Part III

Castiel staggered his way across the park toward the sandbox. Though it irked him to be walking straight into a trap like this, he knew it was the best chance for Sam and Dean to get inside. He just hoped he wasn't leading his two human friends to their deaths. The fact was Castiel didn't know if the others in the garrison were even still alive. Or Gabriel, for that matter. Ezra was supposed to help get him 'out of the way,' but what if that meant killing him?

Castiel shoved those dire thoughts down as he approached the sandbox. Time to find out.

As predicted, the guard in the bushes zapped behind him, and Castiel immediately found an angel blade to his throat. He raised his hands in surrender and let himself be manhandled forward. Only once someone stepped into the sandbox did the shimmering contours of a door begin to flicker on the air like a mirage. The angel guard grabbed the handle and pushed it open, and then shoved Castiel inside. The incompetent fool left it open, too. Castiel would have smirked if he wasn't roughly pushed forward again, jarring his injuries. He gritted his teeth.

"It's me!" the guard called out as they walked the four feet through the elongated archway and into the main war room.

Castiel felt a split second of thrilled relief to see his brothers and sisters alive, though bound and huddled in the middle of the floor. He swept his gaze around the room quickly, counting the number of Zachariah's soldiers. Zachariah was there himself, along with Uriel, whose good eye looked about to bulge out of its socket at Castiel's appearance.

"I caught him on the way in," the guard said, nudging Castiel forward.

Zachariah's face broke into a wide grin, but then his brow pinched. "Wow, talk about what the cat dragged in, literally. Did you tangle with a pack of hellhounds again?"

Castiel narrowed his eyes in confusion, then flicked a glance at Uriel. So the other angel's revenge wasn't with permission.

"I'd say Uriel and Ezra wanted to spare me the firing squad you have planned," he replied. "But I think their motives were less than pure in that regard."

Zachariah gazed at him blankly for a moment before he slowly turned a look of deadly calm on Uriel. "Is that so?" he said, punctuating each word in a low tone.

"I ran into Castiel before the scheduled attack. I didn't think it wise to risk the rebel warning the others, and so decided to keep him out of the way so everything could go according to plan," Uriel replied smoothly.

Castiel met Balthazar's and Anna's gazes as he did a quick survey for injuries. They all seemed unharmed, and rather relieved to see him, albeit worried, too. He apparently did look a mess. Plus captured, just like they were. But they didn't know help was right outside.

"So him escaping whatever confines you dredged up was according to plan?" Zachariah retorted. "And thinking I wouldn't find out? What else have you failed to take into account?"

Castiel thanked the Lord for the Winchesters' sense of impeccable—and poetic—timing; as though on cue, they burst through the front door and immediately started shooting. Two of the soldiers standing closest to the archway went down in a shattering of grace before the rest of Zachariah's thugs realized what was happening.

Castiel twisted around and slammed his palm up into the guard's nose with a crunch of cartilage. The angel reeled backward, but Castiel caught his arm and wrenched the blade from his hand, then followed up with a roundhouse kick to send him crashing to the floor.

Gunshots continued to crack like thunder. Castiel lunged to attack a soldier on the perimeter so as to stay out of the main line of fire. Eruptions of grace reflected against the walls, and Castiel prayed his garrison had the presence of mind to stay low to the floor.

He drove the pommel of his blade into the skull of another guard, and whirled to find the next one, when a sharp cry jerked his attention across the room. Zachariah had grabbed Hael and was holding her against his body like a shield, an angel blade to her neck. Castiel froze. So did the gunfire.

"Don't make me slit her throat and get blood all over everything," Zachariah seethed.

Castiel clenched his jaw, but tossed his angel blade on the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Winchesters laying down their arms as well. Castiel turned his head and tried to meet their eyes, to apologize for getting them into this. Their expressions were filled with nothing but fury, but directed at Zachariah.

The seraph waited until his few remaining soldiers moved forward to seize Castiel and the Winchesters before he flung Hael back on the ground. He then stormed over to Castiel, a vein in his forehead fit to burst. Zachariah flashed a fuming look at Sam and Dean.

"These two humans again," he said in disbelief. "What is it with you bringing them into battles, Castiel? Are they cannon fodder?"

Castiel glowered silently.

"They're Castiel's favorite pets," Ezra spoke up, rising from where he'd been hiding behind some furniture.

Castiel furled his hands into fists. He'd always known Ezra didn't share the same measure of faith and drive as most of the rest of them concerning their divine mission, but Castiel had hoped that with time, Ezra and others would come to love their earthly charges the way Castiel did.

