"Lucifer."

"Aedmiel." It shouldn't have been surprising, nothing about it should have been shocking. Yet it was. The spawn of Gabriel's head fell to the side as she emerged from the inside of the gateway. Dean was rising to his feet slowly, glaring into the Devil's Gate that they'd been desperate enough to open. And it had worked, even as she stared into the eyes of one of the most dangerous creatures to ever walk the planet. She could feel the reapers moving through the veil, emptying the hellbound souls from where they were trapped. Like it would resolve anything with this creature freed.

"Lucifer, run."

"I wouldn't," Aedmiel warned as Michael began to move forward. It hadn't been nearly long enough since she felt that energy and many things began to piece themselves together. Sam's torture, her own lack of it following her return to the Cage.

"Michael," Lucifer grabbed his wrist. "Don't."

"Joanna," Aedmiel sang softly, the reaper manifesting by her side and dropping to her knees. "You did well, girl."

"What are we going to do with them?" Jo asked quietly, pressing against Aedmiel's side and scanning her gaze across them. The look was blind and vacant, only a fraction of emotion in any of her gaze. Now that she was with her captor, the appearance of brainwashing was obvious. Not just brainwashing, though. This was the kind of devotion that was carved out over hundreds of thousands of years of careful reworking. It made a whole hell of a lot more sense than anything else.

Dean turned his back on her, making his way towards the edge of the graveyard.

"Winchester."

"I'm done."

"No. You aren't."

There was a cloud of silence followed by a solid thud. Lucifer didn't need to look to know she had knocked Dean Winchester unconscious.

"What do you want, Aedmiel?"

"I want, what I have always wanted. And now? Now it will happen. I am untouchable."

"You aren't untouchable. Death-"

"-is dead. You can thank his daughter for that. Then we have God, but he ran away. Auntie resides in her own prison and Mother? Well, Mother sacrificed herself for the world. Something that sealed my fate. Admittedly, I never expected it. I was certain Michael would step forward. But that's what Uncles are, I suppose. Disappointments."

"We will destroy you, Aedmiel."

"Well, Lucifer. I can't wait to see you try. For now, though… I'm going to have some fun. I'd love to stay and chat but my armies, your children… they've got a busy schedule ahead of them."

"We can't let you do that."

"And you're going to stop me, Lucifer?" Aedmiel raised a challenging brow and she bared her teeth, stepping forward. "You're weakened. Just like mother was."

"Lucifer-"

"Nope. We're going to talk. You, and me. Michael, get Dean out of here. Now."

"You can't be serious."

"I'm deadly serious. Let's dance." With a final look at Michael, she spread her wings and launched herself at Aedmiel. The collision went just about as good as she'd expected but it did throw Aedmiel off enough that she managed to get them a good thirty miles away before she hit back.

And she hit back hard. There was a moment where she didn't know where she was, who she was. A single instance of soaring and detachment before she was forced back into her vessel, flat on her back with a blade pressed against her throat.

"Pride never suited you, auntie. It really didn't." A cry tore from her throat as the nephalem dropped down onto her, spreading her destroyed wings wide and proud. "Neither did torture. I never forgot what you and Michael did to me. Maybe mother was right, maybe I could've been good but the joint force of Heaven and Hell made sure that would never happen."

"We were wrong, Aedmiel. I know that now. I also know enough to know you have no chance at redemption."

"What gave you that crazy idea?" The nephalem smiled wickedly, digging the blade further into her throat.

"You don't want to kill me and you don't want redemption. What you want is so much simpler, and far worse. Your end… is The End. Us, and everyone else. Everything that's lived and breathed. But you don't want it to happen quickly. You want us to watch our worlds burn."

"Smarter than I remember. I always believed you were just looks." The blade disappeared and Aedmiel jumped off, stretching out her ragged and broken excuse for wings. In the top right one she recognized something else, small and gleaming silver. Death's ring. "Go on. Run back to your boyfriend. Me and my girl have things to do."

"She isn't your girl." Aedmiel's eyes narrowed. "If she was, you wouldn't have had to brainwash her." Carefully, he got back on his feet, eyes never leaving Aedmiel's many sets beneath her disguise. "I'm a monster, Aedmiel. I've warped and manipulated the minds of thousands upon thousands of people and if she loved you, if she truly loved you… it wouldn't be forced. Blind devotion isn't-"

"I don't really care what you think, Lucifer. I set her free and she came back. She always will."

