Title: Absolution
Author: TigerTiger02
Chapter Title: Wishing Well
Spoilers: pretty much if you haven't seen any season four you probably shouldn't be reading this since Castiel is featured heavily. Pre-"I Know What You Did Last Summer"…. And considering this has been Kripke'd (although I've been working on it for a good month) I think you all know where this is heading…
Summary: Castiel's retrieves Sam and Dean for a mission from God. Guess they didn't expect it to be an Atomic-Bomb Girl. Or she'd be broken and a one mouthy-girl. Shameless Castiel/OC.
Disclaimer: not mine, if it was I would totally take Castiel home as pet, he's just so darn cute!
Dedication: to Nikki, who has been here with me every step of the way, and to all the readers and reviewers, you totally make my life!
And the air is thin
And it blows through your skin
And you feel like something
Is about to begin
But you don't know what
And you don't know when
So you tear at your hair
And you scratch at your skin
You wanna run away, run away
Just get on the fucking train and leave today
And it doesn't matter where you spend the night
You just might end up somewhere in a fight, in a fight
Or calling your room on a concrete shelf
Fighting all alone, with yourself, with yourself
And you just wanna feel like a coin that's been tossed
In a wishing well, a wishing well
A wishing well, a wishing well
Well you're tossed in the air
And you fell and you fell
Through the dark blue waters
Where you cast your spell
Like you were just a wish that could turn out well
So you stand on the corner
Where the angels sit
And you think to yourself,
"This is it, this is it
This is all that I have
All I can stand
Is this air in my lungs
And this coin in my hand"
That you tossed in the air
And I fell, and I fell
All the way to the bottom
Of the well, of the well
Like those soft little secrets
That you tell, that you tell
To yourself, when you think
No one's listening to, well
-"Wishing Well" The Airborne Toxic
Before she can think Isabella launches herself at Castiel.
"Oof!" Castiel grunts out and Uriel rolls his eyes.
"Hardly dignified, Castiel." He snarls. Castiel doesn't respond, mainly because Isabella has pressed her lips against his with urgent need. Dean turns to Uriel, deciding to confer with the moody angel instead.
"Please tell me you're here to help. We've been having demon issues all day."
"Well, I can see that. You want to explain why you have that stain in the room?" he grinds out, looking at Ruby with disdain, Ruby shrinks back and surprisingly Eve moves herself closer to the demon. Isabella extracts herself from Castiel.
"Well? What's the plan? We gonna kick a little demon ass?" she asks.
"We're here for Anna." Castiel says bluntly, not meeting Isabella's eyes. Isabella takes a step back, surprise in her face.
"Here for her like… here for her?" Eve asks. "Like, 'hey sorry all this bad crap happened to you but we've got nice, squishy, feathery angelic shoulders to cry on'?"
"Stop talking. Give her to us." Uriel growls and takes a step towards the door to the backroom.
"Are you gonna help her?" Sam asks, suddenly the situation seems uncertain.
"No." Castiel says levelly. "She has to die." Isabella stumbles further backward, surprise and hurt on her face.
"What?" She hissed out.
"You want Anna? Why?" Sam asks confused.
"Out of the way." Uriel says and takes another threatening step.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, I know she's wiretapping your angel chats or whatever, but it's no reason to gank her!" Dean says while raising his voice. Uriel smirks.
"Don't worry. I'll kill her gentle." His voice is a soft purr; it's a killer's voice.
"You're some heartless sons of bitches, you know that?" Dean snarled. Castiel's eyes flickered towards Isabella before he responded.
"As a matter of fact, we are. And?"
"Cas…" Isabella murmured softly.
"And? Anna's an innocent girl!" Sam protested.
"She is far from innocent." Castiel said evenly. Eve glances at Isabella who is pale and shaking, eyes wide as she stares in disbelief at Castiel.
"You! You! How could you? How could you spout this bullshit about being heartless when-?" Isabella cuts herself off, visibly struggling not to move towards him. She fails miserably and the loud slap echoes in the silent cabin. Isabella is shaking slightly, eyes wide and tear filled as she lifts her hand to her mouth in shock at her own actions. She takes a shaky step backward as Castiel touches his reddened cheek in shock.
"Isabella…" he murmurs, starting towards her but the ex-angel takes a quick step backward, flinching away from him. They stare at each other for a long moment.
"I… I can't even look at you right now." Isabella says thickly and she wraps her arms around herself and looks at the floor.
"Isabella, I-."
"No! Shut up! You don't get to talk anymore!" She shrieks and covers her ears. No one moves. The silence in the cabin is suffocating before Sam breaks it.
"I'm confused. What does he mean by 'far from innocent'?" Sam says evenly, attempting to get to the matter at hand.
"It means she's worse than this abomination you've been screwing. Now give us the girl." Uriel growls while taking a step towards the group. Meanwhile Castiel is willing Isabella to look at him but Eve steps between the pair.
"Uh-uh. No." she says, placing her hands on her hips, glaring at Castiel with blazing eyes.
"Eve. You don't understand, this is much more complex than it seems. Please, just let me speak to Isabella." Castiel pleads. Eve stares at him for a long moment.
"You'll speak to me and I will judge what you say. If it's the truth you may speak to her." Eve says finally. She smirks when she hears Dean's response to Uriel.
"Sorry. Get yourself another one. Try JDate."
"Who's gonna stop us? You two? Or the demon whore… or the failed first woman and a disgraced ex-angel?" Uriel asks glaring around at the occupants of the room. Everyone stares back at Uriel in contempt and Castiel seizes the opportunity to drop Eve with two fingers to her forehead. Isabella gives a sharp cry as he yanks her to him, ripping off the left sleeve of her shirt in one quick motion.
"Cas, what-?" Isabella manages to gasp out before he fits his hand over his mark and presses his lips to hers. For a moment Isabella doesn't understand Castiel's abrupt action and she tries to pull away but his mind bears down on her and she's drowning under the weight of the knowledge. Everything he knows about Anna Milton is forced into her mind and its fucking painful, this unwelcome invasion. She fights against him but it's too much too soon for her fragile, still very human mind. She doesn't know how she does it but finally she throw up shields of weak glass and breaks away from him physically and mentally. She gasps for air and falls against the wall, staring up at him.
Anna Milton is an ex-angel.
Anna Milton has no fucking idea of what she was or the fact that she ripped out her own Grace and fled like a coward. Castiel and Uriel must kill her, not just because of the danger of the girl falling into demon hands but also because of her disobedience. A shudder rocks through her, the ultimate betrayal with the highest price, it scares her. It fucking terrifies her. She turns her eyes to Castiel's and he holds out his hand. She takes it, ignoring the careening jolts that rock through her body. Licking her lips she glances to the door to the backroom. Castiel looks over at the door, then back at her. She will do no more to help Castiel or harm Anna.
Nothing has changed in the room, even though it had felt like an eternity Uriel has barely even moved towards Ruby. Isabella leans herself unsteady against the wall, her entire body aches acutely and she can't bring herself to interfere, either with Castiel's mission or protecting the redhead. Uriel throws Ruby against the wall and Isabella winces as Dean reacts. Castiel moves towards the door but Sam steps in front of him.
"Cas, stop… please." He begs but Castiel merely lifts his hand and Sam drops to the floor. Its almost as if Castiel should say, 'Bitch please'. Isabella can only watch in horror as Uriel begins to thrash Dean.
"I've been waiting for this." Uriel coos cruelly as Castiel's hand lands on the doorknob of the room Anna had been secreted away in.
Suddenly Isabella's entire body is wracked with pain. It feels like something is ripping her apart and from beneath her screwed tight lids she registers bright flashing in the room. She shrieks, her entire body twitching and convulsing as the pain beats in time with her heart. This worse than when Castiel marked her, there's a bone deep ache and she feels her Grace struggle hard against the seal on it. It's like hot pokers jabbing at every sensitive nerve as she screams louder, trying to will the pain away. She has no control over her body's movements and she feels trapped within it, unable to get away from the agony. The mark on her shoulder is burning white hot and she still sees the sporadic light from beneath her eyelids. It's almost as if it's dying in its struggle to get free. And it becomes too much, the ugly throbbing ache, the convulsing, the light, her throat raw from screaming. Her mind, her body, her Grace can't take it anymore. It all stops as she welcomes the inky darkness.
