05: Are You Ready For It?

The last handful of days had been relatively 'normal' for Team Free Will. Well, as 'normal' as their lives could be anyways. Zarya was still heavily maintaining her dhampir secret which was honestly starting to get annoying. She was starting to get used to her abilities and had to choke them down in front of anyone who wasn't a Vasile. She found ways to sneak needing to drink blood by making it into everyday things like juice and freeze pops that she kept in a mini fridge in her own room for safety. She wasn't risking Dean trying some sugary "fruit punch" and have to explain why it's almost tomato juice consistency with a hint of iron to it.

She was beginning to feel the insomnia set in with each passing day. She partly looked forward to it so she could at least stop having overly sexual dreams. Surely half of the things in her dreams not even Dean watched in his pornos. Zarya didn't even think she could dream up such things. On top of it all, she had to force herself awake more often than not as to not oversleep and borderline hibernate.

Finally, everything had begun to settle for the four. Sofia even made a quick house call to fix Castiel. She did like Rowena, but the red haired witch was much too exuberant for Sofia's lifestyle. The anomaly of the Vasile clan much preferred solitude which was exactly why she vanished as soon as Cas was free of Rowena's magic.

"Um, a couple was ax murdered in Fall Rivers, Massachusetts," Sam was telling Dean. Zarya paused on her route to the kitchen in the doorway. "At, wait for it… the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast museum."

The ravenette made a loud, mocking gag sound which caught their attention immediately. "That place is a dingy drag. Grandma Deighton's house was more entertaining and authentic. She actually shot her husband and hung the gun over the mantle."

Both brothers were slightly slack jawed as they stared at her. "We'll save that explanation for later," Dean finally spoke. "She's got a point though; a B&B and a museum. Yeah. That doesn't sound like a tourist trap at all."

"It is, honestly." She shrugged. "I went in… junior year I believe? No, no, it was senior year. It was senior skip day."

The brothers blinked a couple of times at her, once again in awe. "And you all just… went to Fall River, Massachusetts from Maryland?"

"Yeah, our skip day was a Monday so we left Friday after school and stayed the whole weekend. It was a total drag if you ask me. Nick got jump scared a couple of times at first until it became repetitive. The other few of us got drunk enough to pretend like they were in a freakin' horror movie. Nick and I didn't even end up staying; we checked out Saturday afternoon."

Sam cleared his throat and pulled his gaze back to his laptop screen. "At least the inn is Lizzie Borden's actual house. In 1892 she hacked up her mom and stepdad there. Or allegedly hacked them up. She was-"

Zarya rolled her eyes. "Yeah, acquitted. And spent the rest of her days in Fall River hounded and persecuted by the townspeople. If you grew up in the North East, especially Massachusetts - good God - you know all about the lore and horror stories. Massachusetts is a hotspot tourist attraction for their freaky ordeals. Let me know if you actually see Lizzie though. You know, if you can get past the décor." She snickered and continued on her original path to the kitchen.

Zarya crept up silently, machete in hand, to an abandoned barn just outside of Lebanon. She had caught wind of a rogue nest of vamps, ten tops. She knew she could handle that, especially since she was solo so she didn't have to suppress her strength or speed. She glided into the barn without a sound and began checking around. Zarya didn't have to go very far though before she found the nest.

The pointed tip of her machete clanked as it grazed the ground while still in her hand. Her jaw slacked open partially at the sight of the nest torn to shreds on the main floor. Some parts were missing from some of the bodies. Blood was splattered everywhere. It was a massacre. A cracking sound was picked up by her heightened hearing. She crept towards it with her machete at the ready. What she found, munching on a vamp arm in a dark corner, was something unlike what she had ever seen before.

It barely had an actual shape; just lumps and cracks of black that sprouted four, clawed limbs and some sort of face. Its head snapped towards Zarya suddenly. She actually jumped back a little at the sight. The deformation resembling a face consisted of a large mouth with several jagged teeth, and blood red slits for eyes. It let out a snarl at her before dropping the limb and sprinting at the ravenette. She boldly stood her ground, gripping her machete with both hands, and swung at the creature like it was a baseball bat. The metal couldn't pierce it's scaly outside, but her dhampir strength was able to hit it through a wall to the outside. She heard it make some sort of shriek noise before rushing off into the woods.

Zarya chased right after it, not wanting to let it get into the towns. What the hell even was it? She followed behind the beast effortlessly through the forest. Everytime she started to get close it would seem to panic and run faster. She chased the thing until it ran into a cave. That was where she skidded to a halt. She immediately pulled a face, her lips curling back and showing her fangs.

"Oh come on," she spoke aloud to no one. "I can't just let this thing go but I'm not stupid enough to follow it into some creepy cave. Sam and Dean might, but not me!"

Suddenly, her chin whipped to her shoulder. A loud crack echoed through the trees and Zarya dropped to the ground.

"Welcome back, Zarya. Excellent revival time."

