"Sam!" Dean cried out, a wide grin spread across his face, as he spotted his younger brother.
Sam smiled and laughed as he rushed over to his brother and pulled him into a tight hug. The brothers held their embrace for a lengthy moment before pulling away. That was when Sam saw Madison. Her pale skin was painted with dried blood and several nasty cuts that had been scabbed over. Her hair was matted and a long gash ran along her cheek. She looked awful.
"Oh my god, Maddie, what the hell did they do to you in there?"
"Nothing a cold beer and a hot shower can't fix." She said, forcing a smile. "It's really fucking good to see you again, Sam."
The taller hunter bent down and pulled her into his arms. Dean's jaw tightened and he averted his gaze to the ground beneath his feet.
"Hey, where's Emily?" Madison asked as Sam released her.
"She...Crowley has her." Sam's tone was grave.
"What did you say?" Amanda walked up behind Madison, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"Crowley took her." Sam repeated. "Cas and some other angels went after them, but I haven't go a clue where they are."
"Dammit!" Amanda hissed, looking away from Sam for a brief moment. "You wouldn't happen to know the names of those other angels, would you?"
"Well, Cas called one of them, the girl, Hester? I don't know who the others were."
"Of course it had to be Hester..." The demon groaned. "I need to warn Balthazar. You three should get out of here while you still can."
"Balthazar's here?" Sam turned to Dean in surprise.
"Yeah, the angel of douche-baggery has blessed us with his oh-so-glorious presence." Dean huffed as he rolled his eyes. He then turned his focus to Amanda. "Listen, sister. I don't care that you saved our asses, we aren't leaving without Emily and that's that."
"I was merely making a suggestion." She said in response. "But if you'd rather stay here and get yourselves killed, that's not my problem. I promised Castiel that I would break you and the girl out of the warehouse. I played my part, and as far as I'm concerned, my work here is done."
And then Amanda vanished.
"So... who exactly was she?" Sam asked after a moments silence.
"That," Dean sighed, "was Crowley's friggin' daughter."
Emily fought against Crowley's grip, she pushed and pulled at his arms in an attempt to pry herself loose, but he only held her tighter. The blade he had pressed against her throat nicked the skin and let loose a small stream of blood that dribbled down the length of her neck and onto her shirt. A faint flapping could be heard in the distance, signaling that the angels were not far behind. Crowley quickened his pace, moving as fast as he could with Emily struggling against him. Soon enough Hester and Virgil, along with two new angels, had caught up with them. The four celestial beings drew out their weapons and closed in on the demon and the girl held in his arms.
"Hand her over, filth." Hester snarled through her bared teeth.
"Oh I don't think so, love." Crowley smirked.
He raised his left arm, keeping a firm hold on Emily with his right, and snapped his fingers. A ring of fire sprang up around Hester. She attempted to escape the circle of flames but it was no use, the demon had fueled the fire with holy oil, she was trapped. Crowley grinned and vanished once more. The other three angels turned to Hester, awaiting her instruction.
"Dammit!" She shouted, then took in a deep breath to compose herself before giving the other angels their orders. "Virgil, acquire the girl and take her to Raphael. Amos and Miriam, kill the demon. Make certain his death is a painful one."
The three angels nodded and set out to complete their appointed tasks. Hester stood with her hands on her hips, muttering curses over Crowley and all other demon kind. She was so caught up in her vengeful musings that she didn't notice the raised hand behind her until it was too late. An angel blade sunk it's silver length into her back. She felt her grace explode inside her and then dissipate in a flash of burning white light. In her last few moments she had only just enough time to turn her head and see her killer's face. Castiel's hardened gaze was the last thing she saw before the world went black and her emptied vessel fell to the ground with a soft thud.
"Father..."
Crowley turned his head to see Amanda walking towards him, angel blade in hand. He smiled at his daughter, but she did not return the expression.
"There are too many of them." She said, referring to the angels. "You cannot possibly hope to fight them all off."
"I can and I will." Crowley said firmly. "I don't care what it takes. Just as long as I walk away with the Aestus in my hands."
"That will not be happening." A man's voice said.
Both father and daughter whirled around to find Virgil, the tall dark-haired angel, advancing on them with great speed. He raised his blade and thrust it towards Crowley, the weapon missed its mark by mere inches. The demon king dodged swipe after swipe, until finally, Virgil managed to slice his arm. The demon cried out in pain as his injured limb hissed and smoked. In that same moment, his grip becoming loose enough to allow Emily to escape. She bolted into the forest that stood behind Crowley, leaving the demon king and his daughter between herself and Virgil. She hoped that a fight between the three of them would buy her some time. But she was wrong.
Emily had made it only a few hundred yards before Virgil caught up with her. Knowing that she couldn't possibly outrun him, she pulled her angel blade from her belt and prepared herself for a fight. The angel was the first to move, he lunged forward and jabbed his blade at her side, missing by a hair. Emily grunted, dropped to the ground, and rolled past Virgil, using her own blade to slice into his calves as she went. He snarled in pain and reached a hand down to heal the wound. Emily took this opportunity to stand and deal a second blow to his back while it was vulnerable. Virgil swore in Enochian and turned to face the hunter who had dealt him the injury.
"You're lucky that Raphael needs you alive." He barked angrily. "Otherwise I would have no problem tearing apart those bad wings of yours."
"My what?" Emily said, an expression of bewilderment on her face.
Wings? What the hell was he talking about? Before Virgil had a chance to clarify, another voice spoke from behind Emily.
"I believe he was talking to me, dearie."
