(no subject)

[grewuphuman]

It was another picturesque summer afternoon in Tadfield but, unfortunately for Adam, the Them were busy with other things. Wensleydale had family visiting, Brian had a doctor's appointment, and Pepper had been pegged to be a flower person (as she had plainly put it while adding she would not be wearing a dress thankyouverymuch) in a cousin's wedding so she was currently in London for her fitting.

So it was that Adam found himself without much to do on the kid angle of things, which meant he really needed to focus on the whole war that was brewing on the horizon. It was nice out, though, so he decided to do it in the Them's hideout. Deep in the woods, undisturbed by others, it let him enjoy the light breeze and warm sun while trying to figure out a way to get the upper hand on Above and Below. It didn't take him long to realize he needed some help. He was crafty, sure, but he wasn't used to this kind of stuff.

With a heavy sigh, he glanced to Dog. "This is tougher than it looks," he told the mutt. He got a tilted head and yip in response before the canine began trying to chase his own tail. The preteen Antichrist grinned then suddenly perked up. "I got it!" he declared. He almost reached for his phone before stopping. There was a lot easier way to accomplish his goal.

Closing his eyes, he sent out a single thought - and woe befall any celestials who tried intercepting what wasn't for them - Castiel. If'n you've got a minute. I could use some advice.

Then he waited.

Comments

[poetryforfish]

Castiel was in many ways relieved to hear Adam's request. He was missing the two people he was used to leaning on in the face of an Apocalypse, and while he had no less trust and affection for his present found family, only one was a warrior. He didn't know how to plan around the vulnerability of a civilian on the team--or turn down his own anxiety about his obligation, or his limited ability, to protect his former vessel. And according to Rachel, he didn't do very well trying to handle an emergency of this nature on his own.

When faced with this much uncertainty, especially regarding his own limitations, his instinct was to take these questions to Rei--but she was gone now, too. Adam was the closest thing he had to the sort of counsel he was used to getting from his friend in the house. (Apart from Crowley, of course, but that would just be... weird.)

He appeared behind Adam. "You can safely assume that I will have any minute until we begin to engage one side or the other. What do you need advice on?"

He'd feel better asking advice of the boy as an afterthought to Adam's own questions than leading with "I have an idea but if it doesn't work out I'm completely lost."

[grewuphuman]

Anyone not used to Castiel's ability to suddenly appear in a room would have jumped at the sudden comment from behind. Anyone who was used to it weren't typically surprised by it, but they usually still gave an involuntary flinch, if only because it was human nature to react to such things. Adam, however, wasn't even phased by the angel's appearance. It was, of course, in part because he was fully expecting the arrival, given the request, but mainly it was due to the boy's ability to easily track the Angel of Free Will (a title that Adam himself had created, because it both fit and, as Aziraphale had explained once, angels tended to come with a specified purpose, which meant those who chose to leave Above and join Adam's side were going to be doubly lost without one). So, Castiel had become the Angel of Free Will, and Aziraphale the Principality of Ineffability, and that was that.

"Yeah," the boy replied aloud, twisting in his chair to peer up at the former Heavenly soldier, "I figured you'd have time. Just didn't want t'be rude, was all." He paused, then, trying to decide the best way to phrase his precise issue before quickly remembering that Castiel, much like Adam himself, tended to prefer speaking frankly. It was a lot easier to accomplish things when you didn't have to spend time trying to figure out what the other person wanted in the first place.

"I wasn't raised for this." That was the first problem. The biggest one, really. "Sure, I was born t'do somethin' like this, 'cept on the side of Below, but I was raised to finish school and get a job and be a human, not to lead an army or fight a war or save the whole entire world." Hearing the stress in his own voice, knowing how dangerous that could be given his powers and their tendency to react to his emotions, he paused and drew in a breath. With a sigh, he finally just shrugged.

"I don't have the first clue what I'm doin'." he stated with a frustrated frown before shaking the expression away and refocusing on Castiel. "You've got s'perience with this stuff, so I was hoping you could help 'cos I don't even know where to start."

