A/N: Warning, contains some perhaps disturbing scenes. I don't know if this may be triggering, but if it is, tell me
We then went to Sioux Falls, where the dead started to rise, including Bobby's wife Karen. What none of us knew was that the dead later turned into the Walking Dead zombies, which wasn't so good. Especially not since Death himself had a message for Bobby. When Death itself had a message to you, you knew you were in trouble.
I was starting to think more and more that we needed Dad's help to defeat Lucifer. What else could we do?
«Hell», I muttered when my wing was stuck under my body.
It was kind of like I had airy wings that could go through fabric when I dressed. Otherwise, I could accidentally sit on them, or lie on then.
«Looking for this?» some guy with a mask said and emptied Dean's gun and tossed it away.
I looked in front of myself and saw another masked man point a gun toward me. Fun, getting threatened this early.
«Mornin'», Dean said sarcastically.
«Shut up. Hands where I can see 'em», first man ordered.
I rose up and grabbed my flannel, making the second man follow my hands with his gun.
«Easy, dude. I'm just putting on some clothes», I said and put it over my bra and buttoned it.
«Wait a minute. Is that you, Roy? It is, isn't it? Which makes you Walt and Greg. Hiya Walt and Greg», Dean greeted them.
I raised my eyebrow. Walt, Roy and Greg? What the hell? Why were they pointing their guns at our heads? What had we done them? The only thing I had done to Greg, was taking money from him in a pool game.
«Don't matter», Walt said and took off his mask, with Roy and Greg doing it just after him.
«Well, is it just me, or do you three seem a tad upset?» Dean said.
«You think you can flip the switch on the Apocalypse and just walk away, Sam?» Walt questioned.
I raised my eyebrow. Since when did they know about it?
«Who told you that?» Sam wondered.
«We ain't the only hunters after you. See you in the next life», Walt said to him.
«Hear me out. I can explain, okay? Please», Sam pleaded.
I looked at Sam, just before Walt shot him in the chest, making me almost lunge at him, when Greg moved the shotgun closer to my head.
«Stay down», he ordered.
«You just killed my twin, and you believe I wouldn't react?» I growled and glared at him with my death glare, which made him back away.
«Shot 'em both», Walt ordered them, making both Roy and Greg look a bit uneasy.
«Killin' Sam was right, but Dean and Abigail…»
«They made us, and we just snuffed their brother, you idiot. You want to spend the rest of your life knowing Dean and Abigail Winchester are on your ass, 'cause I don't. Shoot 'em», Walt said again.
I glanced at Sam and then looked at the hunters and smirked.
«Yeah, shoot us. But I will come back, and be ready, because my face will be the last you see. I swear on that», I threatened and made my eyes glow blue and my wings show up on the wall.
They widened their eyes and looked quite or very uneasy. The light faded from my eyes as I eyed Greg daringly.
«Come on, Greg! Get this over with!»
«Come on, already» Walt grumbled and shot me in the heart.
I opened my eyes, and found myself standing in the Garden, with no people there. And I was quite sure I wasn't there, not really. Because I wasn't wearing what I wore down on the Earth. Instead, I wore a robe which fitted with the color my wings. Plus, my halo was glowing above my head,
All of sudden, Lucifer appeared beside me, his icy wings touching my midnight.
«We must come to the Throne Room, sister. Father wants us to witness the creation of the first angels», he said to me.
I nodded and followed him there, where Dad sat on the throne and my other brothers were kneeling in front of him. Lucifer and I did as they did and let our lower wings cover our feet.
«Father, we have come. We are here to witness the creation of our brothers and sisters», I said softly and remembered what had happened all those billon years ago.
«I'm happy you are here, my children», Dad said and all of sudden, the four of us were in the Garden again,
Now, since I hadn't been a soldier of Heaven for awhile, I found that feat extremely unnecessary, since I already had been in the Garden. Oh well, I hadn't cared about that before.
