Fallen Angels

Caribou, Wyoming

A bus of glee club girls are driving along this road and pull up to a biker bar, getting out and going inside.

"You shouldn't be here."

"We have just as much right to be here as you do, brother."

And then a fight breaks out, everyone turning out to be angels. All the men are killed and the women walk out and get back onto the bus.

"Alright girls, everybody." The driver says before they start to sing again.

With us however, it's nightfall and we're driving along the road. Dean was talking to Ezekiel about Sam, and I decided to take advantage of the time and get some rest.

"So, he's better?"

"Yes. Sam is much improved. It shouldn't be much longer now."

"Okay, you know you said the same thing to me last week, right?"

"As I told you when we met, this will take time."

"Okay, well go then. Heal. I'd like my brother back please."

"I must say Dean, I'm very uncomfortable with this whole trip. Investigating crimes involving angels or anything involving angels puts me, and therefore Sam at risk."

"Well family business, Zeke. Okay? If we ignore his, Sam's gonna think that something fishy's going on."

"Then I trust you will be discreet."

"Wait, if you know where we're going, that means you've been listening in. Are you...are you hearing everything between me and Sam? Or even us and Brooke for that matter?"

"No. Just a word here and there. I have better things to do with my time than eavesdrop, like heal your brother."

"Okay, 'cause here's the thing..."

"...I mean, I was gonna say it seems like it's getting really quiet out there, you know? Not a peep from the angels, even Buddy Boyle goes off the air and stops recruiting for them."

"Obviously a calm before the storm."

"Yeah, maybe."

"What?"

"That sign said 'Fort Collins, 50 miles'."

"So?"

"So, last time I looked, like 12 seconds ago, uh Fort Collins was 100 miles."

"Well, hey man, ever since that goddess got her hooks into you..."

"No it's more than Vesta. I mean, this kind of thing's been happening to me. Like, like there are chunks of time just missing. Like there are times when I'm...not here."

"Well, like I've said..."

"Yes, the trials. I know. I heard you. I heard you when you said it the last week and he week before that and the week before that."

"Yeah, because damn straight the trials. They whacked you man. You're not up to warp speed yet, okay? But you will be. Would I lie?"

When we did get into time, we had time to change and we made our way to the biker bar to check out what we knew was angel killings. We show our badges to the officer outside before going in.

"Uh, one of your guys is here already."

We head in and see the mess, finding some FBI agents, but then turn to find Cas.

"Ah my colleagues."

"Agent."

"Agent."

"Cas. What the hell are you doing?"

"Um, I still have that badge you gave me."

"Yeah. Uh, what the hell are you doing?"

"The murders were all over the news. Uh, I thought I might be of help."

"Yeah, but Cas, you know this is an angel situation right?"

"I think he's pretty aware of it Sam." I nod.

"Well yeah, but he left that night because angels were on his ass."

"Yeah, and you were living life, you know? Early retirement, working your way up the Gas-N-Sip ladder."

"Well if angels are slaughtering one another, I have to do what I can to help. This is a risk we should be willing to take, don't you think? Hey. Cas is back in town."

"Seriously, did you...did he just say that?"

"I think he did."

"These angels uh, they were butchered. Much more violence than was required."

"Definitely took more than one or two killers to pull this off."

"Hit squad? Bartholomew's people?"

"Well, Bartholomew has a faction we know about, but this could be somebody else entirely. We don't know."

"Well, whoever it is...we'll find them."

"We'll find them. That's great."

And just then, Sam changes to Ezekiel and he gives Dean a less than pleased look. Dean gives him his own look, and walks away, and I quickly join him. That night, a limo pulls up to this street, along with another one and two groups of people get out of them, clearly both angel groups.

"Good evening Malachi."

"Where is he?"

"Bartholomew is quite busy tonight. With such a large following, well, the responsibilities are enormous."

"I called for a top level summit. I don't deal with hand maidens."

"I'll convey your thoughts to Bartholomew."

"He'll regret the disrespect."

"You speak of disrespect Malachi? After the bloodbath two nights ago?"

