Universal Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any of its affiliated characters. I also do not own any of the songs quoted at the end of each chapter. Those are owned by their individual labels and artists. If I did own all if that, I would be rich. I do however, own my OC's Isabel and assorted others, as well as a pack of spearmint gum, and an ornery Ragdoll cat.
Alright, so you might have seen this story from my under Jenn0509, and here's the deal, I just couldn't do what I wanted with this story with having to worry about people in my RL reading it. Ergo, Cat & Mouse is moving here! I've combined more of the first few chapters, with passages of time marked with brakes. As some of you know, ther are lots of chapters already written, so depending on reviews, I should update fairly frequently for a little while.
Please note, this version of this story will be rated M for the good stuff!
I hope you enjoy this, and REVIEW!
Veronica hugged her youngest son to her chest, wrapping her wings around him and his sister. "Castiel, you will be good for Anna. Won't you?"
The boy nodded, his face covered in a familiar misty confusion, "Anna is my elder, she is my superior. Yes, Mother, I will obey her."
Anna shared a pained look with her mother, who tucked her wings against her slender frame, "Yes, Castiel, you will. You will obey Anna and hold your Father's Will in your heart. Trust in them both and you will be safe. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Mother. I understand." The boy nodded and walked away, into the vast whiteness that was the Lord's House.
Veronica smiled, shaking her head. For all her youngest son pretended to be like his oldest brother, Michael, he was still her little boy, nowhere near as stoic as he portrayed himself to be. "I didn't tell him he could leave." She said with a smile.
"I'm certain he didn't mean to offend you." Anna said softly.
"I know." Veronica took her daughter's small hand, squeezing tightly, "Anna, keep him safe. He's going to be a handful once he finally wakes up to what is happening. You both must not be fooled by the treachery that is threatening to invade the heavens. Dark times are coming. Keep your wits about you." She kissed the red headed girl on the head, "I love you."
The girl let her feathery pale lashes close, "And I you, Mother." Anna looked just like any other thirteen year old girl, dressed in solid white with black wings coming out of her back. Castiel looked to be about seven, dark hair from his Father, and dark blue eyes from his mother. Even in angel years, he was young, just a child. Anna was older than she looked though, by hundreds of years. Time in Heaven was funny that way. "But, Mother, why is it you that has to go? Can't someone else go?" She was pouting, showing her young age.
Veronica winced, "No, little one. It has to be me. It's the only way I can think of to get Him to listen to me. The humans have clouded his judgement, perhaps something else too. And if my sacrifice can bring back His reason, then I will go as far as I need to."
Anna recoiled, "You would fall to Hell for him?" Her fear was reasonable for a change, which brought Veronica a small sense of relief. Anna often had a tendency to panic about a lot of things, and it killed Veronica to see her in distress.
Veronica touched her only daughter's cheek, seeking to calm her, "No, sweet one. Not to Hell. Just to Earth, no farther. You don't need to worry about things like that."
"Mother, won't He smite you? You know He will." said a deep, masculine voice behind them.
Michael stood behind them, his beauty not masked by a mortal frame. Veronica smiled at him, her oldest, most noble, most obedient, son, "No, Michael. He would have to find me first. And we both know that that would be incredibly difficult for him to do."
"You're being foolish. Father will find you. He knows all." Michael snapped, causing Anna to hide behind their mother.
"If it is foolish to want to prevent war, than so be it." The redhead said sharply, smoothing her daughter's own red hair.
Michael was angry, his whole body shaking, "Why is he so much better than us? I don't understand!"
She wanted to reach out and touch him, but he hadn't been raised like the others, privy to the comfort of a mother's touch, and neither had Lucifer. He would no more accept her touch than Anna or Castiel would her rejection. "I know you don't, and for that I will forever grieve. I dream of a world where all of my children will know peace with each other."
"Father plans, Veronica. We need do nothing but what He instructs us to do. He will provide for us. You need not act unsanctioned. You risk becoming one of the unfavored Fallen. Why?" He was calmer now, upset still, but the fear in his sister's eyes had curbed his anger.
Veronica held her ground, "Freewill, Michael. It is as precious and as dangerous as any life. The humans, they deserve the chance to have freewill, not to be enslaved."
He growled at Veronica and Anna squeaked in an adorably human manner. "You speak as if you believe we are enslaving them! It is the demons! It is Lucifer!"
