to make them die or life in sorrow 2/3
Aug. 9th, 2011 12:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cashayHe had a plan. It was all worked out into the finest detail and it was perfect. He had spent thousands of years on the details and on all the things he needed to calculate and needed to learn and find out before any of this could work. The Fallen was proud of this plan and he was sure it was going to work out into the smallest piece. He had enough room to chance things short term if anything proved any trouble.
The first step of his plan was to get into Hell and make the rest of Hell think he was just a Demon. A lowly Demon at first but one who would work his way up to the top in the end and become King of... something. The Fallen hadn't decided which position he wanted yet. There were some he would take but he would wait for what worked best; who was most vulnerable.
He had waited long before finally deciding that he wanted to go into Hell. He found all the torture disgusting despite that he was, what most people would call a 'twisted fuck'. He saw other means of torturing people and giving them what they deserved.
Sometime in the 17th century he decided that he was going to be a Scottish tailor who had gone to Hell for making a deal with a Crossroads Demon to gain a few more inches below the waist. Well, you couldn't say he didn't have humor. The name of this Scottish tailor was Fergus McLeod.
It wasn't all that hard for the Fallen to descend into Hell. Something about it still recognized and welcomed him, made him feel as close to home as he could feel. A long time ago it had disgusted him but now it only made him feel mild curiosity.
Fergus was a low Demon who had just recently been transformed through continuous torture. Or rather that was what the Fallen's Grace suggested to the Demons. He had spent a lot of time practicing disguising himself from the creatures of Hell. None of them were able to feel that actually in front of them was no low Demon that would bend to their every whim but a creature far more mighty than them.
That didn't change the fact that the Fallen had to bend to their every whim and do whatever stupid task they gave him. It might end up being a bit too obvious to influence them in that fashion and he wasn't going to risk his revenge just because he was too proud.
If he had learned one thing, it was that you needed to be flexible and not too focused on your personal pride if you wanted to survive in this world. He had adapted fast and what needed to be done in order to get him to his goal he would do, no matter the cost. It wasn't like he had anything to lose anyway.
Over time he managed to make the others see his... potential as a Demon. Mostly through tricking them and making them fall so he could rise above them. You didn't wait until someone asked you if you'd like a nice promotion, as if that would ever happen in Hell.
'Take what you can. Give nothing back.' was probably Hell's philosophy. Well besides the whole 'Ye who enter here are doomed and will suffer for all eternity' thing. Lucifer always had a sense for the drama and apparently he had given it to his offspring. Not that the Fallen himself was lacking it. He could appreciate a good portion of drama and especially style now and then. But style was a rare thing to find in Hell, which made the drama rather over the top.
The Fallen decided it was time for a name when some of the Demons under his command stopped calling him 'Sire' or 'Master' - something he could more than live with - and started giving him all kinds of nicknames. He knew that could have just punished them, put them on the rack and let it be. But a Demon -- at least one that mattered -- had a name. One to be feared by his opponents and feared even more by his allies or whatever counted for that here in Hell.
It didn't take him all that long to think about a name. On the brief trips he had done to earth he had called himself various things, but the only one that really had suited him just like the Scottish demeanor.
He did put the Demons up on the rack and made sure that they never would forget again, that if they didn't want to call him 'Sire' or 'Master' he had a name. And the name was Crowley.
Crowley was very satisfied with his choice of name. It suited him and he liked being called Crowley, just as he enjoyed acting like he had lived a human life in Scotland. It was fun and it was a good disguise from the fact that he had only been to Scotland for a few visits to learn their habits and their speech patterns.
Until now he had laid low, securing his base and making sure the foundations were held closely together by fear and something one could nearly call loyalty, even though it only made the difference that they would try and cut his throat with the knife instead of ramming it into his back.
It actually had been far too easy to find someone who was far from being in control over his Demons and the part of Hell he was supposed to rule. The Queen of Crossroads was not only a bitch but also very, very incompetent and if Crowley didn't know better he would have been sure she had slept her way up.
