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Disclaimer: In no way do I have any rights to Supernatural or any of the characters you are familiar with. I only own Amriel and any OCs that pop up along the way.

Chapter Forty Four: The Darkness

Cas and Amriel had traveled the world gathering up any documents they could find about the Darkness and sending photos back to the Winchesters. In return, Sam had been telling Amriel that he was seeing Lucifer, which was causing her a lot of concern. They had been through Gaza and Rome, but returned to Kansas after receiving word that all of the angels in Heaven had tried to smite the Darkness.

They found Dean sitting against of the parked Impala on the side of a deserted road, looking like he was going to pass out at any moment.

"Dean?" Castiel called as the angels approached him cautiously. "We came as soon as you called. Are you alright?"

The Winchester mumbled Cas' name before turning away and throwing up whatever is left in his stomach, and Amriel winces before looking away in an attempt to give him some sort of privacy.

Cas helped Dean sit back up, saying that he clearly wasn't alright.

"Obviously," Dean rolled his eyes as he wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket. "What's wrong with me?"

Amriel watched Cas place his hand on Dean's forehead and look into his eyes, asking him to stick out his tongue.

"Alright, are we done?" Dean asked, and Cas shook his head, holding up a finger.

"Let me take your temperature."

"Nope," Dean pushed Cas' finger away, "That's not gonna happen."

"How far are we away from the event?" Amriel asked, looking back in the direction Dean had apparently come from.

"You mean the angel nuke?" Dean wanted her to clarify, and she nodded. "Ground zero is about a mile down that way."

"That explains it," Cas mused. "You're suffering from smiting sickness."

"That.. that's a thing?" Dean asked, confusion all over his face.

"The angels released a tremendous amount of energy," Amriel explained as she watched Cas continue to crouch beside Dean. "There's fallout, so this entire area is poisoned."

"Well you can heal me, right?" Dean looked between the two angels, who both shook their heads.

"No, we can't, and the closer you get to the blast site the worse your sickness will become," Castiel told him. "Dean, you need to go back."

"Ah, no," the Winchester shut him down as he tried to stand. "Nope. We gotta see if it worked… see if Amara is alive or dead."

"We don't," Cas motioned between Dean and himself. "The fallout doesn't affect angels. Amriel and I will go in together."

Dean looks like he's about to vomit again, and Amriel rushes to his side to help him stand.

"Maybe one of us should stay with him?" she suggested, "You stay here. I'll go and see if I can find Amara."

"I'll take a drive and go check on Sam," Dean nodded, "I don't need Cas to babysit me. You two stick together."

The Winchester looked between the angels, squinting briefly and frowning, "There's something different about you two…"

"We'll be going now, Dean. If you need anything, please call us," Amriel changed the subject.

"Fine. But if it did work and she is dead, bring her body out," Dean said as he fished his keys out of his pocket.

"And if she's not?" Amriel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Run," he answered plainly before getting into the Impala and taking off.

At the epicenter of the smiting, the pair found an enormous hole in the ground, still burning and smoldering. Amriel frowned as she looked around the wooded area, noticing that even though it was only 4 p.m., it seemed like it was nighttime.

She felt Cas tense from a few feet ahead of her and stopped in her tracks, watching as a young woman appeared out of nowhere. Drawing her blade just like Cas had done, Amriel quickly moved to stand beside him, noticing the way the energy between the two of them seemed to stir at the threat.

"Who are you?" Cas asked, looking at the young woman wearing glasses and a coat.

"Ambriel," the woman answered quickly, "I work in birth/death certificates, in Heaven. I'm… I'm an angel."

"Yeah, I know," Cas deadpanned, and Amriel had to hold back a laugh.

"And you're Castiel… And Amriel," she looked between the two, "I've heard stories about you both."

Amriel asked why she was there, and Ambriel told them that Heaven wanted to know if the Darkness had been destroyed. Ambriel thought that Cas was going to kill her, and insisted that they work together so that no one murdered the other.

"I've searched the East end of the forest. Nothing weird there," Ambriel told them, and Amriel actually laughed this time.

"Are you sure about that?" the blonde asked. "You do know it's the middle of the afternoon, right?"

"Sooo?" Ambriel asked, and Cas shook his head and sighed, "So, why is it dark?"

They walked through the forest in silence for a while, but Cas finally broke their quiet and said that he never wanted to be hated by the angels.

"Oh no, I don't hate you Castiel," Ambriel told him quickly, coming to a stop to turn and look at him, "I mean, we have a lot in common. Our names rhyme, and so does Amriel's! That's a big one. I look good in a trench coat too, and we're both expendable. I'm not so sure about Amriel, though."

"Excuse me?" Cas asked, and Amriel narrowed her gaze as the other angel went on about how he may help, but Sam and Dean were the real heroes. How if the Darkness was still alive and if she was upset and killed them, that it wouldn't be a big deal.

"Sure, maybe we're not super important, but we do the job. You know, I think there's nobility in that," Ambriel said with a shrug. She made to keep going, asking if they were coming.

"We'll catch up," Cas answered for them, and Ambriel didn't say anything as she continued the search.

