#casix

The next morning once they woke up they got dressed and checked out of the motel. They headed to the small diner in town for breakfast and while they were there they decided on a game plan. They knew that the tattooed warding would keep them from being tracked down but they could never been one hundred percent sure that they would stay safe forever.

 “We should pick somewhere to lay low,” Nix suggested, shoving a piece of waffle in her mouth, “somewhere we can stay under the radar.”

 “Maybe we should put another state between us and whatever town we hit first stay there,” Castiel suggested.

 Nix nodded in agreement as she took a sip of her coffee to wash down the waffle.

 “That’s perfect,” she smiled, “we should probably hit the road soon then, if we want to try avoiding too many more nights in run down hotels.”

 Castiel agreed and once they both finished their coffee they paid the bill and got back into Phoenix’s car. They pulled back out onto the highway and sat in a comfortable silence for the first fifty miles. Nix’s mind was wandering, though, and she needed some answers. She hadn’t pressed Castiel to talk when he showed up at the bunker but now that she’d been ambushed by the angels herself she really needed to get the whole story.

 “Cas?” she asked and he turned to look at her, “Why are the angels after you?”

 Castiel let out a sigh and looked out the window. He was silent for a few minutes and Nix was afraid that she’d offended him, that she hadn’t waited long enough before asking him for an explanation.

 “Metatron had me convinced,” he cleared his throat, “convinced that he could take out Naomi and restore Heaven to what it used to be. He swore up and down that these ‘angel trials’ were the only way to close the doors to Heaven and get everything back in working order. I was stupid enough to believe him.”

 “Cas, you weren’t stupid.”

 “That’s kind of you, Nix, but I was,” he continued, “I was stupid and foolish and followed him blindly. I didn’t question any of his motives. I was so sure he was right. He manipulated me into completing all of the elements of this spell to seal off Heaven for good. My grace was the final piece of the spell and with that he cast the angels from Heaven and sealed the doors. There’s no way in or out now.”

 Nix nodded in understanding before speaking.

 “Is that why the angels are after you?”

 “Yes,” he sighed.

 She could tell that he was regretting his decisions and feeling like he was completely at fault for the events that transpired.

 “Cas, you have to know it’s not your fault,” she consoled, “Metatron tricked you. You wouldn’t have done that willingly. If you knew the outcome you would have stopped.”

 “I know, but that doesn’t change anything,” he sighed, “they still want my head on a silver platter.”

 Phoenix could tell he was upset and she knew not to press the issue anymore. She wished Castiel would believe what she said. She wanted nothing more than for him to realize that he was putting too much on his shoulders, that he was blaming himself for things that were completely out of control. She knew that was out of character for him, though, and so she let it be.

 They drove in silence until they reached the town they’d agreed upon. They drove through the town aimlessly looking for signs for apartments for rent. They had all but given up hope a few hours later and were ready to spend another night in a motel when they finally saw the sign in a window above a shop. Nix parked her car out front and the pair made their way inside. They asked the woman behind the counter about the sign in the upstairs window and she said she’d go find the landlord.

 A few minutes later an older man greeted them and lead them up the stairs to the small two bedroom apartment on the second floor. He explained to them that there was an entrance to the apartment at the back of the building and gave them the information about the rent cost and utilities and let them look at the apartment. Once they both checked the place out they deemed it a perfect fit and told the landlord they would take it.

 He told them that he had a few other people looking at the place but to leave their number and he would contact them within the next day or so. Phoenix gave the man her number and the pair made their way back out to her car. Once they were both back in the car they headed toward the nearest motel and got themselves ready for bed. Even though they weren’t sure if they’d managed to snag the apartment they both knew they would need jobs regardless and decided that they would go looking for some the next morning. For the third night in a row Castiel climbed into bed next to Nix and, without even meaning to, pulled her flush against him. She didn’t seem to mind and within minutes they were both fast asleep.

 The next morning they both got themselves ready to look for jobs. Phoenix had interviewed at a few places but by the end of the day she’d managed to land herself a job at the local diner as a waitress. When she finally got back to the motel she was anxious to see if Cas had gotten a job himself.

 “How’d it go?” Nix asked when she walked into the motel room.