"Bartholomew's naked grab for power was nothing but disrespect! He and I ultimately want the same thing. The only way we can take Heaven back from Matatron is to unite. And if Bartholomew wants to avoid all out warfare on Earth, he'll meet personally with me to negotiate terms."

"I'm sorry. I should've mentioned earlier, Bartholomew said to tell you he doesn't negotiate with street thugs. Are we done here?"

"Yes we are."

And then she along with the other two by her side are killed.

"And so it begins."

Meanwhile, Cas, Dean, Sam and myself went to a pool hall for drinks.

"It is so good being together again. You know, this is my first beer as a human. I hope it's okay, me joining you."

"Oh of course, I'm okay with it." I nod.

"Exactly. Why wouldn't it be okay?"

"You know Cas, are you sure you're ready to jump back into all this? I mean, it seemed to me like you'd actually found some peace."

"Hey, you once told me that you don't choose what you do. It chooses you. Huh? I'm a part of this. Like it or not."

"Alright, well then in that case, we have to fogure out, uh, who are we up against, what do they want, and how do we stop them."

"Well, Bartholomew wants to reverse Metatron's spell. Presumably to...to retake Heaven onceh is following is large enough. That's according to April."

"The reaper you banged."

"Yeah, and you stabbed."

"Yeah. She was hot."

"So hot. And very nice."

"Mm."

"Up to the point she started torturing me."

"Yeah. Well, not every hookup's perfect."

"Alright. I'm gonna get us another round." Sam offers.

"Nah. I'll get it." Cas offers instead.

"I'll come with." I say as I get up from the table as well and head to the bar with him, leaving Sam and Dean alone.

"One beer, he's hammered." Dean states, and once again Ezekiel comes through, still less than pleased.

"Oh boy."

"Well, what are you going to do about this?"

"About Cas?"

"He is a beacon, Dean. Pulling every angel for miles down on our heads."

"Alright, you know what Zeke? Level with me. What is it that you're so afraid of?"

"I told you. When I chose to answer your prayers and heal Sam, I chose sides. That means I'm not in good standing with certain angels."

"Okay, well you know what? Cas isn't in good standing with any angel, alright? But here he is, ass on the line, fighting the fight. So tell me, what makes you so special?"

"Here we go." Cas states as we come back. "Four brewskies."

"I'm going to get something out of the car." Ezekiel says as he leaves, going outside, and who shows up, but Metatron.

"Well, I'm really looking forward to this."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, please. I know who you really are. And it isn't Ezekiel."

Since he left, it was only myself, Dean and Cas at the table and we had nothing to talk about, so we were all quiet.

"I um, noticed you look...kind of uncomfortable whenever Sam mentions my leaving. Doesn't he know that you told me to leave?"

"About that...." I trail off.

"Here's the deal. When Sam was doing the trials to seal up Hell, it messed him up. Okay? The third one nearly killed him. If we'd let him finish, it would have. He's still messed up bad."

"You said the angel Ezekiel helped heal him."

"Look, I got to do anything I can to get him back. Now, if that means that we keep our distance from you for a little while, then...then I don't have a choice. I don't feel good about it, but I don't have a choice. It's great to have your help Cas. Okay, but we just can't work together."

"Unfortunately." I frown.

"Relax. I'm not here to out you. But I am curious, why Ezekiel?" Metatron tells the angel possessing Sam.

"They say he is a good and honorable angel."

"Ahh. Everything they say you are not. I see your point...Gadreel."

"The stories about me, they are not true."

"And yet you spent countless thousands of years locked in Heaven's darkest dungeon, and now you're hiding in this human posing as Ezekiel. Tragic. It broke his heart to lock you away, you know? You were God's most trusted. That's why he chose you to protect the garden. Your one task was to keep evil from entering...from befouling his cherished creation, mankind, and you failed him."

"Not my doing."

"Well, for whatever reason, the serpent entered. The Earth is cursed with evil. Someone had to be blamed."

"What is it you want of me, Metatron?"

"Just to be your friend. You and I go back a long way. I was actually the one who freed you."

"You?"

"I was the one who caused all the angels to fall. Including the imprisoned ones. You're welcome."

"No angels are in Heaven. None at all."

