Chapter 25: Bees, Bonds And Broken Things

The Impala's engine rumbled to a stop as we pulled up in the driveway of the remote farmhouse. It looked beautiful, a large ranch style house lay to the east with blue-black roof tiles and white weatherboard walls. The garden was only a small part of the acres surrounding the property but from what I could see, it was a Garden of Eden with fruit trees, beautiful flowers and a large amount of beehives set up for the insects to live. Somehow, even though this place could be nothing but described as tranquil, I was extremely uncomfortable. A shiver went down my spine and goose-bumps prickled down my arm.

Instinctively I knew this wasn't a safe place, that the beauty masked the danger behind. And why would it be safe? If it was housing the First Blade, the thing that can kill Knights of Hell, it would most definitely be protected. Assuming by a neutral party, considering that neither Heaven nor Hell could get their hands on the weapon. I opened the door and got out of the car, the hum of bees the first thing to assault my ears. Loud, droning and constant, I'm not a huge fan of bees. I mean I know that they pollinate everything we eat and that their vital to sustainable agriculture but almost anything with a hive, pack or unified thought mentality freaked me out.

"We get in, we get the First Blade and we get out." Dean ordered as we began towards the house. I noticed that the three men had got in formation so that I was the closest to the car, I was touched but also pissed off. I can handle myself perfectly fine without being protected, but there were other things to worry about so I let it slide.

"Agreed." Crowley said as we walked cautiously along the muddy path made by many footprints before us. I noticed a figure tending to the bees and I coughed to point him out. He was tall, not as tall as Sam but close enough, dressed head to toe in protective beekeeping gear. "Oh no." Crowley said stopping, forcing us all to pause as he stared wide eyed in horror. "I had no idea he was even still alive."

"Oh my dad." Gabriel said as he assessed the man walking towards us. "We need to get out of here now." Dean and I exchanged frantic glances, what the Hell could be so bad to create that reaction? "We are all going to die unless we go NOW!" The Archangel said forcefully, we began backing away, keeping our sights on the man approaching. I whirled around, I could retreat faster if I could see where I was retreating too. And ran into the chest of the man we had been running away from, that was not good.

His beekeeping hood was gone and I looked up to see his face. Blue eyes, a thick but short beard, he looked old, but looks could be deceiving. All I knew was that when his hands gripped my shoulders, holding me in place, my skin crawled. I felt more comfortable touching Lucifer then I did this man. And that scared me. His voice was rough and deep, "Where do you think you are going?"

A/N: TRIGGER WARNING PLEASE READ: Okay guys so we have another one of these, I promise not to make a habit out of it! Another torture scene, this one is more graphic then the first one. Nothing extreme, even I don't feel comfortable writing that! But if the first scene was too much for you then don't read this bit, just skip to the next line break and read on from there!

LUCIFER POV:

"Where is Crowley?" She hissed changing the knife she held for an even bigger one. She stood back to admire her handiwork, watching with disinterest as more blood pooled to the floor. She was careful not to let him bleed out too much, she wanted him alive after all.

"Dead, I killed him." Castiel shot back between breaths. Though his pain tolerance wasn't even a quarter of what it used to be, you had to give him credit. He was lasting a lot longer than any other average human.

"Not the right answer." She said in a sing-song voice, she positioned the blade right above his abdomen and gracefully sliced into his chest. His screams were hoarse as they escaped his throat, echoing through the warehouse and magnifying the sound tenfold. "Where is Crowley, Castiel? Tell me and I'll stop."

"Try France, I hear he likes to vacation there." He snapped, glaring at her with intense hatred. His screams sounded once again and even I winced when I heard the soft but distinct noise of metal scraping across bone. That's when Castiel began to laugh, a deep throaty chuckle that made Abaddon pause her work.

"Now, now, speak up. What's so funny Castiel?" She asked, lifting a perfectly shaped eyebrow in question. His chuckling continued in heart and length until he was laughing like he had never laughed before. He lifted his bowed head and let his blue eyes pierce hers.

"You don't get it do you?" He asked in wonder as he stared down his captor. "You can slice me apart piece by piece, but I won't tell you what you want to know." A sultry smile played on her lips and she let out a deep sigh.

"No my dear, sweet little human. It is you who doesn't get it." Her long thin fingers brushed lightly across his wounds, as soft as silk her fingertips trailed down his bloody and ruined chest. "I will slice and cut and carve until what I want to know is screamed through your lips for just a moment of peace." Suddenly she sunk the blade into his side and no more than a few moments of strangled yelling sounded before he slumped unconscious.

I decided to observe a little while longer before I returned with my report, while I was tempted to wait until my brother was dead, I knew that wouldn't please her. No, if I brought her the news in time for her to save him. Then I would be forever in her favor. So I stayed where I was, leaning against the wall, patient. For that was what my years spent in the cage, with her, had taught me. Patience.

