A Little Slice
Castiel followed Death to an old restaurant where Sariel waited. The place was empty and silent, but yet there was some fresh baked pizza. As Death was about to take a seat, he raised his hand and glanced over his shoulder at Castiel.
"Watch the door." Death said and Castiel turned and looked at the door. Death sighed and turned to face Castiel. "Stand outside. This conversation isn't for your ears." He clarified and watched as Castiel walked outside and stood before the door, looking out at the people walking by without a clue to what was going on in their world.
"Why exactly is he following you?" Sariel asked and when Death took a seat, he took a slice of pizza in silence.
"Guilt, no doubt; trying desperately to chase it away by clinging to my side." Death replied, taking a bite out of his pizza. Sariel watched him, glanced up at Castiel while thinking of the woman that spawned from Dean due to Zachariah's foolish plan. He was stupid to think he could realize Dean's subconscious illusion. He only created a vessel without a soul.
"As it turns out, Crowley is responsible for resurrecting the woman." Death said and when Sariel glanced at him, he couldn't make sense of it. How could Crowley do such a thing? And why would he care? "Dean has taken the liberty to threaten me with, believe it or not, death if I linger on this matter." He added and Sariel listened, thinking back to when she had first died.
No doubt, her second death would have Dean in an uproar. If something was to happen, he could become very destructive and vulnerable. Sariel wouldn't put it past the Princes to take advantage of the man.
"I'm certain this can be resolute once we pull the captured Winchesters from the cage. It is very possible for the Princes to do whatever it takes to manipulate things in their favor." He added and met Death's cold eyes as he glanced up from his pizza. He expected Death to speak, but he remained silent for a few seconds that seemed to stretch on.
"They are not my concern." Death said and Sariel clenched his jaw.
"They are mine. Stopping them is my mission and I am here because, as annoying as the hunters may be, they are right to believe that Lucifer's cage is no place for humans." Sariel said and glared at Death. "We built that cage for Lucifer, for any threat that lingers during an Apocalypse. He is contained, but his Princes run amuck and those humans must be freed." Sariel said and Death sat back with a cold glimmer in his eyes, as if he didn't appreciate having an angel bark at him.
"And a soulless vessel means nothing?" Death asked and Sariel sat forward.
"Not at the moment." He replied with conviction. Death continued to stare, seconds stretching on, but he eventually placed a napkin over his slice of pizza, surrendering his appetite.
"Then we shall get this done." Death said, just wanting to get it out of his way so he could return to the matter of the soulless woman Crowley resurrected.
They vanished from the restaurant, leaving Castiel clueless to where they had gone.
Sariel and Death appeared in the field of the cemetery where Sam and Dean first opened Lucifer's cage. They had discussed how they would get to the cage. Death couldn't cross into Hell as it was one of the destinations for the afterlife and he only dealt with passing souls along to those destinations. Sariel could cross into Hell, but to the dept where the cage was kept? Not exactly.
So Death explained that his ring still contained some power connected to him. He could summon the cage to the surface of the Earth, which he confessed would be a struggle and a risk. The danger of this was that by summoning his ring, he could tear the cage open prematurely and free Michael and Lucifer.
They put the plan into action and Death was trying to raise Lucifer's cage to the surface. The ground was still, but then it began to shake as if fighting to keep the cage deep beneath its skin.
In the meantime, Valkyrie explored the bedroom Crowley had provided her. She had learnt that whatever request she had, Crowley delivered. And by delivered, it was actually random demons popping into the room and giving her what she had asked for. She wanted a hot meal, they gave it to her. She wanted a television with Netflix and they delivered.
As she explored, she even found a secret door that opened up to a small bathroom, which made her very happy since the water she drank had seemed to have gone right through her, threatening to burst her bladder.
She sat in a comfortable recliner and watched "Girl, Interrupted", nearly jumping out of her skin when Crowley spoke in his raspy voice.
"Enjoying your stay?" he asked and Valkyrie turned to glance at him with her hand over her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.
"Could you make a bit of noise next time?" she asked, glancing back at the television, not wanting to miss a moment.
"Just thought you'd like to receive Dean Winchester updates." He said and she glanced at him again, this time with an arched eyebrow.