However she had managed to become ruler of one of the most valuable branches of Hell - and yes Hell worked like a company in that respect - she was doing a lousy job at it. There had been some other - more obvious contestant for the job but Crowley had made sure they wouldn't bother him before he was going to take care of that bitch.
King of Crossroads. Crowley liked that sound and he had to say he enjoyed his job too. Sealing deals with human scum or desperate good-hearted people? There was nothing better. Besides he could pick the really hot guys and make out with them to seal the deal if he felt like it and the rest... well he had enough Crossroads Demons that took on the not so sexy beggars.
It wasn't all that hard to take care of the business. The contract was printed on the human so it couldn't get lost and every contract was secured in Hell and every morning he was notified which souls were due and sent the Hellhounds.
Those were the only thing the bitch hadn't done wrong. They were beautiful and too cute in Crowley's eyes, not that he ever would admit it. Aside from admitting it, he doubted anyone would ever agree with him. Even most Demons found Hellhounds rather frightening.
Crowley was almost sad that soon the Apocalypse would come and in order to extract his revenge he was going to need to leave his comfortable position as the King of Crossroads. Not that there would be left much of it if Lucifer got his say. Crowley was pretty sure he would kill all Demons the very first chance he got. He found humans disgusting, but Demons even more so. Even after centuries in Hell, Crowley couldn't really contradict him.
If he wanted any reason for the Winchesters to search for him, he needed to get close to Lilith. He knew if he came to them they would be suspicious. He needed something that was going to be important for them in their fight to kill Lucifer.
And for that he needed to make friends with Lilith that cutthroat bitch. He had hated her from the day Lucifer had made his first Demon out of her. So twisted, broken, evil. And no, he wasn't talking about himself. After all he wasn't all that much of a bitch and boy Lilith was one gigantic bitch. As well as a sadist - which would describe ninety percent of Hell's population - but she was one of those without finesse. She just wanted to bring people pain and make them suffer, no matter how. It was really lame actually.
Winning Lilith's trust was even easier than becoming the King of Crossroads – not that he ever called himself that in front of her, she would have hated it. Really the bitch was stupid as hell. All he had to do was act like a big admirer, kill some of her rivals and be all-subservient. She took a liking to him instantly. Or rather saw what a powerful... ally he could be. And she needed those, after all she wanted to break open the seals and get Lucifer out of the Cage.
The bitch was quite ambitious. To his great disgust, she also wanted him to sleep with her. He could tell by the way she kept touching him and damn how he wished he didn't have to do that! But he did what he had to do to get to his goal. Even if it meant sleeping with the biggest bitch in the entire universe.
Of all the things he did and saw in Hell, sleeping with Lilith probably was the most disgusting one. Crowley knew most Demons would kill for that possibility -- after all Lilith was the Queen of Hell and Demons were sluts for Demons more powerful than them.
Sadly that meant Crowley had no choice but to follow her wishes, otherwise he would have left himself vulnerable to other Demons and their ambitions. It wasn't that she was bad in bed but she only took female bodies even though it was well known in Hell that Crowley preferred males. Leave it to Lilith to test his devotion by taking bodies of the wrong gender.
Suffering through sex with Lilith brought Crowley in the position he had wanted to be in though. King of Crossroads and Lilith's confidant allowed him to watch the drama unravel.
Sometimes Crowley was sure there was a flaw in his plan. A major flaw. A flaw so big you could hide an Archangel's Grace in it. The flaw was, that he wasn't even sure it was possible to stop the Apocalypse. After all it was God's word and God was the Creator, the Maker of everything around them. How could He be not right?
But the one thing Crowley put all his hopes on, for which he ignored the gigantic flaw in his plan, was the one thing God had given humans that he hadn't given to Angels. Free Will. Why give them the power to make decisions if the decisions they made didn't matter at all?
Maybe this was the ultimate fight, not the price fight between Michael and Lucifer that would leave the whole earth devastated and burned but whether or not those weak, so easily broken creatures managed to change history. If they weren't able to change anything with the Free Will they had been given God was far crueler than even Crowley deemed him.