"No, an you know, at first I thought I would love it. But it's a big place. My solitude is getting tedious."

"And so?"

"And so...plan 'B'. Rebuild Heaven as the place God envisioned it, only with a handpicked few. No more anemic functionaries like Bartholomew. And no more stupid angels. Maybe some funny ones. You were his most trusted, Gadreel. You want to take back your reputation, you want to reclaim the Heaven that was? We could do this together."

Metatron had since left after that, Sam/Ezekiel/Gadreel came back in and we spend some more time in the bar before deciding to head back to the bunker, but of course without Cas. We all have since changed and Sam and I were doing research on the biker gang killed.

"Any word from Cas?"

"Nothing yet."

"And we're not worried about him, that he just took off like that again? I mean, it's not like he does this kind of stuff alone."

"It's the way he wanted it. Honestly. Look man, he's been all over the map since he goth is wings clipped. What do you got? Obituaries. That one of the bikers?"

"Yeah. His name was Red Dawg."

"Of course it was."

"It's not what you think. He's a family guy. Big in the PTA, he played Santa at Christmas parties. "

"So, what? Just one day, he up and joined a biker gang?"

"No, he did that years ago. Get this. This is weird. Look. These are all the victims right?"

"Yeah." I nod.

"They were all baptized together."

"Baptized?"

"Yeah. They were a born-again biker gang."

"Well, that is not something you hear every day."

"No kidding."

"No it's not."

"Wait, make that bigger. Boyle's Boys? Boyle as in Reverend Buddy Boyle?"

"Wait, what?"

That's when Sam goes back to the obituary to read about Red Dawg. "Listen to this. Red Dawg's widow said he was always religious, but a week before he died, he came home from a prayer meeting and was a changed man filled with divine glory."

"So Boyle's at it again. Selling folks on being meat suits for angels."

"Just what...talking to smaller groups now?"

"I don't know. Maybe softening up thousands at a time, he wasn't able to control what angels got let in. This way, Bartholomew's followers can jump in just as soon as Boyle does his thing."

"So Red Dawg and his guys were Bartholomew people?"

"Sounds about right."

"Yeah, and they got slaughtered. Which means that this new group is even worse. Haven't I always said that angels are dicks?"

In the meantime, in the middle of the forest, one of the women from the glee club that killed the biker angels was rounding up more vessels for the angels, around a fire.

"And I so appreciate the opportunity to address your bible-study group. I admire your passion, your energy, your devotion. You are exactly what God and his angels have in mind for the crusade. Now rise. Join hands, all of you. Feel the heavenly host reach out to embrace you. Embrace them back. The angels want nothing more than to feel your love. Welcome into your hearts. Let them in! In the name of Malachi, let them in!"

And just then before much could happen, she's stabbed and killed and so is everyone in the group, the angels expelled from their bodies.

The next day, Sam had went out. Well actually Gadreel had went out so he could meet up with Metatron, leaving Kevin, myself and Dean at the bunker to keep on our research.

"Frankly, I never got used to them. I lived among them for centuries. I had to isolate myself to keep sane."

"Humans do seem chaotic, Metatron."

"Which makes them fascinating, but...all that emotion. Geez. And the wasted energy. It's just...exhausting."

"I know. Sam Winchester. It is a mess in here. And the brother, and his girlfriend, I do not know where to start."

"I can free you from them. From all of them."

"You intend to be the ruler of this new Heaven, am I correct?"

"Uh...it is a burden I feel I must accept."

"Then Metatron, does that not make you God?"

"Oh. Semantics. I don't know that I'd take on that name...necessarily. No. When the time comes, we'll call me...X."

"X?"

"You and I...we could have paradise again, Gadreel."

"Okay. I'm...unfamiliar with this end of the process." Cas says from a motel room he got and kneels down next to the bed.

"'Course, no one may be listening, um, but I...I do need assistance. I have questions, and there seem to be no answers. I...I wouldn't presume to ask for help if I weren't desperate, but I need help. I'm lost. I need your guidance. Please hear my prayer."

And by this time, he's done and it's nightfall.

"I don't know how humans do it."