"Because you brainwashed her you arrogant little brat. Blind devotion isn't love!"

"It's not about love, you idiot. It's about loyalty. Joanna will go to the ends of the universe for me and that is the one thing that I need. Not out of love or lust, but because it is what I need. Loyalty is a vitally important asset."

"Aedmiel, I would've thought you were old enough to know better."

"Coming from the hypocrite of the millennia. I don't need this." Then she was gone. Breathing deeply, Lucifer slumped to the ground, curling into Michael's side when the other Archangel appeared by her.

"How… how is he taking it."

"Just about as well as a Winchester takes the death of his brother. He stabbed me in the heart and started walking."

"And you just let him?"

"Your demons and that damned Castiel took him and I was more concerned with you. That was dangerous. She could have-"

"If you believed that for even a moment you wouldn't have let me go. You know it and I know it."

Michael didn't answer.

"She's going to destroy everything, Heaven… Hell… Earth. All of it will fall under her and… Michael, we can't stop her."

"Father could."

"God abandoned us, Mikey. I doubt he's coming back. We need to think about it another way."

"The only other way is Gabriel and Gabriel died human. Even if we could bring him back, it would do us no good. Not without his Grace."

"What if we don't kill her?" Lucifer curled her tails around Michael's ankles and transported them to the Bunker where they were met with the deafeningly loud giggling of two nephilim chasing each other through the front area.

Damn it.

"Father!" The kids squealed simultaneously, barreling up and into Michael's stunned grasp.

"No."

"Shut up." Michael hissed, pulling his children close while Lucifer took off further into the Bunker. If his kids were here they couldn't possibly be alone…

"What are they doing here?" Lucifer demanded of the Reaper who grinned in response. "They don't belong here."

"Oh, and they belong in Hell. Come now, Father. You aren't an idiot."

"I'm not your Father." Lucifer scowled, the Reaper stepping forward to adjust her shirt buttons with a bold grin.

"The body of a woman doesn't change genetics."

"You're far past being a nephilim anymore, Jessica."

"And you're far from being the Fallen Archangel that sired me. Nice to see you on the good side, by the way."

"I'm not good-"

"You're not evil. You don't plan on wiping the human race out anymore, you're in a relationship again… you look much lovelier. I'm impressed."

"Who else did you bring with you?" She changed the topic, not interested in debating that topic with him.

"Just the boys. I left the rest of them in Helheim, the ones that weren't stupidly following their cousin, that is. I didn't see a reason to make them face the parent that didn't care."

"I've changed."

"Change doesn't make you suddenly care. If you did, you would've hugged me. We don't expect you to care because we weren't created out of love. Most of us are the products of loathing, hatred. Anger."

"Aedmiel wasn't." Gabriel had stupidly fallen for Cain and it had destroyed him.

They had destroyed him by breaking her apart.

"Is that guilt? Come on, Lucifer. I'm sure you're better than that. Just because you've found yourself it doesn't mean that you've grown a soul in that overly inflated ego of yours." She tapped her on the nose and danced back. "I can see."

"Can you bring Dean back here? Before he hurts himself?"

"You aren't asking me for him," Jessica mused. "I don't interfere with the natural order. If you want to save him from himself, that's your business. Personally? I think you should leave it. Winchesters are complicated and giving into what your not-boyfriend wanted before his death wasn't necessary. It's not like Sam was Sam at the time anyways."

"I know that." Which was difficult to admit. "It doesn't make things different."

"It makes you different. Acknowledgement is important. I can tell you where he is but personally, I think you should leave it alone."

Jessica smirked, eyes sparkling a bit with mischief. "They're in the dungeon. Castiel tied Dean up because he was worried. Oh, also I did do one other thing."

"What?"

"I dropped off the ex-King. I picked him up on the side of a highway, poor guy was stabbed in the heart."

"And you saved him." Lucifer responded blandly, not sure what reason she could possibly have to save the demon. What could possibly possess her to save him? Reapers were all about the balance, they didn't resurrect anyone or anything.

Unless it wasn't their time.

"Of course I did. Death gave us very specific directions before he died. When he dies, things tend to fall a little off balance until he's replaced."