With that rather weak reasoning Crowley bet all his money on the Winchesters. They had to stop the Apocalypse, had to keep Lucifer and Michael from getting what they wanted so desperately - their final fight. Although torturing and killing them was a sweet option too it was far too close to what they wanted. No, Crowley would try to get both of them trapped in the depth of the Cage. Damned for all eternity to suffer and face what they had become right alongside the being they hated the most. They didn't deserve any better.
But he wouldn't be able to pull this off alone. He needed an ally and he knew just the perfect one. One that hated the Heavenly Host and its pride blinded inhabitants just as much as he did. One that had been wounded like he had been. After all, Adnarel wasn't the only Angel who had hidden on earth.
The Angel he was trying to find was more powerful than him though. Even in hiding he was an Archangel, one that now had filled himself with pagan magic too. He was dangerous, even for Adnarel who was stronger than most creatures that walked the earth.
He found Loki in a Cave that really didn't seem like it was his style, chained to a wall with entrails while a gigantic snake was dripping venom on his face. He was bound and Crowley shuddered thinking about the being that managed to achieve that.
"Gabriel," he greeted the other Angel softly, stepping closer to rip of the head of the snake and tossed it aside carelessly, "brother what did they do to you?" He wondered, some of the old familiarity creeping in his voice. He might have been closest to Lucifer but he had still always looked up to Gabriel.
"Adnarel," Gabriel snarled his eyes fixed on him but his body completely still. "Brother." he repeated that term with more spite in it than Adnarel had heard in any voice for a very long time.
"Have you come to take advantage of the fact that I'm not able to rip your heart out and feed it to you?" Adnarel raised his eyebrows and tipped his head backwards slightly as a low chuckle escaped him.
"I haven't come to harm you further, Brother. As you might remember the war is over - for now. I'm an outcast just as you are," he bent down until he was face to face with Loki. "And it's time for the outcasts to work together, don't you think?"
Crowley returned to his home, a mansion he had grown quite fond of, with a new ally. The only one that really knew what he was up to. Loki had agreed to stop the Apocalypse, to manipulate the Winchesters into trying to throw Lucifer and Michael back into the Cage by making them believe there was no way to kill them.
After that he could sit back and watch for the time being. His entrance would come later, when the Winchesters were desperate and the world had nearly ran out of time so he could literally save the world at the last minute and make it impossible for Lucifer or Michael to know that he was involved.
He watched how the Winchesters fought demons, how their father sacrificed himself for Dean's life - which he was very thankful for, after all it would have made his plan much more difficult to have one of the main protagonists die. They killed various Demons along the way, most of whom Crowley had wanted to see dead a long time.
He took the deal for Dean's soul himself, even though in a different body. Proud to be the owner of Dean Winchester but to not get in trouble when trying to win the boys trust he handed him over to Alastair who might be one of the scariest demons in Hell but different from most of them he was a professional. And Crowley just loved that.
When an Angel came into Hell to break Dean Winchester free, Crowley hid as far away as he could. The light he could still see from the remote place in Hell he was crouched into made him ache for home. He shoved that feeling done fast, he was never going to get back home. Never.
Instead, he would settle for the next best thing - destroy it!
It was a delight to see how Dean Winchester distrusted the Angels but still mostly did what they told him to do while his little stupid brother actually believed the Demon bitch called Ruby, one of Lilith closest footmen and also one Crowley despised very much.
He could just hope she wouldn't ruin his plan by making the Winchesters so distrustful of Demons they would rather die than work with him. It would already be hard going.
In the end Dean began to trust Castiel - and only Castiel - which was a good choice since the other Angels were dicks, Crowley remembered that much. He did remember Castiel too, but he wasn't sure if he had ever talked to him much. He had been younger then, happier; Crowley remembered how his Grace used to shine, all curious and innocent. Now he was much harder and colder.
If he was any indication what the Heavenly Host had turned into, Crowley was happy he wasn't a part of it anymore.
Watching the Apocalypse start was a fun thing. And a risky one. At first he had contemplated to just make it stop there, make sure the Righteous Man never shed blood in Hell. But that would make the victory only half as sweet. He wanted Lucifer to feel like he had finally reached his Goal. And he needed Michael out of the way too or the rest of his plan wouldn't work and he wasn't going to give them that.
