20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Supernatural belongs to Erik Kripke, Warner Brothers and quite possibly others who are not mentioned here. No money will be made from this fan fiction.

Summary: When Dean goes to sell his soul at the crossroads to bring Sam back, someone else steps in to negotiate the deal. Cas did get a sign and it sent him off into the past to change things. AU from The Man Who Would be King and All Hell Breaks Loose.

It's All in the Details

By Colleen

Chapter 20

"I'm going to kill you." Dean growled as he held onto a railing for dear life, with no intention of looking straight down a second time.

Gabriel smirked at him. "See, you should have just gone with the gold lame loincloths and the dancing girls."

Beside him, a very shaky looking Adam walked up to the railing and wrapped his hands around it as he looked out at the city below him.

"We're in Paris." He looked straight down the length of the building they were on, the early morning light more than enough to see by. "And we're on top of the Eiffel Tower." He turned to look at Sam and Dean, his eyes wide. "How are we on the Eiffel Tower?"

"Loki." The two older brothers turned to the trickster angel.

"Awww, it's so cute when you say things together."

Dean grit his teeth. "Why the hell did you do this?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Please, how long were you and your brother going to dance around the kid and his mom and not tell them the truth? Your family has got the worst karma when it comes to the supernatural and you're going to be getting it from both sides. Eventually, he and his mom are going to end up in the middle of it. You need to tell them, or at least him since he's a Winchester, what to expect. It might give them a chance to ride out what's coming."

The expression on Dean's face screamed out the desire to rip Loki's head from his body. "I hate it when you make sense."

Gabriel laughed. "Then you must hate me all the time." Before Dean could use that statement for an easy comeback, Loki clapped his hands together and gave them a rub. "So, who's up for breakfast? No point in wasting the time difference if we don't have to."

And before they could stop him, he snapped his fingers again.

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Cas followed the tracking spell to a non-descript converted warehouse in a slightly run down neighbourhood in Los Angeles. This was a good deal different from the mansion he'd found Balthazar in last time. On the outside at least.

He used a small amount of power to ghost in through the door as a tenant was leaving. Allowing the tracking spell to pull him along he walked up two flights of stairs and down a hallway, stopping at a door about halfway down.

He stared at the door for a moment before doing something very out of character for him.

He knocked.

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The apartment's occupant opened the door. To be honest, there were several reasons why Balthazar was surprised at who was standing on the other side of it. One of those reasons was because even with the last layer of Cas' wards still broken, he hadn't been able to get a read on the other angel. The other reason was that in his experience none of his brothers, or he for that matter, would have bothered to knock.

"Hello Balthazar." Castiel thinned out his shielding so the angel could tell that it was him.

"Cas." The blond angel created and disposed of seven different escape plans in the few seconds that he stared at his old friend.

"I'm just here to talk Balthazar. No one else even knows you're alive." Actually, Castiel wasn't one hundred percent positive his friend had faked his death this time around, but given that he was here and not taking part of the storming of Hell, it was a good bet.

Balthazar hesitated for a moment, and then stepped back to allow Cas to enter.

The insides of the apartment did not match the outsides, but that came as no real surprise to Castiel, not after all of the safe houses he'd set up when he'd first come to this time.

The room was two stories tall. Marble floors ran throughout the space. The main room had a central two-sided fireplace with seating areas on both sides of it. A dining table that could easily seat twelve sat off to the side of that with a kitchen beyond it. Stairs went up both sides from the main floor, leading to a number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

There were a lot of people milling about, Champaign glasses in hand. Cas was familiar enough with his friend that the fact that he was having a party was little more than set dressing for the apartment.

Balthazar grimaced as he looked at all of his party people. "Come on." He gestured to one of the stairways.

He would have taken Cas into the first bedroom they came to, but it and the next were…occupied at the moment. The angel gave a sigh of regret as he turned down invitations from both rooms and herded Castiel into the only empty space on that side of the apartment.

