Unexpected Destinies Chapter 21
Title: Unexpected Destinies
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 2,247
Summary: Castiel takes Dean with him to go find a weapon they can use against Lucifer.
PAST
Not knowing where they were going other then on a mission to find something they'd probably need to end the Apocalypse, Dean wasn't quite sure what weapons to take with him. Castiel hadn't told him much and had hung up before he could ask. He really needed to teach the damn angel some proper phone etiquette. Figuring that Cas would have told him if it would be very dangerous, he settled on his favorite pearl handled Colt and the knife he generally kept under his pillow. Well, that and he was now wearing the new belt he'd bought just last week, the one with the miniature knife worked into the buckle. The idea being that it would probably be missed if he were searched for weapons by anyone or anything. It had cost him, well Mr. Blackmore from Nebraska anyway, a small fortune, but he thought it was worth it, though somehow he wasn't so sure Blackmore would agree, but that wasn't his problem.
The flutter of wings announced Castiel's arrival, punctual as usual. Dean smiled as he turned to face him.
"Dean, are you ready to go?"
Apparently goodbyes weren't the only form of social niceties he needed to introduce his angel to. Stepping close, Dean leaned forwards for a quick kiss.
"Hello, Cas, it's good to see you."
Castiel's face instantly softened. "My apologies, I just-"
"I know, Cas, Go- Heaven, knows I understand how important all of this is, I'm just glad to see you, even if you suck at proper phone manners and frustrate me to no end with the lack of information you pass on at times."
He must have gotten his point across as he was rewarded with a kiss of his own.
"Regardless, it is good to see you. I am simply afraid to get distracted as it is so easy to forget what I must do when I am with you," Castiel stated.
Dean beamed at him, waggling his eyebrows a little at that admission. "I distract you, hmm?" he teased, wishing he had the time to test exactly how easily he could get the angel to forget why he was here, but all he had to do was think of both Lucifer and Michael free once more to sober him. "So, something that might help us to win this Apocalypse?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't we go after this before?"
"Because I didn't know where it was located then, now I do."
"And where is that?" Dean inquired as Castiel raised two fingers towards his forehead.
"The vaults of the Vatican."
"The vau- whoa, wait, Ita-"
The world swirled and faded around him and there was an odd dropping sensation in the pit of his stomach, a little like when a plane took off, and then the world shifted around him before it snapped back into focus.
"-ly?"
One look around and Dean didn't need Castiel to answer him as he knew they were no longer in Kansas. They were in a church, though it was probably a cathedral from the sheer size of it. That said, it was far bigger than any cathedral he'd ever been in before. The ceiling seemed miles above his head and the pews stretched out really far, making him think they could easily seat a couple thousand people, not to mention the fact that there appeared to be a dozen chapels leading off in all directions. He whirled around and there, behind him was the largest alter he'd ever seen and the most elaborately decked out one. The entire place was lavishly decorated with marble, carvings, sculptures and gilding. Between all of that and the paintings on the ceiling, even Dean knew where they were.
"The Basilica? You brought me to the freaking Basilica?" Dean demanded, incredulous.
His voice echoed in the cavernous building and he instantly hushed a little, Pastor Jim's lectures about proper church voices coming back to him. Although Dean had never been religious, he'd respected Jim as a good hunter and someone willing to help them and look after Sammy when needed, so he'd taken his lessons to heart. He felt a brief pang of regret that the man wasn't alive to meet Cas, he would have loved it.
"Yes, Dean," Castiel said and that's when Dean realized just how closely the angel was watching him.
"You've been here before," Dean realized.
"Yes, it was one of the first places I came to look for my Father when I started my search."
Dean started to ask why they were here then as this wasn't the vaults but then figured that this was his friend's way of sharing something with him. It so wasn't his type of thing, but even he could see the honor of being brought to what was probably the grandest of all of God's houses on Earth. He and God might have their differences and he would have a few things to say to Him if they ever met, but he was more than aware that he owed Him a thing or two for having resurrected Cas not once but twice and that was what stilled his tongue now.
"Do you dislike heights?" Castiel asked.
"Huh?"
"Your dislike of flying, does that stem from a dislike of heights?"
"No."
