On the Wings of Vengeance

Summary:

Aurora Dilatos tried to live a normal life, as she had for many, many years. It just goes to show that no matter how hard a person tries, their past always finds away to climb out of its grave and stampeed through your life. She should have said no to the oldest Winchester brother. She should have told the angel were to shove his plea for help.

She should have just let Michael and Lucifer plunge the world into chaos.

Stupid human conscience.

Author's Note:

I'd like to first give a HUUUUGGGGEEEE thanks to my dearest friend winterfellsfallenangel, who gave me the horrid plot bunny to this story and my brain won't stop long enough for me to contemplate over my other stories. This story is a bit...darker than my other stories. Pairings: Cas/Aurora, Faith/Dean, Ikari/Sam...there are big reasons as to why these pairings are made.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural...let's just say it is a good thing I don't!

Prologue
Díoltas

Aurora Dilatos is known for many things. She is known as the owner of an underground, seedy bar located in the thick of Irish neighborhood in South Boston. She is known as a silent observer, keeping her regular patrons comfortable and safe from harm. She is known for her impossibly dark green eyes and black-cherry red hair, spuratically placed violet streaks decorating her hair. She is known for her unpresidented patience and her protective tendencies to the only two employees working at The Den, Akuma Ikari and Faith Crui.

What she isn't known for is her lack of violent tendencies.

Seeing the drunk man stagger to his feet, blood coating his mouth, oozing from his nasal cavity and most likely a missing tooth or two, Aurora's eyebrows knit as her gaze grows darker. Blindly charging at her again, she side steps out of the way, hearing his body slam into the chain-link wall of the cage they are standing in. Glancing over her shoulder as he bounces back from the rebound, she drops down and delivers a swift kick to the back of one of his knees, the sickening crack-pop sound muted by the cheers from the crowd and the man's cry of agony. Standing upright as the man clutches his knee, his body curling into the fetal position, Aurora nudges him onto his back with her foot. Bringing her heel down on his chest, her blank stare pierces through his agony as she keeps her foot firmly on his chest.

"If I so much as hear word of you performing another act such like the ones you have done in the past week, you will never see the light of day again," she states curtly, "Now, you have five minutes to get out of my bar before I take back the offer of future recovery."

As the door to the cage opens, Aurora pulls her foot off of the man and steps away as two burly men drag the pathetic man from the cage. At the sight of the blonde woman stepping into the cage, her soft voice calling out to the crowd that the fight was over and for everyone to head back up to the bar, Aurora begins to rub the tender skin of her knuckles, the black boxing tape having broken during the fight. Unwrapping the boxing tape from her hands, she realizes Faith had remained behind.

"Something wrong, Fae?" Aurora asks, her previously hardened tone softening as it is directed toward the genuinely compassionate woman.

Faith nibbles on her lips at the sight of the broken skin along her friend's knuckles, "Don't you think you're taking this a bit far? This is your seventh one this week," Aurora cocks an eyebrow in a 'so what?' mannerism, causing Faith to sigh, "Rora, it's only Thursday."

"Maybe I'm not a big fan of Thursdays," Aurora retorts, but at the discomfort on the blonde's face, she narrows her eyes, "Now why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?"

"There are two guys here wanting to talk to you," Faith states, shifting her weight nervously, "They aren't regulars, and I've never seen them before, but apparently, you know one of them."

Aurora snorts in the unlikely scenario, "You know for a fact that you and Ikari know just about everyone I know. Who ever it is, tell them to go away."

"Alright, but one said that his name is Cas...um...something weird sounding," Faith comments, "He talks funny. Like you do sometimes. He's..kind of weird."

Aurora quirks an eyebrow, "Talks weird like I do? What did you say his name was again?"

"Cas...uh...Cas-tea-el," Faith says, enunciating the prounciation of the visitor's name.

Biting back the influx of memories, Aurora claps a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder, "Go ahead and send them up to the loft. I'll deal with whatever issues they might have. Go join Ikari upstairs, will you?"

Nodding nervously, Faith slips out of the cage, Aurora following closely. Without a word, the red-head makes her way up two flights of stairs and enters the open loft apartment residing above the bar. Immediately seeking out the nearest sink, she turns on the water before she starts to clean the cuts along her knuckles. Cupping her hands under the water, she splashes the contents against her face, hoping the nerves along her body begin to settle.

They don't.

Not with the ascending footsteps echoing up the staircase and the sound of someone knocking on the door. Grabbing a hand towel to wipe the water from her face and hands, Aurora calls out for them to enter. Turning as the door opens, Aurora's eyes first lands on the light-brown haired man entering the loft apartment cautiously, his moss-green eyes searching his surroundings out of instinct, before he enters completely. Behind him, standing just an inch shorter, a darker-haired man in a trench coat follows. It isn't until Aurora's dark green eyes meet the second man's equally dark blue eyes that she finds her angry tension returning.

"Can I help you guys?" she asks, fighting to keep her tone civilized.

The brown-haired man stares at her curiously for a moment before nodding, "Uh, I hope so. I'm Dean, this is my friend Cas. We were hoping to talk to you about something important."

"Sure," she nods, seeing Dean's shoulders relax at her words, she continues, "You have five minutes."

"Díoltas," the dark-haired man greets.

Aurora glares at the name, pushing back the memories that threatened to come up, "My name is Aurora, Castiel. Use it."

