"What… the actual fuck?"
Michael paused and turned a little, drawn out of his own thoughts. The memory he had been watching quickly dissolved, Lucifer and Gabriel easily fading away and the scene around him changing back to the usual, blank void it always was. The archangel sighed a little, sparing a wistful glance back over his shoulder before he headed off through the maze of memories, picking his way through the darkness and making his way straight to the park to find Adam. "What? What's going-" He stopped, going still, when he heard something rumbling faintly. It was coming from the outside - and if that wasn't weird enough, the memories seemed to completely shut down all at once, everything going pitch black. An anxious feeling rose to Michael's chest as he turned, but something much lighter was coming from Adam now, something… hopeful.
"Ad- Adam?" The archangel called out, rubbing his eyes a little and trying to bring up some light to the darkness. The memories had vanished, but he could still feel them, simply shoved back now, insignificant, their safe place unneeded. Michael figured he could really use it about now, especially now, but he fought the panic back and rose up slightly, bringing himself to the front of Adam's mind and forcing himself forward a little, eyes closing as he took half control.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the Cage. His eyes flickered, looking around, and his confusion grew further. The bars were trembling, the floor beneath them rumbling and shaking, the entire Cage creaking as if it were being ripped apart bit by bit. Michael reached out to grab one of the bars, an attempt to hold them steady, but Adam recoiled before they could come into contact, in favor of pacing over to the door. "Something's happening," the demon mumbled, reaching out to touch the bars. Michael shuddered a little the second their hand came into contact with it; He had spent so much time simply retreating into his memories that he had almost forgotten how cold and horrible the Cage really felt.
Michael paused and turned, eyes flickering around warily for a moment before he looked back at the door. Adam was silent now, running their fingers up and down the bars, and Michael eventually brought one hand up in an attempt to pass their fingers through one of the gaps. Usually, he wasn't able to do so, the warding, of course, keeping them completely trapped inside, as if a dome were over the cage - this time, however, their hand slid through the gap between two of the bars, all too easily.
Adam recoiled and backed away, while Michael just stared in stunned silence. How, how the hell? That never used to happen before. Right? The demon pressed, and Michael felt it, as the weight of the situation finally seemed to hit him, a rush of panic finally taking over as Adam managed another stumbling step backwards. … Right?
I don't know… Michael forced them forward again, despite Adam's internal protests. It was a little confusing, considering the demon didn't really get scared, but then- neither of them had ever had this happen before. It was puzzling, how the Cage was suddenly acting. It was something akin to when Lucifer had escaped, those brief, few moments the Cage had opened.
The thought sent a thrill down their spine, jumbled thoughts screeching to a halt as the storm of emotions ceased, just for a second, allowing them a brief moment of clarity as they wondered, is that what's happening? Is the Cage opening?
Adam exhaled shakily, and Michael shook as he reached out again, closing their fingers around the bars once more. Adam wanted to pull back, Michael could feel it - he didn't want to believe it, he didn't want to hope that there was a chance at freedom - and yet, he was hoping. And he could feel the terror and self-loathing mixing as the demon struggled, battling internally as they watched the Cage shake and tremble before them once more.
Michael swallowed and let their hands glide over the bars, toward the door. He reached out again, tentatively, holding his breath as he stuck his hand through the Cage, feeling along the outside and searching for the latch. He felt it, the second Adam finally retreated, his efforts to pull away finally ceasing as he simply stood back to watch, giving Michael full control. The archangel pressed his lips together into a thin line and finally managed to find the latch, eyes widening slightly in confusion - because it was unlatched. The Cage wasn't even locked.
Holy shit. Holy shit.
Michael was practically buzzing inside, anxious and apprehensive as he pulled their hands back. Adam took back enough control to reach out and push at the door of the Cage. It didn't budge, not at first - too stuck, too rusted to move. The archangel shivered slightly, bringing his own strength into the mix - or, what was left of it. He wasn't exactly at full power now, thanks to the spells, and it would probably drain him further to use up what was left of his strength to open the Cage. And yet, it was worth it - anything, to get out of here, was worth it.
And finally, finally, it opened.
