Dean and Sam watched the room as it began to fill with light.
"He's coming." Sam whispered, as Dean looked on in horror.
After a few moments, Dean grabbed Sam and pulled him outside of the room. "Sammy, we've gotta go, now!"
As they ran outside, they looked around, desperate for some way to leave. Suddenly, they each felt a strong arm around their shoulder, and were quickly enveloped in a bright light.
When the light faded, they realized that they were now in an abandoned warehouse.
Dean looked at Sam, "You okay?"
"Yeah, are you?" Sam asked.
Dean nodded, "I'm fine"…
The boys began to examine the room, when Dean spotted Castiel lying motionlessly in a bloody heap about 25 feet away.
"Cass!" He yelled, as he and Sam rushed over to the angel's side.
As the brothers reached the angel, they realized that he was fading fast.
"Castiel, are you okay?" Sam asked, as Dean flipped Castiel over, trying to examine his injuries.
"It looks like he went 12 rounds with Ali." Dean whispered.
"Cass, what happened?" Sam asked.
"Archangels. I told you we'd be hunted." The angel whispered, his voice so weak it was barely audible.
Dean looked at Sam, "We've got to get him some help. Come on."
He and Sam began to lift Castiel up, when they heard a noise throughout the room.
Then the lights in the warehouse came on, and the brothers looked around and found nearly 3 dozen angels had filled the room, with Zechariah in the front, the obvious ringleader.
Zechariah raised his hand and pinned Dean, Sam, and Cass to the wall.
Dean glared at Zechariah, anger filling his face, as Sam looked sorrowful.
"I'm sorry." Sam whispered.
"Don't apologize Sammy, this is his fault, not yours." Dean interjected.
Sam looked from Zech to Dean, and then back, trying to make heads or tails of what Dean just said.
"Yes Sam. We tricked you. Don't look so surprised. You're just a useless, replaceable, mud monkey. We deceived you until you set Lucifer free by killing Lilith. But now, you've served your purpose, and its time for you to return to the dirt you came from." Zechariah hissed as he drug Sam towards him until they were only inches apart.
Dean struggled against the force, desperately trying to get to Sam. "Let him go! Don't you touch him!"
Sam tried to get away, but the angel's power was greater than his, and he soon realized that he was completely helpless.
Zechariah grabbed a knife from another angel and smiled.
"Dean!" Sam yelled, desperate for his brother's help.
"Leave him alone, you winged freak!" Dean screamed while trying to get to his brother, but he couldn't.
"Please. Don't hurt him." Dean pleaded, with tears threatening his eyes.
"Sorry Dean." Zechariah said, as he started the knife on a downward plunge. When it was merely centimeters from Sam's heart, it was yanked from the angel's hand and thrown across the room by an invisible force.
All eyes in the room darted to the entrance, where a young girl in her late teens or earlier twenties entered the room. She had the beauty of a super model, with her shoulder length red hair and big, piercing turquoise eyes. Her build was athletic, yet skinny and she was about 5'7". She looked out of place compared to the "dressy" angels, for she was wearing tennis shoes, jeans, a Family Force 5 tee shirt, and a high school track jacket. Her beautiful face was clearly full of anger as she strolled into the room.
"Zechariah, did you really think I was going to just let you kill them? Let them go, now!" She hissed.
Zechariah glared at her. "This is not your fight, Brielle."
She glared at him. "That's where you're wrong. You see these three guys here." She motioned to Dean, Sam, and Castiel. "When you threatened them, you made this my fight."
"Your desire to protect them is what makes you weak. It clouds your judgment, making you think you can win battles that you cannot, such as this one." Zechariah stated with hardly any emotion, his grip still tight on Sam.
Dean looked over at Castiel, who looked as though he would die, or whatever angels do, at any moment. "Come on, Cass. Just hold on a little longer. I think the cavalry just showed up."
Castiel didn't acknowledge Dean, however. His eyes were fixed on the girl.