 “It was alright, I didn’t get any of the jobs I interviewed for,” he sighed, “what about you?”

 “I got a waitressing job at the diner,” Nix shrugged, “walk me through the interviews, maybe I can help you figure out where you went wrong.”

 Phoenix changed into her pajamas and sat cross legged on the bed as Castiel went over the details of his day with her. It became very apparent to her that he wasn’t quite grasping what it meant to be human and that’s why he wasn’t landing the jobs. She tried her best to coach him on what was wrong. He took her information to heart and handed her an application he’d picked up on his search that day.

 After some help from Nix he was sure that when he dropped off that application he would be able to land the job. They decided to order a pizza to the motel room and watch a cheesy movie on pay-per-view while they waited. Twenty minutes later Phoenix’s phone rang, not recognizing the number she waited a few seconds before answering. She was glad she did, though, because the man on the other end was telling her that they had gotten the apartment.

 “Looks like we’re going furniture shopping tomorrow,” Nix smiled once she hung up.

 Castiel looked at her confused. She couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that he hadn’t realized what she meant.

 “We got the apartment,” she pointed out with a grin.

 “Really?”

 “Really,” she beamed.

 “Then hopefully I get this job or we won’t be able to afford it,” Castiel sighed.

 “I’ve got faith,” Nix smiled.

Castiel and Phoenix had put an unknown amount of miles between themselves and the bunker with no real destination in mind. They weren’t sure where they were going but they seemed to have all the time in the world to figure it all out. After they’d been driving for hours, long after the sun had gone down, they decided to stop for the night. Phoenix pulled the car into the parking lot of the nearest hotel and they got a room. They got themselves settled as best as possible and Castiel grabbed a pillow from the bed, ready to make a bed on the floor.

 “You can sleep in the bed with me,” Phoenix offered, “no need to sleep on the floor.”

 He looked at her questioningly before she patted the spot on the bed next to her. He placed the pillow back on the top of the bed before kicking off his shoes and climbing in next to her. Phoenix settled herself against the pillows and laid on her side, her back to Castiel. Cas did the same and in seconds the two of them were fast asleep, completely exhausted from the events of the past few days.

 They were asleep for only a few hours before a loud banging on the motel room door jerked them both from sleep. Phoenix pulled her gun from under her pillow while Castiel grabbed the angel blade from the bedside table next to him. He motioned for her to stay silent as he climbed out of bed and crossed the room to look out the window. He pushed the curtain back slightly but couldn’t see anything.

 Phoenix got up then, and went to the window on the other side of the door. Peering out of that window all she could see were the few cars in the almost empty parking lot. They both started walking back toward the bed, chalking their jumpiness up to being paranoid about the current angel problem. They had almost reached the bed when the door flew open and two men in suits walked into the room.

 “Castiel, we’ve been looking for you,” one of them smirked.

 He recognized the angel by his vessel and narrowed his eyes before responding. “How did you find me, Joshua?”

 “You’re not warded, it wasn’t hard,” he smirked, “you need to come with us. If you come willingly we will not harm the girl.”

 The other angel, who Castiel did not recognize, took two steps toward Phoenix and Castiel’s grip on the angel blade tightened. He would be damned if he let anything happen to her.

 “Cas, don’t --” Phoenix warned.

 He looked between her and the men in front of him and made a quick decision. Without hesitation he lifted the angel blade and shoved it through the unknown angel’s chest. Phoenix squeezed her eyes shut as the blue light exploded from the vessel and the angel died. Before Castiel could even process what was happening Joshua had crossed the room and pulled Phoenix against him, his arm holding her firmly in place as he placed his angel blade against her throat.

 “Don’t --” Castiel said, panicked, as he took a short step toward the pair.

 Joshua pressed the blade harder against Phoenix’s neck and smirked at Castiel.

 “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Castiel,” he said, “I have no qualms about killing her.”

 “Please,” Castiel begged, the fear for Phoenix’s life present in his voice, “don’t hurt her. I’ll go with you.”

 “Cas, no!” Phoenix struggled against her captor’s hold only to have the blade pressed more firmly against her throat, drawing blood.