So after the Righteous Man shed blood in Hell and was resurrected by Castiel, one after another the seals were broken. Crowley happily participating most of the time. That was where it came in handy to have Lilith trust him, even though that stupid bitch was afraid of Sam Winchester of all people.
Really, this guy was just like a gigantic puppy, demonic power or not. Well he supposed that when said puppy could tear you apart you got quite frightened about it, especially if you weren't meant to die until right at the end.
Crowley was in fact a bit depressed that he couldn't kill Lilith himself. He would have loved to but nearly everyone seemed to agree that they should leave that honor to Sam, even though Crowley was sure he wasn't going to be able to appreciate it, especially when he was setting Lucifer free at the same time.
As time progressed and the stupid Winchesters stumbled their way as they always did, Crowley started to take more and more notice of Castiel, the frozen Angel. Doubt was growing in his soul, doubt and rebellion. Crowley recognized the seed since it had grown in him a long time ago.
But this time there was no big charismatic leader. No one to follow and die for. Only two weak humans that even Crowley doubted most of the time and his revenge was bound to their success. But for some reason Crowley didn't understand, Castiel's faith shifted from God to the Winchesters.
He started to doubt the heavenly plan, doubt the apocalypse, all of it. Crowley didn't understand how no one noticed this. Back in the days when he had still been part of the Host, the Angels had been so close to each other that such a shift in a Grace would have never gone unnoticed. But times had changed and not for the better.
He was awed by Castiel's rebellion and his stupid faith in the Winchesters. All the rest had gone as planned, Sam breaking open the last seal by killing Lilith, letting Lucifer rise out of his Cage to conquer the world. Even though he wouldn't, Crowley would make sure of it.
That they killed that bitch Ruby was a nice gift on the side and Crowley really appreciated it. Still he was far too occupied with the little rebelling Angel who had helped the Winchesters, only to be killed by Raphael in the house of the Prophet.
And be resurrected. Crowley couldn't believe his senses when he felt Castiel's Grace come back to life. He hadn't felt his Father's presence on Earth for millennia and now, all of a sudden He was here, bringing back a little Angel who sacrificed himself in defiance of the great plan.
If Crowley had needed any further proof that his Father appreciated the Free Will he would have gotten it now. Castiel had rebelled, just like the Winchesters had and would rebel against the plan. And for once God didn't punish those who didn't do what He said.
Maybe he had learned from his mistakes, maybe he was just a cruel Master who liked to play with his puppets. Whatever it was it had brought Castiel back to life and a new player in Crowley's game.
He had to be more careful around the Winchesters or Castiel would see who he really was. After all they had known each other, back in Heaven, back... home. A home that neither Crowley nor Castiel would ever be able to return to.
For a moment Adnarel felt sorrow and pity for the rebelling Angel. He knew how lonely and cold it got when you were cast out of Heaven, cut off from home. He wished it on no one, not even Lucifer. And certainly not some random Angel that had never done anything wrong in his life.
Watching proved to be boring after some time. He itched to mingle, to walk in the presence of his brothers without being noticed. He wanted to be bolt again, uncaring of the consequences. But he kept himself in line, after all, his plan was -- as he very well knew -- far from flawless. All it would take was one little mistake and it could all down the drain. He couldn't risk bolting.
What he could risk was going about his business a bit obviously and letting his guard 'slip' so they could follow his demonic trail as soon as they figured it out. Which, concerning the Winchesters, would be a very long time.
When the Winchesters came to him the first time it was for the Colt. He had made sure that at least the Prophet would notice that he had gotten the Colt from Lilith - and he didn't even want to think about what he had to do to get it - and had trusted in the power of the obsessed fangirls. It was a good thing to trust in those, they never let you down.
It was amusing how the boys tried to be sneaky while getting into his house. He had noticed Castiel following him two days ago.