Eve uncovers her ears and opens her eyes. Isabella is still on the floor. The only indication that she's even alive is the gasping, unsteady breathing and the sporadic twitches. She's no longer sending out that sunburst of flashing light or screaming but its clear that even unconscious she's in pain. Her face isn't calm but wracked with agony.
"What the hell was that?" Dean asks as he stands slowly and helps Ruby to her feet. Eve ignores him in favor scrambling over to her fallen friend.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" she murmurs as she checks over the ex-angel. Eve pries open one eye and flinches backward, the pupil is completely blown, and not in a good way. She places two fingers on Isabella's wrist and feels the faint, erratic flutter of her heartbeat. The unconscious girl's breathing is shallow and uneven. But at least the twitching has stopped. Hesitantly, afraid to know the truth, Eve lifts the shield on her eyes, the shield that allows her to walk around without seeing everyone's aura.
Isabella's aura is green. Which if she was human it would be okay, but instead it frightens Eve. There is no hint of silver, gold, or white, the normal static colors of a divine being's aura.
"No. No. No." she whispers before touching Isabella's forehead and delving into her mind. There is nothing that indicates angel. All Eve senses is a whitewash of pain and great loss. No static burst of power prompted by Eve's invasive touch into her mind. She clenches her jaw and wills the tears away from her eyes. Now is definitely not the time to fall apart. Isabella's Grace has been ripped from her and all that's left is the shell. Eve knows that without Isabella and her Grace the vessel should be dead, she has no idea if the vessel will wake up or if it will die.
"What's wrong with her?" Ruby asks while kneeling beside her. Eve glances over to her and flinches slightly at the sight of the twisted demonic visage.
"Can you see it?" she asks, curious to know if the demon could see the damage to Isabella's aura. Ruby narrows her eyes, the brown flickering to black, as she gazes at Eve's fallen comrade.
"Whoa. This isn't good." Ruby murmurs nervously. "She's supposed to be your heavy hitter, right? The Babe Ruth for the angel's? But why isn't there any of her uhm… angelic presence?"
"Grace." Eve corrects bluntly. "And yeah, she's our Babe Ruth; I don't know where her Grace went. It happened when Castiel and Uriel were repelled. This isn't good. Her Grace is what fuels the vessel, without it the vessel should die… unless… unless He thought this sort of thing might happen and tied the non-divine part of her Grace to the body." They both looked Heavenward.
"He's supposed to be all-knowing, right?" Ruby asks uncertainly.
"Yep. I suspect that He thought this might happen."
"Well what the hell happened? You think it has something to do with Little Orphan Annie?" Both of them looked over to see Anna standing in front of Dean, her hands and arms covered in her own blood. Both of them flinch back and look at each other. "You seeing what I'm seeing?" Ruby asks in a low voice.
"There's definitely a trace there. Fuck. Say nothing to Sam and Dean. We don't know when she fell and it will be easier to get information from her if we play stupid." Eve hissed.
"Got it." Ruby stands fluidly and checks on Sam again while Eve reaches out into Isabella's mind. There more's activity now, less panic and pain and more confusion.
"Isabella." She sang out softly. "Isabella… wake up." She said while tapping the girl's cheeks lightly. Grey eyes flew open and Isabella shot up into a sitting position, her eyes frantically looking around the room as her breathing got ragged.
"What? Where am I?" She asked after fixing her gaze on Eve. "Eve! What the hell? Where are we? Who the hell are those people?" she asked while pointing towards the others. Eve felt her eyes go wide with realization.
"Iz, Izzie, what's the last thing you remember?" Isabella frowned slightly.
"I remember… I remember… oh shit! What time is it? I'm supposed to be at work right now and-."
"What do you remember?" Eve asked while gripping Isabella's shoulders tightly and forcing the girl to look at her.
"I thought I had a lot to drink last night but obviously you had way more! We were at Dick's with Kathleen and Jay, you know for their going away party. We were there until closing and then we got home and I went to bed, I'm supposed to be at work right now. Why are we in this nasty ass cabin? Who the hell are those people?" Isabella said with certainty. Eve felt sick. They hadn't been to Dick's Bar and Grill in three months. In fact it was shortly after that when the Seal upon her Grace started to erode and instead of minor issues Isabella started to have major issues. Two months ago Dean had been resurrected and just a couple of weeks after Isabella had been tapped for duty.
"You don't remember anything from the past three months?"
"Three months? It's been like ten hours." Isabella said.
"Guys." Eve said with a slight hitch of panic in her voice. "We've got a problem."
"What?" Dean snapped out. "We're a little busy here!" He said while wrapping up Anna's arms carefully. Eve jerked backward and her jaw dropped while Ruby looked between them in growing horror and Sam just looked confused.
"Well excuse me for wanting to point out the fact that Isabella's Grace has been siphoned off and she has no memory of the past three months! Not to mention the fact that the only person that can help her, i.e. Castiel, is fucking missing!" Eve shrieked, voice growing steadily louder and higher pitched with panic so that by the end of her mini-rant she was shouting in a squeaky voice. It would have been funny if the situation hadn't been so dire.
"Oh shit." Sam said.
"Yeah I think that about sums up the trouble we're in." Ruby said bluntly.
"Again, who the fuck are these fucking psychos?" Isabella snarled. Eve could only look at Dean in dismay as he turned his back to wrap up Anna's other arm.
"So you're telling me that two months ago you came to me at my apartment and already told me all of this?" Isabella asks Sam. She's confused and she hurts like she's never hurt before. She feels the aching loss of… something. She keeps looking down at her chest, expecting to see a big, gaping hole, but instead all she sees is her shirt, her shirt with the ripped sleeve and an itchy shoulder beneath. She reaches up to scratch at the itch and looks at her shoulder with stun. There's a burned handprint. "What the fuck?"
"That's Castiel's mark." Eve explains.
"And Castiel is the angel that pulled him out of hell." Isabella asks while pointing at Dean.
"And he's your boy toy." Ruby pointed out. Isabella sighed.
"Right. Because I'm an angel too and we knew each other before God sealed me and my Grace into a human body." She rolls her eyes and absently rubs at her chest. She watched Sam stand up and confer with Dean in low tones. Sam comes back, a frown on his face.
"We're going to go back to Bobby's for now. We should be safe in the panic room."
The night keeps getting stranger and stranger. They're back at some hillbilly's house (she assumes hillbilly because of the décor) complete with a shit ton of rusted cars across the yard. Okay maybe she was being a little judgmental because it clearly stated on the big (rusted) sign that this was The Singer Auto Salvage Yard. Besides Bobby Singer, the owner seemed like a nice guy from when she had spoken to him on the phone and he had enough books scattered throughout his house to run a library, if that library dealt in the occult. He had seemed genuinely concerned for her, asking a series of questions, such as what she felt at the moment and was she hurt and if so where. Then he had gotten back on the phone with Dean and told him which books to look at and to give Isabella a big glass of vodka.
"I know it's a lot to handle but-." Eve began and Isabella quickly cut her off.
"Yeah, you think? Obviously you've gone crazy or you're doing this huge elaborate prank just to fuck with me." Isabella snarled.
"Ugh! You understood and stopped fighting it last time, why is this time any different?" Eve asked, her voice frustrated as Isabella merely rolled her eyes. Ruby sat up straighter, clearly something had just occurred to her.
"Eve, who was there last time that isn't here this time?" she asked, looking over at Sam and Dean. Eve groaned and dropped her head into her hands.
"Of course. Castiel was there but isn't here because Raggedy Anne." Eve muttered low enough so that she wouldn't be overheard by anyone but Ruby and Isabella. "He showed her his wings last time." Eve explained and Ruby sighed.
"Alright. Watch me." Ruby said firmly before her eyes went black. Isabella stared at her mutely. Ruby went to the kitchen before coming back with a knife. "Keep watching." Ruby said before she held the knife aloofly and sighed. "Damn this is gonna hurt." She muttered before shoving the knife into her heart.
"Holy shit! Oh my god!" Isabella shrieked while standing up quickly. "Why the hell would you do such a crazy fucking thing? Oh my god… oh my god…" she muttered while shoving Ruby to the couch and looking at the knife sticking out of the woman's chest. "Just uhm sit still and oh my god. Where's my phone I need to-."
