mandalus :: the city of fates.

[ The phone turns on with a sudden crack. The ceiling of Mr. Gold's shop can be seen. There is an accompaniment of shattering glass. A muffled sound of grunting can be heard in the background, along with curses and yells. Possibly even a 'I will make them PAY!' The walls shake and the items on them rattle. Then the tip of Mr. Gold's cane can be seen. He picks up the device, seething in anger, and a creaking sound can be heard.

Yes, he is breaking his phone with his grip. ]

Once I find which one of you took her away--and I will--you will pay. [ He's lost Belle because of his own choices and because of Regina. Now Mandalus. He cared little for the war. Now, it is personal. ] I will find every secret you hide. Every dark corner of this world that you cower in. And, oh, you will curse the day you brought The Dark One to this world! Did you think that I cared at all about this war of yours?

All magic comes with a price, dearies. Using technology to weasel out of a payment will not save you. Instead! You shove your price onto us to pay! I do not pay anyone's price. Not now. Not ever! [ He has paid his own prices. He'll be damned if he is going to lose Belle as a price for this world's inability to stop a giant snake. ]

As for the rest of you, who are so content to sit and let this happen to you? I suggest that you come and get your things from my shop. Otherwise I just might use them for my own whims. [ With that he throws the phone across the shop and the feed ends. ]

[The searing pain of the hilt of the angel blade hitting him in the face sent flames of agony shooting through him, the constant pounding of pain in his broken wrist only adding to it all, but he wasn't going to just give up and die. He'd only ever been willing to die a handful of times in his life and all of those times had been for or about Sam. He wasn't going to die because of Castiel, because this wasn't Castiel. Well, sure it was him, but there was something very wrong with him and Dean had no idea what but he'd figure it out. As long as he could get Cas to stop beating his face in. Cas looked at the Angel Tablet and Dean glared up at him.

"You want it? Take it! But you're gonna have to kill me first." He took a weak breath. "Come on, you coward. Do it. Do it!" And Castiel brought the blunt end of his weapon down against Dean's face again. And again. The pain was incredible, almost as bad as when Lucifer broke him to pieces in Stull Cemetary. Almost.

"Cas. This isn't you-- This isn't you." Another blow. "Cas! Cas! I know you're in there, I know you can hear me." With each attempt at words, Dean's voice was more and more slurred, from pain, from the blood filling his mouth. The angel paused, the point of his blade directed towards Dean, held up by his own head, and Dean tried hard to just get through to him, to save himself.

"Cas, it's me.

We're family.

We need you. I need you. Cas..."

And the angel dropped the blade, he let go of Dean's wrist. Dean collapsed down, breathing hard through the pain and the blood, cradling his broken wrist against him. As he looked up, seeing Castiel pick up the Angel Tablet, the Crypt was filled with blinding light, so bright that Dean had to close his eyes.

Suddenly the air wasn't so hard to breathe through his broken nose and battered mouth. There wasn't blinding light, just sunshine, shining through the windows in Avasta Station. People were crowding and someone pulled out a phone to put it on the network, muttering something along the lines of "Someone probably knows him." as the image of a very bloody, very wounded, very distressed Dean Winchester on the floor of the station flickered into view on the network feed.

Dean tried to get to his feet, staggering a little and almost falling back down to his knees, to the sound of gasps from the crowd. He looked around through his right eye, the one that wasn't swollen shut, and he tried to breathe more deeply, but it was hard to get even a short breath in without choking on his own blood. He needed to just get home, back to the bunker-- the Yard here, he reminded himself. God, it'd been a long time again. He staggered a few steps and into someone - he couldn't see who, they were to his left - but the person helped him stand upright and he made a noise, attempting a "Thanks" though it came out as a grunt of the word.]

Are you okay? You should go to the hospital! [A woman's voice came, and several other voices agreed.]

I-- yeah, gonna... gonna go there now. [No, he was going to find Sam and then he was going to wash his face. He didn't want anyone to see him like this but some asshole had to broadcast it. God, there were people he never wanted to let see him like this. Selina, for one. Christ, it'd been forever since he'd seen her. He didn't want anyone to touch him either but someone else reached out to grab his arm, fingers curling around his broken wrist. Dean let out a pained yell and tugged away, though the person recording just followed him.]

Don't friggin' touch me! [People gasped and shuffled away. Dean spat out some blood on the floor and reached up with his good hand to snatch the phone away, shutting it off and shoving it back at the man.]