Chapter 38

Grace

"Cas?" I asked to the empty white room. "You here?"

"Grace Winchester," greeted an angel dressed in a crisp gray suit. He had a deep voice and stood taller and broader than even Sam. He was a little intimidating. "Castiel is in the waiting room," he continued, "we are distressed."

I lifted my eyebrows. "Distressed? Why?"

"The Final Battle is upon us."

Taking a deep breath, I nodded slowly. "Yeah," I ventured. "About that."

The angel stared at me with his giant dark brown eyes. "Thank you for stepping forward," he commented before I had a chance to continue. "You have already made a great impression with the Battalion. We are all behind you and waiting for orders."

This caught me off guard and I shook my head slowly with my eyebrows furrowed. "What? That's surprising."

"Your sister awaits a new body," he continued without explanation. "You can take her to the battle as soon as she is ready."

I narrowed my eyes at this new, overly-friendly angel and was instantly suspicious. "Why are you being so nice?" I asked, following him quietly. "You guys aren't normally this…forthcoming."

"You are our new Mother," he answered without looking back. "Already, you are more visible than our Father ever was."

Slowly, my mouth dropped open. The angels had already replaced Chuck with me, and I was obviously being welcomed with open arms. The humongous angel stood at an open door, ushering me into the white, circular room.

Turning with a pained expression, Castiel launched himself towards me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. "I assumed the worst," he breathed into my ear. "But I've heard…I've heard so many things." He pulled me back by the shoulders. "Is it true?"

I took a slow breath, happy to see Cas, the one creature in this world to understand the complexity of being half-angel. Slowly, I nodded. "Is Serra okay?"

"She's confused. We all are."

I stared into Castiel's icy blue eyes and smiled slowly. "We're comin' up on the end, Cas," I answered. "We're gonna need all hands on deck. This is your chance to be the Battalion Leader I know you can be." Motioning over my shoulder with my thumb, I took a deep breath and smiled. "I'm gonna get Serra situated before she makes her way out of the afterlife to kill me. You take Big Boy out there and rally the troops. I want you and Lucia at my beck and call, right along next to the Warriors." I took a deep breath and huffed it out, "Dean's taking Michael."

Castiel stared at me, inspecting my face with wide eyes. "This is it, then," he whispered. "You have a plan?"

I nodded. "For the first time," I agreed. "A solid one."

…

Grace

I entered the room slowly, keenly aware of how silent it was. Nothing moved; no circulating air or whispers in Enochian. Knowing this room contained my sister's soul was eerie, especially considering how quiet it was.

"Serra?" I called quietly to the room. "Don't be mad."

Mad? Her voice echoed in my ears, though she made no sound. What's the phrase? I'm not mad, just disappointed.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled up the sleeves of the old, faded Winchester Family Auto hoodie I wore, getting down to business. "Oh, give me a giant break," I sighed. "It's not like I didn't know what would happen. It's not like you're dead permanently." I felt the edges of my hair ripple with a breeze that whipped past my waist. "If you're done sulking, we can go and kill the Devil."

Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Serra's voice was irritated, waiting impatiently for me to take action.

Closing my eyes, I visualized the most detailed version of Serra I could imagine. The freckles that were scattered across her upturned nose and cheeks, and her long auburn hair from her rounded hair line. Her green-hazel eyes and slight dimples, hidden in her smile lines. I pictured her tattoos, her scars, the curve of her hips, and the arch of her judgmental eyebrow. I imagined her standing next to me, waiting with her arms crossed in front of her and irritated, as I had seen her do over and over throughout our lives together. I tried to imagine her height compared to mine, and then compared to Sammy's, seeing them embrace over and over again. I pictured her in boots, in jeans, in her wedding dress. I imagined her in flannels, in her pajamas, in her underwear, dancing through the kitchen to Guns n' Roses. Finally, I brought in the blood I had stolen from Sam and filtered it through her new body, allowing it to fit together as if it was from her own cells. This process would ensure her natural abilities as a Warrior would continue, paired with the amped-up power she got from Sam's blood. Slowly, piece by piece, my sister came to life in my head.

I swallowed hard, considering carefully if I missed anything. This was the first time I was pushing my abilities as a creator and having the subject be my sister was a little nerve-wracking. She would never let me forget if I missed something important.

"I'm not opening my eyes until you're satisfied," I whispered to the open room. "Are you, you?"

"It's damn better than floating around in the air," Serra's voice answered me in an irritated fashion, sounding just as my baby sister should sound.

I whipped my eyes open, turning towards her voice and threw myself at her, wrapping my arms around her whole body. "Oh my god," I breathed. "You're alive."

"Yeah," she grunted, hugging me back, "but I won't be, you squeeze any harder."

Pushing her away to get a good look at her, I grinned, ear to ear. "You're okay? Everything back where it should be?"

Serra looked down, considering herself. She was dressed in a modest white wrap, looking like she just came from the shower. Her hair cascaded around her shoulders, hanging down her back and swayed gently with each movement she made. Looking up and waggling her dark eyebrows, she giggled, "You couldn't have made me taller or given me bigger boobs or something?"

Laughing out loud, it came out more like a sob as relief shot through me. Until my sister was standing in front of me, living and breathing, I hadn't believed that I would have been able to pull this off. I was in disbelief. It had worked.

"You ready to save the world?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the cluster of angels that had gathered at the doorway of the round, white room.

My sister grinned. "It's about fucking time."