The dhampir's eyes flickered open slowly. She let out a groan as her neck cracked while she lifted her head up. "Riel?" She questioned with disbelief. Then she realized her wrists and legs were bound with chains to a metal chair. Her eyes darted around with haste to find herself in the dimly lit cave with the beast on a chained leash to one of the walls. She looked back to the young woman with wide eyes. "Riel, what the fuck is this? What happened to you?"

The brunette pulled up a chair of her own in front of Zarya and sat down cross legged with her hands folded in her lap. The dhampir watched as Auriel's brown hair grew past her chest and turned snow white. Her deep blue eyes lightened to a grey that was almost just as white. Still, the freckles speckled her pale cheeks. "For thousands of years I've blended into society where I needed to. I was beginning to forget what I actually looked like."

Zarya gasped a little. "It was you… you've been the rogue witch to follow the Vasiles through time…"

She nodded. "I was the one who saved Saskia and the first twins. I put Daciana under again just as I woke her. I turned Lethia Kross into a hybrid. I set everything necessary in motion."

"But… why? What could you have possibly gained from manipulating everything? What the fuck do Remiel and Saskia want?"

"It has nothing to do with what those lunatics want." Riel chuckled a little. "Who do you think has been pulling their strings all these years?"

Zarya's eyes widened. "That's… that's not possible…"

"I was born into a witch coven you see," she ignored the dhampir to continue. "But when I came of age, I got a vision. The same prophecy Remiel saw. Only, I got a different perspective. I interpreted it better. That was when everything made sense."

"What made sense…?"

"There is so much you have yet to understand, little Zarya, yet you've come farther than the rest before you." She smiled at the dhampir. "There are creatures that walk these planes immune to time, unaffected by Death. They are Immortals. I'm sure your first thoughts must bring you to the Mikaelsons, or even Saskia. They actually are not Immortals. The Mikaelsons, they were the first vampires created with magic. They can die by the white oak stake. Saskia came close with techniques I taught her and magic I used on her, but yet time finally caught up to her."

"What about Silas and Qetsiyah?"

Auriel shook her head. "Immortality is what Silas sought. He heard the rumors, but not even Qetsiyah could create it. You are either born with it, or it is bestowed upon you by a great power and great sacrifice. I was granted Immortality by the last surviving Celtic Valkyrie."

Zarya's eyes widened as her lips parted and a shaky breath escaped. Her heart was beginning to race within her chest. Immortals? Celtic Valkyrie? Oh what she wouldn't give for the two of them to go back to being waitresses in Pike Creek with Zarya none the wiser…

"I understand you don't know much about your Irish roots," Auriel continued. "That's alright; all well be clear to you in due time."

"What's your point with all of this, Riel? Why am I here and why is it suddenly story time?"

"Honestly? I admire you, Zarya Vasile. You have fought so strong against every single adversary put against you. You charge through the battlefield and leave a massacre of bodies in your wake on your mission to find the truth. You are much stronger than Remiel which is why she loathes you so and why Lucifer cannot stay away. You are the image God had when He created her, but His own selfishness and ego corrupted it. If you're going to end Remiel's life and take command of the clan then you must know your origin."

"I don't want command of the Vasiles," she argued. "I never have. I'm not a leader, I'm a warrior; a fighter."

Auriel smirked. "And a warrior needs a war, don't they? Wouldn't you care to know about the one on the horizon?"

"The whole place is a hoax, man. It's a tourist trap just like Zare said." Dean shook his head.

Sam sighed. "Yeah, but we still don't know how that couple got axed. I mean, how did the killer get in and out?"

The elder Winchester shrugged. "I don't know. Why don't we Sherlock that over a beer or something and a lobster roll. I gotta get out of this doily coffin." He shuddered as he glanced around at the decor again.

"Real quick," Sam stopped his brother before he could leave. "Do you… do you think Clarke is alright since the Mark came off? I mean, those dreams and the way she's been acting just isn't like her. It's almost like she's forcing herself to act like herself."

Dean frowned and looked away at one of the atrocious paintings absentmindedly. "I think she just started to lose herself and she's having a hard time picking up the old pieces." His gaze turned back to his brother, almost worried. "She would tell us if something happened, wouldn't she?"

Sam could only stare back at his older brother. He wasn't honestly sure if Zarya would with all that had happened to her in such a short time. He was growing worried that she was falling into the dark blood of the Vasile clan.

"You've realized by now that Remiel's prophecy is coming true, yes?" Zarya stiffly nodded. "Good. Then I don't have to go over that and instead we can go all the way back."

"All the way back where?"

"To the origin, dummy." Auriel rolled her eyes. "Just above Immortals are a small handful of beings referred to as Celestials. Do you know who they might be?"

"Amara?" Auriel nodded. "God?"