Even as he replied, Castiel was reaching for his forehead again and Dean braced himself for another trip via Angel Air. When the world came into focus again, his mouth dropped open in awe at the panorama before him. He could understand Castiel's question now as they were very high up overlooking what he assumed was Rome. A glance down confirmed his suspicions that they were near the top of the Basilica on a walkway with a railing. Not quite knowing what to say, he followed the walkway until they'd done a complete tour.
"Cas, this is..."
"A wonderful monument to my Father's glory and something I thought you might enjoy as well."
"Yeah."
Sammy would kill to be here now and Dean couldn't help but feel a small fission of satisfaction at that. If his brother hadn't been such a dick, then he'd be here now too and would be able to enjoy it himself.
Finally having seen his fill and knowing that there was work to do and something which could help them with the Apocalypse at that, he pulled his attention away from the view. "So, the Vatican vaults?"
"Yes, I have been told the Jewel of Abel is located there."
"The Jewel of Abel? What's that?"
"It's a weapon that can be used to greatly weaken an angel and that can help deflect their power when turned on the wielder."
"And you guys left it on Earth?" Dean demanded, incredulous.
"As I said before, its location has been a mystery for a very long time and before that we saw no harm in it being here as it had been millennia since an angel last walked the Earth."
"Except for Gabriel."
Castiel looked pained at the mention of his brother. "We thought he'd been killed by demons."
Fucking bastard, Dean thought. It was one thing to run away and abandon your family, but it was a completely different thing to make them think you were dead in order to do so. Yes, the archangel had come through for them in the end, but he was still a colossal dick.
"In addition, it might be a good idea to see what else they have that might be of use to us," Castiel continued.
"Okay, let's go."
Surprisingly, Dean found that he was starting to adjust to the feel of being transported by Cas, well, at least now that he was an archangel and could properly compensate for bodily functions. This time he found himself in a dimly lit corridor lined with that looked like massive display cases on either side. Some of them seemed to host artifacts of various sorts while others were small rooms containing rows of bookshelves filled with ancient and modern tomes. In addition to the light levels being dim, the air tasted strange, dull almost and he wondered if it was specially filtered. He could vaguely recall Bobby talking about ancient books needing to be kept in carefully controlled environments.
"I don't suppose you know where to find this Jewel of Abel, do you, Cas? 'Cause it looks a bit like a maze down here."
He could see various corridors leading off of the one they were in and that seemed to stretch on for quite a while, the end vanishing in the dimness. The whole place put Dean on edge. It was far too artificial not to mention the fact that he doubted people were just allowed to waltz in here at will and he didn't have the first clue what kind of security they had here, but he'd bet it was top of the line.
"Now that we're here, I can sense it," Castiel replied. "This way."
Dean trailed after the angel, looking about as they went. He was glad they didn't need to worry about finding their way back in order to get out as he was quickly lost after the first few sets of turns. He was used to having natural landmarks with which to navigate by and there was a joke in there somewhere that it was in a religious building he found things too artificial for him.
"Here we are," Castiel announced as the came to a stop before a case that looked no different from any of the others to Dean.
"What's this thing look like anyway?"
"It appears to be a ring bracelet combination."
"Huh. So, you going to zap us in?"
"It would be better if you wait here as the moisture in your breath will raise the overall moisture content in the room and trigger an alarm."
"Oh, okay."
The next instant Castiel stood inside the room and headed unerringly towards the back of it, vanishing from sight behind a bookshelf. Dean frowned, not entirely sure why he'd been brought along though he wasn't complaining, he'd seen some fantastic things, but surely that hadn't been the purpose of his presence, had it? He hadn't quite pictured the angel as a romantic, but this side of him was as new to Cas as it was to him, so he supposed anything was possible.
A slight shuffling sound instantly had Dean on alert and he pulled his gun from the back of his jeans. The design of the corridors left no real room for concealment and he pressed himself against the door to the display room Castiel had vanished into, wishing he had some way of contacting the angel. Although he was more than capable of defending himself, he was in the damned Vatican of all places, chances were that he was up against a perfectly normal human being instead of some supernatural creature. He really, really didn't want to have to hurt an innocent, religious fanatic or not.