"Just watch." Eve said calmly. And Isabella looked up from her frantic pocket search for her phone to see Ruby wrapping her hand around the knife. "What the hell are you doing? Don't take it out! Don't take it out!" Isabella said frantically but before she could stop her Ruby yanked the knife out, wincing slightly as she pressed a hand to the wound. Isabella stared at her in horror, clearly expecting the girl to drop dead but Ruby just sat there calmly. Ten minutes went by and despite the fact that Ruby now had one ruined shirt, stained with a copious amount of blood down the front, she seemed fine. She removed her hand and opened the tear more to reveal the gaping hole that was slowly closing up. Isabella stared at her.
"Yeah. By the way, I'm a demon, as long as I'm in this body it won't die." Ruby said with a grin. Isabella stared while swaying slightly on her feet.
"Holy shit." She muttered while gasping for air. "I think I'm… oh my god… I think I'm… I can't breathe… I can't breath. I'm hyperventilating… I can't breath."
"Oh shit!" Sam yelled before catching her. "Let's get her and Anna to the panic room." Sam said as he wrapped an arm around Isabella's waist. "You okay?"
"A little dizzy. And freaked out. So it's all true? Everything is true?" She asked shakily.
"Yeah, this panic room is actually your room with… Castiel." Sam said as her ushered her into the room along with Anna.
"Iron walls drenched in salt. Demons can't even touch the joint." Dean said happily as Ruby stopped just outside the open door. She scowled and didn't attempt to move closer.
"Which I find racist, by the way." She said in an annoyed tone.
"Write your congressman." Dean snapped back. Ruby rolled her eyes and held out a couple of objects aloofly.
"Here." She said while shaking them slightly until Dean snatched them up.
"Hex bags?"
"Extra-crunchy. They'll hide us from angels, demon, all comers."
"Thanks, Ruby." Dean said and handed one to Anna. "Don't lose this." Anna nodded and tucked it into her pocket.
"So, Anna, what's playing on angel radio? Anything useful?" Eve asked as she sat next to Isabella on the cot. Isabella stared around the room in shock. Her clothes were scattered around the room, some of her personal things like jewelry and makeup on a table with a tiny mirror. Then there were mens clothes, packed neatly away in a duffle bag. She walked over to it and picked up an ugly ass sweater; it looked like something that had come out of either Bill Cosby's closet or Bert and Ernie's. It was mustard yellow with blue, orange, and red thick stripes. She held it, feeling something tickle at the back of her mind. The urge to press her face against the sweater and breathe in the soft scent that was wafting from the fashion crime was irresistible. She pressed her face into the sweater and inhaled deeply, a low moan tumbling from her throat before she could think. In the distance she could hear their conversation.
"It's quiet. Dead silence." Anna's voice.
"Good. That's not troubling at all." Dean said and she could picture him rolling his eyes. She inhaled the scent of the sweater, trying to pull herself away from this.
"We're in trouble, huh? You guys are scared?" Anna asked.
"Nah." Dean said brushing off her concerns. Isabella felt like she should be remembering something, but she couldn't. She clutched the sweater closer and flopped down next to Eve, who watched her carefully.
"It was one of his." Eve finally said.
"Hmm?" Isabella asked while staring up at the ceiling, watching the fan turn lazily. The scent was so familiar, like old books and incense at Mass and cinnamon. An odd combination of scents but something familiar that tickled and niggled at the back of her mind. Remember. Remember. Remember. But she couldn't. She's lost three months of her life, someone she had loved, and the knowledge of who she really was.
"The sweater. It was one of… Castiel's." Eve said in a prompting tone. "You know, your boyfriend. Soul mate. Whatever the hell you wanna call him. Do you remember him? Any of him?" And Isabella tried. She really tried to conjure a picture in her mind. Castiel… who was Castiel? Did Castiel enjoy silence and solitude, quiet moments between the two of them? Or did he like to socialize, to talk and debate and revel in the particularly good bass line of a song. What did he look like? Tall and lean? Short and stocky? Blonde? Brunette? Ginger? What color were his… but she already knew what color his eyes were. They were blue. A very intense, ever-shifting blue but they were blue none-the-less. She tried to get more, tried to remember all she could about him but there was nothing. Frustrated she tossed the sweater back into the bag with a growl.
"I can't remember him! I can't remember anything about him!" She glances at Anna and there's something about her that pisses off Isabella. "I need a fucking drink." She snarls. On her way to the kitchen she shoves past Sam and Dean. Ruby trails behind her silently. She vaguely registers the fact that they're talking about Anna. Anna and some mental breakdown she had when she was two years old. What kind of two year old has a fucking mental breakdown?
In the kitchen Isabella pours herself a generous drink as Ruby says something to Dean before coming in.
"Jeez, he can be a real picnic. With friggin' fire ants." Ruby mutters and swipes the bottle of cheap bottle of vodka from her.
"Hey!" Isabella snarls, indignant.
"Oh shut up. They're even driving me to drink… and I can't even get all that drunk."
"You can't?"
"Well I can get drunk… it just doesn't last long." Ruby says before pounding down half the bottle.
"So what's your deal anyway? Are we friends?" Isabella asked before taking a shot. Ruby laughed.
"Friends? Hardly. I just met you, besides angels and demons? Yeah we don't really have Superbowl parties and Hell/Heaven Mixers."
"Oh. Then why are you helping?" Ruby looked at her startled.
"I don't want the bad guys to win?" Ruby said but it sounded more like a question.
"Makes sense. If I knew who the hell the bad guys were." Isabella said and folded her arms across her chest. There had been a lot that Ruby, Eve, Sam, and Dean had left out. Isabella didn't know exactly what had been left out since all she had been told was that she was an ex-angel, was dating an angel, and they were trying to protect Anna. And she had been tapped for some sort of big battle. There was also the fact that Sam and Dean were 'hunters' and not the kind to hunt deer but rather the supernatural.
"There's a demon, Lilith, she's trying to raise Lucifer by breaking the Sixty-Six Seals to his prison… and you were tapped because you're the Babe Ruth of angels."
"Oh."
"Yup."
Isabella watched impassively as Dean led a woman down the steps to the panic room. She had shoulder length wavy hair and a serious look on her face. A pair of dark glasses obscured her ruined eyes. Dean had already forewarned them that something bad had happened to her eyes and that she was now blind.
"We're here!" Dean announced unnecessarily.
"Pamela! Hey!" Sam called out, walking to the pair.
"Sam?"
"It's me. It's Sam" Sam said gently. Eve and Isabella exchanged glances.
"Sam?"
"Yeah."
"Sam, is that you?"
"I'm right here…" Sam had a confused look on his face, as if he were wondering why Pamela seemed so helpless.
"Five bucks says she grabs his ass." Isabella said while leaning towards Eve.
"Ten if she comments."
"Sam, is that you?" Pamela said in a high voice.
"I'm right here." Sam said while placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Oh. Know how I can tell?" she asked before grabbing Sam's ass. "That perky little ass of yours. You could bounce a nickel off that thing. Of course I know it's you, grumpy. Same way I know that's a demon, that's the Eve, that is an angel whose Grace has been ripped out, shit girl what did they do to you? All that's left is those bloody stumps." Isabella stared at her wide eyed and she lifted a hand to her shoulder. Nothing. But… there was a dull ache between her shoulders; it felt more like a back ache then anything else.
"You're not here for her." Dean said quickly and Eve tenses next to her.
"Right. And that poor girl must be Anna and you've been eyeing my rack." She directed back at Sam. "Don't sweat it, kiddo. I still got more senses than most got." They watched as she approached Anna. "Hey, Anna, how are you? I'm Pamela."
"Hi."
"Dean told me what's been going on. I'm excited to help."
"Oh. That's nice of you."
"Oh, well, not really. Any chance I can dick over an angel, I'm taking it."
"Why?" Anna asked with curiosity.
"They stole something from me." She said bitterly while taking off her sunglasses revealing white orbs where her eyes once were. She turned briefly to Isabella. "You should really tell your boyfriend to-." Isabella cut her off.
"He warned you." She said sharply. "Actually he warned you more than once." And how Isabella knew this she did not know. But it did shut Pamela up. Pamela turned back to Anna, revealing her eyes.