Obviously, he'd grossly overestimated Ezra's capacity for compassion.

"He's got the whole garrison looking after a camp of humans like it's some kind of personal petting zoo," Ezra went on.

"Hey," Dean said indignantly.

Castiel shot him a quelling look. He'd rather the Winchesters not draw anyone's attention too closely.

Zachariah hummed thoughtfully. "We might have to pay a visit to this camp when we're through here."

Castiel's heart stopped. No.

"I knew you'd be a great big bag of dicks," Dean growled.

Zachariah sidestepped toward him, and Castiel made to intercept, but rough hands grabbed his arms and held him back.

Dean didn't even flinch as Zachariah leaned close.

"You know, I've grown bored waiting for Gabriel."

Castiel stiffened. Gabriel? Of course, Heaven would want to set a trap for the leader of the resistance. That probably explained why the other members of the garrison were still alive, for now.

Zachariah straightened and clapped his hands together. "I think I'll kill your two favorite humans right here and now." He turned a stormy gaze to Castiel. "Because that's what happens to rebels."

Castiel tried to break free again, to which Zachariah just laughed, and drew his angel blade. But before he could use it, a door in one of the back rooms banged open, and a chipper voice called out,

"Lucy, I'm home!"

Sam had been wracking his brain for a way out of this when everyone froze and turned their heads to where Gabriel had pranced in from a corridor with a cavalier grin. But Sam could see the archangel's eyes crackling with fury underneath the casual facade.

Zachariah's jaw actually dropped, and he cast an incredulous look between Gabriel and the front door. Sam noticed some harsh sigils that looked recently gouged into the frame.

"Ye-ah," Gabriel drawled. "Did you think I wouldn't have a backdoor into this place?" He turned to the puny blonde angel who'd insulted Sam and Dean. "And shoving me into a labyrinth, really? I used to be best pals with the deity who built that place."

"It was just a distraction," the dark-skinned angel with one eye growled. Sam figured that was Uriel, based on Cas's earlier description. "You are outnumbered, your base compromised. Surrender or watch your soldiers die."

Gabriel arched an unimpressed brow. "Oh really?"

Without warning, he swung his arms up and slammed his palms together. The room exploded with a burst of golden light. Sam snapped his eyes shut against the blinding glare, but didn't waste the opportunity, and drove his elbow back into the guard behind him. He then dove for the floor in the general direction of where his gun had been left.

By the time his groping fingers found it, the light had receded, and the room was in chaos. Both Dean and Cas were engaged in combat with their guards while Gabriel was pummeling the ones who'd converged on him.

An angel charged at Sam, but he raised his gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit center mass, and the angel's eyes flew wide as his grace erupted into a shattering of stardust. Sam darted toward the body and started patting down the guy's pockets. Yes! He had a key.

Sam scrambled into the middle of the fray to reach the captive angels. He slid onto the floor next to Anna and quickly unlocked her handcuffs. She immediately leaped to her feet and jumped into battle.

Sam turned to the next angel and freed her, then Balthazar. He unlocked one more before passing the key to that angel to finish releasing the others while he took up his gun and turned back to the fight. Unfortunately, it was now too close quarters to risk shooting, so Sam snatched up an angel blade he saw on the floor instead.

When he whirled back around, his heart stalled as he came face to face with Uriel. The dark angel shot a hand out to lash around Sam's throat, beefy fingers squeezing and lifting him straight off the ground. Sam's feet dangled in the air, and he ended up dropping his weapon in a panic as he clawed to get the angel's arm off. Uriel's nostrils flared as he tightened his grip, but then he stopped. Uriel's eyes narrowed sharply on him. Sam choked, his vision going spotty.

Something barreled into Uriel. The hand around Sam's throat was wrenched away, and he fell in a heap on the floor, gasping and coughing for oxygen. Blinking furiously, he saw Cas and Uriel roll across the floor.

The compound was filled with screams and the star bursts of dying angels. Sam saw Zachariah make a break for the archway and escape out the front door. Uriel staggered to his feet and retreated as well. Cas scrambled after him.

Sam forced himself up. Dammit! Reaching for his gun again, he hurried after his idiot friend. Sam stumbled outside, the trip through the portal door disorienting, having been in a short tunnel one second and a sandbox the next. He spotted Cas and Uriel facing off several yards away. There was no sign of Zachariah.