[poetryforfish]

"You ask a broad question," Castiel said. "War, especially one on this scale, is a complex thing. Especially in your world."

That was the main thing he'd come away from the conversation with Crowley with, apart from the idea that had struck him while they spoke. Adam lived in a much simpler world than his, in a lot of ways. Less was unknown, unaccounted for or just flat lost. Solutions, when they were to be had, were more direct. It sounded like it should be easier, but from Castiel's perspective it was the opposite.

"Much of the fighting back home hinged on artifacts," he explained. "Things that could be collected and used to turn the tide: the Colt, the Horsemen's rings, the Cage, vessels and their bloodlines, even demons' blood functioned as essential tools both sides fought to control. Your world has no touched bloodlines, no hunters' resources, your Horsemen have no rings, and there is no waiting Cage in Hell that we might throw Lucifer and Michael into. And you have no Colt. I checked. Here, the man apparently was just an ordinary gunsmith." And quite startled to be approached by an angel seeking a holy weapon, but that was immaterial apart from the lack of the gun itself. He moved about the hideout, surveilling its contents for potential assets. "While this means we are dealing with less minutiae overall, it also means we are dealing with fewer explicit, guaranteed advantages strategically."

Nothing leapt out at him as particularly useful or transformable, but from his conversation with the Fallen (it felt uncomfortable as well as incorrect to think of Crowley as a demon given the other's actual heritage) that might not be an accurate assessment. Indeed half his existing strategy revolved around it not being. "However, it is doubtful that either side is used to, or perhaps even capable of, fighting this war as I accustomed to doing. Artifacts may well be the farthest thing from their consideration, and that could work to our advantage. Your world lacks the artifacts that I would have given priority to in this fight, but it is not devoid of them entirely." He cleared his throat. The next bit felt almost like admitting to being wrong, which was never a pleasant experience for an angel. "I was talking with Crowley, and he mentioned that the sword Aziraphale possesses is not the only primeval weapon out there, and that Heaven has lost track of where they are."

He looked at Adam curiously. "Given your powers, what is possible once you have made up your mind, could you decide to know where they are? If we amass enough, it would prove a substantial surprise advantage."

[grewuphuman]

To Castiel's credit (and what would have been astonishment at any of Adam's teachers, had they been present for the conversation), the Antichrist listened as the angel offered his advice. His head was cocked slightly to one side as if in thought, as he tried to decide whether the idea had any legitimate merit. In theory, it sounded like a good idea. He'd gotten Aziraphale the flaming sword back simply by deciding the Principality would find it. Granted, that - in part, at least - was what had gotten them into this mess. Heaven wasn't very pleased that the son of Lucifer had essentially used his Satan-given abilities to crack open Heaven's vault and take the sword all without ever stepping foot anywhere near the proverbial pearly gates. Every time he did something similar, he risked the war finally beginning.

However, Castiel also wasn't suggesting they raid Heaven. He wasn't talking about Pollution's crown or Famine's scales. No, he was simply referring to any other weapons - ones that had been lost to humanity over the past 6,000 years. Ones that either Heaven weren't aware were misplaced, or simply hadn't cared to track down. If he looked at it that way, it wasn't stepping on any toes - celestial or otherwise - if he just found them... right?

Truthfully, the boy wasn't sure. There was only one way to be certain, and that was simply to do it and see what happened. Normally he was all for the "try it and see" approach. It was better to beg forgiveness than ask permission, if you asked him. But this was a slippery slope that he wasn't sure he was ready to slide down as of yet.

Then, something that had been said the day of the Almostcalypse occurred to him. With a thoughtful look, the boy murmured a contemplative, "The ineffable plan." Realizing that made very little sense out of context, he straightened up and tried to talk his way through his racing thoughts.

"Last summer, when everything happened," he began, "Aziraphale asked if me endin' the world was part of God's Ineffable Plan. Sure, we all knew it was part of the Great Plan, but the ineffable bit made everybody on both sides stop 'til they had an answer." The boy's brow furrowed a bit as, slowly but surely, he began to circle back around to his point. "If we go with Aziraphale bein' right - and I'm awfully sure he was - I wasn't meant t'end the world that day and everything that's happened since is still workin' toward whatever God decided was meant t'happen in the long run." He pursed his lips then grinned as it all clicked into place for him.

