~Written by Ink~
"I see you find it relatively easy to lie to Cas despite him practically owning your heart." Cyan said before she pushed off the wall and confronted Pippin in the alleyway. Lights flickering from the nearby strip club barely illuminating their faces. Pippin crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the pastel blue attire the other Abomination wore.
"Just about as easy as you pretend to be completely insane." She shot back and Cyan chuckled lightly.
"Mhm." She hummed in agreement. "But we both know I can't help the laughing and giggling so maybe I am insane." She responded smoothly and Pippin shrugged before jumping into the real reason she was confronting Cyan.
"We can't keep hiding this Cyan." She started lowly, glancing around at their surroundings briefly. "The Angel's are catching on and so is Sam and Emmy."
"But Bobby, Dean, Cas, and Alfie remain oblivious to the truth." Cyan shot back and Pippin sighed heavily. She laid a heavily bandaged hand upon Cyan's shoulder and hummed.
"I'm sorry Cy." She started truthfully. "I understand she's your twin but Pastel is too far gone. She tortured Cas." Pippin muttered tiredly and Cyan nodded in sorrow.
"I know Pipper-popper." She finally responded. "Just promise me you'll make it quick mkay?" Cyan asked, wishing they could end this conversation differently.
"I'll smite her or stab her with the blade." Pip confirmed, causing Cyan to nodded before casting her glance down to her feet. The two woman took a seat on the dirty asphalt, leaning against the scuffed and worn brick wall behind them.
"So how's Emmy?" Cyan asked after the long pause of silence. Pip chuckled and laid another bandaged hand on Cyan.
"You tell Quel that Sam misses her...and that Emmy's doing alright." She answered and Cyan smiled a bit at the fond look on her face.
"Don't worry about it Pippin. We'll be back once we finish off the rest of Sabra's Hellhounds." Pip didn't say anything to that and Cyan quickly picked up on it.
"Are you jealous of Quel, Pippin?" Cyan asked seriously, causing Pip to turn away from her revealing gaze. The moment went on in awkward silence before Cyan finally continued on in determination. "You are..." She stated before Pip burst out in anger.
"Fuck! Yes, I'm jealous of Quel okay!? She's Emmy's best friend." She cried, all the insecurities coming out at last.
"So that's why you had a tantrum," Cyan stated as the realization hit her. "That coupled with Cas' torture." She finished, taking Pippin's bandaged hands in her own. Pip took a deep breath, trying to ground herself, so she wouldn't freak out on Cyan.
"It's easy to be forgotten. She loves Quel so much...I don't even stand a chance." Pip told Cyan quietly. She was sure that Cyan wouldn't be biased in her opinion and advice. Cyan didn't say anything for a moment as she began gently fixing and messing with Pippin's bandages.
"Quel's been missing from Emmy's life for a long time Pip...and time changes people. Quel and Emmy aren't who they used to be." She said softly. Pippin let herself get lost in the comforting feeling of Cyan fixing and readjusting the bandages. The silence wasn't uncomfortable anymore to either woman, both taking comfort in each others presence before they would be forced back to reality and Hell.
"I think," Cyan started slowly as she finished readjusting Pip's bandages. "That Emmy found a type of solace and kinship with you that replaced a bit of what she had had with Quel." She sighed in exhaustion. "It didn't replace her but it definitely changed something in her." Cyan finished, allowing her words to sink in. Pippin sighed and leaned her head back against the wall.
"We're something alright." She muttered before turning to look at Cyan once more. "A Werewolf, a Witch, a Nephilim, and an Unmarked. All hunters." She chuckled and Cyan smiled at the truth and irony of it.
"Says the Abomination, with Lucifer's vessel, the Righteous Man, a Hunter with disorganized schizophrenia, and a Seraphim." Cyan shot back and both woman smiled and chuckled a bit at it all.
"At least Sirius and Lupin are easy to work with. Have you tried working with the Winchesters?" Pip joked lightly. "It's like trying to get hyper toddlers to take a nap." She responded and Cyan laughed.
"So impossible?"
"At least until Emmy and Cas beat some sense into the two." Pippin confirmed. Cyan's cellphone ruined the moment as it rang loudly and she scrambled to answer it.
"Hello?" She said before her eyes widened. "Woah, woah! Sirius calm down. What do you mean Quel just poofed off?" She asked seriously, worry bleeding into her voice.
"Okay so Sam is gone too? Then Quel took off and brought Sam along on some date or something. Sirius take a chill pill. They're big kids and they'll be fine." Cyan reassured the Witch before she snapped the phone closed and picked up a guitar that had been sitting, hidden, behind the dumpster. Cyan handed it to Pippin with a small smile.
"Come on Pip. I know you used to play." She said knowingly and Pippin shrugged.
"Keyword is used to." Pip waved off.