"What?" she asked, a grin slowly appearing on her face. When Crowley showed her his cell phone, it seemed one of his demon's were texting him. Valkyrie approached and went to take his cell phone, but he held it out of reach. As she looked into his dark eyes, despite his silence, it was clear she could only read.
Just leaving after Death and Verrine dropped by to visit Dean. Her story checks out and Verrine wants to stuff Death in the box at no cost.
Valkyrie glanced up at Crowley with confusion that he no doubt saw in her eyes.
"You didn't believe me?" she asked and Crowley placed his phone into his pocket.
"Yes. My messenger meant to say that Death is still on the hunt of you." Crowley replied and she nodded, but then she thought about the other name. The confusion returned in her eyes.
"Who's Vervain?" she asked and Crowley gave her a slight squint as if he couldn't decide to be annoyed or amused.
"Verrine." He corrected and placed his hands into his pockets so casually. "Prince of Greed." He added and Valkyrie's eyes widened with concern. "Dean's fine; just refused a Prince that was trying to persuade him with the idea of ridding Death for you." He concluded and the concern remained in her eyes.
"Aren't the angels chasing them?" she asked, trying to find something for her hands to do. "How could a Prince drop in to talk to Dean without an angel on his ass?" she asked, fumbling with one of the buttons on her silk shirt.
"Angels aren't reliable." Crowley replied, looking at her hands picking at the button. When Valkyrie noticed him staring at her hands, she stopped and crossed her arms over her chest and tried to remain calm after knowing a Prince of Hell just offered Dean some help to keep Death away from her.
Crowley then seemed distracted and when Valkyrie noticed that frown on his face, she was about to ask if something was wrong, until she got her answer.
Her room shook and after a few seconds, it intensified, shaking so much that things began to move and shatter on the floor; paintings on the walls as well as her television fell and crashed, making her nearly scream out of sheer surprise. Objects rattled and fell to the floor and it intensified again, making the furniture jump. Her bed started and eventually everything shook.
Valkyrie glanced around and discovered that Crowley had already left, but with her room shaking so violently, her mind focused on staying safe, out of harm's way. She had to dodge falling bookshelves and a shattering chandelier that made the room go so suddenly dark that Valkyrie was afraid to move. The shaking became so violent that she nearly lost her balance. She almost fell to one side and she tried to remain standing by throwing her arms forward, but then another shake erupted, almost throwing her back. With everything, it forced her to jump onto the bed and holding on as best as she could as her bed jumped across the floor.
The shaking became so violent and loud that Valkyrie grabbed the pillows and tried to block out everything. She couldn't even hear herself scream.
Then it all slowed down so quickly that it just seemed to come to a screeching halt. It took Valkyrie a moment to feel safe enough to pull her head away from the pillow and look around. When she did, it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. She was beginning to see her bedroom was such a mess and it shocked her. She glanced at the walls and eventually made out some strange shapes, and then she noticed they were large cracks, nearly going down to the floor. As she looked down, the floor was full of debris, despite the fact she couldn't see too well.
Whatever happened in Hell, it was enough to make her wonder if she really was safe. That could have been Death coming to get her or a Prince of Hell with a dark and sinister plan. How could she have thought that Crowley could have kept her safe? He was just a demon that claimed himself King of Hell. So what he resurrected her! Could he fend off whoever just rocked the shit out of Hell?
What if it was Lucifer, shaking his cage furiously? The thought made her body trembling with a hint of fear. Valkyrie remained on the bed, afraid to move around in the room, not only cut her feet with the debris, but fearing something tearing through those walls to snatch her up.
When Crowley left the room and walked the halls he revamped into a newer Hell, the demons virtually scattered like rats to hide in deep corners. No doubt that came from the deepest part of Hell where Lucifer's cage was suspended and bound in a dark void. For it to shake Hell with such magnitude, someone must have brought it up to the surface.
As the cage rose to the surface, Death and Sariel prepared themselves for the risk they had to take in order to free two humans trapped within. The grass tore away as the dark metal poked through. It was a dark material like obsidian stone, stronger than iron and rough like jagged knives. The cage was built with material unlike anything man has ever made. Lucifer could never break out and, unfortunately, neither could Sam and Adam.
The cage surfaced and the first who glare up at them was Lucifer, baring his teeth in a sinister smile.
"How can I help you?" he asked, revealing a crouching Michael in the corner and two brothers trembling in the far corner as if trying to save one another.
