Chapter Text
Castiel walked down the hall, entering a dark, dingy room, and was blinded by a bright light as he heard a familiar voice say “Hello, brother.” Castiel looked down to see he was surrounded by holy fire, and looked to meet his older brother' eyes.
“Lucifer,” he responded, and Lucifer looked around, behind Castiel, and frowned.
“So I take it you're here with the Winchesters,” Lucifer said, not asking, for he already knew the answer.
“I came alone,” Castiel told the man in front of him sadly, noticing the vessel that was slowly being destroyed and the exhausted yet driven eyes of the vessel.
“Loyalty. Such a nice quality to have in this day and age. Who came with you, Castiel? Angel-wise, I mean. Who is watching over you?” Lucifer asked, getting more and more curious and concerned when he noticed that the youngest angel of Heaven was left alone... with him, the one they call most corrupted.
“I... am alone, Lucifer,” Castiel responded, averting his eyes. Lucifer wasn't satisfied, more questions arising, rather than being answered. When Castiel met his eyes, filled with sadness and shame, he understood immediately.
“They cast you out,” he breathed, not wanting to believe that his brothers abandoned the one they all swore to protect. Castiel was cast out for loving the humans too much, Lucifer realized, and the anger arose in his chest like fire. “They didn't assign a new guardian after me, Castiel? They didn't... find someone to watch over you?”
Castiel shook his head, and sent the mental message to Lucifer: nobody wanted me, brother. Lucifer felt angrier than ever, he had failed his baby brother; they'd all failed him. “I see,” Lucifer nodded, looking away. He took notice of the fact that Castiel was going to have to shed his vessel soon for his grace to repair itself, something that happened to young angels like Castiel while they were growing.
“You don't have to fight, Lucifer. You can fix this,” Castiel told his guardian, the one and only person that made him feel like he was as good as everyone else. He knew that he was begging, and Lucifer knew that too, but Lucifer shook his head, not even looking at Castiel as he extinguished the fire with a snap.
“I'm sorry, Castiel. Stay out of this,” he ordered, meeting the younger boy's eyes for a long 5 seconds before disappearing.
Lucifer should have told him that he wouldn't fight, should have lied or should have done what Castiel wanted, but he didn't. And for that, he was going to learn a very painful lesson very soon.
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It came too soon for all parties involved, and Castiel felt terrified as he and Dean drove to the cemetery that everything was going to take place in. Dean was driven by his need to see his brother, even if it were to be the last thing he'd see. He nearly human, his grace fading quickly, but he knew what he had to do, he just hoped that it would work.
“Michael,” the younger of the two archangels greeted the eldest. Michael nodded in response, determination written on his face as he looked into the eyes of the boy he raised. He saw the raw look of a boy betrayed and abandoned, and exhaled. “You all abandoned him, Michael. Every single one of you left and cast him out as well. All because he did what God wanted and loved the humans. Why?”
Michael met his younger brother' gaze steadily. “He rebelled, like you, Lucifer. He disobeys orders and chooses the Winchesters, every single time.”
“He chooses the people that didn't abandon him, cause they actually made him feel like he wasn't a disgrace,” Lucifer replied hotly. Michael sighed, shaking his head.
“Are you ready?” He asked impatiently, but there was a tinge of not wanting to fight in his tone.
“As I'll ever be.”
Dean and Bobby raced into the cemetery as the two Archangels circled one another, with Castiel in the back seat. “Howdy, boys!” Dean yelled as Bobby molotov'd Michael. Dean and Bobby walked up to Lucifer. With a snap of his fingers, Bobby's neck broke. Dean was trying to talk to Sam, but Lucifer and Castiel both knew that Sam wasn't there, being heavily pushed down. They only had a short amount of time so Castiel pulled the supplies out of Dean's bag and got to work. Skull of the Lamb was set on the ground, serving as a bowl for the other things necessary to put an end to this.
