Katie's tearful eyes snapped up to Lucifer as he took a step forward, his face now illuminated by the flames. She could see how the skin of his vessel seemed to be rotting away, with dark veins protruding on the sides of his face. But it wasn't just any vessel that held the Angel…
"Why him?" Katie spat out, as a tear rolled down her cheek, from where she was still kneeling on the ground.
"He's special. Just like you…only not as special. As you can see, poor Tyler is wearing a little thin—" Lucifer began, as Katie suddenly surged forward, only held back as Castiel grabbed her arm.
"Get out of him! Now!" Katie insisted, angrily.
"And who would you like me to jump into? Sam Winchester maybe? Swap your biological brother for your adoptive one?" Lucifer retorted, tilting his head.
Katie's jaw clenched at this suggestion, her hands balling into fists. She instantly knew why Lucifer had chosen that particular vessel. The Devil had put her in an impossible situation. Blood family, or found family?
"Your brother?" Castiel frowned, the realisation slowly hitting him.
"Oh, has she never talked about her big brother? How long has it been since you've seen him, Katie? Five…six years?" Lucifer went on, as Katie glared at him.
"Seven" Katie corrected him.
"Poor guy didn't even realise his little sister was dead, but I soon cleared that up for him" Lucifer stated, as Katie's lips turned up in a snarl.
"What did you do to him?" Katie questioned.
"I made him a deal, a little beneath me, I know, but desperate times call for desperate measures" Lucifer shrugged.
"What deal?" Katie pushed, her forehead wrinkled in confusion.
"His life for yours. If he said yes to becoming my vessel, I'd bring you back to life…of course, he didn't know I planned to do that anyway" Lucifer smirked.
"You bastard" Katie snapped, looking all but ready to jump through the flames and attack him.
"Hand over your soul and maybe I'll think about letting him go" Lucifer announced, as Katie scoffed.
"You are not laying a hand on her" Castiel exclaimed, pushing Katie behind him, protectively.
"Castiel, right? The Winchester's pet angel…what a peculiar thing you are. I don't understand why you're fighting me, of all the angels?" Lucifer pondered, as Castiel gave him a look of disbelief.
"You really have to ask?" Castiel retorted.
"I rebelled. I was cast out. You rebelled. You were cast out. Almost all of heaven wants to see me dead. And if they succeed, guess what…you're their new public enemy number one. We're on the same side, like it or not, so…why not just serve your own best interests? Which in this case, just happen to be mine" Lucifer explained.
"I'll die first" Castiel stated, firmly, surprising Lucifer a little.
"I suppose you will" Lucifer agreed, disappointed.
"You touch him, and I'll kill you" Katie warned, making Lucifer chuckle.
"And risk killing your brother? I don't think so" Lucifer replied, smugly.
"So that's why you chose him as your vessel? An insurance policy? Do I scare you that much?" Katie suggested, watching as Lucifer's eye twitched.
"Excuse me?" Lucifer scoffed.
"Is your little plan for me not going well? Did you really think I was just going to hand over my soul?" Katie went on.
"You're certainly being more…tenacious than I expected. How did you manage to hide your soul? This one certainly is powerful enough to pull that off" Lucifer queried, ushering over to Castiel.
"You're not the only one with some tricks up their sleeve" Katie retorted, watching Lucifer's lips twitch into a smirk.
"How alike we are" Lucifer stated.
"I'm nothing like you" Katie spat out.
"My blood runs through your veins. An archangel's blood…you could be more powerful than you could possibly imagine. You could be a God" Lucifer suggested.
"I don't want power. All I want…is to kill you" Katie told him, as Lucifer quirked an eyebrow.
"Careful, child. I find you entertaining, but I can still smite you where you stand" Lucifer warned, taking a menacing step forward.
Katie knew better than to reply, opting to grit her teeth and let the threat go unchallenged. She would never fully be able to understand the power that Lucifer controlled, but she had no doubt that once she became more trouble than she was worth, he would put a stop to her. She had no idea how they were going to get out of this one.
"Why didn't you tell me you had a brother?" Castiel whispered, almost an hour later.
Lucifer had left the room when they heard a door slide open upstairs, leaving them to have a moment alone. Castiel immediately began to question her, as Katie had expected.
"We're not exactly close" Katie mumbled, running a hand through her hair.
"Your brother's body will not be able to hold Lucifer for long, he will…" Castiel trailed off.
"I know" Katie replied, sadly.
"…Why haven't you seen him in so long?" Castiel couldn't help but ask, his eyes finding a metal vent nearby, that seemed to only be held in by a couple of screws.
"I didn't have a visitor pass" Katie murmured, making Castiel frown.
"My brother's been in and out of mental institutions ever since I was a kid. When our parents died…it fucked him up. I was only a baby, but he remembered everything" Katie explained.