Her harsh words and calm tone seem to affect Castiel more than he'd like to admit it, but he nods in agreement, "Surely you know about Lucifer's escape."

"That explains the sudden influx of crazy around here," Aurora retorts, "Though, I'm not sure why this fact brings you here of all places."

Dean shifts his weight, standing straighter at the blatant disrespect in her tone, "We're hoping to stop the Apocalypse and the inevidable showdown between Lucifer and Michael."

"Good luck with that one, but it doesn't explain why you came to me," she states as she moves into the kitchen to pour herself and her two guests a glass of whiskey.

Castiel looks down briefly, and she knows if he were human he would have sighed, before taking a seat next to Dean at the countertop island, "You are the only Angel of Vengeance known to still exist. We were hoping you would help us stop Lucifer and Michael."

"Not interested."

Dean growls at her quick, cold response, "Look, the entire human race is about to be wiped off the face of the planet because two archangels can't get over their own pride. We need all the help we can get."

Aurora pauses thoughtfully before sliding the two glasses across the counter, her gaze focused on Dean as she says, "How do you expect me to even help? I no longer carry the power to do anything angelic."

"Can't we just find your Grace?" Dean suggests, seeing her quirk an eyebrow in curiosity, he continues, "A couple months ago, I came across an angel that chose to Fall. She gained all her powers back when she absorbed her Grace."

"There's just two things wrong with your suggestion, Dean," Aurora pauses to sip from her glass before ticking off her index finger pointedly, "First, I wouldn't know where my Grace is. Last I recall is having someone I trusted rip my Grace out of my body. Second, there is no way, in Heaven or Hell, I'd allow myself to trust you," Her gaze settles on Castiel firmly, "of all people."

Dean can understand the sentiment, and hides his curiosity toward what could have happened between the two, as he swallows his own mouthful of whiskey, "I don't blame you there. Any idea on which angel has your Grace?"

"That would be Gabriel, although, from what I hear, no one has seen or heard from him since the end of the War and my Fall," Aurora answers, draining the last of her whiskey, "Well, this has been an awesome reunion, but your time is up."

Dean opens his mouth to argue, but Castiel cuts him off, taking a step back from the island, "Díoltas-"

"Don't call me that," she sneers out, green eyes flashing hot with anger.

"Aurora," Castiel amends, his blue eyes remorseful, "I only wish to fix the things that has happened to you. Even if you wish to stay out of the fight, I owe you this."

"A little to late to be seeing the proverbial light," she snarks, taking the empty glasses to place them in the sink.

"Why?" Dean's voice demands, "Why would you choose to stand by and let the world implode on itself?"

"Why?" the monotonous voice that leaves her lips causes Dean to tense up, "Why do I choose to stand by? Maybe it's because I watched every member of my garrison die, following the commands of Michael and Lucifer. Maybe it is because after all that was sacrificed, I was tossed out of Heaven because I refused to take part in thier little pissing contest. Even after everything I did, to try and stop the fued, I learned no one could be trusted. Those I trusted most betrayed me because Michael deemed me unworthy to stand in Heaven."

Aurora lets out a huff of anger, watching the sympathetic gleam flash through Dean's eyes, "So, I say fuck it. Let the world fall apart. I've done enough to save it and had it spat back in my face."

"Before we go, can I ask you something?" Dean questions, the red-head nodding stiffly in response, "If you had your Grace, could you stop it? Could you stop Lucifer and Michael?"

"Dean, I would do more than just stop them," she replies coldly, causing a shiver to run down Dean's spine, "Believe me, I would bask in their demise."

"Then let us help you retrieve your Grace," Dean offers, "You may not trust angels, and to be honest, I don't blame you, but if you really can help us stop them, my brother and I will help you get it back."

"The only stipulation being that I help you stop the Apocalypse?"

Seeing Dean nod, Aurora falls silent. She did not miss being an angel, but she had grown tired of life as a human. She likes humans, of course. She just isn't built to be one. It isn't natural for an angel, of any sort, to feel this...much.

"I will join help, on one condition," Aurora sighs, seeing relief flicker through Castiel's gaze, "My friends Ikari and Faith are to come with me. I won't feel right if I leave Faith of all people behind in this kind of neighborhood, and Ikari would end up following us anyway."

"Fine. I'm staying at the Riverside Hotel. We leave out tomorrow afternoon," Dean states, walking to the door as he mentally muses over the idea of three additional people.

Aurora's gaze follows them as they open the door, Dean the first to go down the steps as Castiel pauses, his dark blue eyes meeting her eyes one last time, "I am sorry."

"Go shit in a hand and clap," Aurora spits out viciously, "After this is over, expect us to go back to the way things were before tonight. You play the loyal little follower, and I'll remain nonexistent."

Castiel pauses, wanting to say more, but rethinks the idea. Nodding curtly, not at all upset with her words, he follows Dean down the stairs. As the door shuts behind the angel, Aurora lets out a dangerous growl, placing a hand against her forehead as she tries to fend off the memories.

The others are going to kill her for this decision.

This is just the Prologue, so it is shorter than the chapters to follow. Please leave a review.

Next Chapter: Of Faith and Hatred - In which Faith Crui and Akuma Ikari (Japanese-American, her surname is Akuma, so she goes by Ikari/Kari) are introduced. One, a perfectly, normal human. One...not completely human.