Brielle raised an eyebrow at Zechariah. "You underestimate me. I will win this fight. And even if I don't, I plan on taking enough of you low-life pieces of crap down with me that these three will at least have a fighting chance."
Zechariah cockily smiled. "Well, let's just see how many of us you can take down."
He motioned towards the angels, and seven of them began advancing towards Brielle.
She welcomed the first angel with a roundhouse kick, sending him flying across the room. She then threw another through a wall then kicked the next one in the gut, and when he bent over, she elbowed him in the back of the head.
Two more angels were running towards her from opposite sides, so she sidestepped out of the way, causing them to run into one another. She proceeded to grab their heads and smack them together, forcing them to go down. She superman punched another one, and then threw him into the last of the seven angels.
Afterward, Brielle looked towards Zechariah, "Come on Zech. Is that the best you got?"
Zechariah evilly smiled. "You asked for it."
Suddenly, Brielle was sent flying across the room by an unseen force. The remaining angels had combined their powers and were now using their powers against the girl.
She went flying across the room numerous times, crashing into the ceiling and walls over and over again.
"No." Sam yelled, struggling against Zechariah. He looked over and saw Dean doing the same thing. Neither knew why, but they both felt a desire to protect the girl at all cost.
"Brielle." Castiel muttered under his breath, clearly upset about what was going on.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the onslaught stopped, and the girl lay motionless on the floor, bloody and beaten.
Dean looked from the girl to Castiel, and as he did, he saw a tear fall down Castiel's cheek.
Zechariah then ordered the angels to go finish her off.
"Zechariah. Don't you dare touch her." Castiel said, with what little force his broken body could muster.
Zechariah walked over to Castiel, dragging Sam beside him, and smiled. "Brother, don't worry. We'll take good care of little Brielle here. We'll even let you watch us slowly kill her. Well, that is, if you can survive that long."
Castiel glared at Zechariah. "If you harm one hair on her head, I'll lay you to waste."
Zechariah laughed, "Oh, we're gonna harm more than one hair."
A dozen angels swarmed the girl, forcing her to her feet.
Zechariah smiled at Castiel, "On second thought, I don't think I'm going to make you watch me kill her, I'm going to make her watch me kill you and Sammy. But not Dean here, we still need him."
The girl tried to break free, but she was so weak from earlier that she couldn't. "Don't you touch them!" She screamed.
"And what are you going to do about it if I do?" Zechariah asked.
The girl just glared at him, unable to move because of the angels holding her.
"That's what I thought." He said, as he pinned Sam to the wall then grabbed Castiel by the throat and started to choke the life out of him.
"Cass!" Dean yelled, as Castiel's eyes began to roll into the back of his head.
Brielle closed her eyes. As she did, her arms began to glow brightly. Then, she opened her eyes and they were a bright emerald color.
"I told you once, DON'T TOUCH THEM!" She screamed, as she wrestled her arms free and flung them away from her, throwing every angel, except for Cass and Zech, against a wall and pinned them there.
"How" was all Zechariah could say.
"Oh, there's a lot about me you don't know, Zech. I've been working really hard, waiting to rip the grace right out of your chest." She growled.
Zechariah began to back up. "I'm your superior. You stay away from me."
Brielle smiled. "No, you're not. I answer to God, and God alone, and last I checked, you aren't Him."
"Brielle, I'm ordering you to stand down." He said once more, still backing away.
Brielle suddenly used her power to force the knife to fly into her hand. She then rushed Zechariah and shoved him against the wall, holding the knife against his throat.
"I should kill you for what you've done." She hissed.
Zechariah swallowed hard. "Then why don't you do it and get it over with."
"Cause it would be too painless a death for you to go through. I know a much better punishment for you." She smiled.
Zechariah rolled his eyes, trying to hide his fear. "Yeah, what's that?"