BETHANY POV:

The tinkling of shaking china persisted as Crowley took a sip from his cup of tea. I almost snorted mine through my nose when I noticed the dainty finger he had lifted, obviously out of habit. Gabriel was also looking extremely nervous, though neither Dean nor I understood why. "Enough of this crap," Dean said suddenly. "Who the Hell are you?" Crowley shot Dean a terrified look and Gabriel grabbed my hand.

"My name is Cain," He responded. "Who the Hell are you?" Oh, so that's why Crowley and Gabriel were so freaked out. We were being served tea by the first ever murderer. Great. So looks were deceiving, I though he was old, but he was really old. Millions of years old, Cain and Abel old, literally. Oh my God, was he going to kill us? Was that what Crowley meant by no one ever returns from finding the First Blade? I looked over at the King of Hell, but he seemed as freaked out and as surprised to see Cain here as we did. And Crowley wasn't the type to put himself in danger if he could help it.

"Dean Winchester." Dean introduced himself and then glanced at me. "That's Bethany, and…." He trailed off, when I gave him a frantic look. We were human and I was relatively unimportant. But if Cain thought that the Archangel Gabriel and the King of Hell was a threat to him, we'd be dead. It might be better if he didn't know who he was having tea with.

"And that's the Archangel Gabriel and that's the Crossroads Demon Hell calls king nowadays, Crowley is it?" Cain finished. Crowley nodded mutely and continued to sip his tea. Where was his smooth talking when we freaking needed it? "I know who you are Dean Winchester, Michael's vessel, the prick." Dean snorted at that response and Crowley's lips twitched. Gabriel on the other hand looked offended, I put a hand on his leg to stop him doing anything stupid. "But you," Cain said, looking at me. "What are you?"

I blinked in surprise, what'd he mean what am I? "I-I-I'm human." I stuttered out once I realized I hadn't spoken for at least a minute. His grey eyes scanned over me, his face neutral. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"There is no way your human." He said, his eyes hovering above my shoulders. "And you're not corrupt enough to be a Demon. Too broken to be an Angel." He leaned forward so his forearms were resting on his knees. "What are you?" he repeated in wonder. He turned to Crowley and Gabriel, "Surely you two can sense it as well?"

I turned to look at the Archangel and the King of Hell, could they sense whatever Cain was talking about? They both shifted uncomfortably under my gaze, telling me all I needed to know. My mind spun and the universe seemed to shift, I wasn't human?! That was absurd! I clutched onto the edge of the couch for support, I didn't need this right now and they were all staring at me waiting for me to say something. I needed a minute to process. I stood up abruptly, "I need the bathroom." I muttered, through my surprised daze I moved in the direction Cain pointed me. I closed the door with a soft click and locked it behind me. I released a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

I wasn't human. I was not human. I tried out in my mind, too scared to even contemplate it out loud. I looked into the mirror, my black jeans, plain white top and thick green jacket were crumpled with use. My hair hung down in strands from my messy bun and I looked normal. I experimentally poked my cheek, it felt real, it felt human. Maybe it was in something I had forgot, I needed to remember. I turned the tap on and sat on the floor, crossing my legs.

When I had been in Djinn world, I had gone to India to speak to a shaman, so that he could teach me about what he did for my studies in mythology. He believed in learning through living then listening. He showed me that he used the Chakras of the body and mind to help people, he showed me by letting me relive a memory of my childhood. As my eyes slid shut it was like I was back there again, he had taken me to a waterfall, he said water was the element of truth, the element of seeking and the element of memories.

Breath in, breath out, let your lungs sync in time with the flow of the water. Find a beat in the stream and copy it, let it become part of you.

His kind and wise voice seemed to float to me through dimensions, I wonder if he was real. Or if he was simply another thing the Djinn conjured up.

Clear your mind, what we seek needs to manifest before you, but like a lost child in a crowd of adults, you must push your other thoughts aside so that the ones you can't remember can be seen. Now go back, push yourself into a time you can't remember and let the world of your mind's eye shape around you.

Then, with what had taken me weeks to perfect back then, I did in a matter of moments. Despite the lack of practice. I detached myself, letting my mind float in what I envisioned as an empty white space. The memory flashed before my eyes like lightning during a storm, brief, detailed, frightening.

Fire. Fire everywhere, licking my skin, my hair, the very ground I walked on was alight with flames. But I didn't feel pain, I wasn't screaming as I was burning alive. I walked across the charcoal ground with purpose, I was going somewhere. Then I saw it, the battlefield. Streaming figures of pure white light were grappling humanoid figures of swirling shadow. The light people had shapes expanding from their backs which signified what they were, Angels. Which meant that what they were fighting were Demons, I turned as a figure approached me. Shining light like the rest, but as I focused the light seemed to dim and I was staring at an exact copy of myself. Other-Me grinned and nodded her head in the direction of the fight. "ADAGITA BALTIM?" She asked, speaking Enochian to me, To Justice? I felt my head bow and rise in a nod and we charged, head first into the fray.

