Anna

She emerged from the fading treeline into the gravel parking lot, the small sharp stones digging uncomfortably into the soft soles of her feet. She shivered in the cold, only just now noticing the chill of the early morning that the night had bled into while she'd been talking to the moon goddess.

A man in a mildly tacky trench coat appeared in front of her, stubble peppered across his cheeks. He tilted his head in an oddly bird like manner, clear blue eyes staring out of the deeply tanned face. The man took a step forward and Anna dropped the trunk, trusting the protections set into the wood to keep anything important from breaking. She slid back into a defensive stance, arms held relaxed at her side, staying light on her toes.

No way was that man-shaped thing human.

"What are you?" Anna hissed, her eyes narrowed. Shadows streamed from his shoulders, clinging to him like phantom limbs, flexing with every movement the not-man made. A high pitched ringing started in her ears, voices whispering at a high pitch. Anna shook her head, hard, trying to dislodge the sound.

She is not crazy. Not right now. Cool silver moonlight still spilled over her shoulders, and the remnants of the Wild she just emerged from still curled in the light breeze that tangled through her hair. Anna is the most stable she's been in weeks. Possibly even years.

"I am Castiel. I am an Angel of the Lord." Anna tensed, staring in shock. That's not good news.

"You're kidding." She deadpanned. The angel took a step closer, and Anna raised her fists in warning. She doesn't believe in coincidences; and Artemis had just told her about the Apocalypse. Then suddenly there's an angel waiting for her? No way.

"Have faith, Anna Colt." She might believe in angels, but she wasn't naive enough to believe that angels were on the side of humanity. Belief and worship are two very different things. Thunder boomed ominously, and she internally snorted at the melodrama. The shadows streaming from his back stretched out, throwing a pair of massive wings into relief against the side of the motel.

"Oh, I have faith. Doesn't mean you're not a threat." She warned. She might not be armed for fighting a celestial being; she needs Eleos or another weapon made from a celestial metal for that. But she would still put up a hell of a fight. Ventura blood was good for something.

Castiel held out his hands in front of him, the universal gesture declaring that he was unarmed, and didn't intend to hurt her. Anna didn't relax. Even angels can lie.

"Dean and Sam called me. They said you disappeared with an unknown creature into a false forest." Anna snorted. If there was one thing she knew about the boys besides their insane codependency on the other, was their equally insane anti anything not human beliefs. No way the boys were working with something that's not human.

"Try again. The day Sam and Dean trust something that's not human, is the day the world ends." She realized the complete irony of the statement the second it left her lips. According to Artemis, her boys were smack dab in the center of the next end of the world scheme.

The angel gave her a weird half shrug.

"The Apocalypse is coming." He offered placidly. She laughed bitterly, her eyes narrowing as she continued to glare at the angel.

"Tell me something I haven't already figured out." She challenged, lifting her chin up high. She still felt super charged by the blessing of Artemis. The moon still rode high in the sky, silver light falling across her in a gentle reminder of the goddess's quiet support. All the pain and fear she'd inherited in her time in Tartarus has temporarily melted away, leaving behind only a cool certainty that she doesn't need to be holding a weapon to win this fight.

There is a very good reason she survived all those years in the Pit.

"I mean you no harm." The angel insisted again. Anna wasn't naive enough to believe him. She could see the way he was angled to the left, the sleeve on his right arm folded out to conceal some kind of bladed weapon. Anna narrowed her eyes.

He didn't look like he was lying. But she also didn't know how to read the inhumanity written all across the angel's face. The being inside the meat suit had no idea how to wear it. It was like putting Nico in a tux. Utterly foreign, and vaguely uncomfortable.

"Prove it. Drop the weapon." She ordered coldly. The angel's eyes widened, his entire face opening up. Anna relaxed slightly at the expression. He wasn't a good liar then. A three sided blade slipped out from Castiel's sleeve, and he carefully set it on the ground. She stared at him unimpressed. The angel toed the blade, sending it skittering across the gravel out of immediate reach.