Veronica sighed, "I regret not being able to hold you and Lucifer when you were children. I was never allowed to comfort you as a mother should. It is my fault, all of this. Your anger, Lucifer's betrayal, Gabriel's frivolity, Daniel's insecurity, Castiel's indifference..." She stroked her daughter's hair again, "...Anna's fear, it is all my fault. Sometimes I think that this is His punishment upon me for your flaws. I should have been a better mother. I couldn't have changed you and Lucifer, I wasn't allowed, but the others, I should have fixed them. This is my fault, so I am choosing to have the freewill to try to fix my mistakes. I'm taking responsibility for what I've done wrong."
Castiel returned, watching from behind Michael, who was nearly at a loss for words. "Mother, no, those things, they aren't your fault."
Veronica smiled sadly, "I think so, and He thinks so. I can only hope that you can find it in your hearts to forgive me for leaving you. You must remember that we are to forgive all those who trespass against us. However, you just might understand one thing now: every being has flaws. Your Father is no exception."
"Don't go." Castiel said, his voice wavering and tears filling his big blue eyes. He looked more like Anna and Veronica then than he ever had.
Veronica knelt next to him, cupping his face in her hands, "Don't cry, my baby boy. I'm not worth your tears. You'll understand why I have to do this one day, I promise." She wiped a tear from his face, "Who knows, may-haps I will explain it to you myself once you are grown. I do this out of love Castiel. I hope you can all forgive me one day."
Michael was tense, "Mother, if you are going to leave, you'd best leave now. Zachariah is coming. We both know he won't allow you to fall."
"You're right, Micheal. I need to leave." She turned to prepare herself but Castiel spoke.
"Mother, will you see Daniel?" She nodded, her eyebrows knitting together, "Can you tell him that we miss him?"
She smiled at her baby, "Yes, I will. Don't forget, say my name, and I will always listen. Goodbye, my children. May we meet again one day." Veronica looked down at the Earth with a forlorn look. She knew what she had to do it. In a flash of brilliant golden light the archangel, Veronica, fell, bringing the wrath if God upon herself.
For the next two centuries, God followed her every move, but every time he thought he had her, she would vanish. She'd been made that way, of course, He had wanted her to be a creature of mystery, to be able to hide from him when others could not. Before He had created a single angel, He had been lonely. He had created Veronica to be His perfect companion, to challenge His word just enough to make him question himself. With the creation of the other angels and then the humans, He had stopped listening to her. She had warned him of Lucifer's unrest, she had tried to stop all evil before it became what it was destined to be.
When their son had fallen, drawing countless others with him, Veronica had begged Him to compromise with their wayward son, to bring him home. He had refused, and banished them all in favor of the humans, it didn't matter that Lucifer was one of the four angels that were his blooded children by Veronica. But the creation of the demons had been the last straw.
Since that time, Veronica had stayed faithful, baring her Lord two more children, first Anna, and then her baby, her Castiel. God wanted war with Hell now. Veronica knew that her words no longer meant anything to Him, and that begging for him to spare their son's life would be futile. She had thought, that perhaps He would give clemency to the Fallen that were His flesh and blood. He didn't.
He had refused, told her that Lucifer had made his choice, as had Gabriel and Daniel. And their second oldest son had risen in the ranks in Hell. So she had to fall. She could keep her wayward son from rising and keep his Father from killing him. The only way she could ever find peace with herself was if she brought Lucifer home.
Anna never forgot her Mother's words. Neither did Castiel. Even now, in the twenty-first century, with Sam and Dean, he found himself thinking of Veronica, the beautiful angel who had treated him like her own son. She had left before any child should be without it's mother. Anna had never been anything more than his older sister. Castiel had seen his mother's Fall as a betrayal to their Father. He had grown up to hate his mother. Anna had tried to convince him that Veronica hadn't wanted to leave them, but that she had to. She had even tried to tell him that Veronica was away doing Gods work, but he was always stubborn.
Two thousand years later, and he was still stubborn. Denying his feelings for Dean was getting him no where. He had been willing to die for the human, had died, only to find himself whole again a day later. The apocalypse had started, Lucifer had been released by Dean's brother, and Castiel could no longer hear his Father. He could only assume that He had saved them. He never thought that his mother could have been alive to save him, but she was.
The Winchesters were staying close to Bobby, but neither brother would speak directly to the other. It was only because of Castiel's instance that Dean hadn't kicked his brother out of Bobby's hospital room. It had been three days since the angel had disappeared again, and the tension was getting to be unbearable for the paralyzed man, his already short temper going through the roof.
Just down the stairs, a young woman named Isabel Hastings was on her way home from the floor where her mother worked in the same hospital. Her brother, Daniel, followed right behind, managing to look more like a pedophile than a protective older brother.
Sam was walking back to the corner diner for the tenth time, his mind set on a cup of coffee to fuel his vigil. As he turned right out of the hospital's main entrance, he didn't even notice the small blonde girl until she slammed into his body. She had been turned around to ask her brother what they were having for dinner, and suddenly found herself wrapped in the arms of a massive wall of a man.
