"Now this needs to be a quick in and out operation, understood?" the Fossegrim asked, giving them a meaningful look. Ashlinn and Kai nodded, and the Fossegrim continued, "I'm not incredibly familiar with heaven, but my goal is to get you as close to the dungeons as possible. The passage will close after you are through. To get back out, break this amulet."
The Fossegrim started to hand the amulet to Ashlinn when Kai stuck out his hand to take it.
"I think it's best if I decide when we leave," Kai said with a smug smile, and Ashlinn rolled her eyes.
"Fine, I'm ready, are you?" Ashlinn asked as Kai put on the amulet.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Kai muttered, earning a glare from Ashlinn.
"Good luck," the Fossegrim said cheerfully as a doorway of light appeared before them.
Kai took a deep breath and grabbed onto Ashlinn's hand as Ashlinn strode through the doorway. A large, white hallway greeted her. It was incredibly quiet. Ashlinn felt Kai squeeze her hand as the doorway faded away. Creeping through the hallways, Ashlinn and Kai kept low as they searched for Anna. A hallway led to a dark marble doorway. Ashlinn squeezed Kai's hand and gestured towards the doorway. He nodded and slowly followed her. They moved slowly, focusing on keeping quiet as they descended into the dungeons. Chains on the wall gave her chills. The angels weren't all that different than demons when it came to torture...
Kai took the lead as they came to a row of cells. Haunted eyes stared at them from the cells. Familiar red hair made Ashlinn nearly call out before she looked around to check to see if anyone was around.
"Anna," Ashlinn whispered, and Anna swiveled around with fear in her eyes.
"You shouldn't be here!" Anna whispered and grabbed onto the bars. "You need to leave! Now!"
"I didn't come all this way just to leave… Couldn't I draw an angel banishing sigil? Wouldn't that automatically send you somewhere else?"
"Yes, but it would also release the other angels here. Not all of them are friendly. This is where the ones who sided with Lucifer are kept… and the one who let Lucifer into the Garden," Anna said and pointedly looked at a padlocked door.
"Who has the key?" Ashlinn whispered back.
Anna looked annoyed, but she sighed and seemed to accept that Ashlinn wasn't going anywhere. "Thaddeus… He won't be gone for long. He always comes back… and with new instruments."
Ashlinn checked the lock. Taking out her lockpick kit, she tried to manually pick it but no dice. With a sigh, she took a look around to see what she could use. There were chains… They were most likely capable of restraining an angel, but no doubt the angel would see it coming… unless she distracted them somehow.
"Ash," Kai said in a low voice, and Ashlinn turned to see a man walking toward them with a wide grin on his face.
"Hello, it's not everyday a living, breathing human struts into heaven," the man said, playing with a whip. "I guess you're here to see what all of the fun is about."
"Leave them alone, Thaddeus! They haven't done anything wrong!" Anna yelled as she gripped the bars tightly.
"OH! Interesting," Thaddeus said as his grin became more malicious. "But, you see, they have. Heaven's dungeons are a big no-no to human entry. Unfortunately, I will have to question them. Such is my job."
Ashlinn jumped back as Kai was thrown back into a wall. Thaddeus watched Anna's face and seemed pleased with her expression.
"Ah, so the girl is your weak spot, huh?" Thaddeus asked in a mocking tone. "Honestly, I don't see why… It must be the human side of you."
Ashlinn stared at Thaddeus as he slowly approached like a cat cornering a mouse. As he got within range, Ashlinn jump-kicked the angel. He fell back more out of surprise than pain. Ashlinn yanked the chains around him using her magic. Thaddeus let out a laugh as he broke the chains and threw them to the ground.
"They're just for aesthetics, sweetie. You must be the witch they're all gossipping about upstairs. Oh, they are going to be so excited when they see you."
Kai rushed toward Ashlinn, but Thaddeus once again threw him backwards, this time breaking Kai's bracelet… and the amulet. Kai reached out for Ashlinn, but the amulet glowed and took him away. Ashlinn watched in horror as her bracelet also hit the ground. Just how strong was this angel. With an amused grin, Thaddeus grabbed Ashlinn's arm. She didn't struggle. It was pointless.
"What a good girl… I think you'll be my new favorite."
All of a sudden his grip tightened as his eyes flashed blue. As Thaddeus fell to the ground, Balthazar pulled his body away from Ashlinn.
"I got involved with quite the troublemaker, didn't I?" Balthazar asked breathlessly as Ashlinn embraced him in thanks. "Well, it's a good thing you're cute. Don't forget to take his keys… and his sword."
Ashlinn let go of him and patted Thaddeus down before finding the keys and sword. After unlocking Anna's cell, she was surprised by a hug from Anna. As she returned the hug, she heard Anna mutter something but didn't catch the words. However, as Anna buried her head into Ashlinn's shoulder, Ashlinn decided that the words didn't matter. One door caught her attention.
"Hey… the one who let Lucifer into the Garden. He did that out of naivety and not malice, right?"
Anna hesitated, but Balthazar asked with amusement, "Planning a mass breakout, are we?"
"It'll help us escape if the angels are otherwise preoccupied. Which ones can I safely release?"