Anna isn't stupid enough to believe that the angel couldn't reach, or even create, another weapon in order to attack her if he wanted too. But it would still require a split second of separate focus. And that would be all Anna needs to take him down if she had too. But the gesture was nice, and made her want to trust him a little more. Not that she would; not until the angel proved itself over and over and over again. And maybe not even then.

Trust is a skill Anna has always struggled with.

The high pitched whispers grew louder and Anna hissed, grabbing at her head in irritation. Castiel takes a step forward. Anna's attention snaps back to him and she matches him by stepping back, her arms raised defensively again. The noise is irritating, but manageable. Years in Hell and in Tartarus have taught that just about anything is manageable in the face of a bigger threat. Castiel freezes in place again. His shock has been replaced with a mildly curious, but mostly blank expression.

"You can hear us?" Soft wonder fills the rough voice. Anna's eyes narrow.

"Hear who?" She demands. Castiel's expression hardens. The sound gets louder, ringing in her ears; like a thousand voices overlapping at once. Information downloading into her head with every squawking word.

"What are you?" The angel demands, shifting his stance. Anna can practically smell the rush of power he's gathering; limited though it seems to be.

The angel is about to attack.

"The person who's going to kick your ass." She snarls back. Anna dove for the sword the angel had dropped, snatching it up into her hand and rolling to her feet. Castiel brandishes a second blade, and with a yell the two of them collide with a clashing of metal.

She easily blocks his first two attacks. She knocked his sword aside, creating openings for her to lash out with her hands and feet. The two of them are blurs of motion exchanging punches and kicks as easily as they hack and slash at each other with their respective blades.

Anna slashed across the angel's chest, forcing him to jump back to avoid the blow. She dropped low, twisting to the side, her right knee popping as she forced too hard a turn out of it. Her shoulder impacted the angel's knees, sending him crashing to the ground. Anna leapt up, ignoring the burning pain in her knee, and attempted to stab down on the angel.

Castiel rolled out of the way. She pressed her advantage, gripping the blade with both hands, levelling a series of brutal attacks on him, preventing the angel from getting back to his feet. He scrambled backwards desperately, sending gravel flying in all directions as he moved, just barely holding off her attacks.

Castiel threw a handful of gravel at her, and when she ducks to keep the dirt from getting in her eyes, he manages to pop back onto his feet. He charges forward, and she wasn't fully prepared for the attack. He slams into her head on, sending her flying back into the side of the Impala.

Her breath hissed through her teeth, jaw clenching as she suppressed the urge to howl in pain. Instead she slashed out with the sword, pushing the angel back. The door to the motel room slams open, both of the Winchester boys spilling out of the fully lit up room. Anna angles herself so that the boys were safely protected behind her, pressing forward to attack the surprised angel.

"CAS! ANNA! STOP!" Dean's bellow has Castiel freezing. Anna takes advantage of the distraction, efficiently disarming the angel and sending him to his knees. She points both swords directly at the angel's exposed throat. Her heavy pants steam into the cool morning air, clouds of vapor curling around her face. She's cold.

Two sets of heavy footsteps come skidding to a stop behind her.

"Anna…" Sam's voice is soft, placating. She nudged the angel's chin higher, lightly digging the point of one sword into his neck.

"I am assuming, since this is your weapon, it can kill you." Her voice is low. Dangerous. Every instinct inside of her is screaming at her to kill the threat. To put him down now so that he cannot come back to try to kill her tomorrow.

Castiel asked what she was, not who.

Ventura blood is old and dangerous and forbidden. It's also her ticket into the apocalypse her friends have gotten themselves front row seats to.

That's not the problem.

Her problem is that she's a demigod. And the boys are mortal hunters, a detail that she's never allowed herself to forget. And with her sanity not fully intact, she can't be certain if she can defend herself if they decide to put her down like a rabid dog. She's not entirely sure she would try to stop them if they did.

"Yes. It can hurt me." The angel responsed blandly. As soon as the boys had arrived, he'd relaxed. Or relaxed as much as anyone could with two sharp swords pointed at their neck.

