Part One: Dark One

Chapter Ten: Savior

Have you ever asked yourself, do monsters make war, or does war make monsters?

— Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke & Bone

April 27th, 2011

Vetis tapped his fingers on his table, eye twitching. It was an annoyingly human habit he had picked up since retrieving Adrienne. He fought to control it, jaw clenching as he attempted to control his breathing - another human habit. He wondered if it was possible to spend too much time with Adrienne.

Demons, he decided, were worthless. He'd already thought they were the disgusting remains of humanity's worst, but he figured they could at least be half-decent servants. No. None of them had any idea where Adrienne was, despite being supernatural beings with the ability to teleport and possess people. A few of them stood in front of him, as small and filthy as the rest. These particular demons were each the leader of a separate team sent to search for Adrienne. They were supposedly the best, which was a really depressing thought, as they were completely incompetent and all but trembling under his gaze. Not that he didn't understand. He was very close to killing them.

"Leave," he snapped, unable to stand their presence for another moment. "Ask Dakota where you should go. Report back if you find her, and ONLY if you find her."

The demons scurried out of the room, like rats fleeing a sinking ship, relief apparent on their faces. Vetis considered having another glass of whiskey, but that would make four bottles and he didn't want his mind impaired while he searched for Adrienne.

He hated this, felt useless sitting there while Adrienne was lost to him. He imagined it was what Adrienne had been feeling when she couldn't leave to fight the angels herself, forced instead to delegate to the demons, except without the vague sense of terror. The irony was not lost on him.

As he sat in silence, Vetis gradually became more aware of a familiar searching sensation in the back of his mind. He examined it closely, allowing it to encompass his mind once he realized what it was.

Brother. Since the apocalypse, Lucifer's cage was weaker than it had been before, and he was occasionally able to send people messages, usually in the form of brief visions or dreams, but he always spoke to his brother. It usually gave Vetis a rush of pride, but he was too upset to care right now.

Lucifer did not respond to the greeting. Instead, he told Vetis, Adrienne is at 413 Birchtree Rd.

Vetis knew that house; it was where Adrienne had lived with the Morgensterns. He had thought Dakota would have had someone sent there, but he supposed he should not be surprised that she was as stupid as the rest. What is she doing there?

She is being held captive by Sam and Dean Winchester.

A wave of anger flowed through Vetis, but he knew he could not allow himself to act on it. Adrienne needed him to be calm. If he went in guns blazing, he would do more harm than good.

I will retrieve her. This he had to do for himself as much as Lucifer. The mere thought of anything happening to Adrienne was painful; he wanted her to be here at his side.

Lucifer did not respond. Vetis wasn't sure why he thought he would. He felt a brief flash of anger at his brother's disconcern, but shook it off. Lucifer had no reason to feel anything at all towards Adrienne; she was simply a weapon needed to ensure his success.

For some reason, that didn't sit well with him like it used to.

Dean did not know what to think.

On one hand, Adrienne was definitely dangerous. That was obvious from the moment Cas said they were not to go near her, and had been hammered home by how she was still powerful enough to defend herself from them even after Cas worked his magic.

But, in a way, Dean felt like he understood her. The girl had lost everything in a single day. Her family, her home, her entire worldview. Dean knew what that was like; the same thing had happened to him when he was four. Although he guessed he had it easier than her since he had his dad and Sammy, and it had been years before he had to deal with angels. This poor girl had that all thrown at her at the same time she lost everything else.

He was glad Cas wasn't in the room. He would immediately know what Dean was thinking, and he would be upset that neither Dean nor Sam had attempted to kill her since she had started detoxing.

Dean thought she looked better now. She wasn't shaking anymore and her eyes were closed. She looked more like she was asleep than anything else. Hell, maybe she was. Maybe the hallucinations and detox were over, and she could finally just get some rest.

Okay, Dean thought to himself, say that Adrienne is an alright person and we don't have to do anything to her. How do I explain that to Cas? That was the real problem as far as he was concerned. As much as he lo...cared about Cas, Dean knew that he could be ruthless if he thought it was necessary (the words "I can throw you back in", came to mind, along with a slight shiver (because he was scared (yeah, okay))). And Adrienne was definitely a special case. He might not be able to stop Cas if he set his mind on it. As scary as that was, it was nothing compared to the idea that Adrienne might kill Cas (which would be even worse if it were in self-defense, as he wouldn't even be able to kill Adrienne to avenge his friend's death).