Emily jumped and turned, she squinted into the darkness to see a male figure standing directly behind her.
"Balthazar?" Virgil's tone was disbelieving.
The figure smirked, his expression barely visible in the dark, and stepped forward. A flash of lightning illuminated the sky and revealed two massive, twisted black wings that protruded from his upper back. They were not your typical feathered angel wings. These wings were webbed and scaled, almost reptilian looking. The tips curled down into sharp talons, and the edges were tattered as though they had seen a thousand merciless battles. Then the lightning faded, and with it the image of the dark and distorted wings.
"What the hell?!" Virgil exclaimed. "What happened to you?"
"Oh." Balthazar hummed, edging closer to the other angel. "I had a makeover."
Virgil didn't have a chance to react before Balthazar lunged forward. The smaller angel's twisted wings closed around Virgil's form like a black cage of death. The claws that adorned the tips dug into his back, causing a fiery pain to shoot through the veins in his vessel's body. Virgil wriggled and squirmed in an attempt to escape, but Balthazar kept him tightly ensnared in the folds of his wings. Emily stood unmoving as she watched the pair of angels, a sea of fear and anxiety churning in her stomach. A sudden cry, loud and ear piercing, broke through the frigid air. Emily flinched and squinted as a bright light erupted from the place where Balthazar's wings didn't quite meet the ground. And then, it was gone. Emily heard the all-too-familiar plop of a limp body falling to the ground. Virgil was dead. Balthazar kicked the body over so he was lying flat on his back, then straightened up and walked to where Emily stood. The hunter tightened her grip on her blade, prepared to use it if all necessary.
"It's all right, darling. I'm not going to hurt you." He said gently.
"You expect me to believe that?" She replied through gritted teeth. "I just watched you murder an angel."
"Oh, and you've never killed anyone before?" Gone was the kindness in Balthazar's voice, instead it had been replaced with a mocking sarcasm.
"Shut up!" She snarled.
Balthazar sighed. "I really don't know what he sees in you."
"I-...What are you talking about?"
"Ah well, no matter." He waved his arm to dismiss the remark. "The others will be waiting for you. Come on then."
Emily didn't have a chance to protest. Balthazar pressed a finger to her forehead and she felt herself being sucked into a different dimension. A spectrum of colors she had never seen and could never describe swirled before her eyes. She felt like she was floating, flying, and falling all at the same time. Seconds later she found herself standing on solid ground again. She took in a deep breath and blinked in surprise. Sam stood in front of her, with Dean and Madison at his side.
"S'up, bitch?" Madison was the first to speak. She grinned and pulled Emily into a tight hug. "I'm hella glad to be seeing your face again."
Dean walked up and gripped her shoulder. "It's good to see you, Em."
Sam didn't approach her, but smiled gently and offered a small wave instead. Emily smiled back and then turned to face the angel who was responsible for bringing her back to her friends safely. Balthazar stood a short distance off to the side, speaking to a woman that Emily had never seen before. The spoke in hushed tones. She couldn't make out exactly what it was they were saying, but their facial expressions revealed that their conversation was less than pleasant. Emily frowned, and scanned over the rest of the surrounding area, something wasn't right. She couldn't quite put a finger on it, but something was nagging her, a thought, urgent and trapped in the back of her crowded mind. Then it hit her.
"Where's Cas?" She said suddenly.
"He'll be along." It was Balthazar who answered.
Emily nodded and turned her attention back to her friends. Dean and Madison relayed the details of their time with Crowley and how Amanda, the woman that Balthazar was currently conversing with, had helped them escape. In turn, Emily and Sam talked of their own little escapade. They talked of the fight that had ensued after Dean and Madison had been trapped. Then they spoke of their retreat to the motel, and how Cas had gone missing. And finally, they told of their return to the warehouse.
Emily couldn't deny the fear that was slowly building inside her every second that Castiel remained absent. It had been an eternity since Balthazar had assured her that he would return, and so far he had failed to pull through. He had been gone too long, there was no denying it. The others didn't seem as bothered by the angel's failure to show his face, but Emily was on the verge of panic. After all that had happened tonight, she needed answers. Castiel knew the truth, he knew why Crowley and those angels wanted her, he had to. And Emily wanted to know, she needed to know why. And dammit, Castiel was going to tell her, wether he was willing to or not.
Emily tried to console herself, tried to convince herself that in just a few more minutes, Castiel would be standing in front of her. But as time wore on, her optimism was spread thin. She was beginning to loose all hope of ever seeing him again. Just then, Emily heard the sound of wings from behind her. For a moment, she thought it must have been her mind playing tricks. But when Sam, Dean, and Madison all turned their heads, Emily felt a fresh pang of hope and followed their gaze. Castiel stood directly behind her. Before she knew what was happening, Emily found herself pressed against his body, her arms wrapped around his neck.
"I'm afraid I don't understand." Castiel muttered gruffly against the top of her head. "Why the embrace? The close proximity is both unnecessary and uncomfortable."
Emily pulled away and blushed, "Sorry, I just... I'm glad you're back."
Castiel gave her a puzzled stare before speaking again. "Emily, I need to speak with you on a matter of great importance. There are things about yourself of which you are unaware and I feel it is time that you knew the truth."
"Then tell me." She said.
"No." Castiel shook his head. "Not in this place, it would be too great of a risk. We must go somewhere far away from here, where no angel or demon can track us." He then turned to the rest of the group. "You all should come too. It isn't safe here."
Emily swallowed hard and locked eyes with Cas as he looked back at her. "Okay." She nodded. "Let's go."