"Which can't be resolved until his ring is replaced. But Aedmiel has his ring. I saw it."

"Does she?" Jessica raised a brow, smiling widely. "Or does she think she does?"

"That means there's a chance… who has the ring? They can-"

"It doesn't matter," She cut her off. "None of us know who the successor is, he never told us. Most of us have tried it on but not a single one of us have taken to it."

"Do you have any suspicions?"

"Samael believes it may be a human. Ryan is having it taken to the Alpha Vampire."

"So, you're grabbing at straws."

"We're doing what we must."

"Bring it to myself and Michael. We'll try it as well."

"Death would never name you his successor." She rolled her eyes, "You may be the one being in existence that our father loathed. Michael isn't a bad option, however. I'll talk to Bela shortly. Now, I really need to go. With Hell reopened we're having to sort a lot of hellbound souls from Heaven. Honestly, I wasn't supposed to do anything else but I couldn't resist seeing you as a woman."

"You didn't come for me, you came for Michael. Don't pretend otherwise."

"I did, though. I came because I'm the only one of your children that can look at your face without feeling betrayed. They actually begged me." Breathing deeply, she steeled herself for what came next. "They want to be clear that if you ever come close, they will remove your Grace and kill you."

"Understood," She sighed softly, shaking her head. "I've earned that."

"Maybe if you do enough good, they might open up to you."

"No, they won't." She shook her head. "I know they won't and they have every reason in Heaven and Hell to want me dead. I was a monster." With a final sad smile, Jessica disappeared. There was a long breath of silence before she made her way towards the dungeon where Castiel and Dean were seated in the center of a devil's trap, a bottle of whiskey sat between them and Dean's ankles were chained to a latch in the center of the floor. The older Winchester didn't acknowledge her arrival, but Castiel did. The younger angel lifted his gaze, red rimmed eyes meeting her gaze.

"He tried to make a deal." Castiel said as way of explanation.

"No demons came." Dean muttered, lifting the whiskey bottle off the floor.

Something she'd tried really hard not to think about. Yeah, she could bring them back but it took time and power and there wasn't a point if Aedmiel couldn't be killed. If she hadn't slaughtered all of the demons during her time in Hell, she would've done it now.

Ah, hell.

'Hannah-'

'Michael has already warned us. All of Heaven has gone into hiding.' Nodding to herself, she approached the outside of the trap where she took a seat and held out a hand.

"No." Dean's voice growled as Castiel passed her his own glass.

"Sam was his True Vessel, Dean-"

"Your brother is dead and it's all my fault." Lucifer confessed, downing the content of the glass. "The last time he said yes, I gave him the fuel that he needed to enact his suicidal plan and because I wouldn't lie to him, he's dead."

"Sam's been gone for a long time." There was a harshness to Dean's words, a bitterness that Lucifer hadn't expected. "I want to blame you for it. Every fiber of my being wants to blame the devil because it should be your fault. But Sam's been messed up ever since he closed Hell. I'd been denying it but… my brother died then and there."

"A deal wouldn't have saved him," Lucifer spoke quietly, unsure how to take that confession. This was Dean Winchester and he was opening up in a way she honestly didn't think he was capable of.

"I didn't want to make a deal. I wanted to kill it. And every other damned demon in Hell." Lucifer laughed, she couldn't help the laughter that made its way past her lips. It just made so much sense. Dean was stupid, sure. But he wasn't an absolute idiot. Though it was rare, the brothers did learn their lessons.

"Sam was alive-"

"Cas, I know you've been screwed up since your wings were clipped so I'm going to stop you right now. You don't have a damned clue what my brother was going through and the only reason you weren't deep fried by team angel is because he saved your ass."

Lucifer refrained from mentioning that the only reason Castiel had been saved in the trial was because Hel had broken protocol and manipulated the situation. She wasn't stupid. After all, no matter what her little brother would have admitted, Gabriel had planned his death. Right down to the last instant and what would follow. Her brother wasn't an idiot, he was clever. It was why she hadn't succeeded at killing him all those years ago.

Some part of her wondered just how far ahead Gabriel had planned. Did Gabriel know Sam would die opening Hell? Had he actually been in denial about Aedmiel, or had he come to terms with it and chosen to ignore the repercussions? Considering his sacrifice all those years ago, Lucifer really doubted he'd leave Aedmiel to wreak havoc on all of existence. But she also couldn't be sure.