Dean felt the beginnings of a headache as he considered the possibilities. He glared at Adrienne, thinking this would be a lot simpler if she were just plain evil.

Castiel appeared next to him. He barely even noticed it anymore, simply asking him, "What's up Cas?"

"Demons."

…"I'm pretty sure that's not the direction demons go."

Castiel rolled his eyes and grabbed Dean's arm, pulling him up from the floor and towards the entranceway at the front of the house. It was dark outside now, the only light coming from a sliver of the moon and a few orange streetlamps. Dean looked out the window in the door (Why the hell do people have these? There is no way that's safe), but saw nothing. After staring for several seconds, he told Cas, "I don't see anything."

Castiel leaned in and saw a dozen demons scattered around the house, looking tense as their black and red eyes looked over the property. He had no doubt they saw him to, but none of them changed stance. "No. They've shielded themselves from humans."

"How many are there?" Dean asked, scanning the area but coming up empty.

"Twelve. Possibly more waiting as backup or behind the house."

"Think they're here for Adrienne?"

Cas glared at him. "No, I think they're here for Christmas."

Dean rolled his eyes, regretting teaching his angel sarcasm. "Fair enough. What are they doing?"

Castiel peered at them for several seconds before giving up and sighing. "Nothing. They're just standing there."

"Waiting for orders?"

Cas nodded. "Assumingly."

"Okay. Well if they're waiting, then the big bad's probably gonna show any minute now. Do we know who it is?"

As Dean spoke, a man appeared in front of the house across the street, wearing a black wool with a stiff collar and a row of smooth black buttons down the middle and silver embroidery forming angelic sigils and runes. His paints were much the same, but without the embroidery. His boots were made of smooth leather and covered his calves, with gloves made of a similar material. His hair was bleached blonde and his skin was almost sickly pale. "Who's that guy?"

Castiel didn't register the man's human presence. What he saw was three pairs of red wings and wounded grace. Castiel had thought that after thousands of years in hell, the wings would be all but completely destroyed. Adrienne's work, most likely. Although apparently she could do nothing about his grace. "Vetis."

Dean waited a beat before asking him to elaborate.

"Vetis was - is - a fallen angel. He's thought to be one of Lucifer's most trusted and was amongst the first to fall with him. I fought him once, but he escaped me." Vetis stared at the door, soon catching Castiel's gaze. His eyes flashed red. He turned around and walked over to a demon with black hair and green eyes. They spoke for a less than a minute before Vetis walked over to an oak tree. He dragged his fingers over the rough bark, the wood glowing white where he touched it. Truce. "He wants to talk to me."

Castiel was gone before Dean could say anything. A moment later, Vetis finished drawing another sigil under the first one, and Dean could no longer see him.

Cautiously, he walked towards his fallen brother, looking at the sigil. The truce sigil was one of the oldest and most powerful that they had at their disposal. On the left side of it was Vetis's personal sigil, and on the right Castiel's. If either of them tried to harm the other while within 100 feet of it, they would die. Above and below the truce sigil was one to keep demons from hearing them, and another to hide them completely from humans.

The demons closed in on them, surrounding the angels in a glared at Castiel silently, but Vetis waved them off. "Don't worry," he said with fake assurance, "They won't touch you. At least, not yet."

"I suppose I'll have to take your word for it."

Vetis smiled at him, head tilted slightly to the side as his red eyes shone. "It's good to see you again brother."

Castiel returned his smile with a disgusted look. "Spare me your stupidity and tell me what you want."

Vetis elegantly lifted an eyebrow. "I'll be brief." He walked as he spoke, circling Castiel, like a predator trying to decide where best to strike. "You have Adrienne. I want Adrienne. I'm sure you know where I'm going with this."

"You cannot have Adrienne."

Vetis rolled his eyes. "Oh come on. You don't need her. She's useless to you and your pets."

Castiel was confused for a moment before he realized that by 'pets', Vetis meant the Winchesters. "You are not endearing me to your case by acting no better than the humans you claim to hate."

That shut him up… for two seconds. "Look," he screwed his eyes shut for a moment, taking in deep breaths, "Either you return Adrienne to me now, or I will rip your wings off before killing you and dragging the apes back to hell where they belong."

"For some reason," Castiel began, "I don't trust you."

"You don't have to trust me, brother. You just have to decide whether or not it's worth it to see your charge splattered against the wall." Vetis slashed the privacy sigils with an angel blade and leaned back on his heels to smirk at Castiel. "I await your decision."