He goes over and tries to turn the TV on, but it's not working.

"Try plugging it in." A woman says from outside the door, and that causes Cas to go and open it to see the woman.

"Surely that wasn't the answer you were seeking."

"You're an angel."

"Muriel. I didn't pick the outfit. Castiel?"

"No, wait. Please, just hear me out."

"It can't be known that I even spoke to you."

"I just need a moment."

"No."

"Please. I just need information."

"Dean, there may be nothing in here. Crowley said the spell that cast down the angels was irreversible." Kevin says as we're all still researching as Sam is out.

"Yeah, well screw Crowley. Why would you think that anything he says is true?"

"This part is nearly indecipherable. Almost like when Metatron wrote it down, he wanted to keep the words hidden, even from prophets."

"Hey." Sam says as he walks back in.

"Hey. Check this out. Another angel attack."

"What? Where?"

"Utah. A uh...college bible-study group and their uh, guest speaker...some top-shelf church lady. Insides scorched out, kids' eyes were missing, but not the church lady's."

"So, she was an angel too?"

"Sounds like. Uh, and she sang soprano for the uh, Melody Ministry Glee Club."

"Okay."

"The club goes to its gigs on a bus, so when I checked with the Wyoming cops, they said that a witness saw the same bus leaving the biker bar not long before the bodies were found."

"So church-lady angel was at both killings?"

"Seems like it." I nod.

"I'm guessing that she and whoever she's running with killed Bartholomew's bikers at the bar and then Bart's boys hit her back."

"When she was recruiting those students to be vessels."

"Bingo."

"Wow. A bunch of kids."

"Kevin. Clock's ticking."

"Let's say you're telling the truth and Metatron tricked you. I should still turn you in."

"But you won't."

"Don't be so sure."

"I...I think you instinctively trust me. Were similar. We both want no part of the fanatics."

"And when you prayed, how did you know you wouldn't get one of them?"

"I'm warded and my grace is gone and I was hoping that I would seem like just another desperate human that the...the militants couldn't care less about."

"And you think I care?"

"You're here. You may know the situation. Bartholomew, he's in a blood feud with another faction."

"It's madness."

"Who leads the opposition?"

"Malachi."

"Malachi? The anarchist."

"He's become equals with Bartholomew. In some ways, worse."

"But there's still those like you who want to stay out of it."

"Fewer and fewer. Each side is rounding up those who try and stay neutral. Angels are being tortured and killed if they don't pledge loyalty."

"It's worse than I thought."

"Each side wants to crush the other, overthrow Metatron, and rule Heaven, and...Heaven under either of them would be..."

"Hell."

Just then the door is kicked in and of course it's an angel who finds them there. They are both taken of course and brought to this place for torture.

"This is a bonus, Castiel. We were tracking Muriel, cowardly holdout that she is, and wonder of wonders, she led us to you."

"Not knowingly." She corrects them.

"I stand corrected. Not knowingly. Stupidly."

"I've explained in detail. I don't know how Metatron's spell worked. Therefore, I can't assist in reversing it. I was an unwitting accomplice."

"Oh. A dupe. The great Castiel. Valued and trusted Castiel. Top-of-the-Christmas-tree Castiel, no more than a dupe. Dupe or mastermind, you were inside the circle. You know where Metatron's weakness lies."

"No. I don't."

"Theo."

"No." Cas says before he's cut with the angel blade.

"You'd suffer, even die for your beliefs. I get it. But is Metatron, whose poll numbers have totally tanked...worth your life? More importantly, is Metatron worth her life?"

"No. No, she's innocent. You leave her alone."

"I have no intentions on touching her."

Theo however does and he goes over to her.

"Virtue is its own punishment."

"Please no. No!" Cas exclaims as she is then killed by Theo. "Angels butchering angels. Is this what we've become?"

"Just following your example, Castiel. How many did you kill in Heaven? How many in the fall? Oh, you didn't know? A host of angels died when they fell...Azrael, Sophia, Ezekiel. 'Died' doesn't even describe it. Devastation. Wings shredded, unspeakable agony at your hands. So I think you would want to provide any information that you have, considering...alright. I leave you in the hands of an artist. I don't care what's left." He says before walking out.