"Demon-y, I know. But they're just plastic. Good for business, makes me look extra-psychic, don't you think? Now… how about you tell me what your deal is? Hmm? Don't you worry."
Eve and Isabella leave the room. Mainly due to the fact that Pamela had kicked them out.
"She's a bitch." Eve mutters. "How the hell did you know about Castiel warning her?"
"I didn't." Isabella says tightly. "I'm glad she booted us out. There's something about Anna that's just… off." Eve freezes for a moment before turning to her with a fixed smile in place.
"Yeah she-."
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Like what?" Eve asks.
"Like that! With the fake smile and the weirdness!" Eve sighed and grasped her arm.
"Alright, what I'm about to say cannot be repeated to Dean, to Sam, to Anna, or Pamela. This is between me, you and Ruby." Isabella gave Eve an incredulous look.
"That bad? Is she a demon?"
"Worse." Ruby commented from behind her.
"Huh?"
"She's a coward. She's an ex-angel like you."
"Except she had a choice." Eve tacked on. "She was a coward. She tore her Grace out and Fell."
"Oh." Isabella said a split second before Sam bounded up the stairs.
"We know what's going on with Anna." He said breathlessly. Eve, Ruby, and Isabella gave him their best curious looks.
"Well are you going to spit it out?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah… here's the thing. She's an angel. Well ex-angel anyway." Sam explained. The girl's gave Sam their best shocked expressions before following him downstairs.
When they get there Ruby stays outside the door, even if she could get in she probably wouldn't. Ruby is giving Anna a wary look and she keeps her distance from the ex-angel. Which Isabella finds ridiculously because Ruby stays close to her, another ex-angel.
"Don't be afraid, I'm not like the others." Anna says softly and Isabella immediately wants to slap her because she's not just telling Ruby, she's also addressing Eve and Isabella.
"Believe me; I'm hardly afraid of you." Isabella snarls. Ruby gives Anna a dirty look.
"I don't find that very reassuring." Ruby deadpans.
"Neither do I." Pamela echoes.
"So… Castiel? Uriel? They're the ones that came for me?" Anna asks.
"You know them?" Sam asks before Isabella can say anything.
"We were kind of in the same foxhole." Anna says by way of explanation.
"Yeah before you-." Ruby slapped a hand over Isabella's mouth before she can continue.
"So, what, they're like your bosses or something?" Dean asks, glancing towards Isabella who is glowering in their direction.
"Try the other way around." Anna says barely disguised smugness in her voice.
"Look at you!" Dean says proudly and Eve visibly bristles.
"But now they want to kill you?" Pamela asks curiosity coloring her tones.
"Orders are orders. I'm sure I have a death sentence on my head." Anna said with a shrug.
"Why?" Pamela asked.
"She fled like a fucking coward, that's why they want to kill her! She disobeyed!" Isabella doesn't know where the venomous words are coming from but it feels good to screech them. Anna stares at her blankly and Isabella seriously wishes she had Grace because she would kick her ass.
"I did disobey… which, for us, is about the worst thing you can do. I fell." She says calmly.
"Meaning?" Dean asked.
"She fell to earth, became human." Pamela explains with an awe filled voice.
"Wait a minute. I don't understand. So angels can just become human?" Sam asks incredulously. "There's no locking up like with Isabella?"
"It kind of hurts. Try cutting your kidney out with a butter knife. That kind of hurt. I ripped out my grace."
"And you ripped out mine too, bi-." Isabella is swiftly cut off by Dean giving her a glare.
"Ah… yeah your grace." Dean said lightly. "That uhm… thing that makes you an angel."
"My grace, it's an energy; I hacked it out and fell. My mother, Amy, couldn't get pregnant and always called me her little miracle. She had no idea how right she was."
"So you just forgot that you were God's little Power Ranger?" Dean asked incredulously.
"The older I got, the longer I was human, yeah… I just forgot." Anna shrugged.
"I don't think you guy appreciate how completely screwed we are. We would be fine if Izzie was Choke Full O' Grace." Ruby said bluntly.
"Ruby's right. Heaven wants me dead." Anna said, ignoring Ruby's glare.
"And hell just wants her. A flesh and blood angel that you can question, torture, that bleeds. Sister, you're the Stanley cup. And sooner or later, heaven or hell, they're gonna find you." Ruby pointed out.
"I know. And that's why I'm gonna get it back."
"What?" Sam asked, confused.
"My grace." Anna said nonchalantly.
"You can do that?" Dean asked curiously.
"Of course she can do that. Grace is an innate part of an angel, wherever it is she can just find it and reabsorb it." Eve said snootily. It was clear that she was annoyed by Anna's holier then thou attitude.
"If I can find it." Anna said, ignoring Eve's comment.
"So what, you're just gonna take some divine bong hit, and shazam you're Roma Downey?" Dean asked.
"Something like that." Anna said.
"All right, I like this plan. So, where's this grace of yours?" Dean asked curiously.
"Lost track, I was falling about 10,000 miles per hour at a time." Anna said with a shrug.
"Wait, you mean falling, like, literally?" Sam asked sounding shocked.
"Yes."
"Like the way a human eye can see? Like a comet maybe or a meteor?"
"Why do you ask?" Sam shook his head and gestured towards the vast amount of books and old magazines.
"I bet there's something around here that can help us." He said with a smirk. "Let's get cracking!"
Night had fallen and everyone was getting twitchy as Sam flips listlessly through a magazine. He straightens suddenly and his eyes widen. Eve, Isabella, and Ruby are the only ones left helping him. Anna is in the kitchen making something to eat and Dean is driving Pamela home.
"I think I have something." He said enthusiastically. Everyone crowds around him. "Here, in March of 1985, a meteorite vanished in the night sky over northwestern Ohio. It was sighted nine months before Anna was born, and she was born in that part of Ohio."
"You're pretty buff for a nerd." Ruby comments.
"Look, I think it was Anna and here, same time, another meteor over Kentucky."
"And that's her Grace?" Ruby asked.
"Might be."
"All right, that just narrows it down to an entire state." Eve snarls caustically.
"Look, it's a start, okay?" Sam snaps back.
"Sam… I'm sorry." Ruby murmurs.
"For what?" he asks.
"For bringing you this mess. If I had known, I would have kept my trap shut."
"Yeah, well, we'll muddle through like we always do." Sam says with a shrug.
"Not this time. You do not want to get between these two armies. Its Godzilla and Mothra, if one side doesn't get us the other one will." She pointed out.
"So, what do you want to do? Dump Anna and run? Forget it. Look, I know the angels freak you out…" she cuts him off before he can finish.
"Forget the angels, its Alastair I'm scared of."
"Alastair?" Sam asked curiously. Isabella's curiosity is piqued.
"You met him in the church, practically the grand inquisitor downstairs, Picasso with a razor." The way she speaks is a mixture of pure fear and pure awe.
"And?" Sam asks incredulously.
"And you should pull him out and throw him back in the pit… If you weren't so out of shape." She says disdainfully.
"Ruby…" Sam trails off, his voice warning her not to go any further with that train of though.
"No, your abilities, you're getting flabby."
"Yeah, so how do I tone up?"
"You know how, you what you got to do." She points out in a half-snarl. Isabella narrows her eyes, watching them intently.
"No, I'm not doing that anymore."
"Sam…"
"I said no!" Sam snaps angrily. Ruby backs off, her face carefully guarded.
"Well, then you better pray that Anna gets her groove back, or we're all dead." She says blandly before turning on her heel and marching away to a different part of the house. Eve and Isabella avert their eyes and quickly leave the room.
Eve and Isabella are perched atop one of piles of cars in the junkyard.
"What do you suppose Ruby was talking about?" Eve asks and Isabella turns her eyes to Eve and shrugs.
"I don't know…" she whispers. "I don't know anything anymore… I feel like there's this huge hole in my memory and that I'm missing a lot of things that I would normally pick up on…" She sighs long and low before bringing her hands to her face. "I can barely reconcile the fact that this isn't my body." Eve stays silent for a long moment.
"It's yours. If it wasn't yours the body would have died without your grace fueling it. Your grace fused the body with non-angelic essence of you. Its okay, you'll get it back."
