Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Atop the highest tower of Heaven's Infirmary, where moonbeams and drops of sunlight merge together and the air hummed with the chorus of electricity rather than songs that praised the Father, Raphael observed the great expanse of his home with a rare feeling of peace.

It had been too long since he last experienced such a thing; usually, Father would hold a meeting with the archangels and they would discuss 'The Things That Passed' and 'The Things That Have Yet To Come.' Oftentimes, they were given specific, monumental tasks to be carried out straight away, although the work put into them could last centuries. And if Father was being silent and aloof, there were almost always wounded soldiers in desperate need of treatment.

Not today though. Today, all was well in Heaven. He closed his eyes and basked in his solitude…

Then a scream shook the entire tower.

"Hold him down! Hold him down!" a voice echoed a few levels below.

"Steady… Careful, his wings could jut out at any moment." frantically joined another.

"Oh Father, please help this poor creature." wailed a third.

For a moment, surges of lightning crackled across Raphael's wings in frustration, but he forced himself to calm down and his wings returned to their standard hue of heavy clouds. There were rules inside the Infirmary, and the most important one was that the more injured an angel was, the higher the level they had to go to be treated. Since Raphael resided over the very peak of the Infirmary, only the most severe casualties were to be sent to him. From the sound of the scream, the wounded angel was probably just three or four levels beneath him.

Realizing that peace had escaped him yet again, Raphael unwillingly abandoned his spot and went down to investigate. Apparently, the Healers had moved their patient up a couple of more levels; to be more specific, they relocated to the level just underneath Raphael's. Aside from that, the incessant screams and waves of pain and distress emanating from the injured angel's Grace indicated that the situation was dramatically worsening.

The moment Raphael walked into the room, he was met with the sight of three Healers desperately trying to pin down a struggling fledgling. That was the first thing that struck him as odd; how can a mere fledgling fight against the strength of three full-grown angels? And the second thing he pondered on was what damage or ailment could this fledgling be possibly suffering from to get him all the way up here?

"What's going on?" Raphael thundered.

Startled, the three Healers glanced up and allowed enough space for him to get a decent look of the fledgling they were restraining: his eyes were tightly closed, his form was writhing in agony and the light of his Grace was flickering so much that it threatened to extinguish itself. The chamber was filled with his aggrieved moans and whimpers as he strived to endure whatever was hurting him, and when the pain got too much for him, a scream burst forth.

One of the Healers finally recovered from taking in Raphael's presence. "There was a training session with a group of fledglings. I believe the exercise was to confront a full-grown basilisk – " he began.

"A basilisk?" interrupted Raphael. "That's the equivalent of sending newborn lambs to a lion. No fledgling would stand a chance." he stated, although his tone lacked any trace of concern.

The fledgling – Castiel – let out another scream and attempted to break free again, but the Healers were quick to hold him down. They turned him to a different angle for a better grip and Raphael saw that his wings were nearly severed from him, just hanging onto a thin line of Grace and a flimsy cluster of feathers. That had to be the cause for all the screaming, and despite the composed façade Raphael had to maintain, a bit of his own Grace twitched in sympathy.

Then, for a millisecond, he noticed a dark ooze trickling out of Castiel's gaping wound.

"Thank the Father that they all survived then. Especially this one." said one of the Healers, turning the fledgling over again.

"Yes, he is fortunate." muttered Raphael.

Just then, Castiel started thrashing about as a trembling cry forced its way out of him. Raphael decided it was time for him to step in.

"Be still, brother. I am here to help you." he whispered.

He was about to let the healing power of his Grace pour into him when, all of a sudden, Castiel wrenched his eyes open. Raphael had not spent time with all of his siblings, but he had at least seen every one of them – every feature, every bit of Grace, every color and intensity their light projected. He knew that Castiel's eyes were a tranquil yet penetrating shade of blue.

What he was staring into were two voids of hellish red.

Castiel released the most piercing scream Raphael had ever heard in his existence, a scream not out of pain, but of horror. He momentarily arched off the surface he was lying on before recklessly doing everything he can to liberate himself. Castiel began rambling frightened gibberish, much like an extremely distraught human child.

"What is happening to him?" one of the Healers asked.

"Restrain him; I can't have his wings snapping right off." Raphael ordered.

They obeyed, and after some time, the red in Castiel's eyes mellowed to a deep purple, which later faded into his normal blue color. At that transition, Castiel collapsed into a limp, tired heap.

"It hurts… It hurts so much…" he murmured shakily. An assault of pain from his wings came over him, and all Castiel could do was whimper miserably and curl into a tiny ball. His entire form was shaking from fatigue and agony and the light of his Grace was flickering dangerously again.