"Sorry." He grumbled, letting her go.
He was just about to walk away when she put a hand on his arm, "It's okay. That was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going. I'm so clumsy." Sam stared at her, her voice, it reminded him of Jessica's, but her eyes had the same spark Madison's had. It was the middle of June, and the girl's golden blonde hair shone in the sunlight. She picked his busted phone off the ground. "I'm really sorry!"
He couldn't resist giving her a smile, "It's okay, I've got a spare. I'm Sam."
She smiled, "Isabel. My brother should be able to fix the phone for you..." She looked around and pursed her lips, "Well, he would, but it appears he's gone inside again. I'm sorry." She got out a scrap of paper from her pocket and pulled a pen from her purse, scribbling a number on the paper, her cheeks flushed bright pink, "Um...I'm not usually like this, but...here's my number. You should call me, whenever you get your phone fixed. I can um...pay you back for it."
She pressed the paper into his hand and folded his long fingers around it. "You don't have to." He protested weakly.
Sam was tempted to give the number back to her, but she pat his fist with her cool fingers and smiled. "No, I have to. It's a Girl Scout thing." She laughed at her own joke, "Keep the number. It will make me feel better."
He nodded, "I guess I'll keep it then." A smile actually graced his face.
Isabel looked over her shoulder, "Oh, there's my brother." The blonde man was standing at the hospital entrance, his eyes fixed on his sister, his expression stormy. Isabel just looked back at Sam, "I'd better go." She turned around but smiled back at him one last time, giving him a wave, "It was nice to meet you Sam!"
"Yeah, same here." Sam whispered under his breath to her retreating form.
Rejoining her brother, Isabel looked back at Sam, her head in the clouds. "That looked like it went well." He commented stiffly.
She nodded, "Yeah, it did. He's nicer than I had expected he would be."
"They all are, Isabel. Even Lucifer was the most charming angel." Daniel knew what his mother was aiming for, but he didn't like the principles of using his little sister against the Antichrist. "Are you ready for this?"
She smiled at him, "Daniel, I was born ready. Isn't that what you and mom always telling me?"
Everyday, Isabel remind him more and more of Veronica. Ever since they had told her about everything Supernatural, her confidence had gone through the roof. A half year ago, Isabel had been just another college graduate. A demon had snatched her off the street and held her captive. It had taken Daniel three days to find her and about thirty seconds to send the creature back to hell.
It had made no sense to keep that half of her hidden after that. They had thought she'd be scared, but she'd just sat there quietly before nodding her head in acceptance.
She had had a harder time accepting that her brother was now a vessel occupied by one of her ancient half brothers. In the last few months, Isabel had spent time getting used to the fact that the man that had been in her brother's body since she was five wasn't her real brother. Now, she was back into the sibling mode with him, considering, technically, he still was her brother, just her half brother. He'd taught her to fight, made her study all sorts of monsters. She'd gotten good at it.
"That's good. It's time." The angel said, stuffing his hands into pockets of his faded denim jeans.
Isabel froze, "What? No, no, Daniel, you can't, no!" The angel walked down the street, his head down. Isabel ran after him, "Come back here! Daniel!"
He stopped at the mouth of an alley way to look at his youngest sister, "Isabel, you have to do this, and I can't be with you. Castiel..."
"I know about Castiel, but, really, why does it have to be now?"
He quirked a smile at her, "It's the apocalypse. We don't have anymore time. You have to stop it."
"I'm not ready!"
He chuckled, "I thought you were ready?" Isabel just gapped at him. He hugged her, an unusual display of affection from him. "You can do it, Isabel." He whispered, and touched her shoulder where her Amaric tattoo resided spelling out the word 'Love'. She was astounded by his silent proclamation as he let her go, "Remember, 'Constant vigilance'." He walked away, down the alley, and out of her sight.
She bolted after him, screaming, "Don't you dare quote Harry Potter to me! Come back here, you douchbag!" But her brother was gone, probably off to their mother in South Dakota. "Jerk!" She yelled out to no one in particular before reluctantly heading back to her motorhome and starting her stake out.
Sam didn't think of Isabel again until several months later, in Nebraska. He and Dean were finally getting along again. And for the first time since the Apocalypse had started, Sam felt good. Not great, but good. They were heading out of Alliance, Nebraska when Sam saw a flash of blonde hair standing on the side walk, watching the Impala drive by at the fifteen mile per hour speed limit. "Hey, Dean, do you see that girl standing on the sidewalk?" He whispered over the thrum of the Impala's engine.
