-there’s only two of these charms in the world; you have one, and this other one came from the Black Blood user. Raph just confirmed it for me.”

John bites down on his lower lip, squeezing his eyes shut and turns his head out towards the window. “After all this time… why now?”

“Who knows?” Gabriel returns. “Azazel always had a pretty sick sense of humor. He must think it’s fun to have you chase after your own dead kids.”

Castiel blinks at the last part, and as much as he knows it’s a bad idea he still can’t help but open his mouth to ask. “Dead kids?”

Adam is the one who answers the question. “I’m Dad’s third son,” he explains as quietly as he can, and the Meister widens his eyes at that revelation. “I had two brothers, but they were gone.” He pauses for a moment, giving John a brief glance before continuing. “They were the victims of that incident twenty-five years ago.”

Dean Winchester.

That’s the name of the Black Blood user-as well as the name of John Winchester’s eldest son who had been kidnapped by the Demons twenty-five years ago along with John’s second son Sam Winchester.

There wasn’t much about that incident that Castiel did know about-he hadn’t been living in Haven then, and even if he did there’s no way he can remember something that happen when he was only three years old; the earliest memory of himself that he could recall was when he was five. But he had consulted the library and read up on whatever he could lay his hands on once the incident had been brought up to him.

Twenty-five years ago was the first and last time the Demons had managed to infiltrate Haven; they had caused tons of collateral damage and injured many civilians, but more than that they had also kidnapped the sons of the then would-be Deathscythe. Even back then John Winchester was already a force to be reckoned with, especially with Mary Campbell as both his wife and Meister. But the Demons had attacked them in their house, and in the ensuing fight Mary had been killed; the house was also burned down and in the end both Sam and Dean Winchester were taken away from their home.

Castiel didn’t even want to start thinking on just how horrible John must have felt after that incident. Although in hindsight, now he could better understand the utter zeal and commitment that the reigning Deathscythe placed into his work. Haven’s defenses had been strengthened by a hundredfold ever since that incident, and now there was no way that a Demon would be able to easily infiltrate the place short of using Soul Protect; that was still the one method the Demons were far too well-versed at to counter against effectively.

A lot had changed in twenty-five years, and Castiel knew now that both Sam and Dean had long since been classified as dead under the official records, but if the Black Blood user truly was Dean Winchester… then maybe, just maybe-

“I want to join the search party for Dean Winchester,” he requests from Gabriel a few days later, and the words actually made the Deathscythe pause.

“This isn’t like the other missions, Cas,” he eventually says after a pause.

Castiel knows that fact very well, but it still wasn’t going to deter him. “I’ve fought against him head on. I know his movements better than anybody.” And the eyes-those eyes, he can’t take his mind off them at all, especially not when he actually knows who he’s going up against now. Something about those eyes call him, and Castiel doesn’t want to ignore a call like that.

Dean Winchester needs to be saved, and Castiel will not stop until he accomplishes this.

“Why haven’t you killed me yet?”

Dean Winchester looks up from the spot on the ground he had been staring at to face Castiel for the first time in many hours. It’s just the two of them, him and Dean, both of them trapped under dirt and rocks and rubble after having accidentally brought an entire church down when the Haven party had managed to track down and attack Dean. The resulting battle had caused the already shaky foundation to shatter entirely, and Castiel hadn’t managed to escape in time before the building collapsed around him. He had been more than prepared to die, but yet… Dean had saved him instead.

The man keeps his gaze on him for a few more moments before turning away, grunting quietly. “I only kill when I have to fight. You don’t even have a Weapon with you. It wouldn’t be right.”

It’s true-Castiel didn’t have a Weapon with him this time round, mainly because he was supposed to stay behind but had disobeyed Ellen’s orders and ran out here instead. It’s a decision that the Meister definitely regrets, but he keeps that to himself along with the surprise that Dean is actually talking to him. That’s something he certainly hadn’t expected to happen.

And because he wants to make sure, he asks, “You’re Dean, right? Dean Winchester?”

Dean visibly stiffens at the question, and Castiel can see a flicker of recognition flashing in those green eyes as the man scowls. “How do you know that name?” he snaps out, demanding.

