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.

The barren blackness now looked like a pleasant night sky, littered with stars. It was clear to see where the ground ended and the sky began. Castiel grinned. If he could do that with a snap; what else might he be capable of?

*****

The Winchesters were at a loss. They knew Cas was dead- he had to be, the Shadow had stabbed him. But where was he?

There was no body. No ashes. No wings imprinted on the bunker floor. It was like the angel had just vanished.

So they were hitting the lore to find the answer, and mainly just to distract themselves from the grief they didn't want to face.

Especially Dean. He barely looked up from his research.

Jack was reading through a book on various gods when a loud ringing started echoing in his head. He grimaced, recognizing the sound. He was hardly ever tuned into angel radio- it was only when all the angels were shouting that he noticed, and that was rare.

"Jack?" Sam asked, noting the pained look on the kid's face.

"Something's wrong with the angels," Jack offered. "The radio's back," He winced as the ringing got louder. "And they're really yelling." 

"What are they saying?" Dean questioned. If the angels were going nuts right after Cas's death; that couldn't be a coincidence.

"I'm not sure." Jack tried to focus, and the ringing slowly turned into dozens of whispers. He tried to narrow it down.

"Jack?" Sam urged.

"It's heaven." Jack insisted. "Somebody broke into heaven." Sam and Dean exchanged a glance. 

That was never good.

*****

Castiel wandered the halls of heaven with pride. He imagined this is what the archangels must feel like. Power radiating at your fingertips, the knowledge that you could shatter things with a point of your finger.

It was intoxicating.

Castiel knew that heaven was struggling. There were only a few angels left, including himself. It didn't help that the lady in charge was one of the angels he hated most. 

So Cas thought he should help heaven keep the lights on, and he got the impression that with his new title, he could get Naomi out of the way.

"Naomi," Castiel declared, strutting into her office and shaking his head. "Naomi Naomi Naomi."

"Castiel," Naomi replied, her eyebrows raising. "But I thought- the Empty-"

"As it turns out," Cas offered. "When you kill the leader of the Empty, you take their place." He smirked. "So guess who's running that show now?" Naomi paled.

"That's impossible," She whispered.

"Yeah, not so much." He insisted. "And I brought back a few friends. Figured they could help us keep the lights on and everything." As if on cue, Gabriel, Balthazar, Samandriel, and Hannah stepped in. 

"What is this?" Naomi demanded.

"You see, Naomi," Castiel offered. "I found that, while you were okay at running Heaven, your record of mind controlling other angels and forcing them to murder their brothers made you a bit unreliable as a leader." Samandriel and Balthazar flanked Naomi as she glared at Castiel. "So I've decided to replace you."

"You have no authority to-" Naomi started. Castiel laughed.

"Actually, yes I do." He insisted. "But hey, the more angels the better, so we're just gonna lock you up for a little while. Guys?" Samandriel and Balthazar forced Naomi out of the office and Castiel turned to Hannah and smiled. "I think you can take things from here, sister." Hannah grinned.

"Of course," She agreed.

"Why are you doing this?" Naomi demanded as she was locked in one of Heaven's prison cells. Castiel smirked at her.

"Because you hurt my family." He insisted. "And you're a bitch." He walked away, Balthazar and Samandriel following.

"I don't understand," Samandriel admitted. "Why did you bring us back?" Cas smiled ruefully.

"Because I owed you." He offered. "I was wrong to hurt you, and I'm sorry, and I hope you'll give me a second chance."

"....Can I go back to Earth and have cocktails and strippers?" Balthazar asked. Cas laughed.

"Of course."

"Dude, we need to plan a party together," Gabriel declared. "I like your style." 

"I don't want to go back to Earth," Samandriel insisted, shaking his head. "I don't like it."

"Okay," Cas agreed. "Then I'm sure Hannah, Anael, and Dumah can find some job for you up here in heaven." Samandriel's face lit up at the possibility. He was always one that was eager to please.

"Thank you, Castiel," He insisted. Cas's face wavered slightly.

"Don't thank me, brother." He whispered. Alive or not, Castiel still regretted the fact that he had killed Samandriel in the first place. Balthazar too. They hadn't deserved it.

"So!" Gabriel clapped his hands together. "Who wants to crash a Winchester party?"

*****

The Winchesters had surrendered from the lore. At least for now. Dean rubbed at his eyes as he headed back to his room, figuring it was about time he passed out for a few hours. Just for the break.

But then the lights in the bunker went out, replaced by the red backup lights that only clicked on when something was wrong.

"Sammy?" Dean yelled out, wary.

"Dean!" He heard Sam call out from across the bunker. The brothers met up with Jack in the bunker's main room, and then something dark slammed into the room. They glanced up at the entrance to the bunker and froze.

Cas stood there, clad in his dark clothes, smirking at them.

"Cas," Dean whispered.

"Hello Dean," Cas grinned. He gestured with one hand and the lights clicked back on.

"Is that really you?" Jack questioned. Dean's eyes widened as he took in the sight of Cas in a black trench coat. The hunter let out a small noise and sunk into a chair. Sam raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"Not fair," Dean whispered, unable to look away. "Not fair."

"What happened to you?" Sam asked.

"I'm running the Empty now," Cas grinned. They froze, and the angel shrugged. "It's a bit of a power up. Comes with a lot of perks."

"Like the costume change?" Dean guessed. "Not that I'm complaining about the costume change." He swore in his head. He had to get passed the fact that Cas was in a black trench coat. So what? Beige coat, black coat, what's the difference and holy fuck Cas wearing a black trench coat and running his fingers through his hair was too damn much.

Cas stifled a laugh.

"More like this," He offered, snapping. Gabriel popped up.

"Gabriel?" Sam whispered, staring at the archangel, who gave him a shit eating grin in return.

"Hiya Samsquatch. Miss me?"

"This doesn't make sense," Jack insisted. "Why do you get to control the Empty now? How are you controlling it? And why-"

"HOW about we deal with all of that tomorrow?" Dean suggested. "For now, let's just focus on hey, Cas is back! Call it a win, and let's go to bed and figure out the details tomorrow. Good? Great plan! We'll regroup over waffles tomorrow morning, Jack go to bed."

"But-" Jack started.

"You heard him." Sam agreed, not looking away from Gabriel.

"Exactly, good night Jack! Cas, come with me," Dean grabbed the angel by the tie and practically dragged him from the room.

There would be time to answer Jack's questions later. 

As in tomorrow morning, where Gabriel would be mysteriously gone, Sam would have an odd looking 'mosquito' bite on his neck, Dean would refuse to sit down, and Cas would be three times as smug as he normally was.