"Was I like Anna? Was I a coward? Did I run?"
"No. When the suggestion came up that you needed to be sealed like Lucifer… you agreed, you agreed with it and went to it with your head held high. You didn't flinch. You didn't do it because God commanded it; you did it because you were afraid that they were right, that they were right that you would grow to resent the humans you loved so much. You loved them so much and you were willing to do whatever it took to protect them." Eve said passionately.
"I want it back. I want it back so much, I want to hear the voice of God and I want to be happy again and I want to know why I feel this way." Isabella responded after a moment.
"Iz… Izzie you-." Whatever Eve was about to say was cut off by the rumble of the Impala. Both girls turned their heads to eye the Impala rumbling down the drive. Eve went to sit up but Isabella shoved her down.
"Wait. Anna. Let's watch." They watched silently, low to the top of the vehicle as Anna met Dean at his car.
"Pamela get home okay?"
"Yeah, she said she was sorry. It's just after last time, she, uh… this is just a little too rich for her blood." Dean responded awkwardly.
"I don't blame her. You guys should do the same." Anna wrapped her arms around herself and Dean stepped closer to her, eyes wary.
"Well, we're not that smart… can I ask you something? What do they want me for? Why did they save me?"
"I'm sorry. The angels aren't talking about it. And it was after I fell." She whispered.
"That's another question. Why would you fall? Why would you want to be one of us?"
"You don't mean that." Anna stated softly.
"I don't? A bunch of miserable bastards… eating, crapping, confused, afraid…"
"I don't know. There's loyalty… forgiveness… love."
"Pain."
"Chocolate cake."
"Guilt."
"Sex." Dean stopped for a moment, trying to top that but he finally relented.
"Yeah, you got me there." He admitted.
"I mean it. Every emotion, Dean, even the bad ones… it's why I fell. It's why… why I'd give anything not to have to go back. Anything." She hissed.
"Feelings are overrated if you ask me." Dean scoffed.
"Beats being an angel."
"How's that possible? You guys are powerful and perfect. You don't doubt yourselves or God or anything." Dean murmured.
"Perfect… like a marble statue. Cold… no choice… only obedience. Dean, do you know how many angels have actually seen God? Seen his face?" She asked and Isabella felt Eve stiffen next to her and hiss lowly.
"All of you?" Dean hazarded a guess.
"Four angels. Four. And I'm not one of them."
"That's it? Well then how do you even know that there is a God?" He asked voice harsh.
"We have to take it on faith… which we are killed if we don't have."
"Huh."
"I was stationed on earth 2,000 years. Just… watching… silent…. Invisible… out on the road… sick for home… waiting on orders from an unknowable father I can't begin to understand. So don't tell me that-." Isabella felt the slow burn of anger at Anna's words as Eve bristled next to her. Dean meanwhile laughed.
"What is so funny? What?" she asked with a head tilt.
"Nothing… sorry. It's just… I can relate." Dean admitted. There was the sound of the door opening and closing. Sam stepped off the porch. He looked between them, eyes slightly narrowed.
"Hey."
"Did you find something?" Dean asked, stepping away from Anna.
"I think so." Sam said sounding excited. They disappeared inside and Isabella spoke first.
"Is it true?" She asked, her voice a mere whisper. Eve didn't have to look at her friend or ask to know what she was speaking of.
"No. Anna's just an idiot. She must be one of the lower angels, probably a Dominion but then again Castiel is too… then again he knows you so he isn't as cut off as her. Or naïve."
"So we do have emotions, there hasn't just been four of us who have seen God?" Isabella asked in a shaky voice. Eve looked at her friend closely.
"Anna has no idea what she's talking about, she was already on Earth when the decision was made with you and she's trying to manipulate Dean." Eve hissed. "Whatever, we'll her stupid Grace back and hopefully get yours back soon but you need to kick her ass for me." Eve said cheerfully.
"Alright. Let's get to work." Isabella said while climbing down the car.
Soon enough they're all squeezed into the Impala, Eve wedged between Dean and Sam in the front seat, awkwardly twiddling her thumbs as she stares out the windshield, a deceptively blank look on her face. She hadn't been too happy with the seating arrangements, because even though she wanted to be near Dean she was feeling stung by his obvious attraction to Anna. The reasoning behind the seating arrangements was that Eve was easily the most petit of the four women, topping in at 5'2 while Ruby was two inches taller and Anna and Isabella were the same height at 5'6.
Eve was in turmoil, and therefore grateful for her ability to shove any emotion in a box and pretend everything was all right. She liked Dean, she liked him so much, he made her laugh and there was gentleness to his touch, like she was finely spun glass that could break at the barest touch. It didn't hurt that he was attractive with his dirty blonde hair and brilliant hazel eyes. His easy smile and broad shoulders made her feel secure. Plus, Dean knew was he was doing but that might have been part of the problem. He knew the effect he had on women and enjoyed flirting with pretty women and using his charm to get into their pants. It wasn't just that, it was the fact that though Dean could tumble with the best of them he was also so very human. That was probably what threw her the most. He was ultimately human and would die and would never be alive again. She had wandered the earth for so very long and she was so weary of dying only to be born again. The only other man she knew like that was Adam and it had be three lifetimes since she had seen him.
She had loved Adam, she had bore his children and lived happily with him for a very long time. When they were together it was like that world suddenly made sense, they were good together. He had hurt her though, not physically but emotionally with his coldness, blaming her for the fall of humans. How was she to know that the forbidden fruit, though tasty, could bring about such consequences? She had been stupid back then but with the added knowledge of God she understood things better than most thought. She knew that even though she might choose Dean in this life, as she had chosen other men in past lives, that her heart would always be held in the palm of Adam's hand to do with it what he wanted. If he showed up in her life once more… she didn't even want to think of the lengths she would go to. She would do everything she could to get him to love her again, he held a strange power over her, a power that could never be broken. She shuddered at the thought of Adam with his great and terrible beauty, his sharply edged words and his deceptive charm.
"You cold?" Dean asked softly and Eve started slightly at his concern, turning her electric blue eyes to the hunter to her left.
"Huh?" she choked out.
"You shivered, are you cold?" he asked. Eve stared at him blankly for a long moment before turning her eyes forward once more.
"I'm fine." She bit off angrily. She was fine. She could take care of herself damnit, Dean didn't need to do shit like this, and he was just like Adam in that sense. Deceiving her and charming her with touching gestures until he bound her to him for all eternity. Liking Dean was dangerous. She couldn't allow herself to indulge in this folly any longer. "I'm perfectly fine." She repeated her voice firm but inside she was wavering.
"Whatever." Dean scoffed and jabbed at the radio, adjusting it until he found a radio station he was satisfied with. Eve ignored him and wrapped her arms around herself.
Still she mentally compared the two, unable to take her mind from the topic. Dean and Adam were physically similar, though Dean had a much more rugged human look and Adam… Adam was dangerously beautiful. His hair was the color of light gold and was slightly curly when it got too long, the last she had seen him it was too long but beautiful, so very beautiful. His eyes were a clear, pale blue the color of ice almost. He was tall with wide shoulders and a lean, muscled form. He had a dangerous, easy smile that constantly played on his wide, full lips and revealed blinding white teeth. Adam… was simply put the most perfect man any woman had ever seen. Even if one did not enjoy tall, blonde, and handsome men they would appreciate his beauty.
Dean was the same, any woman would be glad to appreciate him with his solid muscles, wide shoulders and height (almost a foot taller than her whereas Adam was as tall as Sam). Dean had the look of a fighter, despite his youthfully freckled face. His pouted lips could twist into a cool, mocking grin or a friendly smile. His hazel eyes could turn flinty in the face of danger or turn warm around his friends and family. She knew his short, dirty blonde hair was because of practicality with its military-esque style but it also said a lot about him, of seriousness and strength. His large, calloused hands were made to hold a knife or a gun and she wondered how they would feel against her body. But then again Eve had already promised herself that she wouldn't take that trip with Dean, right? She would do what she was supposed to do and help Isabella, stop hell on earth, and help whoever else she could along way.
"What?" Ruby's waspish tone tore Eve from her thoughts and she glanced in the rearview mirror to find Ruby glaring at Dean who was looking back at her still laughing softly.