Lights, pure white, shone everywhere before Seraphs (including Gadreel) and some Angels were standing everywhere, looking very weak and fledgling-ish.
I smiled slightly at how cute the angels were, until another white light appeared, which seemed to search for me.
I widened my eyes: Zachariah. Couldn't I enjoy one memory before I got hunted?
I looked around and tried to find 'the road'. Which I saw, and it looked like a ordinary road, which I found extremely weird since the Garden didn't have any highways. Especially not one of cement.
Oh well, had to work.
I ran toward it as Zachariah continued to track me, but the problem was that he wasn't the only one who was searching for me.
Two more angels appeared and grabbed me before I could reach the road.
"Let me go!" I shouted and struggled against them, in vain of course.
"I'm so glad that we can talk again, boss. You know, having to deal with you without memories… quite annoying", Zachariah sighed after having appeared in front of me, looking full-on angel.
"Well, boho for you, dickface. I'm still gonna say no", I snapped and spat in his face, which disappeared in a millisecond.
He shook his head disappointed and threw a lazy look on one of the angels holding me. I looked up to see one of my captors and gasped.
I had seen that face too many to ever mistake it.
"Raziel", I whispered, which he only responded with looking away.
Was it funny for Zachariah to use him in this 'mission'? 'Cause I was quite sure that he knew that Raziel had been another angel I had raised, just not the same time as Gadreel.
"Take her to the Dungeons. No torture— Or when I think about it", Zachariah added.
"Let Thaddeus scratch her a bit. Not too much, or Michael will kill me."
The Dungeons.
The place which every angel feared to end up in. Some had to be there for ten years, other thousand. Even if I hadn't been chatty type as an angel, other had talked about how it was like Hell. And they would lock me up there.
I knew I wouldn't be killed and couldn't (not without an Archangel's blade) but I was sure they would keep me there until I joined.
And that scared the shit out of me.
"Raziel", Zachariah told sharply, which made him obey and fly away with me.
"Please, Raziel. I'm begging you. Don't do this", I begged as he brought me to one of the cells and locked the door, without looking at me once.
Fantastic. Would I have to spend my eternity here now? And what about my brothers? What if Zachariah caught them and would force them to say yes before sending them back?
"I still won't say yes, Michael!" I yelled against the bars, knowing that he didn't hear me, but still…
"Jophiel?"
I froze. That voice, I hadn't heard that voice in thousands of years, even less seen him. But there he was, watching my face in pure shock. It maybe was because of the fact that looked like my human form with my Archangel wings and glowing Grace colored eyes, along with the fact that I now had an eye on each of my palm. Being partly angel was so frustrating.
"Gadreel", I whispered and felt tears rise up in my eyes.
God, everything just washed over me at once, the guilt, his screams. How could I have done this to him? An angelic being didn't have scars, and when it did, it was because of extreme pain and torture for years and years.
And Gadreel— my poor brother —was covered in those.
"I'm so sorry, little brother", I sobbed and reached out for him, my smooth hand touching his scarred one.
"I'm so sorry."
"Sister, you're… different", he said confused and examined my tearstained face and body.
"Is it because of my new look?" I wondered and chuckled slightly while wiping away my tears.
Gadreel shook his head and frowned.
"No, it's not your appearance I am thinking about. You're not as—"
"Mean as before?"
My brother shook his head slowly, I guessed that he tried to find another word for that.
"No, I believe 'hard' would be the more specific word", he told me.
I had told Sam and Dean before that I had been a dick during my time as angel, so being called hard was the kindest thing I would have called myself.
"I'm so sorry, Gadreel. I'm sorry that I ever opened that cell. If I could go back to that moment when Father gave me that order, I would have fallen the second he'd said it."
Gadreel looked down on the floor, before he snapped his head up frightened at something— or someone. I could hear footsteps, but I didn't want to see. But it ended up with someone grabbing my chin.
"Hello, boss", Thaddeus said and gave me a slight smile.
"Shall we begin with you?"