In response Castiel takes out the charm he had picked up back in Minnesota, holding it up high enough for Dean to see. “You dropped this in our last meeting; your brother recognized it, and-”

“Don’t lie to me,” Dean cuts in without warning, eyes flashing once more. “Sam’s my only brother.”

“Your father remarried,” the Meister quickly explains. “You’ve got a half-brother-he was my partner when we fought last time.”

The man’s eyes widen at the explanation, and Dean looks like he actually crumples after having heard that. “Dad… remarried?” he asks in a voice that’s almost too quiet.

Castiel feels a pang of sympathy for the other. “He still loves you, Dean,” he says, “He’s never given up on finding both you and your brother.” Even after all these years, John had never given up on locating his lost family-and Castiel isn’t going to give up as well, now that Dean is right here before him.

Something in that response seems to elect something within Dean, because his face crumples even more then and he starts to speak without prompting. “I didn’t want this.”

Castiel blinks at that, confused. “What?”

“I never asked for this,” Dean glances up just enough to meet Castiel’s eyes, and this time the Meister sees through those eyes, right into the soul of Dean Winchester can sees for the first time just how bright and strong the man’s soul shines even within the darkness of Madness and Black Blood. It’s quite unlike anything else that he’s actually seen before, and the Meister remains transfixed on that sight even as Dean continues to speak. “They actually wanted Sammy to have this.”

“The Black Blood?” Castiel clarifies, drawing himself out from the sight of Dean’s strong soul as he mentally notes that Sam is also likewise alive, judging from the way Dean is speaking.

Dean nods in acknowledgment. “I didn’t want this but it happened, and Azazel… he’s using Sam as a hostage. If I don’t do what he says, then he’ll put the Black Blood inside Sam as well.” The man pauses at that, letting out a shaky breath as he closes his eyes. “I’m the first person who’s survived with the Black Blood inside me.”

Castiel recalls what Gabriel had said in the briefing about Black Blood and nods quietly. “You don’t want Sam to die.”

The man lets out a harsh bark of laughter that sounds better even to Castiel. “I don’t want him to even get close to this thing, period,” he says, glancing down at his hands. “You don’t know how hard it is to keep fighting against the insanity; it’s just so easy to lose yourself into it. And once you have a taste… you never stop hungering for it.” A mirthless smile crosses Dean’s face there and then. “But as long as Sam is safe, then it’s worth it.”

This is unfair, Castiel thinks as he looks at Dean in a new light; the figure of one who does not kill and maim, but one who actually fights against all odds for the one thing closest to him. This is a man who has gone through the fires of Hell-and is still going through it even as the flames claw at his soul, threatening to burn him out. Dean Winchester is possibly the most selfless, righteous man that Castiel has ever seen, and that just makes the shine of his soul that much stronger.

“Dean-” he starts, wanting to tell him not to give up, that Haven would find a way to free him and help him with this, but the place suddenly rumbles and Castiel can hear voices coming from the other side of the broken doors.

Dean snaps his head around to the direction of the voices. “Your comrades are here,” he states, pushing himself up onto his feet and turns back to look at Castiel, pausing as he stares at the Meister for a long while before speaking up again. “If you see him-see Dad-tell him that-”

The door bursts open before Dean can finish his words, and Castiel can see Ellen and the others already starting to come in. Dean lets out a snarl as light floods into the area, moving quickly as he darts out of the place, avoiding the gunshots and attacks that the rest send towards him. Ellen hurries towards Castiel while the others are occupied, kneeling down to study the bindings done around the Meister’s sprained ankle. “You alright there, Cas?” she asks.

Castiel looks down at the bindings and thinks about how gentle Dean’s hands had been when he took care of his ankle before he closes his eyes to recall the bright shine of the man’s soul. “I’m fine, Ellen. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Really, Cas? Him, of all people?”

“I’m positive,” Castiel replies as he tries to move his foot-the sprain’s pretty much healed by now, and the Meister is glad that nothing about Dean has popped up amongst the Deathscythes and the rest of Haven while he was stuck in recovery.