"I cared for your brother, Dean."

"Not enough to help me when I warned you about Metatron being a lying douchebag. Leave."

"Dean-"

"Go." Lucifer didn't bother watching the ex-angel as he rose to his feet without a word, leaving them alone.

"I'm impressed, Dean. You haven't told me to leave."

"Would there be a point?" Dean asked, laying back and glaring down at the cuffs that Lucifer promptly snapped away. "Really?" The hunter turned his head a bit to meet hers, raising an eyebrow. There was hurt buried deep in the depths of his expression, though. Things he wouldn't recognize at all if it wasn't for the possessions of Sam Winchester.

"I'll explain if you give me that bottle." Dean started to protest before surrendering and grabbing the bottle, setting it on the outside of the trap. "My relationship with your brother was always rocky."

"You used him."

"I wanted to use him," Lucifer corrected with a deep sigh. "But, in the end I didn't."

"Because he stopped you."

"Because he was strong enough to stop me. I admired him for it. Even if I hated it. And at that time, all I could do was hate." Swallowing, she popped the top off the lid and downed half the contents of the whiskey bottle before refilling it and setting it between them. "But this time, things were different."

"This time, Sam wasn't Sam."

"He was." Lucifer defended, "For the most part. Right up until the end. I was in his head, you know. When he… when he opened Hell. Even if his soul was falling apart, he didn't forget you for a single moment. You were his brother and his biggest regret was that he didn't get to remind you that he was."

"Don't say that."

"It's true. The two of you are absolutely inseparable and there's nothing weird or disturbing meant by that. The fact of the matter is that you two were shoved into an impossible situation from the moment Sam was born and despite all things leading towards the fact that you should've been driven apart by everything in your paths, you weren't."

"That doesn't explain why you're willing to untie me, risk me running off and killing myself."

"You won't." Lucifer stated, confident in her response. "The last thing Sam told me- no begged me was to keep you alive. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen if you're tied up. As long as you're down here, you're a threat to yourself. But if you're free to do as you please, you're going to do what you want."

"You sound sure of yourself."

"You weren't going to make a deal," She countered and Dean didn't answer, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"I have a favor-"

"Crowley's already here. My reaper daughter brought him back."

"Brought him back?" Dean gave her a confused look. Either from the reaper comment or the fact that Crowley had died, maybe both. "Reaper daughter… what?"

"Your boyfriend was left for dead on the side of a highway, a reaper named Jessica who was my daughter… a long time ago, saved his life because apparently Death didn't want him dead yet."

"Okay- know what, I've got to ask. How the hell do reapers work? Jo, Bela…"

"They're handpicked by Death- or other reapers. If Death approves, he gives them a scythe and they become a reaper. Before you ask, not just anyone is eligible. A reaper has to accept the sanctity of life and death. Usually they're given a trial."

"And you had a kid that accepted the sanctity of life and death?"

"More than one." She grimaced, taking another long swig of the whiskey and handing it over when Dean held out his hand. "Disappointments at the time, of course. The nephilim were created during the war. They were supposed to be mindless killing machines. But, yes. Some of my children became reapers. Now, I recommend you go check on your boyfriend who was left for dead on the side of a highway."

"Left for dead- why did someone try to kill Crowley?"

"My guess is human folly but you might as well ask him yourself."

"You're sure that all of the demons on Hell and Earth are dead?"

"The demons were all returned to Hell when Hell had the gates closed. Except the two that I brought back. Human folly, or maybe monsters. You're the one that ditched him."

"I didn't ditch him. I left him with the identity that Gabriel made him to-"

"I don't care about your excuses, Dean. Go help him out. I'm sure he's in pretty bad shape, death's a nasty thing for anyone. You know that." A long moment stretched out where Dean looked at her, observing her.

"Is there any way to bring him back?"

"No." Lucifer answered, shaking her head. "Your brother's soul was burned up with the spell. There's nothing to bring back. If there was, I would have done it already."

"You really cared for him," Dean grimaced. "I don't want to know."

"You really don't." She smiled tiredly. "Don't worry about the overgrown children upstairs, by the way. They're Michael's and they wouldn't hurt a fly. Except maybe my pride."