Another nod. "They are two of the Primordial Celestials but that's just because they think they're all high and mighty. Mostly God. He's always been an arrogant, self-righteous prick since he owns Heaven." She rolled her eyes. "They also have two other siblings."

Zarya's face deadpanned and her lips twitched. "You're kidding me."

"Unfortunately not, little Zarya. Another sister and another brother, both that wound up locked away just like Amara. The eldest brother was the last to go because as soon as God started coming for His siblings, he fled from above to the mortal plane. Adam and Eve were off in their own little corner so he went to the opposite end of the world where he met a very powerful woman. They were both feared by those around them from above and on the mortal plane so they gave in to the hatred and showed everyone just what they had in them. Together they conceived a daughter in darkness. With the first bloodshed the three's power became limitless. That daughter's power became the original Celtic Valkyrie; the very first Immortal beneath the Celestials. They reigned supreme across their portion of the mortal isles until God found his big brother."

"What happened…?" Zarya found herself strangely captivated by the tale whether it was true or not.

"The second sister had become the anchor to the plane of Oblivion; the plane that links you Vasiles in magic. She knew the Irish Celestial before the family war. They were even considerably comrades. Once she was locked away and the brother was the only remnant, the Irish Celestial knew drastic measures would have to be taken. God was coming for her husband, for her daughter, their Valkyries created with her daughter's blood, and for her. She severed a portion of her essence from herself and buried it deep in an Irish forest which became what, darling?"

"Tír na nÓg…"

Auriel nodded. "Good girl. You really have been picking up on things, haven't you? Yes, her essence became the hidden land of Tír na nÓg and deep inside Tír na nÓg, the very heart of it, is where her heart lies for all eternity. The heart that became the very first Lazarus Pit. She only had the time to accomplish that because her beloved went to distract his brother and wound up locked up as well. The Irish Celestial called to God demanding He face her Himself. She was insulted when Michael came instead. Rather than actually fight the archangel, she drove her own mystic blade through her heartless chest and turned to dust before him."

Zarya was still working on processing the history. Each day was some new tale uncovered from the depths. "So what happened to the Valkyrie and the blade?"

"The blade was whisked away by her familiar, a large, black hound with bright red eyes and sharp fangs."

A Hellhound, the ravenette thought frightfully.

"As for the Valkyrie, she completed her final duty to her mother before blending in to the new humanity to hide herself."

"And the rest of the Valkyries?"

"Most of them were pegged off by the angels as they came for nephilim too. Some could hide, but not all. They weren't as strong as the original so their blood became muddled; watered down with only a small trace left behind - an arrow birthmark, usually on the shoulder of the warrior." She smirked as Zarya's face paled. "You descend from the great Celtic Valkyries, Zarya. That is why you are such a powerful warrior."

"Thanks for the freebie from Ancestry dot com, I guess." Zarya tried to steady her voice as best as she could but Auriel could still hear the shake in her words. "Why do I need to know any of that?"

"Because I have seen the end, Zarya. And you are the rise of the Valkyries once again. Everything that has happened since I met you has been to put you on the correct path. Only you have the power to do what needs to be done."

"What if I don't want it? Did anyone consider that? I went from waitress to hunter in just days. I never wanted to live like this! Hell, I never even considered it to be a way to live! I'm not a leader, especially not of some mystical Valkyries."

Auriel just smiled. "Oh, Zarya. Your fate is already set in stone. God did not make it so, and nor did Remiel. You were put before several paths and what you have done to lead up to this point has solidified the singular one you will continue upon to the end. Small details are not as fixed, but certain ones are locked into the timeline already. You made your choice already, Zarya Vasile. Whether you know it or not. And now it's time for me to close the gate."

"Wh-what 'gate'?" Zarya's blood turned cold suddenly with instinctive fear.

"The last one needed to seal your fate. Remember how I said an Immortal could only be born or bestowed their power?" Her lips pulled upwards in a dark smile. "You will be bestowed yours in due time. I have made certain of that. Now I can finally walk into empty bliss with you baring my truth the way you must."

Zarya opened her mouth to speak and keep Auriel talking but the witch snapped her fingers suddenly. Chains clattered to the ground and the beast let out a vicious snarl. The dhampir's eyes widened with horror. She struggled against her restraints but Auriel told her it was useless until it was all over. Her mind was racing from the entire interaction. When would it all just be some fucked up dream? She'd honestly rather wake up at Whitmore than know it was her real life.

The Night Creature emerged from the shadows slowly. Zarya's heart was pounding as sweat dripped down her face and neck. Auriel remained unmoving in her chair with her hands folded in her lap. "It's time, my pet." She called to the beast.

Suddenly the monster charged and Zarya clamped her eyes shut. When she felt blood splatter across her face, her eyes shot open. She let out an involuntary shriek when she witnessed the Night Creature tearing into Auriel who bothered not to fight back. Her restraints vanished suddenly with Auriel's life having ended. Without a second thought Zarya ran out with her super speed until she was outside the bunker.