"You're in no shape to fight me, Castiel," Uriel sneered.

Cas lowered himself into a fighting stance. "Then what are you afraid of?"

Uriel snarled, and his grace erupted with a blazing roar and blinding flash that transformed him into a full-blown leopard the size of an elephant, bluish-white grace fizzling along the contours of its shape and spots.

Cas's own power surged up and around as his grace panther completely replaced his human form.

Sam's eyes widened. Oh, crap.

The two cats lunged at each other, clashing with a thunderous roar and yowl as fangs and claws tore into each other. Sam scrabbled out of the way as the two large felines rolled and grappled, locked in vicious combat.

But despite Cas's confidence, Sam knew he was severely injured already. He watched the leopard tear into the panther's flank. Iridescent blood oozed out like mist, and Cas let out a pained howl before twisting around to retaliate with his claws.

Sam threw his gun down because tiny angel bullets weren't enough against souped up angels. But something else might be.

He bolted for the jeep parked on the curb. Throwing aside most of the contents in the back, Sam finally found what he wanted laying at the bottom. He hefted the grenade launcher up and turned back to the fight.

"Cas, move!" he yelled, and took aim.

The panther rolled away without hesitation, and the leopard snapped its gaze toward Sam. He fired.

The grenade shot through the air and hit the leopard in the side, exploding on impact and sending flames coursing up over the grace aura. The cat flinched and roared at him, but it wasn't anything close to a fatal hit.

But the distraction was enough, and Cas spun back around to clamp his teeth around Uriel's neck. The leopard roared and reared back, then jerked sideways and managed to throw Cas off. But instead of following through, Uriel turned and dove into the ether.

Sam ran back across the park to where the panther's grace started to wobble and fold back in on itself. It grew brighter for an instant, and then Cas was back in his human form, swaying on his feet. Sam dropped the grenade launcher on the grass and rushed over to take his arm.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Fine," he rasped.

Sam shot him a 'bullshit' glare.

"I will be," Cas amended.

There was a small creak from the sandbox, and Sam looked up as Dean and Gabriel emerged. Both of them hurried over, Gabriel taking Cas's other arm and most of his weight.

"What did I say about no parties while I'm away?" the archangel quipped.

"Wasn't…my…idea."

"Yes, Ezra," Gabriel said darkly. "I'll deal with him."

"He's still alive?" Sam asked.

"For the moment."

"Okay, Cas is pretty banged up," Dean interjected. "That dick Uriel tortured him before all this got started."

Gabriel's eyes hardened as he cast a more scrutinizing look over Cas's torn and bloodied clothes. "I see this is gonna be a long story," he sighed. "Come on." He started to turn back to the pocket dimension door. "The place is a mess, but mi casa es su casa."

Sam exchanged a brief look of curiosity with Dean. This should be interesting.

Gabriel ran a glowing palm over the last of the sigils carved into the archway, finally burning it all away. He stepped back and pursed his mouth at the blackened frame. Oh well, he'd been thinking about redecorating, anyway.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the last piece—the parchment paper with the blood sigil that would have activated that trap. Gabriel crumpled it in his fist, giving an extra jolt of grace so the paper disintegrated into chaff. That would have been a nasty spell to walk into. Leave it to Zachariah to think of it.

Things could have gone very differently today if Ezra hadn't tipped his hand when leading Gabriel to that labyrinth. He should have waited for Gabriel to enter on his own, but no, he got nervous and had to give an extra push. So of course Gabriel was going to suspect something was wrong when he eventually came back to compound. Not to mention he'd spotted the human vehicle at the edge of the park, which decidedly did not belong there.

Gabriel hadn't known what to expect when he entered their home through a secret passage only he knew about, but the Winchesters' presence had been more of a surprise than Zachariah and his goons.

…Things would have gone very differently if Sam and Dean hadn't been there. For the garrison and for Castiel, whom they might have never found if it weren't for those two humans.

Gabriel turned at the sound of soft footsteps.

Hael gave him a soft smile as she approached. "I've treated Castiel's wounds. He'll be fine with some rest."

Gabriel nodded, then reached out to lightly touch her elbow. "You okay?"

She startled. "Oh, yes."

He lowered his gaze knowingly. Hael was a healer, not a fighter, and today had been just as traumatic for her.

She ducked her gaze with a slight flush of her cheeks. "I'm okay," she said, this time with more assurance.

Gabriel gave her a comforting squeeze, and she moved off to begin helping some of the others clean up the war room.