The falling Angel had done his best to hide himself but Crowley knew a few useful tricks himself - some he had learned from Loki. He allowed them the fun of sneaking around and breaking into his house. It wasn't like they could harm him. They even tried to trap him; it was almost cute.
"So, the Hardy boys finally tracked me down. Took you long enough."
He gave them the Colt and disappeared. He was sure it wouldn't work, but they needed to be even more desperate to go for the option he and Gabriel had planned. So he let them find out the hard way that the Colt would't work on Lucifer while he went into hiding.
His alliance with the Winchester boys had surely attracted a lot of attention. Attention he didn't want, especially since he couldn't just kill them all if he wanted to remain undercover. Something he needed to do in order for his plan to work. Which meant he was on the run.
That he was sending everyone that went with Sam and Dean to their death occured to him, but he didn't care. They were just humans, they didn't matter. What mattered in the face of revenge, of justice? Nothing, not even he himself.
His tailor being eaten was an unfortunate side effect of Dean and Sam's failure to kill Lucifer. He had already guessed that they would go after his mansion and even though he quite liked the home he had formed for himself as Crowley the demon, everything in it was replaceable.
Replacing his tailor would be harder but well he still had a few suits left and there were sacrifices that had to be made in order for him to win. Even if that meant his good style had to be one of them.
The coin worked just like he intended it to do and Crowley found the Winchesters again to offer them his help in finding Pestilence. Even if Loki was dead he would carry on their plan. Sure, most of it had been his idea but it was as much Gabriel's revenge as it was his. He wasn't the only one who had been abandoned by the Host and their Father.
Loosing the only one that understood why he was doing this had actually hurt more than he had hurt for a long time. Though he and Loki hadn't exactly been good friends they had still been brothers. And they had shared the same goal. Crowley knew he was going to miss the candy-obsessed Angel. Now he had only more reason to succeed, after all Loki had given himself to their revenge.
The Winchesters, as usual, weren't all that happy to see him and tried to stab him with the Demon Knife a few times. He was careful to avoid it, not because it would kill him but rather because it wouldn't. That would be very awkward to explain.
In the end they didn't have a chance, they were desperate, just as Crowley intended and they needed his help or they were doomed.
Infiltrating the pharmaceutical concern is way more fun than Crowley thought it would be. So was killing the nest of Demons so Brady tells them where Pestilence is. Letting the one Demon live to declare Brady and him 'Lovers in league against Satan' really was one of his more brilliant ideas.
Loki would be really proud of him.
Even prouder he would be of the Hellhound Crowley got to kill off the attacking ones. The archangel had always been fond of her and had doted on her so much Crowley had been sure his feared Hellhound would turn into a lapdog - an especially cuddly one.
But looking at her now Crowley had to take all of it back. Somehow Loki had managed to make her even stronger just by giving her candies. Crowley really didn't want to know what had been in that chocolate, especially since he had eaten some of it himself.
Bobby wasn't too happy about his proposal but he had seen that coming. Still, he needed - wanted - a guarantee that the Winchesters wouldn't kill him. Especially since they wouldn't be able to with the usual weapons they used against Demons and his cover would end up blown.
Since he was the only one who would find them Death and help them end this freaking Apocalypse Bobby didn't really have much choice either. He was far too concerned about the world and all those stupid living creature not to take the risk of eternal damnation.
It was so easy to manipulate Hunters, he wondered why they still killed so many. It really didn't look good for the intelligence of Supernatural beings.
He found them Death just as promised. But he didn't go with Dean, he didn't dare. Death was one of the few beings he was terrified off. Not the act of dying but Death himself. He was frightening and so much more powerful than any being Adnarel had encountered since he had last felt his Father.
Even if he dared it would just ruin his plan. Death would see right through the mask he had put up for everyone to see. He would know that he was no Demon but a Fallen and if he revealed that to Dean all of Crowley's plans would be crushed.
Crowley left them after that, watching from a distance how they struggled and fought. His whole plan now lied on the shoulders of one man who had to have the strength to fight Lucifer's will.
He really started to doubt his plan. No one was ever able to resist Lucifer. He had failed it too, falling into the trap of the one being he loved more than everything. How could anyone deny their complete devotion to the Morningstar? So beautiful and terrifying.
