Freak of Nature (Destiel)

Chapter 53: What Remains

Sam caught sight of Dean first, rushing forward to check for any injuries. Dean's clothes were caked with dirt and various degrees of drying blood. Dean's hands had swiped across his face, smearing the blood across his face which was already affected by the sweat dripping down his face.

"Dean, what happened? Are you hurt-"

"He's dead, Sam. Story time later, we have bigger fish to fry." Dean muttered, handing his father his blade as he wiped his hands along his pants, splaying long handprints of blood down the legs of his pants. "Metatron and Abaddon are our most important tasks right now. Chances are that if we find her, he'll be slinking somewhere nearby. He's useless alone."

"Dean," Sam said aloud, voice weak. "What happened to you?"

Dean felt a tightness in his chest as he lied through his teeth, "Nothin', Sammy, nothin' at all."

...

Castiel left Balthazar to sleep as he made his way to the main floor. His hand pressed flat against the metal door, his breath hitching as his other hand pulled the door open to the stone staircase. The darkness of the stairway below sent a shiver down his spine.

Fetching a candle and match from a nearby bureau, he lit the candle before setting the used, smoking match in an ashtray atop the bureau. Shielding the flame with one hand, he made his way slowly down the stairs towards a place he hadn't been for many years, the family tombs.

...

Eventually, all members of the rebellion of the angels (sans John, Sam, and Dean Winchester) met within The Roadhouse, all without any substantial luck- that is, except for Lucifer. Lucifer clapped his hands, the sound stunning and as loud as thunder.

"Now is the time for all of us to retire to our homes. We are no longer needed."

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked gruffly, Jo standing at her side.

"If my suspicion is correct, Michael is already dead. All that is left is Metatron and Abaddon."

"Suspicion?! So you don't even know for sure?!" Jo yelled, shocked.

"Believe me when I say, if he were still alive and under Abaddon's control, we would all be dead by now." Lucifer assures, a twinge in his chest at the thought of his brother lying dead somewhere.

"Besides," Lucifer begins again, his voice shaking slightly, "this is no longer our fight. It is The Martyr's fight now. It is up to Dean Winchester now. Go home. All will be settled by sunrise."

There were mutters of disapproval, but eventually Gabriel, Jeremiah, Charlie, Jo, and Lucifer were left alone in The Roadhouse, Jo's mother even home, soundly napping in her bed. Jo was the first to feel her chest swell, and tears fell freely from her eyes.

"Oh, Dean... Why did he have to be the one to deal with all of this? It's too much for any one person to handle..." she sniffed, wiping her face. Charlie embraced her as she cried,  Jo clinging to her shirt.

"Prophecy said it would be him," Jeremiah whispered, voice hoarse. "It was his destiny. He has to be able to withstand it himself."

"He has family," Gabriel added, "That means he is never truly alone in this. I just hope Feathers will someday find a way to forgive Dean for everything that happens on this day."

"He will," Lucifer muttered, "I think it's Dean who needs to forgive himself after all of this."

"In that book of quotations you gave me as a child, Gabriel," Jeremiah uttered, his voice breathy and his eyes distant. "Had a quote by a man named Baldwin which said 'The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.' I believe this is why Castiel will move past this, because he sees that this was what Michael had become. A man with nothing to lose, a life spent destroying others, and a destiny that had one outcome- his death for the greater good."

Jo exhaled deeply, her eyes closing tightly to push back tears, "You're right. We should all go home. This is Dean's business now. All of you can stay here at the Roadhouse if you'd like until things settle down. Personally, I need a stiff drink to keep me from crying.

Charlie smiled, joining her at the booth in the far corner, each taking a sip from a dusty bottle of strong liquor. Gabriel and Jeremiah, hand-in-hand, left the Roadhouse to return to the manor. Lucifer went in a separate direction, aiming to find what was left of the Winchester search party to send them home. Little did he know that all Winchesters (sans John, Dean, and Sam), as well as Samandriel by Adam's side, were in the Winchester  house, waiting for news.

Lucifer would find them much later, after he had already found Sam, Dean, and John Winchester standing among the dead corpses of Abaddon- The Whore of Babalon, Metatron- The Former King, and all of Abaddon's followers- angel and human alike.

...

His eyes raked over the lines of name plates, until eventually they fell upon the name Raphael the Hallowed, a name he received upon his death.

"We were not very close, Brother," Castiel whispered, "but I know that if you had lived to see this, you surely would follow Michael until the very end... Sadly, I believe that end has been coming for a long time now. The fear that I am feeling now is new. It's a fear not pertaining only to me, but is also a product of the fact that when this is all over- things will never be the same again. Maybe it will be better... or worse. How can one know if the proverbial grass is greener on the other side, if they have never been on the other side of the metaphorical fence? Even so, mustn't you be on the fence itself to truly compare the two? Would it even matter then? I suppose it's all the same. You were always the most pragmatic of us all, surely you'd know the answer to all of this."

Castiel touched the nameplate with his fingertips, "Raphael the Hallowed... I wonder who of us all will be joining you soon."