 Joshua lessened his hold on Phoenix as he realized that Castiel was willing to comply. What he wasn’t expecting was Phoenix breaking free and Castiel tossing her his angel blade. She caught it swiftly and before Joshua could make a move she slammed it through his chest, shutting her eyes to the blinding light of the angel dying for the second time that night.

 Phoenix handed Castiel the angel blade and the pair immediately went to work about disposing of the bodies. By the time they were done they climbed back into bed but neither of them were tired.

 “Your neck is still bleeding,” Castiel pointed out as they laid in bed facing each other.

 “It’s fine, it will stop, I’ve had worse,” Phoenix shrugged.

 “There was once a time I would be able to heal that for you,” Castiel sighed, “I’m sorry I can’t now.”

 “Don’t worry about it, Cas,” she said giving him a small smile.

 They laid there like that for a few more minutes before they both realized they wouldn’t be getting anymore sleep that night. They were on too high alert from the encounter and the fact that they now knew the angels could show up at any moment. They climbed out of bed and packed their bags before climbing back into Nix’s car and hitting the road once more.

 They pressed on until the sun came up and stopped at a diner for breakfast. They ate their food quickly, too afraid of the fact that they were being followed, and got back into the car.

 “I have a suggestion,” Castiel said a few hours later as they were driving through yet another town.

 “What’s up?”

 “The angel warding,” he said, “I can’t brand it onto your ribs anymore but I could draw it out. We could get tattoos. It would help keep them off our trail.”

 “That is an excellent idea,” Nix grinned.

 As soon as she spotted the next tattoo parlor she pulled into the parking lot and they made their way inside. After explaining to the artist what they wanted, Castiel drew the warding out on a piece of paper and Phoenix climbed onto the chair. She settled herself on her left side on the bench and the tattoo artist went to work etching the design into her right rib cage. An hour and a half later she was finished and it was Castiel’s turn.

 Nix had handled the pain like a champ, having a few tattoos already, but Castiel was a different story. Sure, he’d endured a substantial amount of pain in all the fights he’d been in but nothing could prepare him for this. It was less painful than the beatings he’d taken but it was a different kind of pain, especially for the spot he’d chosen. With the writing starting at the bottom of his right rib cage and ending on his stomach it was a sensitive area.

 Phoenix noticed his pain immediately and scooted the chair she was sitting in closer to the table. She gripped his hand and told him to squeeze if it hurt too much. He looked apprehensive about it but she promised him he could squeeze as hard as he needed to -- that she could handle it. Sure enough he squeezed like a woman in labor with no drugs and Phoenix took it. She dealt with the pain and after a painstakingly long hour he was finished.

While Phoenix was off getting Castiel settled into one of the bedrooms in the bunker Sam was still looking into where all the angels had fallen and Dean was practically devouring his second burrito. In a split second their conversation was halted as the angel possessing Sam and healing him from the damage done from the trials, Ezekiel, took over and stared at Dean.

“Castiel cannot stay here,” he stated, “he will bring the angels down on all of us.”

 “No, no,” Dean shook his head, “this place is warded, angels can’t get in without an invitation.”

 “That does not mean they cannot find this place and wait us out.”

 “This is Cas, ok? He vouched for you when I didn’t know you from Jack. I’m telling you, the bunker’s safe.”

 “From what Sam has found Bartholomew is massing a force,” Ezekiel pointed out, “we cannot stand an attack. Castiel is being tracked and he is in danger and if he is in danger then so am I. I don’t think I need to tell you what that means for your brother.”

 “Hold on, you’re in danger? With who? The angels? Why?”

 “That does not matter. If Castiel stays, then I will be forced to leave and if I leave before Sam is well enough, he will die.”

 Dean seemed to think this over for a minute and let out a sigh as he ran his hands through his hair. As quickly as Ezekiel had taken over Sam was back and Dean pushed up from his chair to go talk to Cas. Cas was his friend, sure, but he couldn’t afford to lose his brother...not again.

 Dean walked through the bunker, passing Nix in the hallway, making his way to Castiel’s new room. He knocked on the door as Castiel sat on his bed.

 “Yes, Dean?”

 “Listen, Cas, we uh -- we need to talk.”

