Fic: The Shattered One (6/?)
See the masterpost for disclaimer, summary, and previous parts.
Not surprisingly, the Winchesters didn’t get much opportunity to help Bobby research a way to steal an archangel’s blade. One of Bobby’s contacts called in with a report of a plague of locusts in Kansas… only instead of crops, this plague was stripping the flesh from people’s bones right where they stood in the streets. It definitely had the work of the Devil written all over it. Sam and Dean threw their stuff in the car and prepared to head out within an hour of hearing the news. Bobby promised to stay on top of the archangel blade business.
While the boys were piling into the Impala, Dean turned to Castiel. The angel had been watching it all with an irksome lack of immediacy. Of course, the rush to get someplace was probably pointless to a being that could transport there in the blink of an eye.
“You going to meet us there?” Dean asked.
Castiel hesitated only a half-second. “No… while I abhor the lives being lost to this latest tactic of Lucifer’s… there is something far more urgent I must do.”
Dean scowled, looked on the verge of a lecture, then pinched his lips and said nothing even resembling a lecture. “Fine. We’ll check in later.” Before the angel could vanish, Dean quickly added, “Keep it continental!”
Without responding, Castiel took wing and disappeared.
**********************
Bearing in mind his older brother’s volatile temper and penchant for pranks against humans, Castiel chose to summon him while standing in the middle of Death Valley. The nearest human being was a comforting several miles away, so at least they would be safe.
That didn’t mean that Castiel was.
“Gabriel… Gabriel, it is Castiel. I would speak with you.” Castiel sent up the appeal to the skies, the layers of the earth, traveling out and seeking the archangel’s attention. There was no guarantee he would come. Archangels could be summoned, but not coerced. They appeared when they chose, if they chose to at all.
Part of Castiel (the part that remembered the harsh treatment suffered at the hands of his brother) hoped Gabriel did not answer.
That hope was dashed mere seconds later by the sound of ethereal wings beating against the fabric of the universe.
“Hey, bro.”
Castiel steeled himself and turned to face Gabriel.
The second Castiel had come about, Gabriel’s eyes widened and his eyes raked over Castiel invasively. The sensation of violation was not so very different from the way Lucifer had looked and seen. Castiel could almost feel the archangel’s gaze settle like fire on the shattered one so tightly tucked against his own grace.
Gabriel whistled. “You’re screwed, Castiel.”
“Thank you for that astute observation,” Castiel retorted tersely.
Gabriel chuckled. “You know, most of the time humans are a terrible influence, but you’ve gotten a pretty decent sense of humor hanging out with them.”
“Less twisted than yours.”
Gabriel shrugged. “Eh… I appreciate the sense of the absurd, what can I say? And it’s not like the jackholes I toy with don’t deserve it.” Gabriel stuffed his hands in his pockets and began to stroll a lazy perimeter around Castiel. The predatory behavior was not lost on Castiel.
“Gotta say, after our last meeting, I didn’t think you’d be calling me down for a chat.” Gabriel’s look turned serious in a millisecond. “I hope you don’t expect me to help you with that.” He gestured fleetingly at the shattered one.
If there had been any tiny, miniscule hope that Gabriel might save him, that was snuffed out immediately by the revulsion written plainly on Gabriel’s face. Castiel was dejected, but not surprised. “I have accepted that I am going to die.”
“Hmmm… how existential of you. Do your pet humans know?”
Castiel glowered. “They are not my pets.”
“Hey,” Gabriel held up a hand, “I’m not judging… far as pets go, humans are a lot more cuddly than a goldfish.” Gabriel smirked lasciviously. “The women are especially entertaining…” Then Gabriel cocked his head curiously at Castiel. “Or maybe you’re into the men. Which, hey, whatever ruffles your feathers, right, kiddo?”
“Gabriel…”
“And given how little time you have left, you should go all out, Castiel. Experience decadence and iniquity to the fullest while you still can. Defile your favorite human in ways even our Father never imagined… you’d do me proud.”