"Then I already like them," With one final, harsh kick to her leg Dean turned and made his way up the stairs. Not that she was surprised, in all honesty she'd expected more. A punch to the face, a kick to the gut. Anything. Instead it was a kick, and not even a particularly strong one.

"I'd make the most of it. My niece is going to destroy all of creation." Lucifer called out as Dean made his way up the stairs, audibly locking the door behind him. Like that would stop her from leaving. But, still. Sighing softly, she lifted the bottle and stared at the words on it, not really seeing them. Aedmiel was alive and there wasn't a single thing she could do to resolve it. Unless…

Breathing deeply through her nose, she spread her wings behind her and traveled across the many continents that lined the planet until she was planted in knee deep snow in the midst of somewhere in Russia. It took a moment but pretty quickly he was met with the sight of an exceptionally pale Hel.

"You better have good reason."

"Your father-"

"-is gone." Hel interrupted and her heart sank as she began to recognize the extent of his niece's stature, the splatters of blood on her dress and skin and the fact that her wings were broken, shuddering just outside the material plane. Damaged more than they were meant to be.

"She attacked you."

"An army of our cousins tore through Helheim, we fought back until your son-"

"Which one?" He demanded, wanting to know which of his children Aedmiel was impersonating.

"Bael." She answered and she nodded, remembering one of the worse members of her offspring. "He told us to kneel or die. I didn't want to surrender but… I needed to protect my cousins. He swore that as long as we did as told, he wouldn't harm them."

A promise she didn't doubt would be kept. "They went after Gabriel."

"Yes. He… Bael shredded his soul while we all watched. Nothing was left." Tears threatened the corner of her eyes, bitter and harsh realization flooding her system when she fully grasped that…

He's gone.

No redos, no resurrections. One of two of his relatives in all of existence and he was gone.

"Lucifer, nephilim aren't that strong. What is he?"

"It's a she and… her name is Aedmiel."

"That isn't possible." Hel retorted, shaking her head. "She was killed. Because of you."

"No. As much as I hate to admit my own failed acknowledgement, Aedmiel was in The Cage with me. It was, after all. Her Cage. Aedmiel never died and after The Cage broke, we were all released. Myself and Michael managed to escape but she wasn't quite as lucky."

"Nephalem can't fly."

"Not long range and there was definitely no way for her to fly herself out of Hell at the time, Michael and I barely managed to make it without it killing us. I'm sorry, Hel. Your Father… Gabriel wanted her safe and I'm certain if he didn't save her, that God did."

"To punish Gabriel."

"To punish me, or her. Say as you will about Him, but there's nothing He loved more than shoving his mistakes aside. Purgatory, Hell, Mother's prison. God hated letting the mistakes die, though. Hel, I'm sorry. Your father shouldn't have been destroyed like that," She wrapped her arms and wings around the young Nephorlo who broke down, sobbing into her shoulders as Lucifer flooded the younger creature's entire body with her Grace, healing every inch of bone and skin and removing the blood from her skin. "I'm sorry, bróðirkind." She murmured, kissing the top of her head. "We'll kill her."

"Don't… Lucifer, don't you dare lie. You have no plans on how to resolve this because Aedmiel- Aedmiel was unstoppable. I know the stories, the terrible tales of what she did. Father grieved her so much and to know… that she shredded him apart? Without hesitation? How can you possibly imagine that we can stop her?"

"We'll figure it out, Hel. I swear. We'll avenge your father. My brother. I promise."

"I… need to get back. My cousins need help. I know your children loathe you but… just call me. Let me know if you need our help. We will stand against her."

Kissing the top of her head, Lucifer breathed deeply, "I wouldn't put you in harms way if I don't have to." Hel disappeared then, eyes red rimmed with tears. With a deep sigh, Lucifer spread her wings and flew to the Bunker to join Michael.

Aedmiel. How could they kill Aedmiel without Gabriel?

Bróðirkind isn't necessarily a proper translation but a loose use of the word for 'brother' and 'child' in the old Norse dictionary that I use in the same way that uncle and aunt seem to be.

I'm sorry about the massive delays between updates, I have a weird relationship with this story. Have for a long while. I swear that it's not abandoned though.