"Sending you back to Heaven. It seems Michael really wants to talk to you about your actions as of late."
"Michael?" Zechariah said, his eyes growing wide with fear.
"Yep. You see, the Archangel is not too happy that you've gone against the will of The Almighty. God never wanted Lucifer out, but you, you made sure that it happened anyway, didn't you? Well, Michael and God will punish you for your rebellion."
She then inched closer to him. "And you'd better pray that Castiel survives, because if he doesn't, I'll be the one to carry out your death sentence."
Brielle placed her hand on his forehead, and a bright light filled the warehouse.
When the light faded, Brielle's arms and eyes were back to their normal color and the guys had been released from the wall.
Brielle looked at Dean, the message clear in her eyes Don't leave Castiel's side.
She wiped some blood from her nose. "You all have been deceived." The girl began, as she addressed the angels still pinned against the wall.
"Zechariah proclaimed that he was following the will of God, but I assure you, he was only following his own selfish ambitions. You all know that I receive my orders directly from Michael, who gets his orders directly from the Almighty."
"Michael told me to tell you your options: repent and be forgiven, or continue to fight for Lucifer. So you basically have two choices. Option A, you continue to go after the Winchesters and Castiel. If you do, I promise you will face the wrath of Heaven, BECAUSE I WILL RAIN DOWN ON YOU!" Her voice boomed, letting the angels know that she meant business.
"Or Option B, you repent, and rededicate yourself to following the will of the Almighty."
She let the angels free from the wall and looked at all of them. "So, any takers for Option A?" She asked.
No angel dared move.
"Good."
"You all must leave now. Go and prepare yourselves. Gather more troops for the pending fight. We will throw Lucifer back in the pit where he belongs. I will summon you when it is time for to fight. Until then, 'For the Saints of God and for the Lamb!"
"For the Saints of God and for the Lamb." They all yelled in response, and then vanished into thin air.
Brielle smiled to herself, glad that she deescalated the situation so well.
Her face instantly fell, however, as soon as she caught sight of the Winchester boys, with Castiel lying motionless next to them.
"Cass!" She rushed over to them.
"Cass, come on man, get up." Dean begged.
Sam just shook his head.
Brielle knelt down next to Castiel, tears welling up in her eyes. "Cass. Come on Cass, don't leave me now."
She gently took him into her arms and held him.
"Is he still….alive?" Sam asked.
Brielle looked at them, and for the first time since they saw her, the boys saw something in her eyes: fear. The tough, kick-butt fighter from earlier was replaced with a scared, insecure, hurt teenage girl.
"Barely." She said with her voice near the point of breaking. "I've never seen him hurt this bad. I don't know if he'll be able to…"
She was cut off by Dean's gentle, but stern voice. "If there's even a remote chance that he'll be okay, then we'll take it. Let's get him somewhere safe."
"How? We have no car." Sam stated.
"I got one. Come on, carry him out there, and I'll pull the car around." Brielle informed them. She quickly gave Castiel a kiss on the check. "Hang on, Cass. I'll be right back. Don't leave me, not like this."
Dean and Sam looked at each other questioningly, wondering who this girl was and what her story was.
She quickly stood up and began to hurry out the door, but not before looking back once at Castiel.
The boys stood Castiel up, each one draping one of his arms around their shoulder. They slowly walked out the same way Brielle had gone.
As they came outside, they didn't see any sign of Brielle.
"Where'd she go?" Sam asked.
Suddenly, the sound of a powerful car engine filled the air, as a car speed around the corner of the building, tires squealing.
The car came to a stop in front of the boys. It was a beautiful '69 Chevy Camaro SS. It was black with small lime green pin stripes along the side. Everything about the car was original, except the paint job and engine, which had some modifications done to it to make it faster.
The inside was black leather and was slick. The car was taken so good care of that it almost looked as though it had never been driven before.
The boys stood admiring the car, until their thoughts were interrupted by Brielle's voice coming from the driver's seat.