Once they were alone, Castiel looked his friend over. "It is really good to see you Balthazar. I grieved your death." Both deaths in fact. The one he'd believed had happened the first time and the one he would have caused had he gone forward with his plans for purgatory. Even if there was maybe a touch of annoyance at the other angel's betrayal, he could hardly fault him for siding with the Winchesters. Cas would have in the same situation. Had in fact done so when the situation was reversed and he believed that his brothers were following the wrong path.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I figured it was the best way to keep someone from coming to look for me." Balthazar's eyes narrowed slightly. "How did you find me, anyway?"

"You recently purchased a young woman's soul. She prayed to me for help."

"Damn it, she's a pagan, she's not supposed to go praying to angels. It's why I picked her in the first place."

Cas rapidly put together the pieces of the situations from both time lines. "She was a test run, wasn't she? Some how you got hold of one of Heaven's weapons… the Staff of Moses I suspect, and you're seeing if you can use it to build your own power base."

Balthazar shook his head. "The rod of Aaron, actually. It packs pretty much the same punch as the other, but it didn't have the security on it that the staff does. I don't think anyone's actually noticed that it's missing."

"No doubt Virgil is too busy arming the Host to be aware that it's gone." Cas thought a moment. "But you're not planning on leaving it at one weapon, are you?"

"It depends on what kind of opportunity I get. It will take a lot of chaos to allow me access to the weapons a second time." He sighed. "So, what happens now?"

"Now, you free the girl from her deal."

"Oh, hey now…"

"Do this and I will not report you."

Balthazar stared at him for a moment. "Okay…done."

"Thank you."

"You know Cas, you seem different. I mean, I love you dearly, but you're a good soldier and a stickler for the rules. So what gives?"

Castiel thought about it for a moment, and then reached out and took Balthazar's hand, using the physical connection to allow him a better look beneath the wards.

The other angel sucked in a breath. "You're not the Cas from now."

"No," He let go of the hand and sighed. "Father gave me the opportunity to come back and attempt to fix… well, several things. So, if you happen to see me again, especially without the warding, then you should assume that that Castiel will turn you in."

"Father…he's still?"

Cas shook his head. "He has left Heaven and says he's staying out of things, but I happen to know that he's shaping events more than he's letting on."

Balthazar sat down on the bed, rather abruptly. "I should have known."

Cas blinked, a little surprised. "How?"

The blond angel gestured at his friend. "The wards. They're too strong. Dad's the only one who could have set you up with them."

Castiel nodded. "He did the initial creation and imparted the knowledge that would let me maintain and replace them as needed."

"He raised you as well, there's no way you'd have enough power otherwise."

"Yes, although that happened before the time travel was suggested."

Cas sat down next to his friend and brother. "Balthazar, I would always be happy to have your help and advice. Every day I feel that I have committed to more than I can ever possibly manage to…pull off."

Balthazar shook his head. "Cas… I can't."

"I know, but if you should ever change your mind…or, if you ever need my help, then there are a couple of pagan gods you could pray to. They will relay the messages to me." Cas passed him a piece of paper with the names Kaseva and Loki and it. He smiled slightly as he did, he could tell he'd actually shocked his friend.

Castiel rose to leave and then paused. "By the way, have you been keeping up with the news from Heaven?"

"No, why?"

Cas took a deep breath. "Raphael is dead and his assassin is unknown."

"And you think they'll come after me next?"

"No, but the Host is looking for his killer. Don't let them find you if they start searching here on Earth for him."

And with that, Castiel flew off, leaving Balthazar to return to his party, while he himself went to tell a young woman that she was free from her deal.

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"Did you just order ice cream for breakfast?" Sam asked as the waiter walked away, shaking his head.

Gabriel shrugged. "You don't come to this café and not have the ice cream."

Adam looked at the three men he was sitting with, and then out at a Paris street as people walked by on their way to breakfast and work. "You know, if someone doesn't start answering my questions, then I'm going to start an international incident in about ten seconds or so."

"You couldn't wait until after breakfast, could you?" Gabriel asked.

"Who the hell are you?" How the hell did we get here, and can I wake up now?"

"Okay." Sam held his hands up as he tried to stop Adam from going off the deep end. "We will tell you everything. You may not believe most of it, but we'll tell it to you."

Breathing a little erratic from emotion, Adam nodded. "This had better be good."

