Chapter 11: Holy Terror
Ariel and Adam are curled in their bed, sometimes talking, sometimes kissing, sometimes just sitting there.
"What do you miss most about Heaven?" Adam asks suddenly.
"Stars," Ariel answers immediately. "In Heaven, the stars were so close. And you could actually see them. Humans have created so much light pollution, the stars might as well not even be there."
"You miss Heaven, don't you?" Adam asks after a minute.
"Sometimes."
"You could go back, you know."
"What's waiting for me there? Life in an army? Fighting for a cause I don't believe. Just because I like the scenery doesn't mean I like the view," she replies. "Besides, I have more of a family here than I ever did at home."
"Yeah, the Winchesters will do that to you."
"And a certain Miligan I know," she reminds him.
"Gabriel, I'm thinking we've gone too long without any hint of Azazel," Juliet tells him.
"Last time he attacked, he waited twenty-two years, it's only been a few months."
"Last time he was setting up the Apocalypse. It took time. Wouldn't it be better to nip this in the bud while we still can?"
"I'll go up to Heaven today and see what I can find out," Gabriel reassures her. "I'm sure everything's fine."
"What are you planning for the day, Cas?" Gabriel asks that afternoon.
"Spend some time with Dean, I guess. Why do you ask?"
"Juliet asked me to go up to Heaven and check on Azazel's plans. Wanna come with?"
"Did I hear someone say 'going to Heaven'?" Balthazar asks nosily.
"You know you did. I'm going; I invited Cas to come with."
"Family road trip? Count me in."
"I don't think he invited you," Ariel interrupts. "But I know he was going to invite me, so let's all go."
"Sure you can come; thanks you asking," Gabriel says sarcastically.
"You're welcome," Ariel and Balthazar reply.
"So, why are we going to Heaven?" Ariel asks, perching on the kitchen counter.
"Juliet wants to know about Azazel and his plans, so I was going to find out if our brothers knew anything."
"Sounds like fun. When do we leave?"
"I was hoping for right away."
The angels arrive in Heaven and are met with silence.
"Something's wrong," Balthazar announces.
"Can you feel that?" Cas asks them.
"Fear," Ariel says, naming the thick, cloying emotion the group can sense like a fog on their skin.
"Can any of you sense any angels?" Balthazar asks.
"Three Heavens over," Gabriel tells him.
"Be careful, guys. We don't know what we'll find there," Ariel warns them.
The group flies to where the angels are located and are met with the sound of screams and the sight of flames and destruction.
Angels are running and flying in everywhere, screaming in terror.
"Guys, what is that?" Ariel asks, gesturing to someone flying above them.
"It's an angel," Balthazar says dismissively.
"That's no angel I've ever seen," Gabriel replies.
The creatures do look like angels at first glance. They have wings and grace, but after looking at them, it's obvious they are nothing like angels. The wings are tattered and ruined, and the grace is half- or less- of a true angel's, and only glows dimly, if at all. In the chaos, it is difficult to immediately tell what they are doing, but it is soon clear that they are attacking angels.
"What are they?" Ariel asks. The group shakes their heads in bewilderment. "What are they doing?"
"They're herding the angels over there," Gabriel says, pointing. "And it looks like they're... sorting them."
"Can you tell how they're sorting them?" Cas asks.
"By hierarchy, I think. Yeah, see that group over by itself? Those are class two angels. I guess they're the highest ranking angels, since I'm the last archangel."
An angel and an angel-look-alike collide in mid-air almost directly above the group.
"We should help," Ariel says.
"What can we do? There's four of us. The entire Host couldn't stop them," Balthazar protests.
"Yeah, but we have what they don't. We've got Ariel, the only angel who can control the elements," Gabriel reminds him. He turns to Ariel. "Ari, if there ever was a time to use your powers, this would be it."
Ariel turns to Gabriel in surprise. He nods encouragingly.
"You can do it."
Ariel nods and turns back to the chaos.
"Tell our brethren to get out of the sky. Fast," she orders.
Angels across the sky receive the orders and plummet to the ground, appearing to surrender. The non-angels circle in the air, both confused and searching for other fights.
One angel his the ground hard in front of Ariel and her brothers and rolls to a stop.
"Brothers?" he asks in awe. The guys shush him, but nod.
Ariel raises her gaze to the sky. Her lips move as she silently chants in Enochian.
The wind suddenly picks up speed and strength. The non-angels, who are still in the sky, are tossed and buffeted by the wind.
"Gabriel! There's a child up there!" Cas bellows to him over the wind. He points to a small form, flipping and tumbling. Ariel begins to loosen her control on the air.
"Keep going, Ariel. I'll get him," the crash landed angel tells them. Using his grace, he folds the fledgling's wings against his body and gently lowers him to the ground.
The non-angels are recognizing that their wings are more of a hindrance than a help. They tuck their wings and allow themselves to drop before letting them unfurl. Quickly, most of the non-angels are below the wind streams and out of danger. Several are nursing broken wings. They have identified the source of their trouble and are approaching the group.
"Hey, Ari? Any more cool tricks?" Gabriel asks, eyeing the approaching army warily.
"I have one thing," she says. She murmurs in Enochian and the ground begins to roll and tremble. A fissure opens in the ground between the angels and non-angels. The non-angels stumble to a halt and the one's in the lead tumble into the crack.
Ariel collapses sideways into Cas, but it isn't a problem. The non-angels have decided to wait until they aren't being attacked on all sides by air and earth and are retreating.