Hands reached out with pleas, but Ashlinn turned to Balthazar who looked around thoughtfully. "Then the answer is yes. Lucifer tricked him. Well, there's Abner. All he did was abandon his post. Not exactly evil. Jael who was tricked into losing the Ark of the Covenant to the humans. Asariel… I don't know what he did, but it pissed off Raphael, so I say we give him a second chance."
Ashlinn ran around opening the cages for the angels that Balthazar pointed to before getting to Abner's cell. Abner could barely move as deep welts covered his back, and a broken whip laid at his bloodied feet. Anna came into the room and gasped. It only took a little convincing from Ashlinn before Anna grabbed onto him and carried him to the dungeon's exit. There was no way Abner would be able to escape on his own.
Taking a deep breath, Ashlinn walked to Gadreel's cell and opened the door. Gadreel had been an antagonist of the series, but it wasn't because he was an awful person. He'd only killed on Metatron's orders. It wasn't out of malice or material gain; all Gadreel had wanted was a second chance. Gadreel laid on the bed also covered in welts. His eyes were wide with fear as she walked toward him. As she got close, he shivered. Gently sitting on the bed next to him, she said, "It's okay, Gadreel. I know who you are… and what you've done. I don't know if this matters to you, but… I forgive you."
Gadreel stared at her in disbelief… and hope. She continued, "I forgive you… and I want to offer you a second chance." Ashlinn held out her hand and urged him gently, "I know you're hurt, but we need to hurry. Please, Gadreel. Come with us."
Gadreel hesitated for only a moment more before grabbing onto her hand. With Balthazar's help, she got him out of the dungeon.
"Go, Balthazar. I'll hide until Anna gets back," Ashlinn said, and Balthazar looked like he wanted to argue. A grunt of pain from Gadreel made him swallow his argument and disappear. Ashlinn heard the sounds of footsteps and quickly sidestepped into a hallway. Ducking down, she watched as a group of angels ran toward the dungeon. Shouts rang out from the dungeon. Leaving the keys in the hands of one of the Lucifer-supporting angels had been a good move. While it was possible that one or two might get free, it was more likely that they would get caught, buying her a little time. Ashlinn didn't want to go too far, but she also didn't want to stay too close. Wandering into one of the rooms, she looked for a good hiding spot.
Pulling open a cabinet door, Ashlinn stepped inside and quietly closed it behind her. The sound of footsteps made her flinch and cover her mouth with her hands. An angel strode into the room and looked around. With a frustrated sigh, he turned around and started to walk out of the room.
"Bartholomew," a cold powerful voice said, and Ashlinn watched Bartholomew stiffen through a crack. "Where did the child go?"
"Ah, I… We were looking for the escaped angels, sir. Some of Lucifer's supporters were also freed."
"That is unimportant. Find the girl."
"Yes, sir!" Bartholomew said, and Ashlinn gripped the sword tightly.
The sound of footsteps leaving the room made her feel more calm. As they faded in the distance, Ashlinn reached out toward the door but stopped. An odd feeling settled over her. Instead of getting out of the cupboard, Ashlinn crouched down as slowly and quietly as she could. Keeping a hand over her mouth, she started chanting an invisibility spell in her head. Don had taught her that saying the spell out loud was more for focus than power. As long as she focused on chanting the words in her head, it should work… but would it fool an angel?
The sound of the doors opening made her squeeze her eyes shut to focus on the spell. There was a moment of silence. Mentally chanting the spell, she almost breathed a sigh of relief as the doors closed.
"Raphael," Castiel said in that low, familiar voice. "Most of Lucifer's supporters have been captured and are back in their cages. We are still looking for the girl."
"Hm…," Raphael murmured as he got further away from Ashlinn's hiding space. "There are far more traitors in our midst, Castiel. Do you truly believe that a single human girl could cause this much trouble? She wasn't working alone, and we will need to completely weed them out. Is that understood?"
"Affirmative," Castiel said.
"Castiel," Raphael said sternly. "I know that you feel sorry for the girl, but you must set that aside. Clearly, she is a corrupter… not unlike Lucifer. I would hate to see a soldier like yourself fall victim to her words."
"I understand," Castiel replied after taking a moment. "I will search for her and the traitors immediately."
"Very well."
Ashlinn waited until she felt the coast was clear and opened the cabinet. Quietly rushing out of the room, she saw a familiar sight in the hallway. Anna was bloody and battered, but upon seeing Ashlinn, she ran toward her as quickly as she could. As Ashlinn started running to Anna, Anna suddenly stopped, and Ashlinn slowed to a jog. Anna's face tightened with pain before she let out a horrifying scream. Light poured out of her as she caught on fire. Lights flickered all around Ashlinn as she hurriedly cut her arm and ran to a wall. Drawing the sigil on the wall, she quickly banished all of the angels near her. Ashlinn slumped onto the wall. Her brain was frantically trying to process what had just happened, and at the sounds of footsteps coming toward her, Ashlinn slid down the wall in defeat. There was no one who could help her now.
"Ash!" Kai's voice made Ashlinn look up to see Kai running for her with another amulet in his hands.
Ashlinn got off the ground and met him halfway. As she embraced him, she heard a cracking, and they were soon in the forest near the property. Kai helped her stand as they made it to safety. As soon as they were on the property, Ashlinn collapsed into Kai's arms. Sobs tore out of her as she held onto him as though for dear life. Kai held her, whispering to try to soothe her. The world faded to black as she heard people calling her name.