Dean grimaced. "Sadly, good's got little to do with it."

They waited a moment while the waiter served them their croissants, along with a café au lait each for Sam and Adam and a café noir for Dean. Dean looked like he wanted to bitch about the small size of the cup, but instead he picked it up and took a sip.

"Whoa. Now that'll keep you awake."

Gabriel smirked at the reaction, smiling even wider as the waiter place an ice cream sundae in front of him. The man walked away, still shaking his head.

Dean took another sip of his espresso. "Okay, so, do you want us to start with the how we're in Paris part or do you want us to start at the beginning. Please remember, starting at the beginning will make the Paris part, somewhat more understandable."

Adam sighed. "The beginning."

"Okay." Dean glanced at his brother and then back to Adam. "First off, Dad wasn't just a mechanic. He was also a Hunter."

"Well, yeah. That's how mom and he met. He came into the hospital after an animal got the drop on him."

Dean grimaced. "He wasn't that kind of a hunter."

Gabriel licked the ice cream off his spoon. "Start with your Mom, doofus. All of the hunting stuff happens because of that."

Dean threw him an annoyed look and Sam took up the narrative.

"When Dean was four and I was just six months old, a demon broke into our house." Sam hesitated for a moment before continuing. "He was in my nursery when mom came in, it pinned her to the ceiling and burned her alive."

"Dad grabbed Sam and passed him off to me, sending me outside with him while he tried to save mom, but…" Dean shook his head. "Anyway, Dad started hunting after that, searching for the thing that killed mom, while taking out some of the other things out there that kill and feed on humans." Dean shrugged. "He raised us to do the same."

Adam was shaking his head. "You've got to be kidding me."

Gabriel snorted. "The supernatural is real kid. Magic is real. How do you think we got from Windom, Minnesota to Paris, France when all I did was snap my fingers?"

"So what are you?"

"I'm a trickster." He gave the two Winchesters a significant look. "An old pagan god." He sighed. "Sadly, one of my brothers got involved with these two idiots and now I'm helping them as well."

"Hey."

"Please, we both know that if it wasn't for Cas, I'd let you two stew in your own juices."

Sam glared at him. "You mean, when you aren't torturing us with one of your lessons."

"It's not like you ever manage to learn anything from them."

Now both older brothers were glaring at him.

"Ah, finish your breakfast and I'll take you home. I definitely don't have time to go through the Winchester family history right now."

They finished their coffees and stood. Gabriel dropped enough money on the table to cover the bill.

"Where do you guys get money from, anyway?" Dean asked, still curious about it.

Gabriel just smirked. The sound of him snapping his fingers hadn't even faded from their ears before they found themselves back in the motel room in Windom, minus Gabriel.

Adam flopped down on one of the beds. "Okay, so tell me the rest of it."

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Hours later, Adam let himself into his home, his head spinning with information. He dragged himself upstairs and fell into bed, the exhaustion of the day's events winning out over the mental overload. He fell asleep two items into the mental checklist of things he would need to do the next day. That was alright though, they would still be there in the morning.

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Henricksen sighed as he signed his name to half-truths that were masquerading as his report. Bobby had come back to the hotel with him, and stayed long enough to do the mumbo jumbo with the counterfeit money. A chalked circle, some herbs, a couple of crystals and a touch of fire was all it took. Before he left, he gave Victor the letter he'd lifted off of Mrs. Spars.

Paranoid bastard that he was, Singer had actually managed to not get his fingerprints on the thing.

It was a suicide letter. The ramblings of a dieing woman who believed she had brought her son back to take his revenge. According to the letter, her death wasn't so much suicide, but an attempt to give what she had left of her life force to her son so he could better manifest himself.

Which explained the money golem thing that had come after them.

With a shake of his head, Victor gathered up the file and slipped it into his briefcase. He'd been called back to Quantico.

He wasn't sure, but he had the feeling that a few days from now, he might end up a full time hunter.

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The next morning, Cas appeared in the motel room just as Dean was stepping out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. Startled by the angel's presence, he grabbed for the towel and cinched it a little tighter. He had a sudden and not very welcome flash back to the other day and the gold lame loincloths.