"Nothing. It's just two angels and a demon riding in the backseat. It's like the setup to a bad joke… or a Penthouse forum letter." He said teasingly.
"Dude. Reality," Sam paused to point in the rearview mirror before looking at Dean seriously. "Porn."
"You call this reality?" Dean asked with chuckle. Eve saw Dean glance at her out of the corner of her, Dean was trying to catch her gaze and Eve opted turn her eyes to her hands.
Isabella stood in a field of poppies. Everywhere the brilliant flower was in bloom, it looked like spilled blood across the rolling hills and fields. She looked down and discovered she was wearing a white summer dress that came to her calves. Her hair was pulled into an elegant bun. She started forward, the petals of the flowers brushing against her like the barest touch of silk. It was such a peaceful scene. She sighed lightly and continued to look for any signs of human life around her.
"Hello?" she called out, her voice echoed across the plains. She cupped her hands around her mouth and inhaled the sweet scent of the poppies. "Hello!" she called louder. That's when she felt a hand brush across her bared neck. She whirled but found no one to be behind her. She continued whirling around, turning on her toes to catch sight of anyone concealed among the poppies. No one was in sight. On her final turn; just as she was convincing herself that she had imaged the fingers upon her neck a man appeared in front of her. He was dressed in white, like she was, except his outfit of choice was a suit. He looked to be younger than her, no- her age, no- older. She realized that his features were a mixture of age, the only clear feature of him was his slate gray eyes. She took a fearful step backward but he only smiled benevolently.
"My dear, you look lovely." She blinked at him.
"Who are you?" she whispered and he cocked his head in an eerily familiar manner.
"Can't you feel it?" he asked.
"It's impolite to answer a question with another question." She said waspishly. The kind smile never left his face.
"Think, dear Isabella." He said finally. She thought as he instructed before her eyes widened.
"Father?" she whispered uncertainly. His smile increased in brilliance and her breath caught in her throat.
"It's been millennia, my dear, and this is not how I thought our reunion would go. But you must be warned."
"Warned?" Confusion filled her.
"These are dangerous times. I was weary and tired after your exile. I took… a sabbatical. However I was trapped in my human form during this sabbatical by a demon. I couldn't break free and eventually lost all knowledge of my former existence. Now that the end of the world is coming I've begun to regain my memories. However, my child, I am still trapped in this human form and unable to gain control of the body I am trapped in. It is only through sheer will that I am able to contact you, even if your Grace is lost."
"You need me to set you free? Is this what you are asking of me?" Isabella asked.
"Yes, but I fear you will not be able to find me in time. What you need to know is that you cannot trust the angels."
"But-."
"Castiel and Raphael are the only ones you can trust. The rest of them are corrupt. Remember this, my dear." He started to flicker in and out of existence. "You must remember this!" he shouted before disappearing completely.
"Father!" she cried out, reaching towards the empty space. She turned around, searching for him but the only thing for miles were the blood red poppies. To her horror they began to melt, turning into puddles of blood as the sky darkened, the sun blotted out by great clouds as it rained ash around her. The melting poppies revealed the hundreds if not thousands of bodies surrounding. She screamed.
With a jerk she awoke screaming in the empty car. Sam by her side in a flash.
"What was it?" he asked.
"I don't know." She answered honestly. "Poppies." She whispered. Sam's brow furrowed in confusion.
"Okay… well anyway Anna's Grace was taken from here, we're going to move and find somewhere to stay while we plan. Are you sure you're okay?"
"No. I'm not okay at all." She whispered.
"This is bad."
"No shit."
Sam watched Isabella closely. The now completely human girl was clearly on edge.
"We still have the hex bags; I say we head back to the panic room." Dean was saying but Sam was focused entirely on Isabella, who was nervously pacing the abandoned barn they were in, or was it stables? It didn't really matter. He wanted to know what she had dreamt of, what had made her scream so? Did she see a vision of him? All she had said was poppies and poppies were symbolic of death. In Greco-Roman myths they were used as offerings to the dead and had a second meaning of resurrection. But what did it have to do with what she had dreamt? His attention was turned briefly to Ruby who was laughing at Dean. Oh, shit. Looks like he was going to have step in soon.
"What, forever?" Ruby asked with a laugh.
"I'm just thinking out loud!" Dean snapped back.
"Oh, you call that thinking?" Ruby snarled back. Sam stepped in, holding out his hands on either side of him.
"Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Stop it." Sam said but Ruby wouldn't have it. Honestly he liked Ruby, enough to have sex with her, but she was kind of getting on his nerves.
"Anna's grace is gone. Do you understand? She can't angel up. She can't protect us. Never mind the fact that Isabella can't even summon some of her mojo because it's also gone! We can't fight heaven and hell. One side maybe, but not both. Not at once." Wait… there was something in what she said. They could use it… but what? They couldn't fight them both but one? An idea started to formulate but before anything could come to him Anna spoke.
"Um. Guys? The angels are talking again." Anna said lightly.
"What are they saying?" He asked. Maybe it was an offer?
"It's weird… like a recording… a loop. It says, 'Dean Winchester give us Anna by midnight or…'" She trailed off, horror crossing her face and Sam knew it was bad.
"Or what?" Like always Dean voiced exactly what Sam was thinking.
"Or we hurl him back to damnation.'." Sam felt his blood freeze in his body. Could he kill an angel? Was that too demony? He knew that drinking Ruby's blood wasn't all that… well not-evil but it was a means to the end and to him the end justified the means. He would kill Lilith and all this shit would disappear from their life, they could get back to ghosts and wendigos and poltergeists, you know, the normal shit. He asked the question he knew everyone else was thinking.
"Anna… do you know of any weapon that works on an angel?" he asked. Anna stared at him for a long moment.
"To what? To kill them?" she asked. He nodded unable to say the words. "Nothing we could get to… not right now."
"Okay, wait, wait. I say we call Bobby. We get him back from hedonism." Dean said and Sam shook his head immediately.
"Dean, what's he going to tell us that we don't already know?" This was bad; they were all out of ideas.
"I don't know, but we got to think of something!" Dean snapped before storming away. Sam looked after him sadly before turning to Ruby and tugging her away.
Eve had sequestered herself in a tree with a pack of cigarettes and her Blackberry. She knew it was a bit odd but it seemed that the higher she went with the damn phone the better service she got. She watched Dean flip through a book as he stood with one hand planted on the Impala. Anna appeared beside him and Eve felt herself bristle at the redheads presence.
"Hey. Holding up okay?" Dean asked her gently and Eve felt a hot flare of jealousy rise within her.
"Trying." Anna responded.
"Yeah."
"A little scared, I guess. So, um… Dean… I just wanted to thank you." Anna said, playing the damsel in distress card. Eve reined in her emotions and tried to watch the unfolding scene with detachment.
"For what?" Dean asked, looking genuinely surprised.
"Everything. You guys… you didn't have to help me-."
"Hey, that's kind of a "thanks for trying" speech, you know? Participation trophies suck ass."
"I don't know… maybe I don't deserve to be saved." Eve failed at being detached, now all she wanted to do was rip Anna's throat out.
"Don't talk like that." Dean murmured, stepping closer.
"I disobeyed. Lucifer disobeyed. It's our murder one, and I knew it. Maybe I have to pay." She hung her head slightly. Oh god, the pity card now. Eve really wanted to leap down there and do some ass-kicking. Instead she lifted the shield so she could see their auras. Dean's was flashing with blood red and Anna's was threaded with silver, like an angel, and a lusty red.
"Yeah, well, we've all done things we got to pay for." Dean said nonchalantly and Eve leaned forward eagerly. This, this was how Dean's aura looked when he was having his nightmares. If she knew the cause of them she could help.
"I have to tell you something. You're not gonna like it." Anna said sounding saddened.
"Okay. What?" Anna took a deep breath.
"About a week ago, I heard the angels talking… about you… what you did in hell. Dean, I know. It wasn't your fault. You should forgive yourself." Anna was closer to him now and Eve barely contained the snarl fighting at her lips.
"Anna, I don't w-want to uh… I don't want to… I can't talk about that." Dean stuttered out. Eve wanted to scream in frustration, 'ABOUT WHAT?!' Anna was even closer, hand on Dean's arm in a comforting gesture.