"Cas…" Amriel started, but he raised a hand, signaling for her to stop. But she didn't. "Don't believe anything she said, okay? She's a number cruncher, what would she know?"

"She's been in Heaven recently- I'm sure she knows far more than either of us," he said as he stared at the ground.

Amriel took his hand, lacing their fingers together and squeezing gently.

"You are not 're my other half," she smiled up at him, making sure she caught his gaze as she continued, "I kinda need you."

"Only kind of?" Cas asked, trying not to smile but doing so anyways.

"I mean... Kinda in the sense that you mean the entire universe to me and it would cease to exist if you were gone, soooo?" she mimicked Ambriel.

"So, I'm not disposable then," he finally said, and Amriel nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

A scream cut through the air and they both turned to look in the direction it came from, knowing it was Ambriel.

"Stay here, don't move. I'll call when it's safe," Cas said firmly, pressing a kiss to Amriel's forehead before taking off through the forest, sprinting as fast as he could until he reached a clearing.

The first thing he noticed is that it's daytime again, and Amara is absorbing Ambriel's grace. She dropped the body to the ground and looked up at the sky before looking towards the angel.

"Castiel?" she asked, and he stared at her for a moment.

"Amara, what did you do to her?" he asked, reaching into his trench coat as she took a deep breath.

"I consumed her. Her grace, her spark, her memories, everything, and oh, she really hit the spot," the dark haired woman grinned as Cas got out his angel blade. "Seriously? I mean, Heaven brought the thunder and it barely even scratched my paint job. But you and your shiny knife, sure, that's gonna work."

"You think I'm afraid to die?" Cas asked her, noticing the way she sounded like Dean when she spoke.

"I know you are. You reek of fear and self loathing," she paused for a moment, and Castiel watched as she stared at him with a glint of recognition in her eyes, "and love? Hmm, it does seem that you have two graces running through you. But where is your other half? I'd quite like to meet her."

Cas raised his blade to strike her, but Amara grabbed his arm and flung him against a tree, causing him to fall to the ground.

"She's right you know. You're expendable and weak. And why God took a special interest in you, I'll never understand. My brother always did have horrible taste in men," she frowned, "But I, on the other hand, have excellent taste. Which is why I'm going to find your little partner once I'm done here and introduce myself. It's been a long time coming."

"Just do it," Cas hissed, trying to send any message he could to Amriel without drawing Amara's attention, trying to let her know that he loved her before he died.

"Blue Eyes, you're not even worth the effort," Amara said as she brushed her fingers against the stubble lining his cheek, "And no offense, but you look a bit used up. Plus, I don't think your other half would be happy with me if I killed you."

Amara set her hand on his chest and sent him off in a blinding light. She heard a cry somewhere in the forest, and tried to stand, having to lean against a tree for support.

"There you are, little one. It's time we met."

When Amriel felt Cas reaching out to her through their shared grace she knew something was wrong. Then she heard him screaming and she felt him being sent away, she released her own shriek too, falling to her knees in the process.

"Cas!" she gasped, hoping that he wasn't dead. He felt far away, but at least he was alive.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the footsteps approaching her, or the woman in a long, black gown coming to stand in front of her.

"Hello, Amriel," a voice called, and the blonde looked up to see a woman with dark hair staring down at her with a fond smile. "Now, I don't have much time- I have to send you to your partner soon or else he'll do something very stupid that you're better equipped to handle."

"W-what do you want?" Amriel asked, watching Amara carefully as she leaned down and helped her up. "Why are you here?"

"My brother may have taken a special interest in Castiel, but I was very fond of you the moment you were created. I would feel very proud of yourself, little one, since I don't exactly like angels," she told the blonde with a small smile. "When God was trying to choose who would eventually oversee Heaven after him, he, like most idiotic men, thought that one could rule the cosmos alone. I, on the other hand, had the brilliant idea of two. After all, spending all of eternity alone is not as fun as it sounds. And so, we each picked one. My brother wasn't thrilled, but I insisted since it was my idea. Thus, you were my choice. Pragmatic, thoughtful, fierce, protective. He chose Castiel, a warrior, yet uncertain of himself, loyal to a fault. Then I was sent away, and you and Castiel were left to find one another. I can't believe it's taken so long."

"Well, Father didn't leave any instructions when he up and left," Amriel said bitterly. "If this was planned, is my love for Cas even real? Is it genuine, or manufactured because we were simply chosen?"

"Honestly, it would've happened regardless," Amara shrugged, "We chose from pairs of angels that were created to balance each other. I gravitated to your light, which was surprising. You're far more beautiful than I remembered. And when we saw what it would be like when the two of you became part of each other, we knew it was right. It was so bright, so perfect. Just seeing you separately is breathtaking. I would love to see you both together. Maybe someday..."

Amriel felt uncomfortable as Amara trailed off as she ran a hand over the top of her head and down to her cheek and chin, tilting her face so she was staring up at her.

"I'm going to send you to him, and it might hurt. I hope to see you again, Amriel."

Before the blonde had a chance to reply, Amara pressed her hand to Amriel's chest and the next thing she knew she was on the floor of a room she didn't recognize.

"Oh not again," a voice said with a sigh.