 Phoenix didn’t like the look on Dean’s face as he walked toward Cas’ room. She knew he would tell her what he and Cas talked about but she decided she’d rather hear it for herself and get all of the information she was sure Dean would probably leave out. She walked back toward Cas’ room and leaned against the wall, careful they couldn’t see her.

 “Ok,” Cas said, “you know I always enjoy our talks.”

 “Listen Cas,” Dean sighed, “you can’t stay.”

 Castiel looked at him, confused. Dean had told him to come here, that they would figure out the angel business together. It was such a dramatic change that Castiel wasn’t sure what to think.

 “Can I ask why?”

 “I can’t really tell you, but you gotta know if the circumstances were different you could stay. Just, don’t say anything to Sam.”

 “I understand.”

 Dean walked out of the room and practically ran into Phoenix. He let out a sigh, realizing she’d heard the entire conversation. She was livid, her mouth set in a thin line. Dean knew better than to try to talk her out of being angry so instead he just let her explode on him.

 “If he goes, I’m going with him.”

 That was all she said, she was so angry she couldn’t even say anything else. Instead she spun on her heel and stalked off to her room. She was throwing her things into her duffel bag, trying her best to make sure she wasn’t forgetting anything as Dean approached her room.

 “Nix,” he said, “just let me explain.”

 “No,” she snapped, pulling more shirts from her closet.

 “He can’t stay, there’s things going on that I can’t get into right now, but Cas will be fine. He doesn’t need you going with him.”

 “Oh really?” she said, turning to fully face him, “You didn’t see him when he showed up here, Dean. He was practically covered in blood and he looked like hell. He doesn’t know how to be human. He needs some sort of protection. He said the angels are after him and I know he can fight and I know he can handle himself but he needs some backup and I know for a fact neither you nor Sam is gonna do that.”

 “He can get help from someone else, Phoenix! You don’t need to be the one to do it! What if something happens to you out there? I couldn’t live with myself if you die and I could have stopped it!”

 Phoenix turned her back to him and continued to rip through her drawers and closet. She wasn’t even bothering to fold anything, she was just shoving everything into her duffel bag unceremoniously.

 “Stop worrying about me, Dean! You know I can handle myself! How many times has it been me saving your sorry ass from something!? He needs me more than you do! I’m not some scared twenty-two-year-old kid anymore, Dean!”

 “You don’t think I know that! But you’re still family and I’ll be damned if I lose someone else!”

 “What about Cas? Huh?” she spat, putting the last of her things in her bag, “I thought he was family too. Or does he not count anymore because he’s got no more useful powers?”

 “You know it’s not like that,” Dean said through gritted teeth, “but I know he can handle himself.”

 “Doesn’t matter if that’s what you think, Dean, I’m going with him and that’s final.”

 Phoenix zipped her duffle bag and pushed passed Dean, not bothering to make eye contact with him, making her way out of the room. She met up with Cas just as he was about to walk up the stairs toward the front door.

 “Cas, wait!” she called out to him and he turned to face her, “I’m going with you. We can take my car.”

 Castiel gave her a small smile and walked toward her.

 “Are you sure?”

 She nodded. He gave her a genuine smile this time and followed her out to the garage. Dean watched them both walk away and ran his hands through his hair again.

 “Where are they going?” Sam asked joining Dean in the hallway, “Cas just came to say goodbye but he wouldn’t say anything about it. I didn’t know Nix was going too.”

 “Uh, yeah,” Dean cleared his throat, “he’s got a lead on some angel stuff and Nix is gonna help him out.”

It had been twenty four hours since the map in the war room had gone haywire and the bunker went on lockdown. Neither Kevin nor Phoenix had heard from Dean, Sam or Castiel and they were starting to worry. The only good thing that seemed to have happened was that the door to the bunker had finally unlocked. Even that, though, was a minor victory seeing as they hadn't found any information in the lore or the Men of Letters files to indicate why the events from the day before had occurred.

 “I'm gonna try Dean again,” Kevin sighed, slamming yet another book shut, “if I were you I would try Cas again.”

 “Why me?”

 “Because he really only answers you. When was the last time I prayed to him and he showed up?”

 Phoenix thought about it for a second before responding. “Fair enough.”