Cas gently lowers Ariel to the ground.
"I'm okay. I'm fine. Just worn out."
"They're leaving. You can take a break."
"Hey!" an angel calls cheerfully, approaching with a bound non-angel. "I was wondering when the cavalry would get here."
"Hello, Munkar," Cas replies, helping Ariel sit up.
"Hi, Cas. Still have that stick up your ass, I see?" he says with a grin, so he knows there's no harm intended. "Nice wind storm, Ari."
"Thanks, Moon."
"Moony!" his female twin angel calls. "How did you catch it?"
"Didn't you hear? I'm awesome," Munkar teases. Nakir, the twin, rolls her eyes. "Also, his wings are broken. Is there a healer anywhere?" he calls to the group of angels that has gathered.
"We should interrogate it, first," Nakir interrupts.
"He's a prisoner, not an animal. He deserves kindness and fair treatment," Munkar argues.
"It was killing our kind in an all-out massacre. They would have killed us all."
"One wrong does not cancel out another."
"Many angels are injured. The medics will have their hands full just healing our kind. They don't have time to heal this monster."
"Nakir," Cas reprimands sharply. "He can hear you. Here is my suggestion: we take him back to the Winchesters. We'll interrogate him and find out what he wants, but," he adds for Munkar's benefit, "He will be treated fairly and kindly."
"You and your Winchesters," Nakir spits. "If you hadn't seen God do so Himself, you'd think they put the sun in the sky."
"The Winchesters will torture him," Munkar protests.
"I will personally vouch for his safety," Cas promises.
"You will be too soft on him," Nakir argues.
"We will get his answers. No secrets are safe."
The Winchesters' angels arrive back at the bunker, Ariel asleep in Balthazar's arms and Gabriel leading the bound non-angel.
The Winchesters jump up and immediately begin asking questions, creating a confusing babel as each angel tries to explain to their respective Winchester, Balthazar taking on the task of explain to both Sam and Adam.
"Hold on, Dean, hold on," Cas calls over the chaos. "HEY!" he bellows in his true voice.
The group immediately silences; the humans reaching up to cover their ears in defense against the pitch of an angel's true voice.
"Thank you. Now, Gabriel, keep an eye on him. Balthazar, put her to bed."
"I've got her," Adam interrupts, taking Ariel from Balthazar. "She can tell me later."
"Alright," Cas says once he's gone. "We went up to Heaven to see if any angels knew about what Azazel had planned. Heaven was in chaos when we arrived. An army of creatures like this one were attacking."
"What is it?" Dean asks.
"He has wings, and grace, but he's not like any angel we've ever seen."
"I'm only one-third angel," the creature growls.
"What?" Gabriel asks, turning to him.
"I'm one-third angel," he repeats slowly, as if Gabriel is incompetent.
"What are the other two-thirds?" Sam asks.
"Why should I tell you?"
"Because I promised to torture you if you didn't," Cas reminds him.
"One of the other two-thirds is human."
"You're a nephilim?" Juliet asks in alarm.
"Was," the creature corrects. "The last third wasn't something I was born with. I've been raised on demon blood. The last third is demon."
"Why would someone create a hybrid of those things?" Dean asks.
"Isn't it obvious?" Cas replies. "To take over Heaven."
"Not just Heaven. There's three parts, remember?" the creature reminds him. "Heaven, Hell, and Earth."
A/N: Da-da-duuhh! What's going on? Demon/Angel/ Human hybrids? Sounds like a Winchester's worst nightmare.
So, boring stuff first, episode 9x09.
Fun stuff! Yay! (This is a long A/N, I describe the new angels and other information)
Ariel is the angel in charge of protection and healing of plants and animals (see chapters 3, 4, and 5 for more). She also punishes those who harm God's creations. (Again see chapters 3-5). But, she has one other cool super power that I forgot to mention except in passing (Conversations about powers draining her grace- remember those?). She can control the elements! I totally didn't know any of that when I picked her as the angel for this story, but heck, she was perfect. And then she got all the cool super powers... Jesus, she's the best.
Ariel missing Heaven and stars will come back later, totally have some cute fluff coming up. Stay tuned.
Munkar and Nakir are twin angels. They are from Islamic religion. Nakir means "the denier" and Munkar means "the denied". After death, it is believed that your soul is judged during a stage called barzakh by these angels. You are asked three questions, "Who is your God?", "Who is your Prophet?", and "What is your religion?". If you answer correctly- "Allah", "Muhammad", and "Islam", respectively- then your time in the grave before Judgement is pleasant. If your answers are incorrect, they torture you until Judgement day.
I have a headcanon that they meet the souls at Heaven's gates and decided which souls may enter or not, with Munkar arguing for the good in each individual, and Nakir seeking out the bad. I hope to bring them back later, but I make no guarantees.
There are different ranks of angels, starting with Archangels. Depending on what you subscribe to, the archangels are different for different religions (I generally say Gabriel, Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, and sometimes Uriel). Obviously, using my list, Gabriel is the only Archangel left in Heaven. The next rank of angels (I call these class two angels), are the higher ranking angels with major powers beyond ordinary healing (Ariel, Sandalphon, Metatron, etc.). Obviously, I took a few liberties, but I tried to stay as true to most beliefs as possible.
I think that's it. But be prepared for in the future a big reveal involving Metatron and some angel relations. I will say no more at this time.