REVIVE ▸ d. winchester [2] ✔

Chapter 21

Azrael stands tall over Castiel with a growing smile of satisfaction on his lips. The words he had been wanting to hear from Castiel were finally rolling out of his mouth, and the archangel couldn't be more pleased. Of all the angels, Azrael knew Castiel had heard something about the Hands of God; it was just a matter of time until he, too, was aware of whatever the fallen angel was hiding. And it was clear Azrael's methods of torture did the trick as Castiel's facade had finally broken, slowly but surely.

"You should be honored, Castiel." Azrael grabs the chains above his head, the ones gripping his wrists tightly, and yanks them upwards. Castiel can do nothing but hold in his grunt of pain. "You're helping a good cause."

With another cynical smile, Azrael lets go of Castiel, leaving him dangling once again. He quickly turns, and with a nod to his two guards, he leaves the room. Before he closes the cell door behind him though, he looks back one last time.

"Thank you for your cooperation," he says arrogantly.

Castiel couldn't be more relieved once Azrael disappears behind the cell door. Despite still being in the company of two of Azrael's most ruthless followers- the angels responsible for the physical and mental anguish he has been in for countless days- he could now relax. He could breathe.

It worked.

Castiel couldn't help but laugh to himself over Azrael's gullibility. He must be stooping to a new level of desperate to believe everything that comes out of a prisoner's mouth. Especially when the prisoner's life is at stake. People will say anything to get themselves out of sticky situations, and angels weren't any different. And this time, everything Castiel gave up would end up biting Azrael in the ass in ways he couldn't even imagine.

Once Azrael closes the cell door behind him, he turns in preparation to leave. He had so many things to do and places to be, he hardly knew where to start. However, he gets no further than five feet away before stopping suddenly in his tracks. His eyes had locked onto the first cell outside of Castiel's. This one, with simple steel bars rather than a full, solid door, allowed the archangel to see right inside. And inside, Azrael finds a satisfying yet bewildering surprise.

"I didn't know we had the Trickster himself in our company."

Azrael glides forward on his feet, a great sense of pride suddenly flowing through him at the sight of Gabriel locked inside of a cell. His smile grows to his eyes, Azrael doing nothing to hide how he feels to his new prisoner. In fact, he does nothing short of boasting.

Gabriel sits against the far cell wall, looking out through the bars with an unsatisfied glare. He can hardly stand the sound of Azrael's voice and itches to respond with a smart remark, but he bites his tongue instead, knowing well of how he should behave.

"I'm rather surprised, Gabriel." Azrael now stands right against the metal bars, close but not touching. "I wasn't informed of your arrival."

Gabriel finally speaks up. "I doubt anyone is ever itching to inform you of anything."

Azrael laughs. "You're deeply mistaken." He runs his eyes over Gabriel's figure sitting on the ground. He takes in his somewhat disheveled state, finding his appearance amusing. However, he also notices a lack of any torture marks or any clear effort to extract information by he or his men. And this only meant one thing: so far, his presence has been meaningless. Gabriel hasn't been useful to him, not yet. Azrael doesn't accept meaningless things.

"I'll tell you what, Gabriel. I've got some, oh, what do you call them?" Azrael's fake nonchalance makes Gabriel want to snap his fingers and rid the world of his existence, but it would never be that simple. "Errands. I've got some errands to run. But when I get back, its me and you. We can chat. Will you take a rain check?"

Gabriel squints his eyes as he holds his anger in. "Oh, why not. I could use the entertainment."

Azrael responds with just as much dark, heavy sarcasm as Gabriel did. "Good. It's a date."

Taking a few steps back and down the hallway, Azrael lets out a low laugh. He once again takes a moment to take in the sight in front of him as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Oh, I just can't wait."

Not waiting for a response, Azrael turns and disappears down the hallway. His stride is strong and full of purpose, and Gabriel can sense an overwhelming feeling of superiority in his steps. Azrael was so excited to get started on his hunt for the Hand of God, and then to return to heaven and talk with his newest prisoner.

He's so full of himself, Gabriel thinks with a huff.

After a moment- once he is sure that no other angels were present in the cell block- Gabriel snaps his fingers. Magic immediately flows through his vessel. His true form appears outside of the cell with a smile upon his face, and he watches as the apparition of himself, the figure that had been sitting inside of the cell the whole time, disappears.

"Asshole."

Gabriel doesn't waste a second of his time. He quickly makes his way to each cell in the adjointed sections of the dungeon, peering inside in search of any angel who was still alive. With each successful find, he places his hand on the cell door lock and lets a bright, blue light radiate from his palm. Only moments later, the imprisoned angel inside is freed, and Gabriel eagerly heals their injuries. 

The archangel makes his way to Castiel last, seeing as the two guards are still present inside of his cell. It doesn't take much to take them down, though, and the sight of Castiel finally smiling with success makes freeing him from his chains that much more liberating.

Soon, Gabriel has gathered nearly thirty of his fellow brothers and sisters. They are now blood, bruise, and sweat-free, and all await the words of their gallant rescuer. They expect an explanation, perhaps a speech concerning their recent liberation. However, what they receive is that, plus much more.

"Brothers and sisters, we have little time. Azrael will return, and we have to stop him before he does." Gabriel stands at the front of the group, his voice ringing out for all to hear. Castiel stands by his side, enthralled to finally be free of his chains. "I'm sure you're all aware of Azrael's intentions, so I'll skip to the part you do not know."

"Castiel and I have fed Azrael false information. He's looking for Hands of Gods, and he thinks that we, as angels of heaven and followers of God, know where they are hidden. So, we told him to go to a place, a place where people- hunters- are waiting to kill him. We have, in essence, set him up. He's not the smartest, to say the least. With your help, we can finish him off. For good."

Gabriel doesn't receive any outbursts or objections, so he takes it as his cue to continue.

"Azrael has taken our home from us. He's stripped us of our holy grounds and our righteousness, and he has dishonored our father. As far as we are concerned, Azrael is no longer affiliated with our ways. He deserves no forgiveness. He will only receive what he has given: agony and torment. And we will do this by destroying everything he has created."

This time, his words are welcomed with those of eager agreements. The former prisoners know the pain they had endured, and they were fully capable of returning it to the ones who had caused it. Azrael and his followers would fall, and in the end, it will be heaven bringing them down.