"Don't ask for mercy. There is none. I'll give you one last chance for this to end."

"Give me a quick death."

"I need you to speak to Metatron. Everyone knows you have influence. He'll listen to you. Ask him to raise me to Heaven. You can do this, Castiel. I'll be a soldier for Metatron, do anything he wants."

"You...you serve Malachi."

"I thought he was the answer, but he's crazy."

"You're...noticing this now? You were more than willing to do his dirty work."

"I did what I had to."

"When you were sure he would defeat Bartholomew."

"But no one will survive this war."

"So, you prefer to sit it out in Heaven."

"I can talk to him about restoring your grace."

"Well, it's um, it's true. Metatron and I do have a working relationship."

"I knew it."

"You're clever Theo."

"You're allies."

"And he could use a skilled soldier like yourself. Oh, but I don't know."

"I-I'm a team player Castiel."

"Alright. Well?" He says, motioning to the shackles, and Theo unlocks them to free him. "I'll...I'll need a moment to make contact. And you have something that I'll need."

"Anything."

Cas then quickly grabs the angel blade and slits Theo's throat, exposing his grace, and absorbs it, getting his back and he becomes an angel again and then kills Theo. The guy then comes back down to see all the men killed.

"No. Oh no."

"Hey. You seen Sam?" Dean asks Kevin when he comes across him in the kitchen.

"He went out."

"Where?"

"I don't know. You notice he's doing that a lot?"

"Yeah." Dean says before answering his phone. "Yeah."

"Dean, I don't have a lot of time, so listen. The leader of the opposition is an angel named Malachi."

"How do you know that?"

"He had me. I uh, I was tortured. But I got away."

"How?"

"I...I did what I had to. I became what they've become. A barbarian."

"What are you...Cas, where are you?"

"It's better I stay away. They're gonna want me even more now. But I'm gonna be alright. I...I got my grace back. Well, not mine per se, but it'll do."

"Wait, you're...you're back? You got your mojo?"

"I'm not sure. But I am an angel."

"And you're okay with that?"

"If we're going to war, I need to be ready."

"Cas."

"Dean. There's more."

"What?"

"Didn't you say Sam was healed by an angel named Ezekiel?"

"Uh...yeah, why?"

"Ezekiel is dead."

"What?"

At this point, I come into the kitchen since Kevin told me where he was.

"He died when the angels fell."

"Dean? What's wrong?"

"Ezekiel isn't Ezekiel."

"What? What do you mean?"

"It's a long story."

"Tell me."

"Long story short, Cas has his mojo back."

"He's an angel again?"

"Yeah, and apparently Ezekiel, the one who's supposedly helping Sam right now, died when the angels fell."

"So that means..."

"There's a rogue angel in my brother and he could be in trouble, unless we get that angel out." He says before he hurries out of the kitchen to find Kevin, and I follow close behind.

"I need a spell, ASAP."

"Everyone always needs a spell, and it's always ASAP."

"Alright listen to me. An angel can't be expelled by another human. Only by the host right? Well, what if there was a way to power down the angel so that it wasn't in charge for a few seconds?"

"What?"

"For instance. If...if hypothetically, I wanted to speak with the vessel but not have the squatter listen in."

"Why?"

"Why? Kevin, we've got tons of possessed humans out there. You with me? And when the angels kill each other off, the humans are taking it in the teeth, so what if I wanted to clue the human in so that he or she could spit the angel out? That would be a good thing, right?"

"Uh...yeah."

"Okay. So, hit the tablet. Let's go."

"Now?"

"Yesterday, Cinderella."

"I've been thinking this over, Metatron. I will join you as second in command."

"Bravo, Gadreel. This move will erase the mark that has hounded you through the centuries. Heaven will be restored, as will your reputation as one of its greatest heroes."

"I thank you for this opportunity."

"There is just one more thing."

"Yes."

"I need to be sure of your fidelity."

"You have it."

"No, I mean really sure. We have enemies who pose an imminent threat to our effort. They must be neutralized."

"Slain?"

"In a word."

"That...that is not who I am."