My body went cold as he entered my cell, twirling his angel blade in his hand while watching me like a bunch of paperwork he was forced to do by his boss. Every tiny part of me wanted to scream and flee from the gleaming blade.
"You should be lucky that Zachariah told me to be kind, Jophiel. Or else you would end up like Gadreel beside you", he said and knocked me down on the ground, making me groan by the pounding pain in my head.
It had only begun, I would soon beg to be dropped from the Empire State Building. I knew that.
The first thing the angel did (as warm-up, according to himself) was cutting deep gashes and stabbing the tiny bits of whole skin that had survived his slicing of me. But that was just the beginning, because I later wished that he could have continued to slice my skin.
Oh God it hurt. The agony almost went to Alistair's type of torturing. Except that the demon had done it with passion and while singing 'Cheek to cheek' or discussing something irrelevant while his victim was lying down and being skinned alive, while Thaddeus did it coldly, like a robot. But I believed that he enjoyed it, or hated it, it was hard with him and expressions. And he was actually' kind' to me when it came to the torturing.
Because that was what he'd been told to do. I almost wanted to thank Zachariah.
Almost.
"Please, stop!" I choked out, crying blood red tears as he was fixating on my wings.
My poor wings.
He couldn't cut them off, few things could cut off an Archangel's wings, if that even was possible. But wings were one of the most intimate things for us. And getting them hurt, it was horrifying to even be thinking about it.
"I'm begging you, STOP!"
It went on for minutes and minutes, it almost felt like hours, before Thaddeus stopped. By then, I almost felt dead (again), lying in my own blood while my slashes with bloody flesh was glowing with the Grace I had gotten back.
"You know that I'll stop completely when you say 'yes'", he told me emotionlessly before locking my cell again.
This time, I could hear Gadreel's screams echo in the Dungeon. And that scream dug deep into my heart making me cry for him too.
If I could say yes… then I could stop this…
Stop, Abigail! I scolded myself furiously.
Just don't listen to the sound, Jophiel. Don't listen… Shut it out. Please, try, no matter how much it hurts in you… Thaddeus won't kill him, he never has done it. Fight it…
"I'm sorry! Mercy, brother!" Gadreel screamed in agony while I could hear ugly ripping sounds from his cell.
I really didn't want to see what happened in there. That would probably push me to say 'yes'. The Earth wouldn't stand such an impact of power and wrath rained upon it.
"Please stop, stop, stop", I mumbled faintly against the ground, being well aware that they could hear every word I said.
"I beg you, take me again. Take me again, please, I beg you, Thaddeus. You can do whatever you want with me. I won't let Michael or Raphael punish you. Just please…" I whispered.
"…don't hurt him."
Gadreel's screams stopped after some seconds, making me sigh in relief. Thaddeus then entered my cell again, covered in some of Gadreel's Grace while watching me amused.
"No, don't! Don't hurt her anymore!" Gadreel protested without Thaddeus paying attention to any of his words.
"Just remember, boss", he began and shoved me harshly against the wall before leaning forward so his 'main' face only was an inch from me. I had only been this close with boyfriends and Cas, so this position felt more uncomfortable than it really should be.
"It was you who wanted this."
If I had believed the previous torture was terrible, then I couldn't describe with words how this was. I couldn't even imagine the excruciating pain Gadreel and Abner went through, every day, for centuries and in Gadreel's case: forever. But as long as I could protect my little brother, I would do it. I could now understand Dean for being protective of Sam and I.
I really could.
Every part of me, every half celestial wavelength I had become, was broken. And whatever part of me that that still was human, was even worse than my angelic part.
My wings were slick with blood and Grace, feathers missing and ripped off brutally and uncaring. But they were already growing back, they always did.
I closed my eyes, not wanting to see any more of what he did to me, I had seen enough.
"Just say yes, Jophiel", Thaddeus whispered, one of his faces again too close to my exposed bloody throat for my liking, but I felt too weak to even try to struggle.