Hacking and slashing, every cut I delivered sent black blood spurting out in all directions. I removed arms, legs, hearts, heads, everything that was made of shadows was my enemy and I was showing no mercy. I saved an Angel from getting killed, he didn't spare me a glance as he continued to battle on. I stared at him until the light surrounding him faded away and I balked in surprise to see Castiel's back as he fought ferociously. I watched as Other-Me took on three Demons at once, another Angel joined to help her, again I stared at the white light cloaking them until I saw another face. This one I didn't recognize, but my mind seemed to tell me anyway. Zachariah. I continued fighting staring at the Angels as I went, my mind telling me each one I passed. Ion, Balthazar, Virgil, Hester, Samandriel, none of them gave a second glance. So they must have never seen beyond the light that I was sure surrounded me too.

I noticed that their light was all dimmer then Other-Me's was when I first looked at her. As I continued to battle, Demon's dying at my blade. I found a light that was as bright, I gazed at it intently until it dimmed to reveal Gabriel. He was an Archangel, his light was strong, but then why was Other-Me's light strong too? She wasn't an Archangel, I knew that instinctively. God's touch. I realized, she was young, His presence was still strong with her. And me too, that was another gut feeling I knew I could trust . The battle raged on for what seemed like hours, but what could only have been a few minutes, we were winning. I looked up at Other-Me and grinned, this was too easy.

Then my sight was blinded with light and my perspective changed. I wasn't fighting the battle, I was observing it from above. As I watched in confusion at this sudden change in view I saw Me and Other-Me.

I couldn't tell who was who, one of us was dead or at the very least, dying. The other screamed in rage and fought like the wrath of God personified. As I watched the dead one of the pair was carried off by a hoard of retreating Demons.

As I watched the scene before me changed yet again, Me or Other-Me, I couldn't figure it disjointed memories were confusing me, they seemed almost second-hand. Like I was staring at it through a clouded glass.

Was walking through what I could only imagine was Hell, she stepped lightly over corpses and wandered through the barren landscape.

Suddenly it clicked, my mythology degree was paying off. The battle, everything, the myth was something I knew like the back of my hand. One was Bethanael and one was Lauiah. Then it hit me, one was my sister, one was me. The question was, which one?

My eyes fluttered open and I was staring at the tiled floor of Cain's bathroom once more. I stood up and turned the tap off, my eyes unseeing as I gazed in the mirror again. "I am an Angel." I whispered, trying the foreign words out on my tongue. "I am an Angel." I said louder.

Chuck stuck his tongue out at the other man. "Bethany you're an Angel."

That's it, that's what I couldn't remember from the accident, suddenly it was all falling into place. Why I was so good at fighting, why my stamina was so substantial, why Gabriel and Castiel felt like family, why the Djinn had kept me so long, I was an Angel.

Too broken to be an Angel.

Cain's words floated into my head, too broken. What had that meant? If I was Bethanael, then yes, I would be broken. All those years in Hell, wandering, searching, driven mad with grief and despair. If I was Lauiah, maybe I had been dead too long, maybe something had gone wrong when whoever it was resurrected me.

Too broken to be an Angel.

Now I was panicked, was something wrong with me? Did I have a wall in place like Sam had when he had gotten back his soul? Was that why Lucifer was tormenting me, I was Sam 2.0? Then another thought struck me, what if I was going insane like Sam did, driven crazy by a sickness given by Lucifer himself?

"You called?" A voice asked and I jumped in fright, I turned around to face him. "Speak of the Devil and I shall appear." He teased, he moved forward until I was pressed against the sink. "And what on earth are you doing here?" He mused as he took in his surroundings. "Why, this is interesting. Who would have thought a person like you would be in a place like this. My, my, the company you keep." I swallowed thickly as I gazed into his eyes, why was he here? "You need to get to Castiel." He said, his voice changed from one of musing to urgency. Castiel, how could I have forgotten? That's what I need to focus on, I could worry about all this Heaven and Hell stuff later.

"Why? Is he in danger? What took you so long?" I asked in a rush. There was a hurried knock on the door and I heard the muffled words of Gabriel through the wood.

"Listen to me," Lucifer said grabbing my arms and forcing me to focus on him. "Castiel's in trouble, so is Sam and Kevin. You need to get to them as soon as possible."

"Bethany are you okay?" Gabriel's voice asked when I didn't answer. He knocked again, this time more forceful. "Bethany?"

"Why," I whispered so Gabriel wouldn't hear me talking to him. "What's going on?" Lucifer glared at the door as it shook under the force of Gabriel's frantic knocking. "Lucifer!" I snapped, grabbing his face in my hands. "What's wrong with Castiel?!"