Balthazar sighs from his spot on the couch, lowering down the magazine in his hand. “Of all the possible Weapons available, you just had to pick the most difficult one to get, don’t you? And that’s not even counting the fact that he’s with the Demons right now.”

“I just know that it’s him,” the Meister insists. “You haven’t seen his soul yet, Balthazar-it’s unlike anything else I’ve ever encountered.”

“I don’t know if you’re being reckless, stupid or just plain suicidal,” the Weapon returns with a sigh. “Putting everything else about Dean Winchester aside, there’s still the problem with Black Blood. If you resonate with him, then the blood is going to infect you as well, Cas. You’re going to put yourself right up against Madness.”

And that was pretty much the main problem with the entire situation; Madness was the antithesis to everything the world and Haven stood up for. Madness, the opposite of order and stability, peace as well as certainty; Madness, the root for the soul devouring monsters and Demons who walked across the Earth; Madness, the reason why Lucifer Morningstar had turned against the first Deathscythes and nearly caused the destruction of Haven and the world itself once upon a time before his brother Michael managed to put a stop to his atrocities.

Still, all Castiel does is to put on a determined expression and nod seriously. “If he is to be my partner, than I will gladly bear the burden with him and help in anyway I can.” Isn't that what a partnership was supposed to be? Helping each other and supporting each other no matter what-Soul Resonance was not just about the harmony of souls and the power it gave to both Meister and Weapon; it was about trusting each other, allowing the other party to the most vulnerable part of yourself and accepting each other despite the other's flaws. Without that, the partnership would simply fall apart in time.

Balthazar rolls his eyes at the answer. “I should have figured it'd come to something like this,” he mutters in a resigned tone, and Castiel only has a moment to notice the lack of malice in his friend's voice before Adam pokes through the door and quickly spots Castiel.

“We've located Azazel's hideout,” is all that the younger Weapon needs to say for Castiel to take immediate action.

“You bastard! You promised me that you wouldn't touch Sam!”

Azazel glances from Sam Winchester to eye the figure Dean himself who's currently half-squatted on the ground, Black Blood spilling out from his various wounds without pause. Castiel kneels beside him, one hand placed on the man's shoulder to keep Dean in place as the Meister tries to get up on his feet after the vicious beating he had taken under the Demon's hands.

The Demon looks at Dean for a few moments more before putting on a smile that looks none too kind. “I don't make promises, Dean-o,” he says, releasing his hold on Sam and the younger Winchester drops to the ground in an unconscious heap. He proceeds to fully turn towards Dean and starts to move towards him, magic already starting to crackle between his fingertips. “I make deals.”

Dean growls in-between clenched teeth and tries to stand, but his injuries prevent him from moving much-not to mention the way his blood is still flowing rather than hardening like it should have been. Castiel recalls the spell that Azazel had said earlier when Dean pitted himself blindly against the Demon and surmises that Azazel must have done something to the blood; after all, the Black Blood is still Azazel's creation even though Dean had somehow managed to tune it for his own purposes instead.

Castiel doesn't know exactly what had happened between Dean and Azazel-he had infiltrated this place with Balthazar and the other forces of Haven, but the two of them had been separated when they were ambushed by the other Demons and since Balthazar was the one with the map Castiel had lost his way. He didn't know how or why it happened, but as he wandered he had felt the pull of Dean's soul to his own, and so Castiel had followed that call until he arrived here. Dean was already fighting against Azazel when he entered the fray, and when the man was taken out Castiel had tried to defend him-but a Meister without a proper Weapon was nothing more than a glorified meat shield, and in no time at all he, too, was beaten down by Azazel's unrelenting attacks. He just manages to get up onto his feet when the Demon stops before him, and Castiel winces when Azazel grips him tightly around his jaw and wrenches it up, raising his head so that their eyes could meet with each other.