"You know I will stop this, I will heal you, you will go free. Just say yes."
I opened my eyes and met his sadly before gathering energy to even create a reply.
"I… I don't know."
Thaddeus' faces were almost emotionless, but I could see a small flicker of satisfaction when hearing that. What was he happy over?
"Very well, I believe it's not much left for me to do", he stated (was that relief?) before he put his blade just where my collarbones met and was about to press down, when—
"Thaddeus."
Both he and I froze and watched the angel standing outside the cell, watching us with care.
"Joshua", he greeted the newcomer and turned to meet his eyes.
"What brings you here? I had come to think you only spend your time in the Garden."
Joshua nodded slowly. I liked Joshua, he was a good angel. And wise too, unlike many of our kind.
"I have orders to let Jophiel free from here, I have to speak to her", he explained.
Thaddeus watched Joshua skeptically and if he'd had eyebrows, he'd have raised them by now. Not that I could blame him, angels often didn't like to follow orders from lower-ranking angels.
"And whose orders is that?" Thaddeus questioned doubtfully, still letting the angel blade rest on my already healing skin.
"The Boss's", was Joshua's simple reply, which of course made both Thaddeus and I widen our eyes in shock.
Whispers and rumors about Joshua really talking with Dad had been heard a lot, but him really confirming that wasn't usual to hear. But now, perhaps, I could ask him about Him, where He was.
"And how can I be sure that you are not lying?" Thaddeus demanded, his grip around my neck loosening drastically.
"Thaddeus, do you really believe I lie about such a huge thing?" Joshua wondered gently.
He looked at Joshua, before he turned his eyes to me, his hand touching my forehead with more care than I had ever received from him, which healed my damages in less than a second. No signs of his recent torture was seen on me, not even on my wings.
Thaddeus stepped away, giving me space to leave the cell before he exited it too, only to go to Gadreel's.
"No!" I burst out and flung myself at the bars, making Thaddeus unable to open it.
"Free him, he has paid for his mistake too many times. It's his time to be forgiven."
Thaddeus sighed annoyed and shoved me away with ease before opening the door.
"It's not your place to tell me that anymore, Jophiel", he said with the same robot-y tone he'd had before I had begged him on my bare knees.
But this Thaddeus was simpler and easier to understand, than the Thaddeus I had seen only minutes ago, asking me to say yes, to let him heal me. He had been like a stranger to me.
"Joshua, what has Dad told you about Gadreel?" I mumbled and looked away when Gadreel began to stumble away from him.
He gently put his hand on my shoulder and sighed sadly.
"I'm sorry, Jophiel. But Gadreel's time for redemption has not come yet."
"Forgive me, little brother", I whispered while something in me shattered, before both Joshua and I flied away.
I cast a look on Joshua with a sad yet grateful look, before I noticed where I was: The Garden. But it didn't look like it had done before, when I had been an angel. It looked like the Garden I had seen as angel, both a garden and God's Throne room. It was now accompanied with some botanic I remembered from somewhere. Probably a lot of that part was affected by Sam and Dean, who were standing beside me now. But I was quite sure they didn't see the Garden and The Throne Room.
"Abby? Where the hell have you been?" Dean asked when they noticed me.
I shook my head slowly while watching Sam's eyes flicker around, drinking in every detail of the Garden.
"I will tell you later."
«This is Heaven's Garden?» Sam wondered baffled as we stepped down toward Joshua.
Yep, they couldn't see it.
«It's-it's nice… ish. I guess», Dean said, making me smile slightly.
«You see what you want to here. For some it's God's throne room; for others it's Eden. You two, I believe it's the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. You came here on a field trip», Joshua explained.
I glanced at the huge trees in the Garden. I had almost forgotten the height, they really were vast.
"So, you talk to God», Sam stated.
«Mostly, He talks to me», Joshua replied.
«Well, we need to speak to Him. It's important», Sam told.
«Where is he?» Dean questioned.