He pulled out a sheet of paper where the instructions were written. At the top, the name was written in bold, red letters: Angel' Sacrificial Call of Unity. He put the first ingredient, a snake scale and dove feather, into the skull with shaky hands. He listened as Dean and Lucifer talked, hoping that Dean could keep the other occupied and that they both could forgive him. Next came the rosary of the sinful man and the bloody bullet of a righteous man. Two things that would tilt the scale of balance, that would further push people to idolizing the wrong people.
He lit the bowl on fire, and it glowed with a bright purple light: the color of Lucifer' and Michael' wings mixed together. It mixed the calmness of Michael's majestic blue wings and Lucifer's fierce red wings. The third and final part of the ritual was next; Castiel was shaking horribly, as he poured the demon blood into the fire and pulled out the angel blade. Looking upwards as he heard Dean being beaten, he plunged it into his stomach, leaning over so that the blood filled the bowl quickly. One bloody hand reached out to steady himself as he rested his hand on the side of the Impala. The wound throbbed coldly as he pulled the knife out but in a matter of seconds, the burning began and weak light oozed from beneath his skin.
The fire changed colors, turning pure white like God' true form, and Castiel sent out a final prayer to his Father and Creator. “Please, Father...” Castiel begged God to listen, closing his eyes as his hands and feet became numb. “Forgive me. I'm sorry. I... I'm ready, Father. Please... please fix this.”
He knew it was only going to a few seconds before his grace would leave his body in the most agonizing of ways. It would be worse than having his wings torn off, one bone at a time; that much, he was certain of. He could hear everything and nothing at all, as if his ears were filled with gusts of wind but just the sound of fabric on fabric grated on his nerves. Stomach churning, his vision began to dim as he inhaled, before his eyes widened and he let out a blood-curdling scream. It was excruciating, and the grace tried to fight the ritual, not wanting to be destroyed, but having no choice.
Lucifer paused, and as did Dean, both startled and confused. Michael reappeared, anger turning into dread as he heard the soul-crushing wails that were begging for help, and they all looked at one another before it hit Dean. “No,” he breathed, pushing Lucifer away and running. He paused as he took in the sight of the angel that he'd always believed to be absolute and indestructible, no matter what happened... bleeding severely, dark hair stuck to pale skin as the light ebbed from his defeated blue eyes.
“CAS!” He cried, quickly reaching him and dropping to his knees. He held the man in his arms as he glowed brightly before shedding his vessel, turning into a child that was hardly the age of four. The cloaking had fallen, but his grace was nearly depleted and quickly fading, thus making him nearly human.
At the horrendous screams, two archangels ran towards the sound of a child screaming in pain. Lucifer closed his eyes for a second as Michael ran and pulled the angel into his arms, rushing to be able to take the boy home, a place that he himself had cut the boy from. “Dammit!” Michael yelled, and Lucifer was at his side, checking the pulse, that was too slow and quickly fading.
Forgetting their predestined objective too fight, they both rushed to Heaven's finest hospital. Leaving Sam and Dean together with Bobby, and sending Adam's soul to Heaven, they ascended. Surprisingly, Lucifer was able to enter, but neither thought on it as they rushed to save the boy they all agreed to love. As Michael ran he tried to ignore the blood soaking through his clothing, the limp body of a young boy he'd failed and the grace that was crying out for their father's salvation but receiving none.
Lucifer's heart was pounding and yet, felt crushed and hopeless. He watched as Michael laid the frail body on the bed, as trained healers came in and rushed to save him, but even when the most powerful healer came, nothing happened. Raphael looked frustrated at being so helpless, not able to help the boy that was a fledgling not so long ago, not able to save him. Lucifer and Michael stood at the side as they watched countless angels run around uselessly. They refused to look at each other, lest they both start sobbing... it was all over, but was it truly worth it?
“Dammit, Castiel,” Raphael sighed, slamming his fist on the bedside table. After what felt like hours, the healers slowly left, one by one, with sad smiles and words of 'there's nothing else we can do' as they walked away. And so the three of Heaven's most powerful stood there, watching as their youngest laid there dying, grace becoming weaker and weaker.