“So this is the dog from Haven who you couldn't kill,” the Demon remarks almost casually if it wasn't for the tightening of fingers Castiel could feel against his jaw. “I must say, you have some poor choice in taste, Dean-o. He doesn't even have a Weapon. Although, I suppose this can also make things easier for me.” He raises Castiel's head a little more, looking at him properly in the eye as the Demon speaks in an all too amused tone that only sends a sick feeling in the Meister's gut. “How would you like to be my next project, Haven dog? If you care about Dean-o here so much, I would be glad to put you two together. A Meister and Weapon pair with Black Blood would be a perfect experiment.”

The Meister only glares back in response. “Go screw yourself, assbutt,” he snaps out in a flash of anger.

Azazel chuckles at the insult, yellow eyes glowing in brief amusement. “Been there, done that,” the Demon says, tightening his hold on Castiel long enough to throw him back down to the ground. Castiel lets out a grunt of pain as he crashes down to the floor, the impact leaving him dizzy and weak and unable to do anything as Dean crawls his way towards him and shakes him by his shoulder.

“You alright?” he asks, and somehow in that one moment everything suddenly just seems to click in Castiel's mind. It might have been the touch, or it could have been the flare of something other than the Madness that Dean is so desperately pushing back in his mind and soul. All he knows is the brightness of Dean's soul, strong and resilient and pure unlike anything else, and Castiel knows that he needs to reach for it. The Meister reaches up with one hand, fingers clutching tightly around the other's upper arm and he closes his eyes to concentrate, attempting to initiate the resonance bond with Dean. The man instantly feels what Castiel is attempting to do and quickly pulls his hand back, the lack of physical contact breaking the connection between them.

Dean stares at him in a moment of disbelief before asking the impending question. “What the hell?”

Castiel only frowns and attempts to reach for Dean once more. “Resonate with me, Dean-and we can save Sam,” he grits out between clenched teeth.

“No way,” the man instantly replies, shaking his head. “I'm not going to drag you down to this. Sam wouldn't want this.”

“You won't harm me,” Castiel says in return, and he means it. He knows that Dean won't cause him any harm-he trusts Dean, despite everything. Humans may lie for all they want, but one thing that can never lie is their souls. A soul reveals everything; a soul tells all, and Dean's soul tells him that the man will never harm Castiel.

Dean clenches his jaw, eyes flashing in irritation. “You know what's going to happen the moment you resonate with me, man. The Black Blood will infect you too.”

“You can teach me how to go against it,” he replies to that. “Teach me how to control it. We can bear this burden together. You don't need to suffer alone, Dean.”

“No,” Dean continues to insist, jaw tightening even further. “You don't need to do this.”

Castiel counters that argument with four words of his own. “You are worth it.”

He knows that Dean is worth it. He sees it in the other's soul.

The man bites down on his bottom lip for a long moment after those words, the expression on his face turning hard as he stares down at Castiel and tightens the hold he has on the Meister's shoulder. “You don't need to do this,” he whispers out, and he sounds so helpless and desperate in that moment that Castiel wants to do nothing else but help him because this is worth it. Helping Dean is worth it.

“I choose to,” the Meister says in return and proceeds to hold out his hand. Dean glances at the hand for a few beats before he reaches out and grabs it in his own, and the flare of power that Castiel feels at the moment of contact is unmistakable. It is resonance, but at the same time it is not-its unlike anything else he's ever experienced with the other Weapons he's worked with and right there and then, Castiel knows for sure that Dean Winchester is indeed his destined Weapon.

He feels the howl of Madness beginning to rush through his veins, granting him power from the darkest abyss of his mind as he feels the hum of Black Blood thrumming under his skin. He feels the thrall of Dean's soul next to his, the strength and purity of that soul harmonizing with his own as Castiel stands up, feeling the weight of Dean's Weapon form in his hand, fingers firm and certain around the hilt of the silver-black, medieval-like blade that is now his.

Castiel raises the sword to hold it before his face, staring at the stunned look that Azazel has now as he whispers out the magic words.

“Soul Resonance.”

There's blood and chaos and violence and insanity and madness madness madness, but Castiel doesn't care about that, not when his heart swells in delight over it. They sing along with him, dancing to the tune of his soul as he grins and darts forward, taking his opponent's attacks head on. This is power, power unlike anything else, and Castiel revels in it. Why fight against insanity so much when it actually feels this good? Castiel wants to live in this feeling forever.