"I know. But when you can, you have people that want to help. You are not alone. That's all I'm trying to say." She leaned forward and kissed Dean. At that moment Eve nearly imploded from anger, jealousy, and a myriad of other emotions.
"What was that for?" Dean asked after pulling away.
"You know… our last night on earth… all that." She said coyly.
"You're stealing my best line." He said a moment before kissing her. Eve's head hurt and her already broken heart, having been super-glued back together, was breaking all over again. She watched them take refuge in the Impala and quietly left. Her mind turned to Adam… she would find him and make a life for herself. No more of this liking damaged hunters shit. On her way inside Ruby passed by her. The demon froze completely, staring at Eve wide-eyed. Eve met her gaze and shook her head.
"Go. Do what you have to do." Eve murmured. And Ruby gave a brief nod before leaving. Inside Sam was sleeping with his head resting on an open book and Isabella was sleeping on a bale of old hay.
Isabella picked the hay out of her hair as she watched the others. Eve was seated next to her, smoking a cigarette and glaring spitefully at Dean and Anna in turns. Neither of them noticed as one of their small party was missing.
"I don't know, man. Where's Ruby?" Sam was saying, looking a bit lost without his demonic companion.
"Hey, she's your hell buddy." Dean muttered angrily and took a swig from a small bottle of booze. Eve rolled her eyes.
"Isn't it a little early for that?" She snapped at Dean. Dean glanced at her, wondering at her change in attitude before speaking.
"It's two am somewhere." He said snidely.
"I believe the phrase is, 'Its happy hour somewhere', jackass." Eve said snippily before rising to her feet. "Look, I think Isabella and I are going to head out." She said while tugging on Isabella's hand. "It isn't safe for her despite the fact that she's pretty much graceless. We need to find Castiel and Uriel."
"What the hell, Eve! I thought you were on our side!" Dean snarled angrily. Eve stopped and looked at him warily.
"I'm on Heaven's side, Dean. Not yours. Not Sam's and certainly not Anna's. Your usefulness has run out, you cannot protect her as well as others could. In fact you allowed Anna to do her little blood ritual and strip Isabella of her Grace, the one thing that protects her. So we're leaving." Eve said coldly. "Come Isabella, when we get far from here we will find Raphael. He will protect us." Before they could make another move the doors rattled ominously before blasting open. Castiel and Uriel entered, glancing around the room as the door closed behind them.
"Hello, Anna. It's good to see you." Castiel said lightly, his eyes landed on Isabella and he looked pained for a moment. That's when Isabella understood that this was her angelic lover. His eyes were the same eyes from her dreams. The hole inside of her ached and she wanted to wrap her arms around him. Instead she merely met his gaze.
"How? How did you find us?" Sam asked and the angels glanced at Dean. "Dean?" Sam asked and Isabella could feel the betrayal thick in the air.
"I'm sorry." Dean murmured.
"Why?" Sam asked still not fully understanding.
"Because they gave him a choice. They either kill me… or kill you. I know how their minds work." She said bitterly and in full view she kissed Dean gently.
"You did the best you could. I forgive you." She murmured to him before turning to Uriel and Castiel.
"Okay. No more tricks. No more running. I'm ready." Castiel sighed and looked at her for a long moment.
"I am sorry." He said, guilt weighing heavily in his voice.
"No. You're not. Not really. You don't know the feeling." Anna stated plainly.
"Still, we have a history. It's just-." She cut him off.
"Orders are order. I know. Just make it quick." Her voice shook slightly and Isabella felt sorry for her. Until everyone's attention was drawn to the door by a slithering, cold voice.
"Don't you touch a hair on that poor girl's head." Alastair stood in the door, two thug demons holding up Ruby between them stood slightly behind him. He shook his finger chastising. Dean looked vaguely sick at the sight of the demonic torturer. Sam looked sick at Ruby's bloodied stomach. Uriel stepped forward, his voice a snarl in the stable.
"How dare you come in this room, you pussing sore!" Ruby was thrown away from the thug demons and she crawled to safety. Isabella was on edge as she watched the exchange. If only she had her angelic powers… then she could kill the demons. Alastair took a step forward of his own, almost sauntering forward. His smooth voice sounding affronted as he spoke.
"Name-calling. That hurt my feelings… you sanctimonious, fanatical prick." Alastair spat out. Castiel glared at him, unmoving as he spoke.
"Turn around and walk away now." His voice was even, no trace of fear in it.
"Sure, just give us the girl. We'll make sure she gets punished good and proper." Alastair winked at Castiel but the angel would have nothing to do with it.
"You know who we are and what we will do." Castiel walked closer to stand next to Uriel. "I won't say it again. Leave now… or we lay you to waste." Alastair smirks.
"Think I'll take my chances." He said snidely. There was a long moment where no one moved but the second Uriel rushed the demon thug number one Sam and Dean ushered the girls to the side. Isabella watched in horror as Uriel held down the demon, there was some kind of necklace hanging out of his shirt, it was vial with something blue and shining in it. Castiel caught Alastair with three quick punches before pressing his palm to the demons forehead. Nothing happened and Castiel's eyes widened in growing horror.
"Sorry, kiddo. Why don't you go run to daddy?" Alastair sneered before breaking Castiel's hold and flinging the angel away. Alastair was atop Castiel in seconds, his palm now on the angel's forehead as he held him up by his tie. Uriel burned out his first demon with obvious glee.
"Potestas inferna, me confirma. Potestas inferna, me confirma." Isabella watched Dean grab a length of metal and advance on Alastair as Castiel's eyes rolled wildly. "Potestas inferna, me confirma!" Dean clocked Alastair with the crowbar and the demon promptly dropped the angel and stood.
"Dean, Dean, Dean!" he snarled out while smoothing back his hair. Dean backed away, clearly terrified. "I am so disappointed! You had such promise!" Alastair ranted as he paced around the Winchester brothers. He turned before flinging out a hand, Dean curled in on himself while gasping and Sam immediately collapsed to his knees. Isabella turned her eyes to Uriel who had burned out the other demon while Anna snatched his necklace. If she had been paying attention she would have noticed Alastair turning to her with a malicious smile. Instead she found herself pinned to the ground by the demon.
"Isabella, my, my, you just feel so nice against me. But what's this? No Grace! Lilith will be so displeased! Why I bet-." He was cut off by Uriel's snarl.
"No!" Then there was a bright flash as Anna broke the vial. The smoking substance snaked into the gasping girl's mouth, disappearing inside of Anna quickly. She collapsed to her knees in shock.
"Oooh, shiny!" Alastair said and stood, ignoring Isabella for the time being. Anna rose again, a bright light emitting from her in flashes before it grew strong and steady.
"Shut your eyes. Shut your eyes." She gasped out before throwing back her head. "Shut your eyes!" Her words broke off in a yell as she arched and the light disappeared before exploding out of her. Alastair took another step towards her as Anna essentially exploded; he disintegrated into her released Grace leaving behind Ruby's knife. Everyone stood and made sure their parts were intact. Dean hefted the knife in his hand before sticking it into his waistband.
"Well, what are you guys waiting for? Go get Anna… unless, of course, you're scared." Dean taunted and Uriel took a threatening step towards him before being stopped by Castiel.
"This isn't over."
"Oh its looks over to me, junkless." Dean retorted. A second later Uriel was gone but Castiel remained. Isabella's breath caught in her throat as Castiel strode towards her. His brushed his hand against her cheek.
"Beloved." He murmured and bowed his head, touch their foreheads together. "I have held your precious Grace inside of me." He continued. His blue eyes bored into her slate gray pair. "Will you receive it?" He mesmerized her.
"Yes." She whispered as her limbs trembled with the after effects of the adrenaline rush. Castiel wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him. He dipped his head and brushed his lips against hers gently. Something broke inside of Isabella and she surged forward eagerly, her lips worked against his insistently. His tongue ran across the seam of her lips and she opened her mouth and jerked at the feeling of something being poured inside of her. She pulled away from him with a gasp, throwing back her head and crying out as her entire body thrummed like she was a plucked guitar string. Light and heat filled her up entirely as Castiel wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and forced them together again. It filled her to the brim and she felt overloaded by the rush of memories, only a few months old but there was so much. She dragged Castiel down with her as she collapsed to her knees a split second before the world went black.