Pippin please." Cyan begged and Pip sighed before giving in and taking the guitar. Her fingers began to automatically play an old and familiar song.
"I hurt myself today To see if I still feel I focus on the pain The only thing that's real The needle tears a hole The old familiar sting Try to kill it all away But I remember everything" Pippin sang softly as it started to sprinkle lightly, the quiet patter of the rain blending into the music of the guitar.
Quel ducked behind the pillar, Sam opposite of her, as they dodged the Demons that had come across them earlier. She only wanted to spend some time with Sam but it seemed like God had another idea. Quel screamed as a Demon ripped her out from behind the pillar, Sam in the grips of two other Demons. She struggled valiantly, scared but also determined to get Sam out of harms way. Even if it killed her in the process.
"What have I become My sweetest friend Everyone I know goes away In the end And you could have it all My empire of dirt I will let you down I will make you hurt"
Dean held Emmy close to him, arms wrapped around her shoulder and waist in a protective stance. The door bowed under the weight of the invisible beings trying to break through the metal. Snarling and shiver inducing howling echoed through the room. Both were scratched up and injured. Dean knew the end for them was so near. That no one knew where they were or what they were doing. He turned to face Emmy and gently kissed the top of her head, holding her close for most likely the last time. The screeching of the metal door tearing made both hunters tense up in anticipation.
"I wear this crown of thorns Upon my liar's chair Full of broken thoughts I cannot repair Beneath the stains of time The feelings disappear You are someone else I am still right here"
Cas groaned as he regained consciousness at last. He wasn't so much floating as lying on his back, pain screaming through his body in sharp, sudden pulses that nearly tore him to shreds each time. All at once a sudden warmth bubbled up in his throat and a rank taste entered his mouth, pushing out through his lips. He heard a cry, felt the hands turn him onto his side as the substance flowed from his lips, uncontrollable, his body flinching and retching to remove it. There was a second pair of hands now, too. A palm held his forehead, keeping his head level and fingers were braced against his back. They were calling to him. These people crouched around him. He could sense them now, one kneeling at his side, the other crouched near his head. One on the right, one on the left.
"Okay, Cas. Just all the trauma to your body, s'all."
"Cas? Castiel, fledgling, c'mon give us some kinda sign here."
` "Yeah, something. Can you talk?"
"Squeeze my hand if you can hear us?" Fingers closed over his right hand. Castiel tried to remember how to move...he managed to twitch his fingers downwards.
"Thank Father!"
"He do it?"
"Yeah. C'mon, lets get him into the bedroom."
"Right, you take that side." The hand let go and then, suddenly, both pairs closed over his arms and pulled him upwards. Agony shot through him as his arms were once again lifted and he heard a weak scream that tore at his own throat. The hands held him carefully, wrapping around his back, careful to avoid his limp wings, pulling him forwards.
"What have I become My sweetest friend Everyone I know goes away In the end And you could have it all My empire of dirt I will let you down I will make you hurt"
"If I could start again A million miles away I would keep myself I would find a way." Pippin finished, choking up slightly. She was thankful for the rain, hiding the tears that rolled down her cheeks. The moment was shattered violently by the loud and clearly sarcastic clapping that echoed throughout the alley. Both woman jumped to their feet, the guitar falling from Pippin's slack grip, wood snapping loudly against the drenched asphalt and concrete mix. Slow clapping echoed throughout the silence and both woman jumped to their feet in shock. The figure of Malachi looming menacingly in the dim light and rain. Pippin's hands reflexively curled into fists, carefully eyeing Malachi. Something about this was ringing alarm bells in her mind. He shouldn't have even been able to find them. Malachi smirked mischievously at Pippin, who was protectively edging Cyan behind her, knowing exactly what the Angel would think of the Nephilim.
"Johnny Cash, correct?" He rumbled out, enjoying having the two under his thumb of fear. Pippin grit her teeth at the tone and look on the sick Angel's face before he continued, cutting off any response from Pippin he might have gotten.
"You identify with the lyrics. I wonder if Emberlyn knows about that, hmm?" He chuckled before picking up the guitar, fixing it instantly. He strummed a little before handing it back to Pippin, who took it reluctantly, every nerve on edge.
"But considering your track record that's unlikely." He sighed as if disappointed. "I think I still remember the look on your face as you pressed that knife to your chest." He remarked casually and Pippin paled. "I almost wished you had gone through with your 'little' plan. Saved us the hassle." He chuckled and Cyan quickly placed a hand on Pippin's shoulder to remind her to breath.
"What do you want Malachi?" Cyan demanded and Malachi just smiled at her before vanishing in a whirlwind of feathers. Pippin shook angrily, pinpricks of raw hurt stabbing themselves into her heart.