“He's not actively dying, but... it's going to happen,” Raphael admitted to his brothers.
“He sacrificed himself, for the people that had failed him repeatedly. He willingly let himself die so that his two stupid brothers wouldn't have to fight. Fuck, Cas, wake up,” Lucifer begged, resting his head on the little one's hand. Michael placed his hand on the blond man's shoulder.
Michael averted his stinging eyes as Raphael walked out to compose himself, and there was a gust of wind and bright orange light as Gabriel appeared in front of them all. He looked surprised, and the two older ones looked up to see him examining his newly formed body, which looked as it had when he had faced Lucifer and lost the battle. Brown eyes looked from his older brothers, to the little boy that was too pale and too frail for Gabriel to comfortable. “Is that Cassie?” Gabriel swallowed past the lump in his throat.
Michael embraced the brother he hadn't seen for far too long, and Lucifer remorsefully placed his hand on the youngest archangel' shoulder. Gabriel shrunk back from the brother that killed him, but saw the pained look in Lucifer' eyes and smiled softly. “He's fading... what happened?” Gabriel tore his eyes from Castiel and looked into Michael's, practically begging for a good excuse, an explanation of why the youngest angel in Heaven was dying.
“He stopped the Apocalypse, in return for his life and grace,” Michael explained numbly, not quite believing it, denying it all in his heart.
“Call of Unity,” Gabriel breathed, slumping into a seat. “Dammit, I should have known only Castiel would be stupid enough to do this!”
“Are you going to explain?”
“It's an ancient ritual that involves things like the feather of a dove and snake skin or whatever, it's meant to unite Heaven and Angels once more. It also requires a willing sacrifice of an angel that's been cast away. I honestly thought that the only one that would qualify was Luci, but that was never going to happen, so I didn't worry...”
“Is it... permanent? Is he going to die?” Lucifer asked, hoping beyond hope that there was some other way. Hell, he'd even sacrifice himself to avoid Castiel's death. He took his seat next to Castiel's bed, and Michael leaned against a wall.
“We have to wait around a month, and if that's going to be the end of it... I guess we'll find out,” Gabriel answered bleakly, hating himself as the words left his lips. Lucifer turned away from Gabriel and stared at Castiel, his Castiel. Michael looked at his hands for a second, not wanting to leave but knowing that he had to do so.
“I need to go and inform the other Angels that the Apocalypse has been averted and not to try and start it. I'll return before nightfall,” Michael told the other two, and Gabriel nodded while Lucifer ignored him completely. He quickly flew away, wings beating rapidly behind him, and the other lesser angels quickly made way for the strongest Angel in Heaven.
“If he... when he wakes up, you think he'll still have those nicknames for us?” Gabriel asked, and Lucifer gave a sad smile. “Luci, Mikey, Raphy and Gabe. Wonder what he'll call Dean?”
“Michael's vessel?” Lucifer asked for clarification, but he already knew the answer.
“Yeah, of course. Little Cassie's crush,” Gabriel laughed, and Lucifer looked disbelieving before smiling back. “Or how Dean would react to finding out that Cassie's actually a baby angel. Their bad-ass protector is actually just an angel that just turned four.”
They spent the rest of the night talking, trying to keep the tone light, and the lower-ranked angels would occasionally come and offer support, looking fearfully at Lucifer before kneeling to the Archangels. Michael soon came, exhausted and irritated, blue wings sagging behind him. “Mike, how was it?” Michael's eyes rested to meet Gabriel's, giving him a look of 'are you joking?' but answered nonetheless.
“Many want Lucifer dead and Castiel to be cut off from Heaven. Oh, and they also believe that Castiel deserves this, and that the Apocalypse should be put into place,” he told them, and Gabriel nodded.
“Morons, the lot of them,” Lucifer replied flatly, and Michael nodded. “Castiel doesn't deserve to die.”
“Neither do you, Lucifer,” Michael responded softly, but Lucifer ignored him, studying a book on the bedside table about Grace and how it can be destroyed.