When Isabella awoke she was alone in the car. Castiel and Eve were discussing something twenty feet away, probably discussing her memory loss and Anna while Dean and Sam leaned against the car and had a beer. She sat quietly, thankful for the return of her memories and her Grace. It was still sealed firmly but at least she had it, at least she could feel it inside of her, pulsing and struggling and infusing her with bits and piece of power.
"I can't believe we made it out of there." Dean was saying to Sam.
"Again." Sam responded.
"I know you heard him." Isabella perked up, feeling slightly guilty for eavesdropping but she had heard Alastair too and she wanted to know the whole story.
"Who?" Sam asked, though he probably already knew who Dean was talking about.
"Alastair. What he said… about how I had promise."
"I heard him." Sam confirmed.
"You're not curious?"
"Dean, I'm damn curious. But you're not talking about hell, and I'm not pushing." Sam snapped out. There was a stretch of silence before Dean spoke, his voice unsteady.
"It wasn't four months, you know."
"What?"
"It was four months up here, but down there… I don't know. Time's different. It was more like forty years." Dean voice shook as he spoke.
"Oh my god." Sam whispered.
"They, uh... They sliced and carved and tore at me in ways that you... until there was nothing left. And then, suddenly... I would be whole again... Like magic... Just so they could start in all over. And Alastair... At the end of every day... every one... He would come over. And he would make me an offer. To take me off the rack... If I put souls on...if I started the torturing. And every day, I told him to stick it where the sun shines. For thirty years, I told him." Dean paused for a second and his next words came out cracked and broken. "But then I couldn't do it anymore, Sammy. I couldn't. And I got off that rack. God help me, I got right off it, and I started ripping them apart. I lost count of how many souls. The -- the things that I did to them." There was silence and Isabella's heart twisted in her chest and she knew Sam was trying to think of something, anything to tell Dean.
"Dean..." He paused, took a breath and tried again. "Dean, look, you held out for 30 years. That's longer than anyone would have." She listened as Dean tried to gain control, as he sniffled and took in deep breaths.
"How I feel…" he trailed off and took a deep gasping breath. "This…" he paused again. "Inside me… I wish I couldn't feel anything, Sammy. I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing." His voice shook and cracked and broke as he spoke. Isabella trembled in the backseat before turning her tearstained face into the crook of her arm, her breathing sharp and heavy after Dean's confession. Ten minutes later the touch of Castiel's hand on her shoulder, on his mark, sent her into a deep sleep.
A/N: Whew! Sorry this took so fucking long, first it was finals, then I went on vacation to the land of no computers for two weeks, then I couldn't find the transcript to 'Hell's Angels' AKA 'Heaven and Hell', then I had a brief obsession with a 40 plus page document centering on X-Men Origins: Wolverine followed by a brief obsession with a 15 page document focusing on SVM, and finally my step-dad picked up a stray cat and it turns out she's pregnant so I've been spazzing about that. So I am very, very sorry. And to show you how sorry I am instead of splitting this chapter up I left it as is with a 21 page length. Man, 'Lucifer Rising' WHAT THE FUCK?! Although I won a bet with my best friend, and inspiration for Isabella and Eve, about how Azazel and Lilith were working together. But she won the one on Ruby actually being evil. But then I won the one about the angels wanting to bring about the end of the world. But she won the one about Lucifer rising so we're equal. By the way, love how the season started with Lazarus (Dean) Rising and ended with Lucifer Rising, nice touch Kripke. Also, anyone else notice that when Dean knocked the angel statue in his prison off the table Castiel appeared, hmmm… a foreshadowing of Castiel's impending fall? And I am awesome, I knew the next angel they would bring in would be Raphael and I was totally right, go me! I've been reading on tons of "spoilers" that I don't considering spoilers so if anyone is curious just ask me about it. I'm starting to think that my brain is linking up with Kripke's a little which is sorta scary. Anyway… I would like to thank the following people for adding Absolution to their alerts/favorites: destra, diabloboii, , MonzaBird, night-star-93, XxXSocksXxX, AngelwithDirtyToughts, hotredhead, and supernaturalobbsessed.
Review Responses:
LostPhan3: Where are you?
AGRIMLIKEDOG: are you still in love it now? LOL it's been too long, and the next chapter will have Isabella getting her Grace back, in a way cooler way than Anna or at least a way more sexually satisfying way. I would have included it in this chapter but… well I figured that it was time for an update, and I think people would have grown old and died before that part.
JuliaAurelia: I can't believe you didn't hound me for this chapter, I was totally expecting it! LOL, Uriel totally did it deliberately because he's a jackass and also he may mock Castiel for not doing the deed but he doesn't want her to actually get her Grace back, it would ruin his big plan of you know, going to the Dark Side. Thanks! You totally made me worry less about combining the show with my plotline, I've been freaking about it. Yeah I pretty much bawled like a kid whose ice cream had fallen off the cone after "When the Levee Breaks"… and I'm pretty pissed at him even though it wasn't his fault after "Lucifer Rising", that boy has a lot to make up for… Oh man, the sex scene was incredibly hard for me to right because at the time there was slew of new Misha video interviews so I had a hard time writing it because I kept watching new interviews and being like, "Oh my god, I really hope he never reads this, oh my god I'm writing about him having sex, or at least his angelic character, how embarrassing!" I've decided that I would never want Misha in that sense, only as a friend because if you follow his twitter he is hilarious and yet scarily insane.
AnnabelleLee: I have to say that I only really started to not hate her so much after I read an interview with the new actress but now I feel betrayed! I totally have disowned Sam for that move, it was like, "great, idiot." I friggin' love Wolverine! Even as a kid I'd watch the old cartoon and be like, "Oooh he's so cool" which has now become, "Oooh he's so sexy". Gambit kicks ass! And now I have a huge crush on Liev Schreiber as Victor… which is kind of scary because he's so fucking sadistic. LOL I haven't seen Star Trek yet, no one wanted to go with me but I agree with you about Doctor McCoy!
: Thanks! It's so totally true, I checked to see if there were any other Cas/OC stories, and this going to sound totally arrogant, but I think mine is one of the best. Gosh, I'm so humble. I think that inside, Cas is such a slut, but maybe that because in some interviews Misha is incredibly flirtatious and skanky, do you follow his twitter? Best picture ever is him shirtless pouring yogurt on himself. He's so friggin' crazy...
AngelwithDirtyToughts: LOL, don't worry unless you start stalking me I won't think anything of it. I'm so happy the Isabella is so well received, its hard writing an original character without her becoming a Mary Sue. Eve and Dean will hook up but obviously after this last chapter they have some issues to work through… Taylor Kitch is just awesome… mmm… Whoa! Norway? Wow, it just amazes me how is universal and that people living in countries I've never seen are reading this, its mind-blowing. But then again I guess it's just the way the world works nowadays, haha. I hope you've caught up to Lucifer Rising, because that was just an awesome episode! I hope I didn't spoil anything for you…
diabloboii: Wow! I hope you didn't lose any sleep doing that, way to flatter the hell out of me, LOL, thank you so very much, seriously. I know a lot of people are annoyed by high attention to detail but I feel like readers can't imagine what's going on if there isn't a lot of detail, so I'm glad someone likes my obsessive attention! And I totally agree with you, I do deserve more reviews… gee I'm so level-headed and totally humble….
night-star-93: oh I totally did! (: I am a terrible, bad person, maybe Castiel should smite me and by smite I mean something totally different… Don't worry; Castiel is going to be a fixture for the rest of the chapters! Uriel needs a bitch-slap for that, thankfully he gets it!
Some Reviewer: Well I am here to serve up some non-slash Castiel stories, seriously! As long as you aren't late for work, being hooked is a good thing; I actually made one reviewer late for work, oops. Thank you, I'm glad that I'm getting the characterizations of the canon characters right! I totally wish someone would draw me a picture of Castiel with the baby, but unfortunately everyone seems to only be able to draw stick figures, oh well…
MonzaBird: LOL, see I updated a week and a half after you told me to, how awesome am I? Don't worry, it may take me awhile because I get burned out quickly but I am determined to finish this!
lizzie queen: Look! A new chapter! A day after you asked for! LOL, I guess I just need a kick in the ass every one in awhile!