Even fallen from Grace, Lucifer was still one of the most beautiful and frightening sights Crowley has ever seen. He only dared to watch from a distance, afraid that Lucifer would notice his presence - if he even rememberd him - and everything would be lost.
But Lucifer never noticed him and Sam Winchester said yes to the Devil. For a moment Crowley hoped, hoped so much but then he could feel Lucifer's Grace pouring through, ripping all of Sam's defenses away and filling his true vessel.
Still Crowley couldn't believe that he had lost, there had to be something he could do to stop Lucifer. He had to stop him! He couldn't succeed, destiny couldn't take it's course.
So even though all seemed lost Crowley keeps watching and when Lucifer and Michael met for the final fight he witnessed true human strength. First there was Dean, trying so desperately to save his brother even though he wa up against two Archangels and there was nothing left of Sam to save.
Then there came Bobby -- whose soul Crowley still owned -- along with Castiel. His little brother who reminded Crowley so much of himself when he had been younger, more foolish. But Castiel had fallen completely, never to be an Angel again, forced to live a human life. Still he stood here to fight for those he had given everything for, following his self-given duty until the bitter end.
But the human that amazed Crowley most is Sam. He should be dead inside by now, burned away by fire and light and hatred but there he was. Forcing his way to the surface, for his brother, for the one person he would do everything for.
He pushed Lucifer under to protect his brother, protect the world too, but mostly his brother.
Sam Winchester did the unthinkable. He defied the Devil and opened the Cage to jump inside its unspeakable horror, into eternal suffering, just for Dean. Now Crowley could see why Becky thought them to be a couple.
When Sam pulled Michael in the Cage with him Crowley's tainted Grace sang with joy. This was exactly what they deserved! He didn't care for the humans that had fallen in there with them because the first part of his plan had been fulfilled.
Finally, finally Lucifer would get what he deserved, the one thing he always wanted denied. He himself rotting for all eternity in the depth of his prison. For the first time in millennia, Adnarel felt something close to freedom. This was what he had worked for all those years. He had gotten his revenge, justice had been served to the being that had hurt him the most.
His heart might still be broken but soon it would be able to mend again. Soon his revenge would be complete.
The one thing not part of Adnarel's plan was the sudden presence of God he felt. Their Father was interfering again. Why did He start it now when He never cared for his first children? He brought back Castiel, and Crowley felt anger rise in him. So many brothers and sisters had died. Why did Castiel deserve to live but they didn't?
What made him special? Why was God apparently so fascinated with him? No matter how hard Adnarel thought about it he just couldn't figure it out.
Crowley couldn't stop thinking about Castiel. The Angel had been brought back by God two times, there had to be something special about him or God wouldn't bother. Maybe He had a plan for him? Or maybe, just maybe He really had learned from pushing Lucifer away.
The last thought got dismissed quickly. Crowley had doubted that his Father really cared about any of His creation for most of his existence, he had a hard time believing that there was anything God cared about anymore. If He ever cared in the first place and didn't just see them as playthings to amuse Him.
Whatever was special - or not special - about Castiel it became clear that he was the one Crowley was going to need if he wanted to push Heaven into chaos. After all even with Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer gone there was still one archangel left and it would be hard to get rid of him alone, especially since he couldn't go into Heaven.
Castiel could though. And to Crowley's surprise he had followers. People that were impressed by him and wanted his leadership by that alone showing that they hadn't understood what he had done, hadn't learned the sacrifice that he had made.
He had picked up more from the Winchesters than he himself knew, it was hard not to notice for Crowley who had watched them for a long time. So it doesn't surprise him when instead of kneeling in front of Raphael and declaring his submission Castiel decided to fight.
It was the right thing to do and Crowley had to say he was impressed by his brother's strength of will. It would be hard to manipulate Castiel to do what he wanted but he was determined to reach his goal. And Castiel was desperate, desperate people do stupid things.
First of all Crowley had to stop Castiel from going to Dean. After all they went through together it would only be natural for the leader of the angelic rebellion to ask his best friends, his brothers, for help, but Crowley couldn't have this.