 Kevin walked off to a different spot in the bunker to call Dean while Nix got herself comfortable in one of the library chairs, ready to send out what felt like the thousandth prayer to Castiel. She had just started her prayer to him when there was a loud pounding on the front door of the bunker.

 Without hesitation she grabbed her gun from the library table and made her way to the front door. She took a deep breath before opening it slowly. At first she didn't recognize the man standing before her, he wasn't wearing his usual trench coat. Instead he was dressed in jeans and a hoodie with blood seeping through the right shoulder of the fabric.

 “Cas? What the hell happened to you?”

 “Angels,” he stated, “they could still be following me.”

 Nix nodded in understanding and ushered him into the bunker before closing the door behind him. She helped him into the library as she berated him with questions.

 “Are you alright? What happened?”

 “I'm fine,” he winced when she touched his shoulder, “where are Sam and Dean?”

 “They're not back yet,” she sighed, “I don't think you're fine. That's a lot of blood. Let me clean you up and you can tell me what happened.”

 He nodded as she rushed off to her room to grab a first aid kit. It concerned her that there was so much blood. Being an Angel he should have been able to heal himself of his wounds and the fact that he hadn't worried her. She was sure he must have run into someone or something terrible. When she joined him back in the library she asked him to remove his sweatshirt and lift up the sleeve of his t-shirt so she could get a better look at his wound.

 At first she was too busy readying her limited medical supplies to notice anything different about him. When she turned to face him, however, the dark wording on his left forearm immediately caught her attention. Her eyes went wide and she couldn't stop the gasp from escaping her lips.

 “It's much worse than you thought it was, isn't it?” Castiel sighed.

 “No,” she said clearing her throat, “no it's not that. It's just….your forearm.”

 He glanced down at the now permanent reminder of his current state and looked back up at her, his blue eyes meeting her brown ones for a brief second before he looked away again. Phoenix was right, something happened to him, but it was far worse than she could have anticipated. She couldn’t stop herself from staring at the phrase on his arm and for a split second she wondered if those could possibly be her last words. She shook the thought from her head and forced herself to focus on the task at hand. She cleaned out his wound and stitched the gash shut before she said another word to him.

 “Cas…” she started as he pulled his sweatshirt back on, “your grace is gone, isn’t it?”

 “Yes,” he said, looking anywhere but her, “Metatron took it to cast the Angels from Heaven.”

 All she did was nod. She could tell he didn’t want to talk about it and she wasn’t one to press for information. If he wanted to talk to her about it he would when he was ready.

 “Why don’t you go take a shower,” Nix suggested, “I’ll wash your clothes and maybe I can find something of Dean’s that will fit you in the meantime.”

 He agreed that a shower would be a good idea and she showed him where the bathrooms were. She instructed him to leave the door unlocked so she could gather his clothes to be washed once he was in the shower and she left him to take care of his business. Fifteen minutes later she walked into the bathroom, left a pile of Dean’s clothes on the sink and grabbed the clothes Cas had shown up in from the floor.

 As Phoenix put Castiel’s clothes in the wash she let her mind wander. Kevin not finding anything about Angel trials on the tablet suddenly made sense but that wasn’t all that was plaguing her thoughts. She couldn’t help but wonder if now that Castiel was human that the word on her arm could be his last word. She wandered back into the library and absentmindedly traced the letters on her arm with her finger as she tried calling Dean once more. He didn’t answer but that didn’t matter. As she hung up the phone the front door to the bunker opened and both Sam and Dean made their way down the stairs looking no worse for the wear.

 “Where the hell have you two been?” she asked, practically jumping up from the chair she was sitting in.

 Dean launched into a recap of what had transpired over the last few days and Nix looked more than worried. Dean assured her that they were both fine and would be but it didn’t really ease her nerves. Not only had they not managed to close the gates of Hell but they had to figure out how to get Heaven back in working order before the fallen Angels caused even more chaos.

 “Did Cas make it here?” Dean asked.

 “He did,” Nix nodded, “he’s in the shower right now. His grace is gone, you know.”

 “I know,” Dean sighed, “he told me. That means he’s full on human now, doesn’t it?”