Voices echoed in the hallway, and the Winchesters emerged with Balthazar, who had been giving them a tour.

"This place is pretty awesome," Dean commented. "The, uh, skylight back there…" He gestured vaguely to what Gabriel assumed was one of the sanctuary rooms. "It was the afternoon when we came in here. Are we on the other side of the globe?"

Gabriel grinned. "You like that, huh? No, we're in a little slice removed from space and time. That window is actually located in the upper atmosphere."

Dean furrowed his brow. "We're not, though, right?"

"No."

"So it's just…hanging there?"

"It's not like there are any airplanes left to run into it," Gabriel replied.

Sam's expression, however, looked more grim than impressed. "Are you guys gonna have to abandon this place, now that Zachariah and Uriel know where it is?"

Gabriel waved a dismissive hand. "Nah. I just moved the outer door to a different location. Actually, not too far from Camp Chitaqua."

The Winchesters both raised their brows at that.

"Nice," Dean said.

Gabriel thought so, too. The humans in their charge had started off as just that, but the Winchesters had begun shifting into something different lately, something more like partners.

Shuffling issued from the other corridor as Castiel made his way over to them, with Anna lending a supportive arm. His chest was swathed in bandages and he wore a loose, unbuttoned black shirt over them.

"He refused to stay in bed," Anna said by way of greeting.

"I don't know, Cas," Dean said. "These are some nice digs. Staying in bed for a few days sounds pretty good."

Sam let out a snort. "As if you would."

Dean shot his brother a scathing look, then quirked a brow at Castiel. "Dude, do you own anything other than black?"

Castiel rolled his eyes in a long-suffering mien. "I do not understand your obsession with flannel."

"It's comfortable."

"Good for layering."

Gabriel's mouth twitched at both brothers' alternating replies. He cast a quick look around, noting that most of the garrison was in the war room cleaning up. He raised the volume of his voice a little.

"I want to thank you two, for what you did. You put your lives in danger to help us in a fight that wasn't yours."

Dean and Sam exchanged a look before the elder Winchester responded, "Of course it was our fight. We're allies, aren't we?"

Gabriel bit back a smile. "That. And friends."

And let everyone in his garrison know that. They weren't just fighting against the forces of Hell here, or the corruption of Heaven. And maybe they'd started with the idea of restoring the status quo, but the time for that was long past. It was time for angels and humans to not be distant strangers. Gabriel glanced at Castiel, the one who had opened the way to that, because he dared to love their Father's creations. And was better for it.

"What about Ezra?" Sam asked.

"Oh, don't worry about him," Gabriel replied. "I bound his grace and threw him in a labyrinth set in a pocket dimension, since he seemed so big on the place. He won't get out for a millennia on his own."

The younger Winchester gave him a dubious look, but then shook it off.

Gabriel snapped his fingers. "Oh, your vehicle was left at the park. Um, let me think who can go drive it back here…"

"I can," Castiel spoke up.

Dean snorted. "Yeah, try again in a few days."

Inias raised his hand tentatively. "Uh, I can learn how to drive a human vehicle."

"There you go," Gabriel said to the Winchesters. "Inias can go back to the camp with you, you can give him a few pointers, and he should have the vehicle back by tomorrow."

Sam and Dean exchanged an uncertain look at that, but didn't say anything.

Hester stepped forward then. "Before you go, I have something for you to take back with you."

Gabriel arched an intrigued brow as she produced a short wave radio from behind her back and handed it to Dean.

"I've rigged it so the signal will get through to here, where we have another one." Hester nodded to a table against the far wall where an identical radio sat. She suddenly looked uncomfortable. "If you need anything," she added.

"Thanks," Sam said with a smile.

Gabriel folded his arms across his chest as warm pride for his garrison blossomed inside him. The world may be growing more dark and depraved, but the lot of them here, they were getting stronger.

…

NEXT TIME

"I found one of Azazel's 'special children,'" Castiel reported. "Killed recently in what looked like a ritualistic manner."

Gabriel frowned. "Any sign of what did it?"

"No, just that it probably wasn't a beast."

He crossed his arms. "So it could have been an angel. If Heaven got wind of the demons plotting something, they might intervene."

"Then Sam Winchester is in danger from both Heaven and Hell," Castiel said.

A/N: Check out 29-pieces-of-me on deviantart for the pic of Uriel she did for this episode! And things are really going to heat up next time as we come to the mid-point of the major arc. ;)