Taking pity on him, Raphael slowly approached his brother. Since Castiel showed no signs of going into a fit any time soon, the three other angels backed away from the archangel.

"Hush, Castiel." said Raphael. He gave him a gentle touch and made him lose consciousness; Castiel's form became lax and his flickering Grace steadied to a dull glow. He then scooped him up and proceeded to the topmost level.

"Sir?" a Healer ventured.

"Leave now. Your services are not required at the moment." said Raphael coolly.

"Yes, sir." they replied in unison.

Raphael had not gone far when a thought entered his mind. "One more thing: you don't happen to know the one responsible for sending these fledglings to the basilisk, do you?" he inquired.

"I believe Zachariah is in charge of them today." one of the Healers answered.

"I see. That will be all."

O_x

It had been some time since Raphael brought Castiel to the top level to rest. He had settled him on a bed of springtime clouds with a warm blanket of afternoon sunshine over him. He had given his brother a tiny fraction of his Grace to help him heal, and because an archangel's Grace was so much more powerful than a typical angel's, it would take a long while before Castiel's Grace could absorb a piece from Raphael. During that time, Raphael visited Castiel's garrison to check if anyone else was harboring any similar ailments, as well as to give Zachariah a stern lecture.

When he returned to the Infirmary, he caught Castiel trying to escape the tower. "What are you doing out of bed?" demanded Raphael.

Castiel froze and shrank into himself at the boom of his voice. Raphael advanced on him and Castiel actually fell backward when he realized he could not hide into himself any further.

"Well?" Raphael pressed on.

"My garrison might require me," mumbled Castiel after flinching from a pang from his injury.

Raphael gave him a condescending glare. "No, you just want to be in the comfort of your own brood. You're not going anywhere until your wings are completely healed." he stated.

It seemed like Castiel was about to say something when he experienced another fit of pain and was reduced to writhing and moaning on the floor again. Irked, Raphael snatched him up and made to bring him back to his bed.

When Castiel's squirming stopped, he opened his eyes to reveal that they were blazed in red once more. "Don't kill me! Don't kill me! Please don't kill me! No!" he cried out, pushing as hard as he can against Raphael.

"I'm not doing you any harm. Stop talking such nonsense." said Raphael.

"Please don't explode me… please." he sniveled. His Grace was now sending out waves of utter fear instead of the waves of torment radiating off him only a short moment ago.

"What are you talking about? I'm here to heal you, not smite you!" said Raphael, albeit he was beginning to think that there was something much more to his injury.

Eventually, Castiel calmed down and his eyes went from red to purple to blue. Raphael placed him on his bed the second he was certain he would not be having another episode like that in the immediate future.

"It hurts… I don't want it to hurt… Please make it stop." sobbed Castiel, trying to curl into a ball again. From that angle, Raphael discovered that a thick black liquid was dribbling out of Castiel's wound for a second time.

"What happened on Earth anyway, between you and the basilisk?" he asked.

"…Rachel was… going to be eaten… saved her… got bitten…" replied Castiel in between gasps and groans of pain.

"You're aware they're one of the most venomous beings in creation," asked Raphael, although it came out as a statement.

Castiel winced and held back a cry.

"You won't perish, but the poison is obviously affecting you some other way." informed Raphael. He already had his suspicions as to how it was affecting him, though until he was completely sure, he would simply keep it to himself.

Castiel's eyes started to change color again; however, rather than escalating to red, it just settled on purple and his brother's pained expression gradually became dazed.

"Elephant behind you…" he murmured.

Raphael took a glance to his back but saw that they were alone in the room. "There's nothing there." he said.

"…It's rolling around…" Castiel went on hazily, as if he did not hear him. "…Now it's raining blue and purple hedgehogs…"

It was official. The poison was making him hallucinate.

"What do I look like to you?" Raphael tested out.

It took a moment for Castiel to answer. "…Underwater cactus… I don't like cactuses." he muttered.

If Raphael were human, he would be sighing in aggravation by now. "I can't simply siphon the poison right out of you at present; it's still heavily attached to your Grace. You will have to make it seep out on your own." he explained.

"…mountains with glass… flying metal boxes…" digressed Castiel.

"Castiel, are you listening?" he bellowed, grasping his brother's sides.

The electricity coursing through his wings must have made its way into his hands and, in turn, to Castiel because the shock of it jolted him out of his stupor and returned his eyes to blue. With his senses no longer dulled, the pain was back with full force and Castiel was back to being in sheer agony.

"Brother, it hurts!" he exclaimed. "Help me, please! It's so much – !" His words were cut off by his own tortured scream. And even when it finally died down, everything about him begged Raphael for mercy, for relief.

Reluctantly, Raphael gave him just that and watched his brother slump into unconsciousness.