“Gabriel… I didn’t summon you for advice on sexual debauchery.”
“Oh… well, shame… I’m a wealth of knowledge. So… why did you summon me?”
“I came to ask for your blade.”
The humor in Gabriel’s expression vanished in an instant. He stopped strolling and stood stock-still, regarding Castiel intently. Then something very nearly like compassion edged into his eyes. He approached Castiel. When his hand came up, Castiel flinched back, but in the next moment Gabriel’s hand was clasped around the back of Castiel’s neck, and no amount of wriggling on Castiel’s part could break the archangel’s hold. Though from the kind look in Gabriel’s eyes, Castiel suspected the touch was meant to be gentle and reassuring. Castiel could never decide if archangels just didn’t know their own strength or if they reveled in abusing it. Father’s first and strongest had ego issues galore.
“Castiel, I… you keep surprising me. I didn’t think you’d ask for that. But… I respect what you’re asking me to do. Really. If it were me, I’d rather it be quick and painless, too. Because dying in agony like that, suffering…”
Castiel realized what Gabriel thought he was requesting. He pushed at Gabriel’s chest (which achieved nothing, but got Gabriel’s attention). “I’m not asking you to kill me, Gabriel.”
The archangel looked confused. “Then what was all that about wanting my blade?”
“Just what I said… I want you to give me your blade.”
Gabriel’s hand fell away. “You’re joking, right?”
“No, I’m not.”
That did it. Gabriel laughed. “Is this some weird way to commit angel suicide? You know you couldn’t actually use my sword. Starting some kind of badass untouchable weapons collection or something?”
“I mean to use it to destroy Lucifer.”
Gabriel’s laughter died abruptly. He frowned at Castiel. “You’re serious.”
“I am.”
“You actually think you could get close enough to him to use it before it turned you into a squashed mosquito?”
“I’m willing to try… as you might say, I have nothing to lose.”
Gabriel’s eyes flickered down to the shattered one, so far along and crowding Castiel’s grace. “At least you’re right about that much.”
“So will you give it to me?”
Gabriel’s eyes met Castiel’s again and they turned hard. Bitter. He stepped back. “No.”
“What does it matter to you if I kill Lucifer? I thought you ‘wanted it to be over’,” Castiel countered.
“Because I refuse to have anything to do with it. I won’t kill my brother. They want to duke it out, fine, but I won’t raise my weapon against my own. I want no part of their fight. Why do you think I left?”
Both of them knew that the sins of the blade were the sins of the angel who owned it, regardless of the one holding it when it was used. Murdering Lucifer with Gabriel’s sword would always be remembered as Gabriel murdering Lucifer.
“You were going to kill me,” Castiel pointed out.
“Out of mercy. And I still will, if you want me to. I hate to think of what you’re going to go through when that thing tries to separate.”
“You’ll kill me, but you won’t help me?” Castiel asked snidely. Perhaps Gabriel was right… he was spending too much time with his humans.
“Last thing the universe needs is more of us,” Gabriel responded with a shrug. “Look at the mess the angels have made already. Nope, you won’t see me adding fuel to the angel fire.”
And in that, at least, Castiel could not blame him.
“Very well,” Castiel said grimly, “then I will find a way to destroy Lucifer without your help.”
“Yeah,” Gabriel snorted, “good luck with that.” Then Gabriel’s expression softened slightly and he canted his head as he regarded his brother. “Goodbye, Castiel.”
It was said as a final farewell. And it likely was. Even if Castiel survived a confrontation with Lucifer, the shattered one would still kill him before the two would probably ever see each other again.
Gabriel had never been Castiel’s favorite, but right now he was the only angel that would deign to speak with him. He was the only member of his family that didn’t want to kill him on sight. For that small mercy, Castiel was grateful. “Goodbye, Gabriel.”
And then Castiel was standing alone in the middle of the desert. The American desert, since Dean had been so adamant about Castiel staying within the continental United States. The thought made Castiel smile sadly to himself.