 “He’s got soulmate words on his arm,” Nix sighed, “so I’d say so.”

 Dean could immediately tell what she was thinking and he shook his head.

 “Don’t do that to yourself, Nix. You don’t know.”

 “You’re right,” she argued, “I don’t. But there’s still the possibility.”

 “There is,” he agreed, “but we’ve got bigger things to deal with.”

 She nodded and then told the brothers what happened with the map in the war room the day before. It seemed as though the lights on the map coincided with where the Angels fell and Sam insisted that he would figure it out and walked off to his room to no doubt grab his laptop and see if there was anything Phoenix and Kevin had missed in the library. Dean set the bag of food he was carrying on the library table and pulled out a burrito before handing it to her. He knew she was worried but there wasn’t much he could say to ease her mind.

 “This place has excellent water pressure,” Cas said as he walked into the library, “I’ve never had a reason to be concerned with that before.”

 Dean laughed and handed him a burrito from the bag. “Glad to see you’re alright.”

 “I would be better if I had my grace,” he pointed out, taking a bite of the burrito.

 “Being human isn’t all that bad,” Nix pointed out with a smile, “you can enjoy things like water pressure and burritos now.”

 “Well, there is that,” Castiel smiled.

 Sam came back into the library a minute later, his laptop in tow.

 “I couldn’t find anything,” he sighed, pulling a burrito from the bag, “but there has to be something here to explain it.”

 Kevin joined them a few minutes later, a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. After grabbing a burrito he said his goodbyes and promised them he would be back in a few days to give the Angel tablet another look but at that moment he needed a break. Once he left and they finished their burritos Sam and Dean went to search the bunker for any sort of explanation for what happened to the map, leaving Phoenix and Castiel alone again.

 “I was right about Dean’s clothes fitting,” she said and he nodded.

 Neither of them could find anything to say to each other. Nix couldn’t stop thinking about the words that were now present on Castiel’s arm and he was wrestling with whether or not he wanted to talk to her about what had happened with Metatron. He also couldn’t help but think about the feelings he had for Phoenix. The one’s he’d always managed to push down due to the fact that she was human -- destined for a soulmate -- and he wasn’t. The circumstances had changed, however, and Metatron’s words about him finding a wife and starting a family were echoing through his head. The awkward silence didn’t last much longer when Sam and Dean entered the room again.

 “We found what looks like some ancient supercomputer in one of the rooms we hadn’t explored yet,” Sam said, “I’m not sure how to make it work, but I think I know someone who can.”

 “Charlie?” Phoenix asked.

Castiel came to, his eyes opening slowly, as he tried to get his bearings. He remembered Metatron taking his grace and sending him to earth but he didn’t remember the fall and he was thankful for that. He pulled himself to his feet, the trees surrounding him making it clear that he was stranded in the woods. He didn’t have time to dwell on that, however, as he saw what looked like meteors falling from the sky. He knew they weren’t meteors. He knew they were his family, the rest of the angels that Metatron had cast from heaven using his grace as the final piece of the spell.

He ran through the trees, pushing low hanging branches out of his way, in an attempt to get out of the woods. The screams of his falling brothers and sisters echoing through his skull. It was clear that even though his grace was gone and so were his wings he still had a direct line to angel radio. He tried to turn it off, to focus on anything else besides that, but it was no use. The screams were all consuming and they were getting louder by the second.

He finally found the edge of the woods, leading out to a highway. After walking past the last of the trees he walked to the edge of the highway, trying to figure out exactly where he was, the screams of the angels still growing louder. The screams seemed to finally silence when he felt his left forearm burning. He had been so focused on everything happening around him he didn’t even bother to check himself for injuries.

Castiel pulled off his trenchcoat and suit jacket before unbuttoning the cuff on his sleeve. He pushed the fabric up his arm, confused as to why he was feeling so much pain but there was no blood, when he noticed the writing. I’ll never tell. He watched the words etch themselves into his skin, letter by letter. Then it was there, clear as day, in crisp black lines. The mark of a soulmate. He knew he was predispositioned not to have one. Being an angel meant he had no need for a soulmate, but he was no longer an angel.