«On Earth», Joshua said.
«But what is He doing there?» I asked him.
«I don't know.»
«Do you know where on Earth?» Sam wondered.
«No, sorry. We don't exactly speak face-to-face», Joshua explained.
I raised my eyebrow at him thoughtfully.
«Don't take this personal, but Dad hasn't talked with any of us in the last thousands of years. Then why—» I began.
«Why's he talking to me? I sometimes think it's because I can sympathize—gardener to gardener—and, between us, I think he gets lonely», Joshua told, making Dean do a bitter face.
«Well, my heart's breaking for him», he muttered.
«Well, can you at least get him a message for us?» Sam asked and interrupted Dean from pissing off the only angel (besides Cas) who didn't want to send us to Michael.
«Actually, he has a message for you. Back off», he said.
I widened my eyes and stared at Joshua. Had I heard right? Wow, what an awesome father I had. Or two.
One had at least tried to help a bit (John), but the other…
No, he just thought that we could defeat one of the most powerful beings in the freaking Creation and letting Gadreel rot in his cell.
Thanks, Dad.
«What?» Dean said confused.
«He knows what the angels are doing. He knows that the Apocalypse has begun. He just doesn't think it's his problem», Joshua said simply.
I took a deep breath so I wouldn't snap at Joshua, but the words still came out slightly harsher than I had intended.
«Not his problem? He's the one who created all of us. How can it not be his problem?» I demanded, my voice shaking.
«God saved you already. He put you on that plane. He brought back Castiel. He granted you salvation in Heaven, and after everything you've done too. It's more than he's intervened in a long time. He's finished. Magic amulet or not, you won't be able to find him», Joshua told us.
«But he can stop it. He can stop all of it», Dean protested.
Thanks, Dad. Thanks a lot. What else could we do? I wasn't strong enough to take on Lucifer, he'd probably be able to take me down after a few swings with an Archangel blade. It felt over.
Dad had been that one hope I had believed in, but now, what could we do?
«Hello? Who's there?» Walt demanded.
I didn't say anything. The shadows around me had started to cooperate with me now. I was pretty sure that I could almost be invisible in the night.
The blade in my hand felt both cold and warm in my hand as I fingered on it.
«Who's there? Roy? Greg?» he said, his voice becoming insecure.
I let the shadows fade around me before he widened his eyes shocked.
«Thought you'd had seen the last of me?» I said and tilted my head.
«Where's… Where's Roy and Greg?» he asked nervously and glanced around me, like he hoped they were behind me, ready to attack.
I smiled joylessly, like a marble statue created to smile at people.
«Let's just say that they didn't suffer. But you… You killed me. You killed my brothers. No one kills my family and lives», I stated calmly.
Walt started to back against the wall as I slowly closed the distance more and more. He swallowed and drew out a knife and threw it at me. The knife then slowed more and more in the air, before it dropped down on the floor.
«I guess I've got some new juice», I said and stabbed Walt in the arm, making him cry out in pain.
The blade dug deeper and deeper into his flesh before I let it slide down toward his hand, creating a huge hole in it.
I pulled it out while holding his throat against the wall with more strength than I had had as human.
«This will hurt a bit», I stated calmly and shoved the knife into his eyeball.
Walt screamed as I cut off the muscles around his eyes, before I yanked the knife out, the tissue of it pouring out like black goo.
I did the same with the other, making him whimper in agony, almost like music in my ears.
I ripped up his shirt and tossed it away, before I began to carve into him, just normal wounds, everywhere on his body. I didn't torture him like I had tortured in Hell. He should be damn thankful… At least he hadn't been in Heaven's dungeon, or Hell for that part…
After both he and I were covered in his blood, I stopped, staring at the result. His face, blood. Body, blood.
«Just kill me», he mumbled.
I smiled coldly.
«Sure», I said and slit his throat.
The murderer of my brothers and I, slumped down the wall, gasping for air once or twice, before he went limb.