Even if his brothers no longer cared about him, there were two humans that did.
Next
Not surprisingly, the Winchesters didn’t get much opportunity to help Bobby research a way to steal an archangel’s blade. One of Bobby’s contacts called in with a report of a plague of locusts in Kansas… only instead of crops, this plague was stripping the flesh from people’s bones right where they stood in the streets. It definitely had the work of the Devil written all over it. Sam and Dean threw their stuff in the car and prepared to head out within an hour of hearing the news. Bobby promised to stay on top of the archangel blade business.
While the boys were piling into the Impala, Dean turned to Castiel. The angel had been watching it all with an irksome lack of immediacy. Of course, the rush to get someplace was probably pointless to a being that could transport there in the blink of an eye.
“You going to meet us there?” Dean asked.
Castiel hesitated only a half-second. “No… while I abhor the lives being lost to this latest tactic of Lucifer’s… there is something far more urgent I must do.”
Dean scowled, looked on the verge of a lecture, then pinched his lips and said nothing even resembling a lecture. “Fine. We’ll check in later.” Before the angel could vanish, Dean quickly added, “Keep it continental!”
Without responding, Castiel took wing and disappeared.
**********************
Bearing in mind his older brother’s volatile temper and penchant for pranks against humans, Castiel chose to summon him while standing in the middle of Death Valley. The nearest human being was a comforting several miles away, so at least they would be safe.
That didn’t mean that Castiel was.
“Gabriel… Gabriel, it is Castiel. I would speak with you.” Castiel sent up the appeal to the skies, the layers of the earth, traveling out and seeking the archangel’s attention. There was no guarantee he would come. Archangels could be summoned, but not coerced. They appeared when they chose, if they chose to at all.
Part of Castiel (the part that remembered the harsh treatment suffered at the hands of his brother) hoped Gabriel did not answer.
That hope was dashed mere seconds later by the sound of ethereal wings beating against the fabric of the universe.
“Hey, bro.”
Castiel steeled himself and turned to face Gabriel.
The second Castiel had come about, Gabriel’s eyes widened and his eyes raked over Castiel invasively. The sensation of violation was not so very different from the way Lucifer had looked and seen. Castiel could almost feel the archangel’s gaze settle like fire on the shattered one so tightly tucked against his own grace.
Gabriel whistled. “You’re screwed, Castiel.”
“Thank you for that astute observation,” Castiel retorted tersely.
Gabriel chuckled. “You know, most of the time humans are a terrible influence, but you’ve gotten a pretty decent sense of humor hanging out with them.”
“Less twisted than yours.”
Gabriel shrugged. “Eh… I appreciate the sense of the absurd, what can I say? And it’s not like the jackholes I toy with don’t deserve it.” Gabriel stuffed his hands in his pockets and began to stroll a lazy perimeter around Castiel. The predatory behavior was not lost on Castiel.
“Gotta say, after our last meeting, I didn’t think you’d be calling me down for a chat.” Gabriel’s look turned serious in a millisecond. “I hope you don’t expect me to help you with that.” He gestured fleetingly at the shattered one.
If there had been any tiny, miniscule hope that Gabriel might save him, that was snuffed out immediately by the revulsion written plainly on Gabriel’s face. Castiel was dejected, but not surprised. “I have accepted that I am going to die.”
“Hmmm… how existential of you. Do your pet humans know?”
Castiel glowered. “They are not my pets.”
“Hey,” Gabriel held up a hand, “I’m not judging… far as pets go, humans are a lot more cuddly than a goldfish.” Gabriel smirked lasciviously. “The women are especially entertaining…” Then Gabriel cocked his head curiously at Castiel. “Or maybe you’re into the men. Which, hey, whatever ruffles your feathers, right, kiddo?”
“Gabriel…”
“And given how little time you have left, you should go all out, Castiel. Experience decadence and iniquity to the fullest while you still can. Defile your favorite human in ways even our Father never imagined… you’d do me proud.”
“Gabriel… I didn’t summon you for advice on sexual debauchery.”