"You don't talk about your past" Castiel stated.
"An orphan with a mentally ill brother…there's not much good to talk about" Katie scoffed, averting her eyes to the ground.
"I'm sorry" Castiel exclaimed, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"We've all got our crosses to bear, right?" Katie shrugged, sadly.
"…He blamed me. My brother. For our parent's deaths. That's why I haven't seen him for so long. I thought he hated me—" Katie began, but was cut off by a familiar voice.
"Families can be fickle that way. I should know" Lucifer's voice boomed, as he walked down the stairs, earning a glare from Katie.
Her eyes quickly flickered to a familiar face from behind him. Meg. She had only met the demon once when she was first resurrected, but Sam had told her enough to be wary. Meg was smarter than the average demon, and by the looks of it, she had climbed her way up the ladder.
"I see you went back to your vessel after running away from me" Katie pointed out, remembering how Meg had smoked out of the human she was wearing during their first meeting.
"I'm sentimental like that. And speaking of sentimental value…I have the Winchester's pinned down. My dogs took a chunk out of the blonde" Meg exclaimed, seeing how Katie flinched out of the corner of her eye.
"If she dies, I swear to God, I'll—" Katie began, but Meg cut her off.
"You'll what?" Meg smirked, ushering to the flames that separated the pair.
"Now, now, children. Enough fighting" Lucifer complained as both women turned to glare at him.
"Leave the Winchester's alone," Lucifer told Meg, whose forehead wrinkled in confusion.
"But shouldn't we—" Meg started, but was cut off once again.
"Trust me, child. Everything happens for a reason" Lucifer smiled, taking Meg's face in his hands, rubbing at her cheeks lightly with his thumbs.
"Your reasons" Katie scoffed, as Lucifer's eyes snapped to hers.
"There's still time for the both of you to change your minds. I will win. It's only a matter of time" Lucifer insisted.
"I'll pass. Thanks" Katie muttered, as Lucifer looked to Castiel.
"We will never join you" Castiel insisted, causing Lucifer to purse his lips.
"You could save this hunter, you know. If you came with me, I could show you how. You could kill who you want, save who you want" Lucifer explained, turning his attention back to Katie.
"I think you may be overestimating my abilities" Katie retorted, crossing her arms.
"If you accepted your power, truly tapped into your potential…you'd have the power of a God. You could do anything you wanted!" Lucifer told her, as Katie tilted her head.
"Is that so?" Katie mumbled, looking down at the flames in front of her.
"Katie…" Castiel trailed off, quickly realising what she was planning.
"It's like I keep telling you, Cas…I'm no Angel" Katie announced, taking a deep breath.
Balling her hands into fists, she then leapt forward, scrunching her eyes shut as she jumped through the flames. The pain she was expecting never came, as she was greeted only by the deafening silence around her. As her eyes fluttered open, she looked down to find she was unharmed, apart from her clothes seeming a little scorched. Meg had taken a few steps back, her eyes wide, looking like she was once again ready to run. Lucifer's lips twitched into a smile, seemingly pleased with her actions.
The more power she holds onto…the more parts of herself she'll lose.
Castiel's warning loomed over her as she turned back to the Angel in question, who was staring at her in shock. It shouldn't have been possible to jump over the flames, but then again, Katie had proved the impossible again and again.
"You continue to impress me" Lucifer grinned, taking a step closer to her, watching as she stumbled backwards.
"Stay back!" Katie warned, holding her hand out.
"You may be powerful, but you can't beat me, Katie" Lucifer reasoned, as Katie's eyes flickered to Castiel's.
"I'm not trying to beat you. I'm trying to distract you" Katie exclaimed, making the Devil frown.
All of a sudden, a large metal vent fell from the ceiling, having been slowly loosened over the course of the past few minutes by Castiel. It struck Lucifer in the head, throwing him off balance. Katie sprung forward instantly, punching the supernatural being in the face, before shoving him towards the ground with her shoulder. Katie grimaced as he fell onto the flames, letting out a piercing scream as the holy oil burnt into his vessel's skin. Castiel was quick to step over him, coming to stand by Katie's side.
"Lucifer!" Meg screamed, rushing forward.
Throwing a hand out, Katie was able to instantly send Meg flying backwards, colliding with a brick wall that cracked from the sheer force. Castiel flinched when he saw how Katie's eyes flickered as she looked back down at Lucifer. They weren't the usual bright blue he was used to seeing. Or the black he had learnt to fear. Instead, her irises changed into a burning gold colour, something which he had never seen before.