"Anna, easy. Don't gank Cas. He's a friend." Anna's head tilted to the side, coldly studying the celestial creature inhabiting the human body before her.

"He's possessing someone." Dean came around and rested his hands over hers, wrapping around the grip of the swords. He gently tried to pry the weapons out of her hands.

"I know." Anna's grip on the sword tightened. She shouldered Dean off of her, fixing him with a harsh glare.

"You know?" She demanded. Dean exchanged tired looks with Sam and the angel - apparently nicknamed Cas. When the hell did the Winchester boys trust something that not only wasn't human; but an inhuman being that was possessing a person.

"Yeah we know. And angels can't possess a person without permission Anna. Jimmy, the guy Cas is wearing? He said yes to this, he agreed to be a vessel." Anna laughed, dropping the swords and stumbling back from the trio. She doubled over laughing, her breath wheezing out of her and tears pooled in her eyes. She'd forgotten how little the boys actually knew about how the supernatural world worked. The Winchesters might have been hunting all their lives, but they still joined this world of monsters. Anna is a native.

"Angels only have to hear the word yes. Doesn't mean someone actually agreed Dean. Fun fact, coercion isn't consent. For all you know Jimmy was threatened into saying yes." She shook her head and turned away from them, tilting her head to look up at the sky. She could feel the blessing of Artemis sinking into her skin, the power slowly dissipating as she absorbed what little the goddess can give her beyond this one evening.

Anna limped away from the three silent men, making her way over to her trunk, left abandoned where she'd dropped it before her scuffle with the angel began. She ignored the three sets of footsteps behind her, hauling the trunk into her arms. She marches to the motel room, and drops the trunk at the door. She finds the duffle bag Sam and Dean had made into hers and pulled out a pair of sweats and a jacket. She tugged on the clothes and shoved her feet without socks into the beat up sneakers they'd given her.

Anna turns around to walk back out the door to see her way barred by all three men. She slung the bag across her chest before folding her arms.

"Move." She demanded. Anna would stop this apocalypse all by herself if she has too. But she has no intention of doing it anywhere near an angel - not when it had been one of his kind that had saddled her family with destiny.

Especially because this angel could expose her secrets.

Besides, it was probably better this way. She's half crazy and if the boys have to worry about her, it might get them killed. And she's always worked best alone. If she can get to one of her safe houses - there are at least three within a four hour drive of her current location - she'll have the resources she needs to hunt down and stop the devil.

"No." Dean insisted, stepping into the room. Anna shifted on her feet, ready to bolt if she had to. Who knows what that angel has told them while they were all outside.

"Get out of my way Dean. Whatever Castiel has told you, angels aren't on your side. They're probably just as excited for the final battle to start as the demons. It's literally their Function to fight in wars. And there hasn't exactly been any celestial wars for them to fight in since Lucifer fell millennia ago." She warned him darkly.

"I rebelled. I tried to stop the apocalypse before it even began, and I have been expelled from Heaven's Grace." Anna froze and looked up at the angel. She stared at him, at the wispy shadows trailing from from his shoulders, and the exhaustion that seemed alien on the celestial's borrowed face.

"No you didn't. You aren't Fallen." She pointed out tightly. All three of them looked confused. She stepped up the the angel, eyes narrowed as she studied his face.

Diminished certainly, but definitely not Fallen.

"I have Fallen. I am cut off from Heaven and much of Heaven's power. They have removed me from the Holy Host." Castiel explained, pain and frustration evident on his face. It seemed that the angel really was sincere in wanting to help prevent the end of days.

Anna snorted, shaking her head.

"Angels can obey or die. Clearly you're still a living angel, so you haven't disobeyed anyone important. You don't have free will like humans do. If you'd Fallen, you'd be a demon. The other angels don't have the power to make you Fall by cutting you off from Heaven. Did you directly disobey God?" Cas froze, processing the implications of her words.

"I have not. I disobeyed my superiors." She pulled the bag off her shoulder and dropped it back to the floor. This angel apparently tried to exercise free will to stop the apocalypse. That explains why the boys trust him. Anna still doesn't trust him. But she won't leave because he's trying to help. She's not that much of a bigot.