Dean turned around in the driver's seat and laughed when he got a glimpse of the girl, "Awe, Sammy, I can tell you now, that chick is out of your league. Too much of a smoking hot babe for you."
"I saw her when we were at the hospital with Bobby. I ran into her." Sam said, his voice nervous.
Dean just arched an eyebrow at his brother, "Okay? So, same girl in a town one state over. It's not a big deal."
Sam relaxed, "She gave me her number." He said smugly, smiling at the stunned look on Dean's face.
"You're shittin' me." Dean said after sputtering for a few seconds.
"No, I'm not, I ran into her, and my phone got busted. She gave me her number so I could call her and let her pay for fixing my phone. Her name is Isabel." Sam looked back, but the sidewalk was empty except for a run down looking motor home.
"Isabel." Dean chirped. "Come on, man, we've got to head back to Bobby. You and I can dream about your little girl friend later."
"Really, Dean?." Sam said, wincing at his brother's vulgarity. "That's just wrong."
In Utah two days later, Sam and Dean had just finished another job when Sam saw her again, standing across the street from their motel. He was distracted right after by the fact that Cass appeared right in front of Dean, causing the older Winchester to scream, "Cass! Personal space! Please!"
"Sorry. Listen, there's something going on here." Castiel said, his voice curt.
"Yeah, Cass, a job. That's why we are here. A job." Dean said, his eyes lingering over the angel's dusty form with a disapproving look.
"The-" Cass stopped mid word, "It's too late."
"What's too late? Cass! Cass!" Dean shook the angel, but he continued to stare out at the open field next to the motel.
"She's dead." Castiel said, his voice empty.
"Who?" Sam asked, thinking through the small bank of women they cared about.
"Anna." The Winchester's looked stunned by Castiel's blunt exclamation. "Something killed her, something far more powerful than Zachariah." Sam pulled them all into the motel room.
"Lucifer?" Dean asked, trying to get Castiel to look at him.
The angel shook his head, "No, not him. I don't recognize...it's just not possible."
"What? God damn it, Cass, speak so it makes sense." Dean yelled, starting to panic.
"The only one strong enough to put off this much residual energy after killing another angel is an archangel, and this feels like none of them, it's somehow...stronger. I don't think I know who killed Anna." A tear ran down his face even though he showed no other hint of emotion, "My sister is dead.
"Yeah, real sorry for you, but she was a bitch. About what killed her, you said it's stronger than an Archangel? Do we ever want to meet that? I didn't think there was anything more powerful than Archangels unless it was the big man." Dean was officially panicking, in his own little pissed off way.
"There was one creature between the two, a sub level of archangel. An Enochian. A type of angel far above any normal archangel, and several centuries older, the first angel. There was only ever one, and she is dead." Castiel said, looking more upset than any other time the brothers had ever seen him, now more angry than sad. "She is dead." He said, his voice tight. Dean put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, Cass, calm down. What did bitch number two do to you?" Sam said.
Castiel pinned Sam to the wall by his throat, "You don't know what you are talking about! She was not a bitch." He stopped, looking stunned by his own outburst of anger. Letting Sam go, he ducked his head, "Forgive me, she is dead, and if God is truly gone, he would not have made another. She was the only one. She was a good angel. She would not ever harm us."
Dean hugged Cass, "Okay, I know that I'm not ever one for Hallmark moments, but we didn't mean to upset you. Sounds like this angel meant a lot to you. What happened to her?"
The angel shrugged Dean off, unsure of how he felt about the close contact, "She was my mother. She fell, and was smited for it, there is nothing else to say."
Sam looked incredulous, "Your mother? I thought angels were just created."
"All but six of us. She was the mother of Michael, Lucifer, Gabriel, Daniel, Anna, and myself. I'm done talking about her. She is dead. As it is, she would never have killed Anna. They were close, there was a great bond between them I never understood." Castiel left looking achingly lost.
"I've never seen him like that." Dean said as Sam started packing up his stuff.
"Don't think too much about it. She was his sister. I'm more worried about the thing that killed her." Sam said.
"He seemed pretty certain that his mother was dead. Maybe it was just the big man upstairs? Anna did give him a lot of trouble. Maybe he just got tired of it?" He said, more worried about Castiel than he was willing to show. "Come on, Sammy, let's get going. We've got more beasties to kill before the world ends."
So, you like it? If you've read it before, you should notice I fixed some minor spelling/grammar/plot errors.
Please, take the time to REVIEW, and have a wonderful rest of your weekend!
-Jenn
In My Arms By: Plumb
"Your baby blues
So full of wonder
Your curly cues
Your contagious smile
And as i watch
You start to grow up
All I can do is hold you tight
Knowing clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms"