Hello! I'm back, as you can see. I would like to thank those that reviewed and followed/favourited Azriel - Season Five. Once again I would like to remind you of the poll concerning Azriel's love interest. I thank you in advance.
Azriel's steps were soundless as she got closer. She stood a few feet away from him for a few moments, watching him, before she decided to say something. "Sam." she greeted. Sam stopped his confused movements and stared up at her. She offered him her hand. He took it hesitantly and she pulled him up. "Seems like someone brought you back." she stated. "You wouldn't have brought me back." Sam mused. She nodded. "You are correct. I did not bring you back."
"Who was it then?" he demanded to know. She shrugged. "I don't know. I felt you ascend, that's why I'm here."
"No desire to kill me?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow. "No desire to rip me apart for throwing your precious Michael into the cage?"
She glared at him hatefully, before taking a deep breath. "No, I won't do anything like that." she told him. "I liked you, Sam. Before you did that stunt. I might as well enjoy the time I have with both you and your brother until Michael gets out again."
"Is that a possibility?" Sam asked.
She broke his gaze and looked away. "I don't know." she whispered, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. "I don't know."
She blinked to hold them back. "Let's go."
She took ahold of his arm and flew with him to her vessel's house. "Where are we?" he asked and eyed the wards she had put in place. They covered pretty much every inch of the walls. "This is my vessel's house. She's dead, so I put it to good use." she explained. "I don't know where your brother is, so you can stay here until you are rested and are ready to leave."
"Can you fly me to him now?"
"I need an address or location. Otherwise I won't be able to find him." she explained. "The marks on your ribs stop me."
He nodded and told her the address. She nodded and took his arm again. She flew the both of them outside the house he had told her and and Sam stood outside, looking at Dean, a woman and a boy, eating inside. He hesitated. "Why don't you go inside?" Azriel asked him.
"He looks happy." Sam told her. "For the first time in years he looks really happy."
She looked back at the house. "Do you want to go in?" she asked again.
He shook his head. "No. Take me back."
She did as he said and the next second he was back in her house. "I can't stay long, I need to go back to Heaven." she said. She threw him her keys. She rarely used them, preferring to fly straight into the house. "I think there's still food in the freezer. Everything works."
He nodded absently and she tilted her head, listening to the angel radio. "I have to go." she told him and flew to Heaven. She searched for Raphael, who was looking unhappy. "Castiel is refusing to join us." he said. "He wants to stop the apocalypse and is slowly amassing angels that think the same way."
"Are there enough to become a threat?" she asked him. He nodded. "Yes."
She ran a hand through her hair. "What am I supposed to do?"
"You won't be able to infiltrate them. Your loyalty for Michael is well-known." Raphael mused. She very nearly flinched at the name.
"Get rid of as many of his followers as you can. I don't care what way. Try to make yourself seem sympathetic to him. Don't openly join me and don't openly join him."
She nodded and already started plotting. She also needed to advance her own goals. "Of course."
"Don't disappoint me." he warned. "I will not be as lenient with you as my brother."
She stopped herself from replying verbally, but inwardly she was seething. Michael hadn't been lenient with her. She was good at what she did. She was a good fighter, but she was an even better manipulator. And she proved it time and time again. Azriel forcibly calmed herself, slowly unclenching her fists. Raphael watched her, his expression blank. She nodded once and disappeared again. She reappeared in Michael's office. It hadn't been touched. She could barely believe it had only been a day. Her fingers stroked the wall, and she closed the door and leaned against it, a lone tear rolling down her cheek. It hurt to know she wouldn't see him again. She hadn't seen him for years sometimes, but she knew she could if she wanted to. Now he was locked away. She didn't know if she could get him out. She wasn't sure if the cage could even be opened again. And other than that, who was to say he wasn't driven insane by being in Hell for a prolonged time? Or that Lucifer didn't kill him? "Hold on, Michael." she pleaded in a whisper. "Please."
Azriel sat down behind Michael's immaculate desk. She needed to find the names of Castiel's followers and what his plan was. Fun. She had liked this job when she first started. She liked that she knew things others didn't, she liked that she could manipulate and lie and kill. It sated her deep-seated rage. But over time she had grown weary. It had started when she had been ordered to train others to be like her. She had grown to like them. But on their first assignment they had been surprised by Hell Knights. They were Hell's elite, the most powerful. Her protegés had all been killed, except for one. She hadn't been supposed to interfere, but she had managed to overpower Michael and save him. He had been reassigned and his memories had been blocked, so she was all alone again. And then she had slowly started to get tired. Tired of this life, tired of her assignments. But she had to do it. For Michael. She massaged her temples. "Okay." she muttered. "Names." She stood up and went to Michael's office. He had a list of every angel in Heaven. She had a list with everyone's mental state and their thoughts on a lot of things. And she had other angels on her side, angels that did things similar to her assignments. She crossreferenced Michael's list with her evaluation of their psyche. It went slow. She walked through Heaven, searching for others like her, asking them who was on Castiel's side. Sophia finally told her new information. "I heard that he is gunning for more power." Sophia whispered, glancing around carefully. "That demon, Crowley, he approached Castiel with a suggestion on how to get more power." Sophia looked her in the eyes. "And how do you get more power?"
"Souls." Azriel realized and felt as if she was suddenly falling. "He wants the only unguarded souls."
Sophia nodded. "We can't let him have them."
Azriel nodded shakily, inwardly cursing. "I'll look into it." she promised Sophia absent-mindedly. Sophia nodded and quickly disappeared before someone saw them together. As soon as the other angel left Azriel started to search through her notes on Castiel. He seemed like someone who would be willing to do this if it was 'for the best'. But she couldn't believe anyone would be stupid enough to actually go through with it. She cursed, out loud this time. She stood up and started pacing. If this was true … They were screwed. She tapped her fingers on the table in a nervous rhythm. She couldn't tell Raphael. Raphael was power-hungry. She couldn't tell him. She could tell no one. She needed to keep this to herself. She closed her eyes and came to a decision. Her hand clenched around her notes on Purgatory and they crumbled into nothing.
Azriel rubbed her eyes. She had been working non-stop for two weeks. Celestial beings weren't supposed to be capable of getting headaches, but she was proving to be the exception. Her head was pounding rhythmically. She sighed and glanced at her notes, spread all over the place. She needed a break. She couldn't concentrate anymore. She had worked non-stop because she wouldn't think of Michael if she was occupied with other things. It hurt less this way. She closed her eyes. She had avoided doing this. She had tried it once before, when the oldest archangel had first fallen into the cage, but she wanted to try again. She had to try again. She couldn't just leave him there alone. Michael? she asked. Can you hear me?
No reply. Michael? she tried again, but nothing happened. A choked sob escaped her and she slumped to the floor.
"Stop this right now." Raphael's hard voice interrupted her. "You should be working, not having a breakdown."
She stared at him with anger in her eyes. She had worked. She had listed every angel that had the possibility of being with Castiel. It had taken her two weeks. And then she stopped working for a moment and Raphael was here, scolding her! "Of course, Raphael." she told him between gritted teeth. "I will get back to work immediately."
He nodded at her, in a way that was obviously supposed to be mocking. "Good work." he told her mockingly. Then he left. She clenched her fists and stared after him. Raphael should've stayed with his healing. He never should've taken over Heaven. Getting Michael out was an even bigger priority now.