Dean watched as Castiel glared at his brother before walking away. At first, the demons stood in his way, more now than before, but Vetis waved them off, allowing him to pass.

Dean was relieved that the angel was okay, having not been able to see him earlier. He was not relieved to see that the demons and Vetis were all still alive, and none even tried to hide. One moment, Castiel was standing amongst the demons, and the next he was besides Dean again.

"Cas!" Dean quickly hugged his friend. Castiel stood stiffly for a few moments, before returning the gesture. A warm feeling grew in the pit of Dean's stomach, and he quickly pulled away. They stared at each other, neither quite sure what they should do. Dean quickly asked, "What did he want?"

Castiel blinked, turning his head away from Dean, unsure of what he was feeling, and decided to focus instead on Dean's question. "He said he wanted Adrienne, and that if we did not hand her over to him, he would 'rip my wings off before killing me and dragging you and Sam back to hell where you belong'."

"Have I ever told you how much I love your family?" A beat passed before Dean said, "Hey, do you really have wings?" He'd seen the shadows of course, but he didn't know if there was anything more to them.

"Dean, now is not the time for this." He sighed as Dean pouted, and quietly said, "Yes, I do have wings, but now is not the time to talk about that."

Dean pouted, but shrugged off his disappointment, figuring he could ask about the wings again later. "Okay, fine. What do you want to do about the demons on the porch?"

Before Cas could respond, the floor started to shake. The floorboards broke apart, ruining the devil's traps and angel warding.

"I'm beginning to think Vetis lied."

Vetis watched his brother leave as Dakota came to stand by him. "Why did you want to talk to him?"

Vetis stood silent for a few short seconds before saying, "Adrienne is a good person. She has done things that are less than virtuous, but she is still good. She will be glad to know that we attempted to negotiate."

Dakota frowned, drawing her eyes away from the house to look at him. "Attempted?"

Vetis smiled, his voice a low drawl. "Well, we can't work with the Winchesters can we? What would people say?" He walked until he stood only a few feet from the front of the house, eyes flashing a marbled red. He could feel the the house tearing itself apart. Soon, he could no longer sense the warding that the Winchesters and his brother had so meticulously put up.

Vetis turned to the demons, wings high above him. "Inside this house is our Savior, captured by the people who took away our paradise. I will take the angel. The rest of you…" He looked at them, wide-eyed and thirsty for blood. "Destroy the Winchesters."

The demons stormed the house, tearing down the doors and breaking the windows. Dean wondered why no one did anything. It wasn't that late; someone should have noticed. He supposed it didn't matter, what with over twenty demons clawing at him and Cas, who was smiting left and right but still not enough.

Vetis and Dakota walked right past them into the living room where Adrienne was. She was sleeping in the middle of the flames, her dress torn and scorched in places where she moved too close to the flames.

To her right was Sam, who was rushing as he hooked his laptop up to a speaker. When he was done, he tapped a button. A pre-recorded voice rang out from the speakers.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica protestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversii. Omnis congregatio et secta diabolica, ergo, draco maledicte ecclesiam tuam. Secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos."

The air was filled with black smoke and the sound of demons being forced from their vessels. Vetis sighed when faced with Dakota's vessel. "What… what's going on…"

Vetis grabbed the woman by her neck and forced her on top of the holy fire, ignoring his screams in favor of walking over her to Adrienne. He picked her up, cradling her in his arms like a newborn. When he looked up, Dean and Castiel had joined Sam. Castiel held his angel blade high. Vetis rolled his eyes. "This is not my day," he said, vanishing from the room. Cas threw the blade a moment too late.

Adrienne woke to Vetis patting her head with a warm washcloth. He smiled softly at her as she sat up in the bed. "Look who finally decided to grace us with her presence."

Adrienne didn't smile. She looked haunted, a faraway look in her eyes. "Adrienne, are you okay?"

She shook her head. "I talked to him, Vetis."

The angel frowned. "Who?"

"My father. Lucifer."

Vetis's eyes widened. "You spoke to him?"

As testament to her stunned state, Adrienne wasn't even sarcastic in her answer. "Yeah. And I saw him. After I started hallucinating…someone really should have mentioned that, by the way…"

She moved on quickly, returning to the topic of Lucifer. "And there was pain…so much pain I thought I was going to die… and I thought, this cannot be. This is not right. How does everyone not just kill themselves?"

After a pause, Vetis said, "I'm not sure where you're going with this."

Adrienne faced him, eyes blank. "I'm ready. Let's raise Lucifer."

End of Part One