"And that means that I was meant t'bring the folks here who're here, that each of them are gonna have a part in all of this." His eyes sparkled with a touch of mischief as he tacked on, "And El can find folks just by thinkin' about them, and without drawin' all the attention you or I would, when she does it." With another thoughtful look, he nodded in certainty. "So if I decided she could look for the items and find 'em, she could do it and it can't be breakin' rules 'cos it's all part of why I knew she needed t'be here. Then, I wouldn't have to listen to Gabriel's stupid voice tryin' t'lecture me again." He rolled his eyes at the mere thought of the obnoxious Archangel.

It was a tricky, roundabout way of rationalizing it, but Adam had learned firsthand that trickiness was necessary when trying to stay one step ahead of Above (who ran things like a business) and Below (who had zero imagination).

Pausing, the boy thought for a moment before adding, with the same grin, "And I'm glad you're talkin' to Crowley. I think you two can learn lots from each other, and got loads more in common than you think." Was the comment necessary to planning for a war? No. It wasn't. But it was important, to Adam, that his allies at least get along and he really did think Castiel and Crowley could both grow a bit by spending time around the other.

Absently scratching at his cheek, he sighed a bit and tried to refocus. "And, ok. So we get weapons and that can give us an advantage a bit. That's a start. Any other ideas?"

[poetryforfish]

"That sounds like Mother," Castiel agreed, with the slightest note of affection.

Dean would be disappointed in him for it, Castiel knew, but he couldn't help feeling the tiniest surge of relief at the realization that the God in this Heaven was the last remaining aspect of his Parent that he felt any loyalty toward. That God was in this Heaven, and there to stay, regardless of any intention on Her part to intervene in their struggles at the moment.

"She explained it to me when we met in the House," he said. "Not in so many words, but in essence, exactly what you describe. God set forth a Great Plan long ago, but She changed His mind in time, crafting a new Plan. A Plan that turned on a more subtle intention, incorporated Free Will into itself rather than attempting to forcefully overwrite it. The new Plan--what you call the Ineffable--was intended to displace the Great Plan, so that it could be defeated without Her contradicting His own Word. A way to save the world when any direct effort on Her part to do so would inevitably destroy it."

The greatest revelation in their brief talk had been that God did not exist in a state of static perfection, that She could learn and change and regret. That She was as capable of personal growth as any of Her children--but didn't share their ability to act on that growth most of the time. That She had to find work-arounds just as they did, and they often were her work-arounds. It had made everything make sense again, and while he knew at least one of his adoptive brothers would disapprove, Rei would be proud of him for forgiving Her, for finding his own way, and that was just as nice.

"It does, unfortunately, preclude Her from intervening directly." He felt that needed to be gotten out of the way early. "I wasted a lot of time and energy looking for Him back home. It would be a mistake to attempt to bring Her into it here. We--you, mostly--will be much better served trying to find rogue agents instead. The Crowley in my world might be an irredeemable parasite, but he was useful in our Apocalypse. As I was myself, and Gabriel. It helps to have insight into and latent ties to either side. And the fact that I do not belong to this version of Heaven is an additional asset. Their unfamiliarity with my world, particularly our weapons, may allow for some level of subterfuge or exaggeration. Our blades are common in my world, but your Heaven seems to fear them as humans do nuclear bombs."

When humans want to find something out, we lie, Dean had told him back then. And Crowley had called Adam a human incarnate. Castiel wasn't the best at lying, personally, but Adam should be more than capable.

"I recommend consulting Claire--perhaps the Jones girl, but I am most confident in Claire--regarding the exact nature of that subterfuge. It is... not my strong suit. Insofar as we are your army, you will find her a valuable general. Her thoughts on the Horsemen, for example, have some merit. Will they be the same three Horsemen, or might there be new ones who could be made to obey you over Heaven or Hell? A new War that would agree to use their power to cause strife within both sides, for example?" He expected Death to be constant, but maybe there was some chance of the other three converting.