He needed Castiel as his ally and his alone so he could manipulate him and destroy the Host in the civil war that was looming on the horizon. This was the last part of his revenge and not even the Winchesters would stop him. He would tear the Host apart just like it had torn him apart a long time ago.
It was far easier to bring Castiel into Hell to talk with him. He had thought the Angel would put up more resistance and show that he had learned from the Winchesters that dealing with a Demon was a stupid thing.
He didn't want to pull Dean back into this life, that was obvious and Crowley played on that, trying to get Castiel to make a deal with him to protect the Winchesters. It was true that Castiel had no soul to sell but Crowley didn't need that. All he needed was Castiel's word and maybe a little kiss.
But he was getting overexcited about the prospect of kissing an Angel (which actually should disgust him).
It was sad to see how easy it was to manipulate Castiel. He was better than Lucifer and he genuinely just wanted to save the world, save the Winchesters but the seed of pride that had brought Lucifer and Adnarel himself to fall was already growing.
For his plan to work, no matter how much guilt he felt about it, Crowley had to feed that pride, make it grow until Castiel really believed he was chosen. Angels needed a purpose, Castiel was no different, neither was Adnarel.
Of course he needed to make it look like he wanted something too, telling Castiel that his rule wasn't stable either and he needed the souls as well. Which was bullshit. Right now there was no one in Hell who would dare to rebel against him, he had made sure to show them exactly what he did to traitors.
Even scum like Meg and all those Lucifer worshippers didn't dare to do anything right now. He would have to give them some leeway soon so they could lure Castiel and the Winchesters into believing his grip on Hell wasn't as tight as it really was.
The 50.000 souls he gave Castiel to help him overpower Raphael made him shine with something so unearthly even Crowley had to suppress a shudder. Deep down he felt sorry for Castiel. He reminded him so much of himself when he had been younger, only more foolish. It was the same determination to do the right thing that would bring Castiel to fall just like it had pulled down Adnarel.
Crowley buried the remorse deep down, reminding himself that this was his revenge and his revenge was worth all of it. Heaven would bleed and fall apart, there would be nothing left of it but broken pieces. This was how it was supposed to be. This was justice.
When Castiel defeated Raphael for the first time even Crowley, deep down in Hell could feel it. The foundation of Heaven was shaking and already the first cracks were showing. Adnarel's broken Grace was singing with joy as Heaven started to bleed as he had once bled. But this was only the beginning, just like his heart had been broken piece by little piece Heaven would fall apart ever so slowly and he would enjoy every second of it.
Deep in his twisted Grace there was something recoiling from the violence, but Crowley pushed it away, just as he pushed away the memories. It had felt like that the last time Heaven had been ripped apart by war.
The cracks that were showing were the same that had been opened all those years ago. Barely healed over the millennia, they were torn open again.
If Castiel was to overpower Raphael and not be crushed by him Crowley needed to find Purgatory fast. Only problem was he hadn't really a clue where it was. But there was a way to find it out. He just had to get enough Alpha's to answer his questions, surely one of them would know. Or if he killed enough of them their Mother would find a way out of Purgatory and Crowley would get his hands on her.
While Castiel had brought Sam Winchester back from the Cage - soulless, but Crowley wasn't going to mention that - Crowley had pulled one of the many hunters he had stacked in Hell from the rack.
Samuel Campbell really wasn't a happy guy but he would do the job, he knew much and Crowley trusted him to get his work done. At first he told him all the funny things people said when they still thought they could resist but it was easy to make him compliant.
For as strong as all those hunters were, you just needed the right leverage and they would do anything you wanted them. In Samuel's case it was giving him back his daughter. Such an idiot...
But for all that Crowley disliked Samuel Campbell he did his job and brought Crowley more and more Alphas for him to interrogate. None of them had any useful information, it was quite frustrating, but he knew that with everyone of them he tortured to death their mother was getting angrier. Eve would come to earth and she would show him the way to Purgatory.
