Destiel One-shots

The New Shadow

A/N: Season 14 Spoilers

The Shadow of the Empty showed up the day after Michael had been killed. Dean Winchester was alive and well, and the rest of Cas's family was okay. The world was not ending, and no one was in danger.

That was enough for Cas to be too happy to continue living, apparently.

But Castiel was a Winchester, and no Winchester went down without a fight.

The boys had been looking into weapons, and they saw no proof that a simple Colt bullet couldn't kill the Shadow, the ruler of the Empty.

So when the Shadow came storming into the bunker, and was fighting off Sam, Dean, Jack, and Cas like it was nothing, they came prepared.

"Let them go," Cas demanded, picking himself off the floor as the Shadow kept Dean, Sam, and Jack pinned back, no matter how hard they struggled.

"Come with me, and I will." The Shadow offered.

"Cas-" Dean offered.

".....No." Cas proclaimed. He couldn't go back to the Empty. Not back to that horrible place.

"That wasn't an option," The Shadow retorted, lunging forward with an angel blade in its hand.

"CAS!" Dean threw his pistol and the angel caught it, turning it on the Shadow just as it stabbed the angel blade in Cas's chest. The angel let out a faint gasp as the Winchesters went pale. "No." Dean whispered. Cas grabbed onto the Shadow, glaring as he fired the pistol, burying a bullet in the Shadow.

And judging by the shudder that went through the Shadow, Cas knew it would be a fatal hit. 

Well, if he had to go down, at least he was taking the ruler of the Empty with him.

The Shadow let out a cry of rage and exploded in a black cloud that enveloped Cas and blocked his vision as everything went dark.

The Winchesters only saw Cas and the Shadow disappear in a black explosion.

*****

Castiel woke up in the Empty, with a strange sensation that something was very, very different.

The Empty looked exactly the same, with the endless darkness and blank landscape. But as Castiel stood, his footsteps seemed to echo with power.

Power he hadn't had before.

And then there were his clothes. It was as if someone had taken his usual attire and replaced it in all black to match the dark background. That was new.

Something tugged at Castiel's back as he moved and he froze, inhaling sharply at the realization.

His wings were back.

No more charred, burned ruins. These were his wings. The strong, powerful, black feathered wings that had carried him and served him faithfully in so many battles.

This was different, Castiel noted. He felt different. He felt powerful. The last time he had been to the Empty, he felt lost and worried, but now....

Now he looked around the dark space, and all he felt was control.

He owned this place now.

It was an interesting idea, and Cas pondered it as he walked down the seemingly never ending space.

"You know what?" He remarked, knowing no one was listening, but he didn't really care. He studied the space and nodded thoughtfully. "It's a little dark in here. I want some light." He snapped his fingers, and the Empty changed.