Suddenly Lucifer's shouts came to a stop, as he raised his fingers and extinguished the flames with a click of his digits. He then pushed himself to his feet, brushing down his scorched clothes, appearing completely unharmed. He began to laugh maniacally, shrugging his shoulders, as if they were all in on some big joke. Katie grabbed Castiel's wrist, expecting they would have to make a speedy getaway.
"I'm surprised you'd risk hurting my vessel. Does big brother mean that little to you?" Lucifer questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"His mind was gone long before you came along…besides as you said, I can kill who I want to kill, save who I want to save. I'll get my brother back" Katie insisted, firmly.
"You should know holy oil can't hurt me. Nothing can" Lucifer informed her.
"We'll see about that" Katie spat out, as she teleported both Castiel and herself away.
They found themselves back on the streets in the blink of an eye, their eyes following a steady stream of blood that ran up the street. A loud barking from nearby had their heads snapping up, as they saw three hellhounds growling at them, looking ready to pounce. Castiel grit his teeth, knowing in the past he would have been able to destroy the beasts easily but now…he doubted whether he'd be able to defend himself. Katie didn't share this concern, as she raised out her hands, closing her eyes as the dogs came to a sudden halt. The creatures began to shake, letting out yelps of pain as Katie threw her hands in the air. Castiel watched with wide eyes as the dogs, who would have been invisible to anyone else, were torn apart, fleshy limbs flying over the street. Katie had barely worked up a sweat as she stormed forward, wanting to waste no time in finding their friends. As Castiel walked over the dead bodies of hellhounds, uneasiness crawled under his skin. He had a feeling they were all still in danger.
The Winchester brothers couldn't believe their eyes when the door to the hardware store they had barricaded themselves inside of, was ripped open, revealing Katie and Castiel on the other side. Sam's shoulders slumped in relief, as he rushed to greet them, glad the two were alive. Dean stayed by Jo's side, holding a bandage to her stomach that was still bleeding profusely.
"Thank God. Are you two alright?" Sam asked, placing his hand on Katie's shoulder.
"We're fine. But we don't have long. We need to leave" Katie explained, as Jo let out a shaky laugh.
"I think we may have a problem with that. I can't move" Jo stated, as Katie approached her, grimacing as she saw how the blonde was covered in blood.
"Can you help her?" Dean questioned, with a hopeful expression.
"…Yes" Katie nodded, after a few seconds, as she crouched down in front of the older woman.
"Katie, can I speak with you for a moment?" Castiel announced, as Katie reached out to inspect Jo's wound, seeing it went deep.
"Cas, we don't have time—" Katie began, but the Angel cut her off.
"It's important" Castiel insisted, as Katie pursed her lips, but stood up to walk over to him, nonetheless.
"I'll get Ellen. She's in the back" Sam exclaimed, as he rushed towards the backroom.
Sam was about to call out the hunter's name when he heard hushed voices on the other side of the door, as he peered through. He frowned when he saw Ellen's back was to him, as she seemed to speak to something in the shadows of the room.
"And your sure it will work?" Ellen questioned, shakily.
"Ellen. What are you doing?" Sam frowned, watching as she jumped out of her skin.
"N-nothing. Let's…let's get back to the others" Ellen stuttered, rushing towards him, her eyes darting behind her.
"I don't think you should do this" Castiel warned Katie, after ushering her over to a quieter corner of the hardware store.
"She's going to die, Cas. I could save her" Katie pointed out.
"It doesn't mean you should" Castiel retorted, as Katie gave him a confused look.
"What, like you never saved a human's life when you were a soldier?" Katie insisted, as Castiel let out a long sigh.
"I used my grace. You're using the Devil's. Every time you use your powers—" Castiel began, but Katie cut him off.
"I lose another part of myself? I'm like a bomb, right? Ready to go off at any time?" Katie goaded.
"You heard that" Castiel mumbled, with a guilty expression.
"Do you still believe that? That I'm gonna' go off the rails?" Katie pushed.
"I'm worried about you. I worry what tapping into these powers will do to you" Castiel informed her, making Katie scoff.
"It's a bit late for that, Cas. As Lucifer said, it's already inside of me. What's the point in running from it?" Katie explained.
"You're playing with people's lives!" Castiel hissed.
"…What's so wrong with that?" Katie replied, as Castiel flinched at her words.
Something was wrong. Very wrong. Katie didn't sound like herself. She seemed different ever since their encounter with Lucifer. Could he have—
"Is it true? You can save my daughter?" Ellen's voice broke through his thoughts, as the pair whipped around to face her.
"Yes" Katie nodded, as she went to walk over to the older woman.
"Katie, don't" Castiel insisted, grabbing her wrist as she went to walk past.
She said nothing in response, simply ripping her arm away from his grasp, but he saw how her eyes flickered once again. A bad feeling settled in his stomach as he watched Katie kneel in front of Jo, as she pressed her palm against the blonde's bleeding stomach, her eyes fluttering shut.