His hope that the person wasn't coming his way was dashed when a figure round the corner a little way down the corridor and headed towards him. If he weren't trying to hide, Dean would have cursed. Where the hell was Castiel? As the person drew closer, he thought briefly that it was a woman before he realized that it was a guy dressed in a dress, at least that's what it looked like to him. He supposed it was probably some specialized church thing, but it looked like a freaking dress to him. It was dark, probably black though there wasn't enough light to really tell, and swished softly as the guy came towards him. What really captured his attention, though, was the stiff white collar at his neck.
Great, a freaking priest, it must be his lucky day. Dean was just hoping that perhaps the man would simply pass him by when the priest stopped, glancing his way.
"Chi è là?"
Fuck, of course, the dude was Italian. Now what?
Since it was pretty clear that he'd been spotted, Dean put his Colt away before stepping forwards, out of the shadows. His appearance clearly startled the guy and he could easily understand why. He'd dressed as normal, not realizing they were going on a trans-Atlantic fieldtrip, not that it would have made a difference anyway, he didn't let things like that affect his dress code. Still, he looked distinctly out of place here.
"Chi siete voi?" the priest demanded. "Che cosa state facendo qui? Come siete entrato qui dentro?"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down pal," Dean replied, gesturing with his hands in what he hoped like hell was the universal slow down sign.
"You American?"
The priest's accent was incredibly heavy and he seemed hesitant about the words, as if not quite sure that he had the right ones, but he was still understandable despite all that.
"Yeah, I'm American," Dean confirmed.
"What you doing here?"
"Uh."
Somehow Dean didn't think saying 'I'm on a mission with a newly promoted archangel in order to help stop the Apocalypse from restarting' would go over very well.
"How you get in?"
"Um."
That, of course, was the exact moment that Castiel suddenly reappeared at Dean's side.
Translations:
Chi è là? - Who is there?
Chi siete voi? - Who are you?
Che cosa state facendo qui? - What are you doing here?
Come siete entrato qui dentro? - How did you get in here?
A.N.: I don't speak Italian and used an online translator, so the Italian could be full of mistakes. If it is, feel free to let me know what it should be and I'll update it accordingly. Many thanks to both asherahseren & arial86 for correcting the Italian!
Chapter 22
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 2,247
Summary: Castiel takes Dean with him to go find a weapon they can use against Lucifer.
PAST
Not knowing where they were going other then on a mission to find something they'd probably need to end the Apocalypse, Dean wasn't quite sure what weapons to take with him. Castiel hadn't told him much and had hung up before he could ask. He really needed to teach the damn angel some proper phone etiquette. Figuring that Cas would have told him if it would be very dangerous, he settled on his favorite pearl handled Colt and the knife he generally kept under his pillow. Well, that and he was now wearing the new belt he'd bought just last week, the one with the miniature knife worked into the buckle. The idea being that it would probably be missed if he were searched for weapons by anyone or anything. It had cost him, well Mr. Blackmore from Nebraska anyway, a small fortune, but he thought it was worth it, though somehow he wasn't so sure Blackmore would agree, but that wasn't his problem.
The flutter of wings announced Castiel's arrival, punctual as usual. Dean smiled as he turned to face him.
"Dean, are you ready to go?"
Apparently goodbyes weren't the only form of social niceties he needed to introduce his angel to. Stepping close, Dean leaned forwards for a quick kiss.
"Hello, Cas, it's good to see you."
Castiel's face instantly softened. "My apologies, I just-"
"I know, Cas, Go- Heaven, knows I understand how important all of this is, I'm just glad to see you, even if you suck at proper phone manners and frustrate me to no end with the lack of information you pass on at times."
He must have gotten his point across as he was rewarded with a kiss of his own.
"Regardless, it is good to see you. I am simply afraid to get distracted as it is so easy to forget what I must do when I am with you," Castiel stated.
Dean beamed at him, waggling his eyebrows a little at that admission. "I distract you, hmm?" he teased, wishing he had the time to test exactly how easily he could get the angel to forget why he was here, but all he had to do was think of both Lucifer and Michael free once more to sober him. "So, something that might help us to win this Apocalypse?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't we go after this before?"
"Because I didn't know where it was located then, now I do."
"And where is that?" Dean inquired as Castiel raised two fingers towards his forehead.
"The vaults of the Vatican."