"I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything"
Emmy screamed as the first hellhound burst through the metal door, the hinges finally giving way and allowing them in. Dean quickly spun so his back was facing the hellhound and he cried out in agony as it sliced into his flesh. He went down to his knees, still holding Emmy close, attempting to protect her by using his own body as a shield.
"Dean!" She cried out in panic as he folded in on her, arms tightening as he took another swipe, this time to his shoulder and to terribly close to Emmy. She buried her head in his chest as a violent flash of light permeated the room. The death howls of Hellhounds dying filled the air until it was just Emmy and Dean's heavy breathing, mingling together. They looked up together carefully to come face to face with Gabriel.
"Well at least you two are alive...mostly." He commented as they slowly got to their feet, Dean leaning heavily against Emmy's side as he struggled to stay conscious. He was becoming too dangerous for Emmy to be around. His curse was going to get her killed.
"What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt."Quel crawled to Sam's side, the Demons having had their fill of fun. They left the two hunters to die. Sam struggled to breath properly through three broken ribs and the mess of lashing wounds that bled into the dirt around them. Quel gently took Sam's face in her hands and breathlessly apologized over and over. A mantra that she couldn't, no, wouldn't stop. Sam had been crowned the "Devils Pet" and they had brutally forced a crown of thorns upon his head in a mocking of Christianity and the Angel's they associated with. Quel shivered from the cold night air that brushed against her exposed skin. She slowly laid down next to Sam's side, holding his hand in both of her own, curled into his side without damaging him further. She barely registered the beating of wings.
"I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here"
He felt less in pain the next time he regained consciousness. He watched as Gabriel brought Emmy and Dean back to the bunker. Back home. Dean's clothes were ripped but his flesh had no signs of wounds. His brother must have healed him.
"Cas, you're awake!" He exclaimed in relief as the two hunters approached his bedside, mindful of the wings that layer beside him on either side. Cas opened his mouth to make a remark before he was interrupted by the arrival of Alfie.
"Sammy!"
"Quel!" The two screamed at the sight of the dying duo that Alfie was holding up. Dean snatched Sam away from Alfie, roughly removing the crown and cutting open his own hand in the process.
"Jesus christ."
"Gabriel I can't heal either. They were attacked by Demons."
"It's fine Alfie. You did well. Watch Cassie and I'll take care of the two."
"What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt"
Pippin was deadly silent as she entered the bunker. Whatever chaos had taken place must have settled down by the time she had arrived. She passed the sleeping Dean and Emmy, Emmy's head resting on Dean's shoulder and his arm wrapped around her waist. Sam and Quel were sleeping in the chairs next to each other, arms resting on the chair arm, and hands clasped together tightly. Cas, Gabe, Izzy, and Alfie didn't notice her quiet entrance and for that she was grateful. Her eyes had darkened with thoughts of the past and Malachi's words from earlier. She made to turn down the hallway before she froze in her tracks. The cloth covering the mirror had slipped off in all of the confusion and panic earlier and Pippin's reflection gazed back at her. Pale skin. Dark and sunken eyes with darker circles underneath. Hair unkempt and a complete mess. Pippin couldn't handle it. Couldn't take the weak thoughts that raced through her mind while her own mind raced like crazy. She knew this reflection. This reflection was familiar to her. So familiar. Pippin snapped and screamed out her rage, startling the hunter's awake and the Angel's into action. The shattering of glass hit the floor like the sound of wind chimes and Gabriel stared at the trembling frame of Pippin, shrouded in the shadows and surrounded by blood and broken glass.
"If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way"
Nobody said anything to Pippin and she let herself be guided to Castiel's bed, sitting down next to him but completely checked out and on autopilot. Gabriel patted her shoulder and then left, the others following behind to go to bed or meet with Gabe about their next course of action, leaving Cas and Pippin alone. Cas gently and silently maneuvered Pippin until she was laying beside him, head resting on his now healed chest. He raised a hand and threaded it through her hair in a repetitive motion that had the tense coil in her body unwinding and relaxing.
"I know what you saw." He said quietly into the black silence and Pippin's eyes fluttered open, misting with unshed tears.
"I thought..." Pippin trailed off as Cas shushed her before returning to his repetitive motions once more.
"Pippin I know about the events between Nora and Emmy." He told her softly as she sighed heavily in defeat.
"I was weak." She muttered. Castiel sighed and maneuvered her once more until he had their foreheads touching, Pippin lying mostly on his chest now.
"You didn't carry through with it." He started sincerely. "You put the knife down and you tried again. And because of that you found Emberlyn..." He paused as Pippin laid her head back down on his chest, her head under his chin.
"And through her...me." Cas finished and they laid there for a long time until Pippin finally slipped into a dreamless sleep, leaving Castiel to ponder who brought up that unknown part of her past. He had a suspicion who it was but he reluctantly let it go. He knew they would be punished when the time came.