"Yeah." Metatron says, taking out a slip of paper and handing it to him. "Here's the first name on your to-do list. Decide."

In the meantime, the three of us have just gotten done painting sigils in the storeroom for the spell to get the angel out of Sam.

"Alright, so this masterpiece we just painted, it's gonna work right?"

"The sigils are supposed to briefly hobble the possessing angel. If the info's correct."

"Wait, what?"

"What do you mean if the info's correct?" I question.

"I only had time to get a little from the tablet. The rest came from an old Men of Letters book. As soon as your blood touches the ignition sigil, the spell kicks in. Dean, what's going on?"

"I told you."

"You told me theoretically. Dean, we just painted sigils in the storeroom. What the hell?"

"You're gonna have to trust me. Okay, trust that I told you everything that I can, well that we can for now. Can you do that?"

"I always trust you. And I always end up screwed."

"Oh, come on. Always? Not always."

"Actually...." I trail off.

Dean walks away and ends up in the kitchen to see Sam restocking the shelves of the kitchen with food and supplies.

"Hey, where you been?"

"Hey. Beer run."

"Long beer run. Can we talk?"

"Yeah. Uh...sure."

He does end up bringing him to the storeroom where the sigils were painted.

"This sounds serious."

While Sam's back is turned, Dean cuts his hand and puts it to the sigil on the door, igniting the spell.

"What's going on? What are you doing?"

"I got to tell you some stuff fast. It's gonna piss you off."

"Okay."

"Those trials really messed you up."

"Yes, I know that."

"No, you don't. I mean messed you up like almost dead. No more birthdays, dust to dust. Well that messed me up, so I made a move okay. A tough move about you without talking it over because you were in a coma."

"Wait, what? When?"

"You were in the hospital, okay, and they said you were gonna die."

"Dean. What did you do?"

"I let an angel in."

"In what?"

"In you. He said he could heal you and he is."

"He's still in me? Wait. That's impossible Dean. That couldn't happen. I never invited him in."

"I tricked you into saying yes. It seemed like the only way."

"So...again. You thought I couldn't handle something, so you took over."

"No, I did what I had to do! You would've never agreed to it, and you would've died."

"Well, maybe I would've liked the choice at least."

"We can do this later. You can...you can kick my ass all you want. Right now, we got bigger problems."

"Bigger?"

"The angel lied to me. Okay? He...he's not who he said he was. He said his name was Ezekiel. Cool guy, according to Cas, but it's not Ezekiel."

"Who is he?"

"I don't know. Apparently Ezekiel is dead. Whoever this guy is can end you in a heartbeat if he wants to, so you have got to dump him. Are you hearing what I'm saying? I think you're well enough now, but you got to expel him. Sam."

Sam doesn't say a thing and then just goes to walk out of the storeroom.

"Sam...hey."

He just turns around and he clocks Dean in the face, knocking him out for a bit. That's when Sam comes out to where Kevin and I were.

"Hey Sam. Hey, do you notice anything a little bit off about Dean lately? Between you and me, I'm a little bit worried about him."

"Don't worry about Dean. Dean will be fine."

"Kevin...wait...that's not Sam." I say as I hear the tone in his voice and start to back away.

Before I could act on anything, the angel inside Sam, possessing him put his hand to Kevin's head and burned his eyes out, killing him.

"Kevin!!!!"

"No! No! No! Kevin?!" Dean exclaims as he comes running into the room, but gets pushed into one of the pillars by the angel possessing Sam.

"Sam?"

"There is no more Sam. But I played him convincingly, I thought."

"How did you..."

"I heard you talk with Kevin Tran tonight." He says as he grabs the tablet, putting it into a bag. "Alter a sigil...even the slightest...alter the spell. Sorry about Kevin, but ultimately...it's for the best. I did what I had to."

With that he leaves and Dean's let go. I make sure he isn't coming back before I quickly move over to Dean.

"Kevin? Kevin?"

"He's gone Dean." I frown, before putting an arm around him and just pulling him into me, where I feel a wet feeling on my shoulder so I know he's crying.

I lean my head against his, not able to keep my own tears from falling myself.