"Guys, come on. There's going to be more of them coming soon. We gotta move."
The boys hurriedly rushed to the car. Sam decided to stay in the back with Castiel while Dean got in the passenger seat.
"Wow. This is a beautiful car." Dean said.
Brielle smiled, "Thanks." She started up the engine and peeled out, much to the delight of Dean.
They rode for a few minutes in silence, with Brielle looking in the rearview mirror at Castiel and Sam about every 5 seconds.
Dean caught notice of this and looked at the girl and smiled as he reassuringly placed his hand on her shoulder. "He's going to be okay, you know. Cass is the toughest…angel I've ever met. He'll pull through."
Brielle smiled and nodded. "I sure hope so."
"Well, I'm Sam Winchester, and this is my brother Dean." Sam said, feeling it awkward they had yet to do introductions.
"Brielle McAlarney." She informed the boys.
"Well, Brielle, thank you for the save back. We really owe you." Sam said, wanting to ask questions to learn more about this mystery girl, but not wanting to be nosy.
Dean, however, wanted answers, and was going to get them. "So, Brielle, you and Cass seem to be really close, and you have some pretty intense powers. Are you an angel?"
The girl laughed. "Well, me and Cass are pretty close. He kinda raised me since I can remember. And, no, I'm not an angel. Far from it actually."
Both the boys tensed up, "So are you a demon?" Dean asked.
Brielle vigorously shook her head. "What? No, of course not. Why would Cass raise a demon? I just…it's a long story, and I'd feel more comfortable having Cass help me tell it, cause it's really far fetched, and I think you guys would believe it more if Cass told you too." She said.
Sam nodded, "Fair enough."
The ride continued in silence for a while, with the occasional question from Dean about the car, or some random question from Sam, but both the boys were so shocked about the events of the day that they didn't say much.
They had been driving for around an hour, and Brielle looked nearly dead at the wheel. She did the sleepy head bob a few times, and really looked like she was struggling to stay awake.
Dean noticed this, and looked at her. "Hey, why don't you take a break for a while?"
She shook her head. "No way, we've got to get Castiel to my house. That's the only place he'll be safe."
"You know, me or Sammy could drive so you could take a break." Dean suggested.
"Well, thanks, but no thanks. I kinda got a thing about other people driving my car. Plus, you don't know where you're going. I'll be fine. I'll just stop at a gas station and get a cup of caffeine or something." She replied.
She pulled in at the next gas station, and parked the car. "I'm gonna fill her up and get something to drink. Y'all want anything? Like some pie?"
Dean smiled, "Gotta have me some pie."
"Sam, you want anything?" She asked.
"No. I can't eat." Sam said, too upset about what he'd done.
Brielle frowned at him. "Sam, this could have happened to anyone. The angels and demons tricked you. Don't beat yourself up over this. It'll be okay."
Sam looked at her bewildered. "How do you know about that?"
"Like you said, Castiel and I are pretty close. We talk. Don't worry, we'll figure it out." She smiled, as she closed the door and walked inside.
"I wonder what her story is." Sam said, as he watched her go inside.
Dean shrugged, "I don't know, but for some reason, I trust her. Like, I feel this connection to her. Nothing sexual or anything, but just like, I don't know, a need to protect her."
Sam looked at his brother. "I know. I've got the same feeling."
"That's because you are connected." A voice weakly whispered from the backseat next to Sam.
The boys were both startled as Castiel opened his eyes.
"Cass, you're alright!" Sam yelled.
"Yes. I'm fine. Is Brielle alright? Did they hurt her? If they did, I will…" He starts to get agitated.
Dean quickly shakes his head. "Cass, she's fine. She's better than fine. She whooped up on those angels. You need to calm down though. You barely made it out of there alive. Are you sure you're okay?"
Cass nodded. "Yeah, I'll be okay. My vessel will heal, it'll just take some time. Help me sit up." He ordered the boys.