It swung forward, finally faltering under the strength of the archangel and the demon, and they stumbled forward a little bit with it. Adam recoiled, but Michael reached out, hands gripping the bars as he stared down with wide eyes. Something in his gut twisted at the realization that the door was open, that they could leave. Adam was unusually silent, but the way their hands shook as they clutched the bars was all him. The anxiety and confusion was all him.
Michael swallowed and finally retreated, retracting some of his control for the time being. Adam didn't move them, staying completely still, and Michael looked up after a second, trying to force his own thoughts to a halt. They just stood for a while, silent, for once completely lost in their own, separate trains of thought. And, after a while, Adam pushed them back, away from the entrance, and backed away toward the back of the Cage. Michael just watched, feeling sick, as they gained distance from the door, and as Adam finally just sank them down to sit against the bars of the Cage, arms wrapping around himself in an almost protective manner.
"Guess you're not ready, huh?" Michael mumbled after a moment, finally retracting the last of his control. It was still dark, the memories still forced to the back of their mind, but Michael didn't care. The darkness was welcome, at that point. He sank back into it, almost relishing the silence, then looked up when Adam appeared, releasing the rest of his control and retreating along with Michael. The demon didn't say anything at first, simply standing still in the darkness. His eyes were downcast, narrowed, contemplative.
"No," Adam finally responded, his voice uncharacteristically quiet, withdrawn. Michael glanced at him, mildly concerned, but the irritated glare Adam spared him made the archangel feel a little bit better. "Neither of us are," Adam continued, sitting down. "I mean… unless… can you fly?"
Michael hesitated, frowning. His wings were… well, they didn't hurt, but they were stiff. Flying didn't take too much power, but he imagined it would hurt, at least for a while, if he tried flying after so long of being so… dormant. And he wouldn't be able to get very far on tense wings. The archangel glanced up at Adam, who was just nodding quietly in agreement. Words weren't needed - they seldom were, with these two - and they both, at the very least, seemed to recognize that time was simply needed, in this case.
"You should try flying around the Cage," Adam muttered, curling his knees up to his chest. "We shouldn't stay inside too long, anyway. Just in case…"
"It closes again," Michael sighed, glancing up into the darkness. "Yeah." He fell silent for a moment, narrowing his eyes faintly as he stared upwards. Adam was right, at the very least, he needed to do a few round-abouts, stretch his wings out a little before he tried anything. And it wasn't like the demon exactly knew how to get around otherwise-
"Not that I couldn't figure it out," Adam cut in, annoyed.
"I know you could," Michael protested, letting his eyes drift shut for a moment. "But we don't even know what to do once we get out, or even how the Cage suddenly…" He trailed off, licking his lips, and Adam fell silent, the uncertainty seeming to get to him if only slightly. "I know we need to find Lucifer," the archangel finally stated, and Adam nodded. "But we don't even know where to begin, and neither of us are at full strength at the moment, so…"
Adam just huffed out a sigh, but he didn't protest. He seemed to accept the fact that they weren't going anywhere right then - I mean, hell, he's the one that had sat them down in the first place. It was interesting - he wasn't letting his rage get the better of him this time. "There's more important things right now," the demon huffed. "Like finding Lucifer."
"... Hope he's okay."
"He's the Devil," Adam grunted, stretching out slightly and falling back. Michael glanced down, running his fingers along the shadowy floor. "He's always okay."
Michael just nodded. Adam watched him for a moment, silent, before turning away. There was nothing left to say, and nothing left to do, for the moment. They were both conflicted, struggling against emotions they didn't fully understand, needing the time to simply process while they could. Neither of them knew how much time they had left, but Michael could only hope it was enough to figure out what they were going to do, how to proceed, and how to get them both back to full strength before they braved the outside world for the first time in forever.
The archangel, at least, wasn't at all sure how he was going to proceed here. He wanted to find Lucifer, yes, but that was as far as it went. He didn't know how much had changed, if anything. What he would do about Heaven. About God. He didn't even know how to feel about his Father anymore. And, himself aside… He could feel Adam's own uncertainty, his anger seeming to be at a surprising minimum. The demon was thinking beyond the Winchesters- but for the first time, Michael couldn't grasp exactly what it was he was thinking about now. And Michael was inside his head, for God's sake.
The archangel frowned and closed his eyes again. Freedom was right there, tantalizingly close. But maybe they had spent too long in the Cage, because at the moment… freedom somehow felt more restrictive than ever.