No-one comes out of this sane

[voiceinthedark]

Who: Sam Yao and YOU
Where: All over the mansion and grounds.
When: 19th-24th
Rating: PG-13. I think. Will change if needed.
Summary: Sam isn't suffering, but he's trying to help those who have. Certain revelations might make that difficult. (Huge spoilers for S2 M39 of Zombies, Run! onwards to the end of S3)
The Story:


19th-21st

[It's easy to tell that something has gone horribly wrong. The screaming, the people staggering around, angry or staring or arguing with people who aren't there, they're kind of a giveaway. And he's not sure exactly what's going on, what the problem is.

He feels useless. There's nothing he can do to help with this, except hopefully stop anyone getting hurt, and even then, he can't protect them all the time. He does what he can, helps Maxine at the clinic, tries to stop anyone hurting themselves or other people.

When Simon comes to him, paranoid and scared, of course Sam helps him. What else can he do for one of his Runners?]


22nd

[Anger, betrayal, they make him reckless, send him stomping and spitting away from his room, away from everyone he knows.

How can that end well?]


23rd

[When Sam revives, dizzy and sick and with one less life, he's in his bedroom, although he knows he didn't die there. Doesn't remember how he got back there. He can see, even though he remembers his eyes burning.

And then he sees Alice, blood oozing from a bite and demanding to know why he didn't save her. Alice and Ellis and Chris. Archie. His parents. He'd killed them all. he couldn't save anyone.]

Comments

[freewill]

[It's true that it isn't only him, but that's the way that Wonderland events work. When it comes to powers not working (or rather, working badly), it can't get much worse than an angel's. Castiel's tried not to think too hard about the kind of destruction Lucifer and Michael might cause.

Though for the moment the mansion's still standing.

As he thought, then. It's Sam.]

Have you been affected at all by this event? [It's not often that someone is completely spared.]

[voiceinthedark]

No. [He pauses for a moment, lips set into a stubborn line.] Not like a lot of people. I am... I was someone's anchor but they...

It doesn't matter. [Castiel doesn't need to know. Sam wishes he didn't know. Wishes he could forget that he'd heard Simon's broken confession, but he can't take that back. He can't pretend he hadn't heard it.]

[freewill]

[Chances are that whatever Sam is referring to, it does matter, but Castiel's isn't about to push him on the subject. This entire issue of anchors is very personal, and Castiel has to wonder what it says about him, that he hasn't been able to find one.]

I've been affected, but not mentally. Not like some of the others. [His eyes shift to the side.] Even so, it's dangerous to be around me. You should go.

[He has no idea where Sam had been headed, but he should focus on getting there quick, before something goes wrong.

As it is, the lights in the hallway are flickering and without any warning, one of them shatters and sends glass raining down from the ceiling a few feet away from them. Castiel sighs and winces.]

[voiceinthedark]

[Sam yelps when the lights flicked, only for one of them to explode, raining glass down. He crouched, covering his head protectively until it's over, even if it wasn't right over them.]

That was- that was you?

[Of course. Why wouldn't an angel be able to shatter lightbulbs?]

[freewill]

[Castiel nods, his hands having made fists at his sides without him fully noticing. He can feel his Grace roiling around inside of him, no longer content to be contained by this vessel.

But Sam isn't listening to him. He isn't going anywhere.

When Castiel glances down, he realizes that there's light showing from under his fingernails. He shoves that hand in his pocket and turns away, then attempts to fly off -- but yet again, his wings refuse to cooperate. One form of power is in overdrive, while he's incapable of exerting it in another way.]

I need to go.

[And he starts down the hall as quick as he can, but soon enough his entire body has lit up.]

Sorry this took a while! I had an essay to write.

[voiceinthedark]

[He doesn't realise where the glow comes from at first. It's not exactly in his realm of experience, strange glowing people, and man, he has seen some weird stuff. But it is Castiel. There's no mistaking it, like he's fading at the edges, becoming light, and all that Sam can do is stare, even when Castiel starts to run off.]

Are you okay?

[He takes a step towards him.]

No worries!

[freewill]

[Why do humans so rarely listen to what he has to say? Even in a situation as dire as this, Sam doesn't do the logical thing and get away from an angel that is clearly out of control. No, he tries to follow after him.]

Stay away from me.

[Castiel says the words even as he continues to walk, but he makes the mistake of looking over his shoulder at Sam one last time. Maybe it wouldn't have made a difference which way he'd been facing, because that's when his divine energy flares up and bursts out of his vessel's pores, flooding the entire hallway in a blinding light.]

Cover your eyes!

[He barks out the words, but whether he got them out fast enough to register is hard to say.]

[voiceinthedark]

[People do illogical things. Sam knows that well. And he has no frame of reference for people, even angels, glowing, and how dangerous that can be.

He jerks backwards when Castiel snaps at him, ready to walk away except...

well, by then it's too late. The light is fiercer, brighter, than anything that he's ever seen and even when he starts to try to cover his eyes, it's too late. He can't look away. He can't do anything.]

[freewill]

[This isn't like being around Sam and Dean, who for all that they call him friend, understand what he is and the danger that he poses. They're used to covering their eyes when he issues that warning, but then again, he also usually has more control than this and can make sure they've done as he asked before he unleashes his power on some unsuspecting demon.

In this case, there's none of that. His Grace is doing as it pleases, and for some reason that means burning right through Sam Yao's eyes. Castiel can hear the sizzling, remembers when he accidentally did the same thing to Pamela Barnes.

But this is worse. That had been something carried out over a distance, as she'd made an attempt to summon him. Sam is right in front of him, and there's no chance a regular human could survive such a thing.

Castiel really doesn't want to look. But when the light dies down and he's managed to reel his Grace back in, he forces himself to open his eyes.]