And so the days passed, each day getting more bleak with all of them slowly coming to accept the fact that their little angel was going to die, and they could do nothing about it. Lucifer had destroyed most of the evil demons, but let a select few slink away. Crowley and Meg were two that he had allowed to gain power and lead Hell for him, to transform Hell to be a place to reform people to be good, but the rest were utterly destroyed.
Michael gathered the most loyal followers and had them destroy whomever tried to kick-start the Apocalypse or do anything against his orders. A few had protested, but most submitted to his word, not wanting to be eradicated. He explained that with Castiel's sacrifice, Heaven was united and there would be no more fighting tolerated. However, even as he asked for faith, he himself wondered where their Father was, why He hadn't returned now that Heaven was once again one.
Gabriel worked as Messenger once more, helping those that needed it most, trying to restore the human faith in God. It was a bit of a challenge, with so many cynics nowadays, but if you just make someone see it for themselves, then even the most doubtful will bow down and worship. The Kingdom of God was coming to Earth, and it would come once everyone learns to love one another, regardless of their religion or anything else about them.
After about two weeks, Castiel began shaking uncontrollably, eyes still closed and even as Raphael tried everything he could, shouting orders at the other healers, there was nothing that could be done. “I... I'll be outside, I can't watch,” Gabriel told Lucifer, but Lucifer kept his eyes glued to Castiel's little body as the light slowly faded from inside of him.
“Father... Dad... please... don't do this. Not to Cas... He's too young, he doesn't deserve this. Please, Dad, save him,” Lucifer prayed for the first time since his Fall, begging with everything in him for his Father to save the boy he'd abandoned, albeit unintentionally. He hit his knees hard, too shaky to be able to stay upright, but disguising it as a sign of respect. All pride and anger at his Father left him, as he lowered himself to accept that his Father was powerful and that this would be what Castiel wanted.
However, even as he prayed, nothing stopped the grace from weakening and flickering dangerously. Michael was outside, comforting Gabriel who was slumped on the ground, shaken. It lasted too long, but yet, not long enough, and soon, Castiel stopped shaking completely and stilled. The remaining light that ebbed from his open yet unseeing eyes died, and his eyes closed as he took his last breath. “He's... gone,” Raphael breathed after checking for a pulse and breath, finding neither.
Lucifer forced himself to nod, biting the inside of his cheek as he tried to breathe normally without breaking down. Raphael left the room to tell the other two, and then the other Angels, that their youngest warrior was gone. Everyone soon left, and the two Archangels shuffled in, neither talking to Lucifer, knowing that he needed his time. “I caused this,” Lucifer told them monotonously, and Gabriel wanted to tell him that that wasn't true, but didn't.
“No,” Michael responded, “we all did. I cast him out, didn't assign him a new guardian... If anything, I caused this more than you did.”
“He told me not to fight, Michael! I should have listened, done something good for a change.”
Silence ensued, until Gabriel broke it. “I don't think Castiel would have wanted any of us to blame ourselves. He fixed our family, at least he'll be remembered forever as the good angel he was, like he wanted. Maybe, Father will even come back, since we've all grown up considerably thanks to him.”
“I'm pretty sure Father wouldn't want to see me, after everything that's happened, Gabriel. If anything, He'll kill me, which I''ll gladly accept at this point. I'd take death if He'd just bring Castiel back to life.”
“That won't be necessary,” a voice boomed, as blinding white light filled the room, and the three angels immediately fell to their knees out of instinct. Only their Father would shine so brightly, and when the light faded, there stood an average-looking man with dark hair and eyes so extravagantly blue that only Castiel's own eyes could rival. “Hello, my children.”
“Father!” Michael exclaimed in awe, smiling, as Lucifer refused to look up, afraid and ashamed. Gabriel looked up, grinning as he realized that their Father hadn't abandoned them, and they could be a family again.
“Hello, Michael, Gabriel...” God paused as he looked at Lucifer's kneeling form, feeling the sorrow and grief that rolled through him, as he feared being kicked out of the family again. “Lucifer, how have you been?”