[grewuphuman]

To his credit, Adam listened patiently as Castiel offered his advice. Considering Adam wasn't exactly known for his patience, it was a testament to his determination to take his role as leader of Team Free Will seriously as well as proof (for anyone who knew him, at least) that he truly held the angel's advice in high regard. He nodded slowly at the suggestions; his lips quirked upward into a ghost of a grin at the mention of Claire.

"Yeah, Claire's full of ideas," he agreed in a thoughtful tone before giving a slight sigh, his expression returning to a more contemplative one. "She's got a whole lot of stuff to sort through, though, now that she knows what's happening back where you lot are from." He felt a little guilty about that, truth be told. Sure, she had reassured him countless times that she was fine, but there were moments where she seemed to almost become lost in her own thoughts and Adam couldn't help but feel some responsibility for that. Was giving her an edge in the upcoming war really worth it if the memories that led to that edge were painful and something she couldn't simply forget? Adam wasn't sure but, as it was already done, he also knew he couldn't do anything about it.

"I think she lost somebody that mattered a whole lot to her," he went on, refocusing on Castiel. His brow furrowed. "Not you or the Winchesters, but someone she was tryin' t'help died saving her. No offense or nothin' but your reality seems kinda awful." With a shrug, the boy seemed to push the thought away and gave a nod of his head. "But you're right. She's got the mind for this kind of stuff, even if folks don't always want to hear what she's got to say." Personally, Adam found her unwillingness to protect feelings in the face of facts, coupled with her lack of tact, to be refreshing... as long as she wasn't taking him to task, of course. He'd rather face Lucifer again than deal with that.

Right. Back to the task at hand. He quickly refocused, his mind latching on to another of Castiel's suggestions.

"I do have an idea for who can help with Below, at least," he volunteered. "I haven't gone to her, yet, though." He hesitated before just admitting the reason for not simply willing the potential ally to his reality. "Mostly on account of I'm gonna have t'talk to another Lucifer to get her and, well, there's just no tellin' how that'll go." The boy paused before straightening up a bit. "But I reckon it needs t'happen because I know you're right. Crowley can't get close enough to Below to figure out their plan, not after sidin' with me last year, and while demons here may not have much imagination - outside of him, of course - it'd still be best if we had an idea what they were doin'."

[poetryforfish]

"I didn't realize." Castiel frowned. "She hasn't said anything to me about it." He would talk to her, then. He knew his way around grief--or more to the point, what happened when you just sat on it by yourself. And from a certain perspective (many, even) he owed it to her. "And it's true that our world seems bleaker the more time we spend in yours."

He tensed at the mention of going through another world's Lucifer to get to the demon apparently waiting on deck. His own was enough of a handful. "If you're confident in her, I am confident in your choice. But you will have to watch carefully, if she is a true demon. Crowley is... hardly standard fare."

[grewuphuman]

"Well, she's hardly a normal type demon either," Adam replied with a slight shrug. "But she's loyal to her Lucifer, so if he tells her t'come help, she'll do it. I'm sure of that much, at least." It was all he could be sure about, too, considering the reality in question was so unlike any other that he'd encountered that he really wasn't sure what to expect if he decided to step foot in it. He did think, though, that going alone was probably not wise... and that thought caused his head to tilt a bit in consideration.

"Maybe you ought t'come with me," the boy mused. Already, he could see the benefits of such a suggestion. Not only would it ensure Adam had someone in his corner if things went sideways, but it also wouldn't hurt for Castiel to meet a Lucifer who wasn't completely, well, awful, as the others. Not that Adam was going to point out such a thing. No, some lessons were better learned without preparation. Still. He adopted a hopeful look. "I mean, I need somebody with me and I know you'll have my back and can more than hold your own if things get... messy."

He wouldn't order him to go with him, nor would he guilt the angel into agreeing either. If he was completely opposed to the idea, Adam would figure something else out. But he hoped it didn't come to that because the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Castiel was the perfect choice for such a task. Even Dog let out a yip of agreement.