"Dean…" Castiel hesitated as he noticed the other man's state of undress. "Uh, I'll come back in a few minutes."

"No." Dean said, stopping him. Well familiar with the angel's sense of timing, he'd lay money down on a bet that Cas would just end up coming back at an even more inappropriate moment. "It's fine. Just…turn around while I get dressed."

Cas talked to a wall while Dean slid into his usual jeans and shirts. "Where is Sam?"

"He's getting breakfast, which had better not be croissants."

Cas came close to turning around at that statement.

"You have something against crescent shaped bread?"

"Heh, no, but we had some last night, which was sort of last morning. Ah, you can turn around now."

Cas did and nodded at the sight of a fully dressed Dean. "I am not certain that I am following you."

Dean sighed. "Adam came by to talk. While we were doing that, Loki showed up, said he was bored and teleported up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Since it was morning there, we ended up going for breakfast."

Cas closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am sorry."

Dean laughed. "Not your fault. Besides, it actually made it easier to tell Adam the truth, although we still need to warn him about the ghouls."

"You have been unable to track them?"

"Yeah, wherever they are, they aren't here now."

Cas tilted his head in thought. "In the original time line, I believe you didn't find out about this until sometime in mid April of next year. I know it was after you met the prophet, and you didn't find out about him until the beginning of that month."

"Doesn't mean it will run that way this time."

"No, it doesn't."

A knock at the door had Dean frowning slightly. That smoothed out when he found Adam on the other side of it.

"Hey." He stepped back to let his half-brother in.

"Hey." Adam noticed the trench coated angel in the room with them. "Um, if this is a bad time, I can come back later."

Dean shook his head. It seemed to be the morning for people trying to come back later.

"Adam, this is Cas. He's the brother of the guy who zapped us to Paris last night. Cas, this is my half brother, Adam."

Cas nodded at the introduction.

"Ah, so you're a trickster god too?"

Cas gave a slight sigh. "From time to time."

Dean had a slightly evil smirk on his face. "He goes by Kaseva, with a K. You can probably find stuff on line about him, well, him and a Finnish rock band with the same name."

Adam gave his brother a crooked little smile. "So, what was the other guy's name? I know I heard you and Sam say it a couple of times, but I was…freaking out at the time."

"He goes by Loki." Cas told him.

The young man's mouth fell open in shock. "You mean like the Norse god?" He looked from one of them to the other. "Seriously?"

"Yes." Castiel said, before Dean could say anything. "Although he is older than those stories, it is who he became once he decided to leave his original home."

Adam frowned. "So where was that?"

"Uh Cas, before you say anything, I don't think Loki wanted that talked about." Not that Dean really gave a rat's ass what the trickster wanted, but for all he knew, it was something Cas wanted to keep quiet as well.

However, Cas was frowning. "I'll talk to him about that. I suspect it would be best if Adam knew everything… or at least as much as you and Sam do."

"That makes it sound like you're still hiding things."

Cas hesitated before answering. "Not…hiding. It is just that there is so much that happened, even I sometimes forget things."

Dean grimaced. "Like Chuck."

"Yes, like Chuck." He hesitated again. "There are also some things I haven't told you, mostly because I hope the events will never come to pass. You and your brother know more of the future than is usually good for one. Adding to that knowledge could destabilize the balance we are currently holding."

"Okay… but if it's important?"

"I will tell you. I have no desire to keep secrets from you and your brothers. It just causes more trouble in the end."

Adam sat down on one of the unmade beds. "Something tells me that last night's information was just the tip of the ice berg.

"Pretty much." Dean said. "So Cas, are you sticking around?"

The angel shook his head. "No, I still have some items to collect, so that I can make repairs to my personal wards. I just wanted to check up on you."

The sound of Sam coming in with breakfast pulled the brothers' attention to the door. When they turned back, Cas was already gone.

Dean shook his head. "Well, that was almost a goodbye."

"I get the feeling the guy's worse than Batman for that."

Dean looked at his youngest brother and smiled. Not only did the kid keep his head, but he also made superhero references.

"You are so our brother." Sam said, having caught what Adam had just said.

Adam had to smile. "Yeah, looks like."