“I've been fine,” Lucifer replied shakily, head bowed, flinching as his Father laid His hand on his shoulder.
“Stand up, Lucifer. You two as well,” God told them gently, looking into the blue eyes that seemed almost dead inside. He could see the pain inside of the young man in front of him, and He could see the regret and desire to be killed, believing he deserved it. “You don't deserve death, Lucifer,” God softly told Lucifer, but knew that the boy didn't believe Him. “I've forgiven you since you came home, knowing full-well that they could have killed you. You're forgiven for everything now; welcome Home, my son.”
Lucifer's eyes stung as he embraced his Father, feeling cleansed of sin and safe in the embrace. Michael smiled, as did Gabriel, knowing that their brother deserved to be forgiven. God pulled away from Lucifer, and turned to the other two. “Michael, you obeyed me, but forgot that I wanted everything to be by one's own free will. Obedience isn't as important as morality, my son,” God told Michael, who bowed his head, but looked up when God touched him. “Thank you anyways, you were doing what you could with the circumstances.”
Then, He turned to the youngest Archangel, Gabriel. “Gabriel... or should I call you The Trickster, now?” He smiled, and Gabriel grinned back, “You died following my orders to love the humans, and for that, I thank you. I understand when you left after Lucifer's Fall, and I will never hold that against you. Welcome Home to you as well, Gabriel.”
The three felt peaceful, which was a welcome feeling after the chaotic war. God walked over to Castiel's lifeless body, placing His hand on the boy's head, smiling. He turned back to the three, “how would you feel about a new Archangel?” They all nodded vehemently, and God smiled softly, before turning back to Castiel. “Castiel, my son, wake now, restored and repaired.”
Castiel's eyes opened, and he lifted is hand to wipe his eyes, before seeing where he was, but not immediately recognizing their Father. “Are you... God?” Castiel's high-pitched voice asked, and the three smiled, unused to it after hearing his deep, gravelly voice for so long.
“Yes, Castiel,” God answered, amused as Castiel scrambled clumsily to get on his knees. He placed a hand on Castiel's shoulder, stopping him. “There's no need for that, Castiel. How do you feel?”
“I feel tingly, but stronger than before,” Castiel said, and God nodded.
“You've been promoted to a higher rank; you're an Archangel now. The tingly feeling should leave in a day or two. Do you boys mind giving us some time to... catch up?” God asked, and the three quickly left to give the two some privacy. “Castiel, I think it's time we talk.”
“I'm sorry,” Castiel softly responded, averting his eyes as his shoulders drooped.
“For what?”
“I disobeyed Michael and went against your orders. I fought against the Angels, and was cast out,” Castiel told God, who only made a hmm sound as Castiel confessed his 'sins'. “I was a disgrace to Heaven, I deserved to be cast out, everyone should be ashamed of me, I-”
“Castiel, that's enough,” God cut in, brooking no room for argument. “You are not a disgrace, you only obeyed my orders to love the humans and encourage free will. You didn't deserve to be cast out; yes, you made mistakes, but I forgive you. I am not ashamed of you, and I will be very disappointed if anyone is. You're a child, Castiel, but you had to take on the responsibility that not even Michael could handle.”
Castiel nodded through teary eyes, smiling, and God picked Castiel up and hugged him. “Of course, you did also call me a... son of a bitch, was it?” God chuckled as Castiel shifted uncomfortably, blushing slightly.
“I... yes, I did. I'm sorry,” Castiel awkwardly replied, to which God smiled. “How's Dean? And Sam? What will happen now?”
“The demons have been destroyed, save a few. I think their time as a hunter should be easier now, with Heaven in peace, only ghosts or the occasional wolf or vampire to fight. Of course, you'll still be by their side if you so wish, but you also have a home, right here in Heaven. It saddens me that your first and true home was made unavailable to you for your loyalty, and your resistance to doing things that will harm those you care about. That is bravery, my son, it's to stand up for what you believe in, even if the others forsake you for your beliefs.”