“Oh… well, shame… I’m a wealth of knowledge. So… why did you summon me?”
“I came to ask for your blade.”
The humor in Gabriel’s expression vanished in an instant. He stopped strolling and stood stock-still, regarding Castiel intently. Then something very nearly like compassion edged into his eyes. He approached Castiel. When his hand came up, Castiel flinched back, but in the next moment Gabriel’s hand was clasped around the back of Castiel’s neck, and no amount of wriggling on Castiel’s part could break the archangel’s hold. Though from the kind look in Gabriel’s eyes, Castiel suspected the touch was meant to be gentle and reassuring. Castiel could never decide if archangels just didn’t know their own strength or if they reveled in abusing it. Father’s first and strongest had ego issues galore.
“Castiel, I… you keep surprising me. I didn’t think you’d ask for that. But… I respect what you’re asking me to do. Really. If it were me, I’d rather it be quick and painless, too. Because dying in agony like that, suffering…”
Castiel realized what Gabriel thought he was requesting. He pushed at Gabriel’s chest (which achieved nothing, but got Gabriel’s attention). “I’m not asking you to kill me, Gabriel.”
The archangel looked confused. “Then what was all that about wanting my blade?”
“Just what I said… I want you to give me your blade.”
Gabriel’s hand fell away. “You’re joking, right?”
“No, I’m not.”
That did it. Gabriel laughed. “Is this some weird way to commit angel suicide? You know you couldn’t actually use my sword. Starting some kind of badass untouchable weapons collection or something?”
“I mean to use it to destroy Lucifer.”
Gabriel’s laughter died abruptly. He frowned at Castiel. “You’re serious.”
“I am.”
“You actually think you could get close enough to him to use it before it turned you into a squashed mosquito?”
“I’m willing to try… as you might say, I have nothing to lose.”
Gabriel’s eyes flickered down to the shattered one, so far along and crowding Castiel’s grace. “At least you’re right about that much.”
“So will you give it to me?”
Gabriel’s eyes met Castiel’s again and they turned hard. Bitter. He stepped back. “No.”
“What does it matter to you if I kill Lucifer? I thought you ‘wanted it to be over’,” Castiel countered.
“Because I refuse to have anything to do with it. I won’t kill my brother. They want to duke it out, fine, but I won’t raise my weapon against my own. I want no part of their fight. Why do you think I left?”
Both of them knew that the sins of the blade were the sins of the angel who owned it, regardless of the one holding it when it was used. Murdering Lucifer with Gabriel’s sword would always be remembered as Gabriel murdering Lucifer.
“You were going to kill me,” Castiel pointed out.
“Out of mercy. And I still will, if you want me to. I hate to think of what you’re going to go through when that thing tries to separate.”
“You’ll kill me, but you won’t help me?” Castiel asked snidely. Perhaps Gabriel was right… he was spending too much time with his humans.
“Last thing the universe needs is more of us,” Gabriel responded with a shrug. “Look at the mess the angels have made already. Nope, you won’t see me adding fuel to the angel fire.”
And in that, at least, Castiel could not blame him.
“Very well,” Castiel said grimly, “then I will find a way to destroy Lucifer without your help.”
“Yeah,” Gabriel snorted, “good luck with that.” Then Gabriel’s expression softened slightly and he canted his head as he regarded his brother. “Goodbye, Castiel.”
It was said as a final farewell. And it likely was. Even if Castiel survived a confrontation with Lucifer, the shattered one would still kill him before the two would probably ever see each other again.
Gabriel had never been Castiel’s favorite, but right now he was the only angel that would deign to speak with him. He was the only member of his family that didn’t want to kill him on sight. For that small mercy, Castiel was grateful. “Goodbye, Gabriel.”
And then Castiel was standing alone in the middle of the desert. The American desert, since Dean had been so adamant about Castiel staying within the continental United States. The thought made Castiel smile sadly to himself.
Even if his brothers no longer cared about him, there were two humans that did.
Next