The yellow eyed man tries to fight back from under him, the other's delighted surprise from earlier now turning into shock and something close to fear. Castiel vaguely remembers him saying something about things not going as planned and I can't control it, why can't I control it? But nothing matters, not when he has somebody to kill and he feels as if he's on the top of the world. He'll show the yellow-eyed man just who's the stronger one here, yes he will, and once he's done with that maybe he'll play with him for a while. He's always liked to play-or was that Dean? Maybe Dean liked to carve up his prey with the sword of his; Castiel can just imagine how pretty it must be, taking out his prey piece by piece...

Cas!

Castiel blinks at that, surprised enough that he stops in getting the yellow-eyed man from having his face peeled off. The voice is familiar, he realizes... but just where has he heard it from? Was that Dean's voice?

Cas, snap out of it!

It was Dean's voice, but he was saying strange things now. What did he need to snap out of? There was nothing for him to do something like that...

This isn't you, Cas, c'mon. Don't let the Madness control you.

Madness... but the Madness was singing with him, humming in his mind-body-soul and there's no reason for him to let go of it, not when it was giving him all of this power.

Cas, listen to me. Don't listen to the Madness. Listen to my voice.

Dean... yes, his soul. It shone so brightly, stronger than the Madness, better than anything else-even this.

Yeah, that's it. I'm right here, Cas.

Dean, he hears himself whisper back, and through the bond he feels Dean's relief breaking through, the warmth and strength of the other's soul coiling around his own.

I've got you.

As it turns out, there had been nothing to worry about at the end. Azazel had not managed to harm Sam Winchester in anyway, and as it turns out Castiel was one of the few who actually possessed the Anti-Madness Wavelength, thus making him impervious to extended infection via Black Blood.

“It's too bad that Azazel managed to escape when we were transporting him to Haven,” Balthazar sighs out once more as he idly flicks through the screen of his Android device. “Although I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.”

Castiel looks up from his iPhone at that to give his friend a small, encouraging smile. “We'll get him one day.”

The Weapon snorts quietly at that. “With the information that your partner has given to Michael, maybe things might just change.”

“I hope that will be the case,” the Meister returns just as his phone starts to ring. Castiel pointedly ignores his friend's exasperated eyeroll as he picks up the call. “Yes, Dean?”

“Uh, I'm done with the stuff with Dad and the other Deathscythes,” the man starts to speak. “So if you're free, I guess we can start looking for a place or something if you want.”

Balthazar raises an eyebrow at that. “Picking out the china patterns already, Cassie? My god.”

“You did the same thing with Rachel too,” Castiel points back out bluntly before returning to his conversation with Dean. “Of course I would be glad to, Dean. Shall we meet at the entrance of the institute?”

“Alright. See you in a bit.”

“Likewise,” the Meister returns before he hangs up the call to Balthazar's melodramatic sighing.

“If I had known you'd be so lovey-dovey with your partner, I would have considered twice about partnering with you back then,” the Weapon says. “Thank god Rachel popped up when she did.”

Castiel flushes slightly at the words. “It's only tradition for the Weapon and Meister to live with each other once they forge a partnership. It encourages harmony and understanding.”

“As if there wasn't enough of that going on between you two already,” Balthazar returns, rolling his eyes once more. “Honestly.”

“I'm just glad that Gabriel managed to persuade Michael to let this happen in the first place,” Castiel says, sagging ever so slightly. “He was quite intent on locking Dean up at first.”

“Well, Dean is still under observation,” Balthazar points out as he pockets his Android. “But since he's with you, I'm pretty sure things will work out fine.”

The Meister nods. “I certainly hope so.”

Balthazar grins. “We should celebrate properly once Dean's out of probation,” he starts, miming himself holding up a glass and half-hollers out. “To Cassie and Dean Winchester, Haven's newest partnership!”

Castiel shakes his head in exasperation, but he can't help but smile at that. It may be unorthodox, but Dean is his partner now-and the Meister will do whatever it takes to keep it that way.

Dean is worth it, after all.