"The vau- whoa, wait, Ita-"
The world swirled and faded around him and there was an odd dropping sensation in the pit of his stomach, a little like when a plane took off, and then the world shifted around him before it snapped back into focus.
"-ly?"
One look around and Dean didn't need Castiel to answer him as he knew they were no longer in Kansas. They were in a church, though it was probably a cathedral from the sheer size of it. That said, it was far bigger than any cathedral he'd ever been in before. The ceiling seemed miles above his head and the pews stretched out really far, making him think they could easily seat a couple thousand people, not to mention the fact that there appeared to be a dozen chapels leading off in all directions. He whirled around and there, behind him was the largest alter he'd ever seen and the most elaborately decked out one. The entire place was lavishly decorated with marble, carvings, sculptures and gilding. Between all of that and the paintings on the ceiling, even Dean knew where they were.
"The Basilica? You brought me to the freaking Basilica?" Dean demanded, incredulous.
His voice echoed in the cavernous building and he instantly hushed a little, Pastor Jim's lectures about proper church voices coming back to him. Although Dean had never been religious, he'd respected Jim as a good hunter and someone willing to help them and look after Sammy when needed, so he'd taken his lessons to heart. He felt a brief pang of regret that the man wasn't alive to meet Cas, he would have loved it.
"Yes, Dean," Castiel said and that's when Dean realized just how closely the angel was watching him.
"You've been here before," Dean realized.
"Yes, it was one of the first places I came to look for my Father when I started my search."
Dean started to ask why they were here then as this wasn't the vaults but then figured that this was his friend's way of sharing something with him. It so wasn't his type of thing, but even he could see the honor of being brought to what was probably the grandest of all of God's houses on Earth. He and God might have their differences and he would have a few things to say to Him if they ever met, but he was more than aware that he owed Him a thing or two for having resurrected Cas not once but twice and that was what stilled his tongue now.
"Do you dislike heights?" Castiel asked.
"Huh?"
"Your dislike of flying, does that stem from a dislike of heights?"
"No."
Even as he replied, Castiel was reaching for his forehead again and Dean braced himself for another trip via Angel Air. When the world came into focus again, his mouth dropped open in awe at the panorama before him. He could understand Castiel's question now as they were very high up overlooking what he assumed was Rome. A glance down confirmed his suspicions that they were near the top of the Basilica on a walkway with a railing. Not quite knowing what to say, he followed the walkway until they'd done a complete tour.
"Cas, this is..."
"A wonderful monument to my Father's glory and something I thought you might enjoy as well."
"Yeah."
Sammy would kill to be here now and Dean couldn't help but feel a small fission of satisfaction at that. If his brother hadn't been such a dick, then he'd be here now too and would be able to enjoy it himself.
Finally having seen his fill and knowing that there was work to do and something which could help them with the Apocalypse at that, he pulled his attention away from the view. "So, the Vatican vaults?"
"Yes, I have been told the Jewel of Abel is located there."
"The Jewel of Abel? What's that?"
"It's a weapon that can be used to greatly weaken an angel and that can help deflect their power when turned on the wielder."
"And you guys left it on Earth?" Dean demanded, incredulous.
"As I said before, its location has been a mystery for a very long time and before that we saw no harm in it being here as it had been millennia since an angel last walked the Earth."
"Except for Gabriel."
Castiel looked pained at the mention of his brother. "We thought he'd been killed by demons."
Fucking bastard, Dean thought. It was one thing to run away and abandon your family, but it was a completely different thing to make them think you were dead in order to do so. Yes, the archangel had come through for them in the end, but he was still a colossal dick.
"In addition, it might be a good idea to see what else they have that might be of use to us," Castiel continued.
"Okay, let's go."
Surprisingly, Dean found that he was starting to adjust to the feel of being transported by Cas, well, at least now that he was an archangel and could properly compensate for bodily functions. This time he found himself in a dimly lit corridor lined with that looked like massive display cases on either side. Some of them seemed to host artifacts of various sorts while others were small rooms containing rows of bookshelves filled with ancient and modern tomes. In addition to the light levels being dim, the air tasted strange, dull almost and he wondered if it was specially filtered. He could vaguely recall Bobby talking about ancient books needing to be kept in carefully controlled environments.