"I can save who I want to save" Katie mumbled, under her breath.
Kill who I want to kill.
The words went unsaid, but they were clear in both Katie and Castiel's mind. The latter's eyes widened as he saw her hands began to glow, light shining out from her palm and burning into Jo's skin, who let out a gasp. Katie clenched her other hand, as her forehead wrinkled in concentration, trying to focus on mending Jo's body. She had never healed anyone before and wasn't even sure how…but she had to try. Katie flinched when she felt a hand clasp her shoulder, turning to find it belonged to Ellen, who was giving her a sad smile. As Katie blinked, her eyes started to burn the gold colour that Castiel had seen earlier, as the light from her palm began to grow. Suddenly, a wave of power shot out from Katie's hand, breaking all the lights in the hardware store, throwing the group into darkness. There was a loud thump from beside Katie, as Sam quickly reached into his pocket, pulling out a small torch he always kept on him. The small ray of light went to Jo first, who was staring up at him with wide eyes, the colour already returning to her cheeks. Dean breathed out a sigh of relief when Sam illuminated Jo's body, revealing that the blood had stopped pooling from her abdomen and seemed to be healing altogether. He then turned the light on Katie, who was still on her knee's, her eyes back to their usual blue colour.
"Ellen?" Sam called out, when he saw the older woman was no longer standing over Katie.
The group turned around when Sam lit up the floor behind them to reveal the hunter's body lying motionless on the floor. Katie was by Ellen's side in an instant, turning her over and letting out a gasp when she saw blood stained her hands. Katie shook when she saw blood was spurting from Ellen's stomach, in the exact place it had been on her daughter's body only moments ago.
"N-no…no, no, no…" Katie stuttered, pressing her hands against the wound.
"Mom!" Jo cried, as she crawled over to the pair, a panicked look in her eyes.
"It's alright, Jo…I…I made my choice…" Ellen trailed off, as a stream of blood rolled down her lips.
"What?" Katie frowned, as Ellen's eyes flickered to her own.
"He said…I could…I could save her. A life for a life…I'm s-sorry…" Ellen murmured, coughing up more blood.
"I don't understand…what did you do?!" Katie insisted, clutching Ellen's shoulder.
"He said it would…would change you. You'd lose more…more…" Ellen panted, her eyes fluttering shut, as Jo pulled her onto her lap.
"Mom! Mom, don't!" Jo cried, as she jostled Ellen awake.
"I just had to touch you…" Ellen mumbled, as Katie remembered how the older woman had clutched her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Jo" Ellen exclaimed, suddenly going still in her daughter's arms.
"Mom! No!" Jo sobbed, shaking the hunter, but the hunter's chest had stopped moving.
"Who? Who said that?!" Katie questioned, in a panic.
"That would be me" A familiar voice boomed from behind the group.
"Lucifer" Katie spat out.
Katie felt herself tremble as she looked into her brother's cold eyes, seeing the amusement behind them. This had been Lucifer's plan all along. Cas had been right. He wanted her to use her powers, to lose more of herself.
"You did this!" Sam spat out, instantly knowing who the man was, despite not recognising the vessel he had possessed.
"You keep fanning that fire in your belly, Sam. All that pent-up rage...I'm gonna need it." Lucifer smirked.
"What have you done to her?" Castiel exclaimed, taking a step forward to push himself in front of the group.
"The closer we are…the more my influence grows. And now I've got you, Katie. I'm never letting you go" Lucifer grinned, as he walked forward, not missing the way Katie flinched.
"You will not touch her" Castiel insisted, standing firm.
"…Shame. I really didn't want to kill you, Castiel" Lucifer mumbled, before raising his hand up, his intent clear.
Suddenly, a white light engulfed the whole group, blinding them completely. Katie used her arm to shield her face, only lowering her limb when everything went dark soon after. Her eyes darted around as she found herself back in Bobby's house, glad to see the rest of the group had come with her.
"Don't say I never did anything for you" A familiar voice announced, as they turned to see Gabriel standing a few metres away, having teleported the group away.
Katie opened her mouth to reply when a wave of dizziness hit her, and pain ripped through her head. Katie's hands flew to her head as he knees gave out from under her, only just being caught by Castiel as she fell to the floor. Darkness swallowed her up a moment later, as she passed out, hearing people shouting her name from all around her.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! This story is going in a different direction than I planned, but I'm really liking it. Will Katie eventually go dark side...we'll have to wait and see. Please leave a review:)
Redheadbookworm: I bet you didn't see that coming, haha! Thanks for reviewing:)
happyperson42: We'll definitely see more of Gabriel, as he's going to have to pick a side soon. He's one of my favourite characters too:) Thanks for the review!