Even though Castiel knew that his grace was gone he was still in denial about being human. He didn’t want to believe that it had actually happened. But now, with the appearance of the markings that all humans were born with, he knew it was true. There was no denying it now. He was human and needed to figure out how to deal with that. On top of that he was lost. There were no road signs on the highway and no other markings to give him any other indication of where he could possibly be. With a sigh he started walking down the side of the highway, following the road in one direction, his first order of business was to find a phone and call Dean.

He wasn’t sure exactly how far he’d walked before he found a gas station with a payphone but he’d be willing to bet it was at least a couple of miles. He quickly rummaged through his pockets, hoping he had some loose change, as he walked toward the phone. He’d managed to find enough to make one call and hastily shoved the coins into the phone before dialing Dean’s number.

“Who is this?” Dean answered on the third ring.

“Dean, it’s me,” Castiel replied.

“Cas?” Dean asked.

Castiel nodded before realizing that Dean couldn’t see him.

“Yes.”

“Where the hell are you?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” he said looking around him, trying to find something to give him a clue as to where he was, “but Dean listen. My grace is gone.”

“What do you mean it’s gone?”

“Metatron, he took it,” Castiel sighed, “it was a spell. You need to know that. There were no angel trails.”

“I had a feeling,” Dean assured him, “look, head to the bunker. Nix is there, she can help you figure out what’s going on and how to get your grace back and I’ll meet you there. I’ve gotta take care of some stuff with Sam first.”

Castiel told Dean he would make his way to the bunker and he heard the sounds of monitors beeping in the background. Dean said he had to go and hung up almost immediately. With a sigh Castiel hung up the phone and walked into the gas station convenience store. He was hoping to find something to tell him where he was and he immediately located a stack of newspapers. He learned that he was in a small town in Colorado and he started to mentally plan the quickest route to Kansas.

There was nothing Nix or Kevin could do. He couldn’t translate the tablet fast enough and from what he could find there wasn’t any such thing as Angel trials. The only thing he could find that matched Castiel’s description was a spell, but he wasn’t exactly sure what the spell did.

“I can’t focus with you breathing down my neck,” Kevin sighed, “seriously, Nix. Go watch a movie or something. You can’t read this so it’s not like you can help or anything.”

“I’m not going to watch a movie,” Phoenix rolled her eyes, “Dean asked me to help you out and that’s what I’m doing.”

“You’re just making it more difficult.”

“Fine,” she said throwing her hands up in defeat, “I’ll go call Dean.”

“Why?”

“Because he should know that these so called angel trials aren’t a thing. He could warn Cas.”

“Just pray to Cas and warn him yourself.”

“I’ve tried, he doesn’t seem to be answering. Besides, Dean needs to know either way.”

Kevin nodded and went back to pouring over the Angel tablet in front of him. Nix pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts before landing on Dean’s name. She hit the call button and paced throughout the bunker as she waited for Dean to answer. It went to voicemail and she dialed again as she walked into the war room. She didn’t wait for him to answer this time, however. She hung up almost immediately after it started ringing when a loud alarm started blaring through the bunker and the map in the center of the war room lit up like a Christmas tree.

Kevin came rushing into the war room, asking what was going on, as dots started showing up one by one all across the map. Phoenix immediately started looking around the room trying to find any way to shut the alarms off but there was nothing. The alarms started getting louder and both Kevin and Nix ran up the stairs to leave. She pulled on the front door but it wouldn’t budge.

“I think we’re on lockdown!” she shouted over the noise.

“Why?”

“The hell if I know! Probably has something to do with whatever is going on with that map!”

The alarms stopped just as quickly as they started and Nix pulled on the door again. It still wouldn’t budge but at least the alarms had stopped. She looked over the railing down at the map in the center of the room and noticed that it was still illuminated. Bright red dots were covering every inch of it, making it completely impossible to distinguish one state from another.

“What the hell just happened?”

“I’m not sure,” Nix said, in disbelief, “but I’m sure there’s something in the lore. Come on. We’re gonna put the Angel tablet on hold and check through the library.”

“We should probably try calling Dean again.”

“Good point,” she nodded, making her way down the stairs, “you try Dean while I pull whatever records I can find. I’ll try giving Cas a shout out again.”