"I don't suppose you know where to find this Jewel of Abel, do you, Cas? 'Cause it looks a bit like a maze down here."
He could see various corridors leading off of the one they were in and that seemed to stretch on for quite a while, the end vanishing in the dimness. The whole place put Dean on edge. It was far too artificial not to mention the fact that he doubted people were just allowed to waltz in here at will and he didn't have the first clue what kind of security they had here, but he'd bet it was top of the line.
"Now that we're here, I can sense it," Castiel replied. "This way."
Dean trailed after the angel, looking about as they went. He was glad they didn't need to worry about finding their way back in order to get out as he was quickly lost after the first few sets of turns. He was used to having natural landmarks with which to navigate by and there was a joke in there somewhere that it was in a religious building he found things too artificial for him.
"Here we are," Castiel announced as the came to a stop before a case that looked no different from any of the others to Dean.
"What's this thing look like anyway?"
"It appears to be a ring bracelet combination."
"Huh. So, you going to zap us in?"
"It would be better if you wait here as the moisture in your breath will raise the overall moisture content in the room and trigger an alarm."
"Oh, okay."
The next instant Castiel stood inside the room and headed unerringly towards the back of it, vanishing from sight behind a bookshelf. Dean frowned, not entirely sure why he'd been brought along though he wasn't complaining, he'd seen some fantastic things, but surely that hadn't been the purpose of his presence, had it? He hadn't quite pictured the angel as a romantic, but this side of him was as new to Cas as it was to him, so he supposed anything was possible.
A slight shuffling sound instantly had Dean on alert and he pulled his gun from the back of his jeans. The design of the corridors left no real room for concealment and he pressed himself against the door to the display room Castiel had vanished into, wishing he had some way of contacting the angel. Although he was more than capable of defending himself, he was in the damned Vatican of all places, chances were that he was up against a perfectly normal human being instead of some supernatural creature. He really, really didn't want to have to hurt an innocent, religious fanatic or not.
His hope that the person wasn't coming his way was dashed when a figure round the corner a little way down the corridor and headed towards him. If he weren't trying to hide, Dean would have cursed. Where the hell was Castiel? As the person drew closer, he thought briefly that it was a woman before he realized that it was a guy dressed in a dress, at least that's what it looked like to him. He supposed it was probably some specialized church thing, but it looked like a freaking dress to him. It was dark, probably black though there wasn't enough light to really tell, and swished softly as the guy came towards him. What really captured his attention, though, was the stiff white collar at his neck.
Great, a freaking priest, it must be his lucky day. Dean was just hoping that perhaps the man would simply pass him by when the priest stopped, glancing his way.
"Chi è là?"
Fuck, of course, the dude was Italian. Now what?
Since it was pretty clear that he'd been spotted, Dean put his Colt away before stepping forwards, out of the shadows. His appearance clearly startled the guy and he could easily understand why. He'd dressed as normal, not realizing they were going on a trans-Atlantic fieldtrip, not that it would have made a difference anyway, he didn't let things like that affect his dress code. Still, he looked distinctly out of place here.
"Chi siete voi?" the priest demanded. "Che cosa state facendo qui? Come siete entrato qui dentro?"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down pal," Dean replied, gesturing with his hands in what he hoped like hell was the universal slow down sign.
"You American?"
The priest's accent was incredibly heavy and he seemed hesitant about the words, as if not quite sure that he had the right ones, but he was still understandable despite all that.
"Yeah, I'm American," Dean confirmed.
"What you doing here?"
"Uh."
Somehow Dean didn't think saying 'I'm on a mission with a newly promoted archangel in order to help stop the Apocalypse from restarting' would go over very well.
"How you get in?"
"Um."
That, of course, was the exact moment that Castiel suddenly reappeared at Dean's side.
Translations:
Chi è là? - Who is there?
Chi siete voi? - Who are you?
Che cosa state facendo qui? - What are you doing here?
Come siete entrato qui dentro? - How did you get in here?
A.N.: I don't speak Italian and used an online translator, so the Italian could be full of mistakes. If it is, feel free to let me know what it should be and I'll update it accordingly. Many thanks to both asherahseren & arial86 for correcting the Italian!
Chapter 22