Sam and Dean helped Castiel slowly sit up.
"Cass, care to tell us who she is? I mean, I can tell you two are close and all. What gives?" Dean asked.
Castiel sighed, leaning his head against the car. "Well, I can't tell you everything. That's something she'll have to do on her own. I can tell you that she's part angel. She has some angel abilities, but using them is very damaging to her. It zaps all of her energy."
"That would explain why she was about to fall asleep at the wheel." Sam said.
"Yes, it would, she's in no condition to drive." He said, as he started to get out of the car.
"Woah, woah, woah. Where do you think you're going?" Dean asked, grabbing his arm.
He sighed, "Brielle is very stubborn, like her father and brothers. She won't just rest because I ask her too. It'll take a little more convincing than that."
He slowly got out of the car, pain etched in his face with every movement. He quietly closed the door behind him and used the car to support him.
Brielle came outside of the store, a bag in hand, not paying attention to where she was going.
She finally looked up and saw Castiel standing against the car.
"Cass!" She yelled, as she dropped the bag, causing red bull and pie to go flying everywhere, and threw her arms around Castiel, being somewhat careful not to hurt him, but was too overjoyed that he was okay to care very much.
She buried her head into his chest, and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of relief then rested his forehead on her shoulder.
"I thought I was going to lose you." She whispered, trying to hold back tears.
"No way was I going to leave you like that Brielle." He reassuringly said.
He pulled her back at arms length to examine her. Seeing the dried blood on her shirt, the cuts on her face and nose, and the dark circles under her bloodshot eyes, he frowned.
"I thought I told you not to get involved Brielle. It was too dangerous. You could have been killed."
She sighed. "Cass, what was I supposed to do? They were going to kill you and them. They were going to take everything I have left away from me. I couldn't let them do that. Besides, I made it out in one piece. I'm fine."
He shook his head. "What would I do if something happened to you? Especially if it happened while you were trying to save me? Please think about that next time you're about to do something so dangerous.
"I'm okay, you know. It's only a few cuts and bruises, possibly a broken rib." She frowned then whispered, "I've been hurt worse, you know."
His face instantly filled with pain at Brielle's words as he looked away from her and towards the ground. "Please, don't bring that up." He whispered, as his eyes looked as though they would well up with tears.
She sighed, as she pulled him back into a hug. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"It's okay. What's important now is that you rest."
"No way Cass. I need to drive us. The boys don't know where we're going, and you, you don't know how to drive and are too weak to fly us. I need to get us somewhere safe"
She blinked her eyes vigorously, trying to stay awake, but she was swaying, and she was so tired she thought she was going to pass out.
"No, Brielle, rest now, my child." Castiel whispered, as he reached his hand to her forehead."
"Castiel, don't you do it." She muttered hatefully, as she weakly tried to fend him off.
She was too tired, however, and Castiel placed his hand on her forehead, causing her to go into a deep sleep instantly. He caught her falling body, and cradled it close to him.
"You did well. Sleep tight. I'll be watching over you, as always" He quietly whispered into her ear, and then looked at the boys.
"Dean, you're driving. Be careful. If you get a scratch on this car, she'll kill us both. Sam, get in the front with your brother. I'll ride in the back with Brielle, and direct you to where we're going."
The boys got out to change seats. As Sam opened the door for Castiel, he looked at Brielle's slumbering body in his arms. "Is she going to be alright?"
Castiel nodded. "Yes, she just needs to rest."
Dean looked at Castiel, "Well, it's nice to know you guys make everyone do what you want, and it's not just something you have against us Winchesters."
Castiel glared at him as he placed Brielle in the backseat. "I would never do anything to hurt this girl. Don't ever question that...ever. Now drive. Head towards Indianapolis, Indiana. I'll direct you from there."
Dean nodded, realizing he had angered Castiel. He quietly got into the car, started the engine, and headed towards Indy.