He kept watching Castiel while he worked on their common project. For one he needed to make sure that Castiel didn't do anything stupid or betrayed him, but that wasn't the main reason. Mostly he was just fascinated with Castiel, God's favorite.
Every time Crowley talked to him, Castiel looked a bit more tired, a bit more defeated. The war in Heaven was raging and consuming a lot of his strength. In Heaven Crowley couldn't watch him but the bits of information he still heard when he stretched his Grace towards the Host were enough to know that it was chaos up there. The Host was being ripped apart and the responsibility for it was on Castiel's shoulder.
The leader of the rebellion was suffering from the pain he brought just like Adnarel had once. He only wanted to do the right thing, protect the Winchesters, stop the Apocalypse from starting again. He didn't want all the sacrifices to be made for nothing. But the humans had gotten it right for once, the road to Hell was paved with good intentions.
When Castiel wasn't in Heaven Crowley carefully watched him, at first he only wanted to make sure that he didn't talk to the Winchesters about their plan but soon he found himself captivated by the suffering of his brother.
It was obvious Castiel just wanted the Winchesters to understand that things in Heaven weren't good, that he'd rather run away from it but couldn't. The Winchesters though didn't understand. For Crowley it seemed like they didn't even care.
All Castiel was to them was someone to call when they needed someone to fix their messes. And that hurt Castiel, maybe more than the war in Heaven. He had considered the Winchesters family and needed them, but they were to blind to see it.
Or rather Dean was, since half of the time Sam had been running around with no soul.
Leading the Winchesters on had been far too much fun. Especially the whole deal with his bones, it had been brilliant, but by far the best thing had been faking his own death. He hadn't had that much fun since Sam jumped in the Cage with Lucifer and Michael.
But once they found out that in fact he wasn't dead but very much alive - and he was still pissed at that bitch Eve for that - he wanted them dead. He wasn't stupid enough to underestimate them.
They had killed a lot of very capable Demons. Azazel, Alastair, Lilith and for fucks sake Lucifer and the whole Heavenly Host. He wouldn't put it past them to find a way to kill them. Everyone seemed to underestimate them and ended up dead. Crowley wasn't going to make that mistake.
But Castiel was far too attached to them, threatening Crowley that if he harmed them he would kill Crowley. Crowley just didn't understand how the hell he could be so attached to those people. After all they didn't give a shit about him apparently, there was no other explanation for the way they treated him.
It was heartbreaking to see Castiel pleading with his friends, his family to understand why he was doing it. But the Winchesters -- high on their mighty horse -- didn't even consider it. They didn't let Castiel explain, they didn't even care enough for him to hear his side of the story out. They just judged him based on the few things they knew.
They dared to judge him. They, the Winchesters, who made deals with the Devil over and over again, who broke in Hell and tortured for years, who brought about the Apocalypse.
All those times they did just the same for lesser reasons, and now they judged Castiel. They didn't even want to listen. Suddenly they knew the one and only right path. It's their way or the wrong way.
Oh those hypocritical humans who thought they stood above them all. When Crowley freed Castiel from the circle of holy oil it tokk all his willpower to not go after them and kill them. Instead he staied with Castiel, who had captivated him since the first time they had met.
It was obvious Castiel didn't want to talk to anyone. The betrayal and abandonment ringing through his Grace. Adnarel wanted to reach out so much, sooth the aching he himself had known for far too long. Being abandoned, especially for an Angel, hurt.
He was glad he hadn't hurt them, Castiel would be furious and right now Crowley was sure the angel would take any excuse to lash out. That only meant he could save the pleasure of making the Winchesters suffer for later.
"It's always your friends, isn't it, in the end? We try to change. We try to improve ourselves. It's always our friends who got to claw into our sides and hold us back."
Your friends and the people you love. Seeing Castiel suffer like he had done after Lucifer abandoned him made Crowley start to regret that he had pulled his brother down with him.
But now it was to late and Castiel had to realize where he stood and who he was. He wasn't the same anymore but as Adnarel had learned, there were worse things than that.
"You know the difference between you and me? I know what I am. What are you, Castiel? What exactly are you willing to do?"