"It's Abaddon." He said softly, looking so forlorn that my stomach lurched. "She's torturing him." And with that he disappeared. The handle on the door rattled and I opened it hurriedly.

"What?" I asked exasperated, opening the door to face a worried Gabriel. My mind was reeling and I said the first thing that came to my head. "Can't a girl have five minutes peace?"

"Five minutes?" Gabriel spluttered, "You've been in there for half an hour!" I went to move past him but he blocked me. His face was a picture of concern, he looked genuinely worried about me. Of course he was, I realized with a jolt, he's my big brother. "Look, Bethany, are you alright? What Cain said I-"

I cut him off with a hug, he stiffened in surprise as my arms wrapped around him tightly, "Thank you Gabriel." I whispered in his ear and then buried my face in his neck.

His arms slowly hugged me back and he stroked my hair in confusion, "For what?" He asked softly. I never noticed it before but he smelled like warm chocolate chip cookies.

I pulled away abruptly, I cleared my throat and ran my hands through my hair. "We have to go get Castiel. He's been captured by Abaddon."

"WHAT?" Gabriel asked loudly as his eyes widened. He pulled me into the living room where Cain, Dean and Crowley were still talking. "Dean, we have to go now." He ordered and hauled Crowley to his feet. "Sam, Kevin and Cas are in trouble."

"How do you know that?" Dean said alarmed. Gabriel stopped and stared at me, frowning, he realized I hadn't told him how I knew. Now everyone was staring at me, I opened my mouth to blurt out the first lie I thought of, when Cain stood up, his eyes fixed on me.

"What have you let into my house?" He asked me. Dean and Gabriel were looking between Cain and I like they were at a tennis match. Crowley had eyes only for me, he was the only one who knew what was going on. Suddenly Cain was across the room, lifting me up by my jacket and shoving me against the wall. "Did you bring him here?"

I shook my head terrified as I gazed at his burning hatred as he glowered down at me. "Please," I said breathlessly, "I didn't mean too, I don't know why he's coming to me. Please, it has nothing to do with what Dean is asking. Kill me," I begged desperately, "But don't hurt them." I watched as Cain's face hardened. "Dean, get out of here." I instructed, not breaking eye contact.

Crowley opened the front door, only to shut it again, "Uh, I don't believe we'll be going anywhere." Cain's head snapped up to look at the King of Hell, "I hope you've got more tea, because we have company."

A/N: Hello again! How are you all? Everyone new, glad you could join us. Sorry this is so late guys, I went out to dinner with my family and then there was this lecture thing I was dragged to and it was really interesting, but I got home late and well here we are. How was this chapter, major reveals! I hope it wasn't too confusing, it makes sense in my mind but I know what happens so I was a bit unsure. Some of you were on the ball and knew this was coming. If that was you, I'm glad your paying enough attention to my fic to want to figure it out! I'm also going to apologize about all the POV changes, it's just that the story is split up into two lines and there happening at the same time. I just wanted it to be as symmetrical as possible and make sense, the view hopping should change by next chapter, so sorry if that annoys you!

Alrighty as usual questions, comments, likes and dislikes are welcome and encouraged. If the spirit moves you to leave your thoughts via P.M or review, then please feel free to do so, I love reading reviews, good or bad. Special thanks for this week goes to... *Drumroll*: TheDoctor221 (Misha was really, really nice and hilarious and I got a picture and all my friends are jealous and the fangirl in me died when I met him and ajhsdfkjhsdkjf), CrystalClear98 (Feels, man, they kill you right? I am sorry to say you might want to bring a box of tissues for the next couple of weeks because it is about to get intense!) and Larlyn062509 (I'm glad you like the story, if you want some fic suggestions, I am happy to suggest some awesome ones I've read. Hellatus is only... what three weeks now? I am dying for season 10 already!) Thank you for your beautiful amazing reviews, funny story: I was reading them on my phone, which is really hard FYI because you have to actually look up your own story and it makes you feel self-centered but I wanted to know! Anyway, I was reading your reviews and I got really happy that I missed my bus stop and had to walk four extra blocks. But it was worth it. Especially considering I found this new coffee shop I had never heard of before and they sell the most amazing pie. It is just like heaven on a plate.

Okay, I think that's everything for this week? I have actually written ahead a chapter or two because I have mid-terms in two weeks. And I didn't want to miss a week and make you guys wait because I love you all. You fantastic people you *Waves hand bashfully* Anyway but it's okay because one of my mid-terms was cancelled! (CAN I HEAR A HELLA YES?!) And that means I only have to study for seven instead of eight! So to sum up the above babble, the small week break I was going to tell you about is cancelled and now I can keep updating as normal! Crisis averted!

Keep safe ya'll and see you next week!