Anna sits down on the bed, dropping her head into her hands, grinding the heels of her palms into her eyes. Every inch of her body ached from the beating she took while fighting the angel. Next time she decides to follow a goddess in the middle of the night, Anna is going to put her shoes on first.

With a heavy sigh she straightens back up, eyeing the two men and the angel standing across from her. If they're going to fight the devil, they're going to need every resource they can muster. Which means she's going to have to teach Castiel how to reopen his connection with Heaven. She can't exactly let the angel try and fight the apocalypse without his full strength.

Unlike most of her siblings, Anna doesn't allow her hubris to blind her. Without the angel, their chances of survival -let alone victory - plummets to zero.

"Castiel you're still an angel. You're not Fallen. That's something only you can cause for yourself. No angel, however high up the chain of command they are, can expel you. Until you've Fallen, until you become a demon, you still have full access to Heaven's Grace. Just find the connection between you and Heaven, find it deep inside of you, and open it wide again." The angel doesn't move, just staring at her with a dumb expression on his face.

She sighed heavily and patted the bedspread next to her.

"Come here. I'll help you." Castiel stiffly walked forward and sat down next to her, his spine ramrod straight. Anna looked directly into his clear blue eyes, raising both of her hands to his head.

The rush of whispered voices filled her head.

Anna dismisses the noise for now. She's figured out who, or rather what, the voices are, but they're aren't helpful for what Castiel needs to do, and they won't help her help him accomplish his goals. She can consider the repercussions of tuning into the angelic version of soup cans and string later.

"Close your eyes." She ordered, glancing towards the boys out the corner of her eyes to include Sam and Dean in that order. When Castiel reopens his connection to Heaven, he would likely take on the angelic version of a Divine Form. Which if it was anything like the gods, directly witnessing an angel's Divine Form would kill, or at the very least deeply maim, anyone who looked at it directly.

She waited until everyone closed their eyes before closing her own. Anna presses her fingertips against the angel's temples hard, and takes a deep breath.

"The connection to Heaven, it's here. It's yours. Other angels can try to close it off, but you can reopen that connection. Remember, that connection is yours. The only one with the authority to cut you off is your Father." She tells the angel. She feels Castiel nod seriously in her hands. She takes a slow breath, centering her nerves. She reminds herself that Ventura blood gives her the right to interfere in the affairs of another pantheon. It doesn't help quell the stress burning a hole through her wildly beating heart.

"Dean, no peeking." There's an indignant huff behind her. She smiles slightly, and gently presses her fingers against Castiel's head even harder.

The whispers in her head grow louder into a chorus of voices, singing a song without words. The melody is ancient and soothing, thundering in tempo with her heartbeat and twisting around and through her with every breath she takes. Underneath the music is a rush of voices, thousands and thousands of overlapping voices; orders, commands, and information being shot across time and space and dimensions in an instant.

A bright white light fills the room, and Anna can see the red veins in her eyelids. She keeps her eyes tightly closed. She can only hope that both Sam and Dean were doing the same. Warm air rushed through the room, smelling like a greenhouse and a rainbow lightshow starts up in front of her. She can see the colors play across her eyelids, the light blinding even though her eyes are closed. Castiel's vessel burns under her hands, even though it doesn't hurt.

When the light finally dies down, Anna slowly opens her eyes, blinking bright spots out of her vision.

Tears streamed down Castiel's face, his blue eyes glowing with Grace. His expression is filled with wonder and relief as his fully restored wings flexed behind him; shadowy rainbows streaming from his shoulders. The feathers shivered, flickering as though they were made of flames.

"How did yo-" Anna smiled tightly at the angel.

"I didn't do anything. Clearly God doesn't think you did anything wrong enough to warrant an expulsion from Heaven. Like I said, angels can obey or die. There isn't a third option."

"Thank you." Castiel reached up and held her head in his hands; mirroring her own position from a few minutes ago. Tipping his head forwards he gently pressed a kiss onto her forehead. Panic shot through her, but she didn't pull away fast enough.

"Be healed."