Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets Part 2

"You sure about this address?" Dean asked as they walked out of the elevator.

"Well," Sam adjusted Grace in his arms. "Lily's car was a rental, so I called the company. I told them she was wanted for questioning by the FBI. The pinged the LoJack—

"Okay, you could've just said yes." Dean interrupted.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Yes. So, what's the plan?"

"Well, we knock on her door and ask her nicely not to kill any more angels."

"And if she says no?" Angela asked.

"Then we burn that bridge when we come to it," Dean answered.

Sam, Dean, and Angela turned a corner and ran into Lily. She was startled and immediately brandished her angel blades.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Sam exclaimed.

"Give us a second," Dean held up his hands.

"How did you find me?" Lily demanded.

"We're here to talk, that's it," Sam assured. "We come in peace. Just hear us out. We heard what happened to your family."

"My family?"

"See, Cas is our family, so we can't let you hurt him," Dean replied.

"Let me?" Lily scoffed.

"We don't want to kill you," Angela stressed.

"I don't want to kill you," Lily replied.

"Okay, good." Sam nodded. "Look, there we go. Agreed. Listen, it's not Cas's fault that Heaven has these crazy rules about Nephilim." He explained, earning a confused look from Lily. "Your daughter."

"You think…" Lily dropped the blades and walked toward the Winchesters. "Her name was May, and she was beautiful. I had a life, a wonderful life, until… They took everything from me. All my life, I dreamed about angels, I studied them. I made them my life's work until finally, I learned the spell to summon one—Ishim. When I first saw him, it was like looking into the face of the Divine. I thought he was perfect. But he is a monster. I had my daughter long before I ever laid eyes on an angel."

Dean frowned deeply. "Wait, so…"

"My daughter was human," Lily told the hunters.

"Just…" Dean cleared his throat. "Um…" he turned and lowered his voice. "Are you buying any of this?"

"Yeah, kinda," Sam whispered.

"All right, well, we gotta make sure, you know. I mean, Ishim's a tool, but—You know what? I'm gonna call Cas." Dean muttered as he dialed. "Come on, come on, come on. Yeah, he's not answering."

"Okay. Just go. Sam and I will stay here." Angela muttered.

"What? And leave you here with her? You kidding me? She—

"She is no threat whatsoever to humans," Lily interjected. "And she can hear you."

"Okay. Okay." Dean nodded and walked away, leaving Sam and Angela in the hall with Lily.

~/~\~

Lily, Sam, Angela, and Grace were in Lily's hotel room. Lily held an old picture of her and May.

"Can I ask you a question?" Angela asked.

"Yeah."

"I-I get wanting revenge, Sam and I both get it." Angela started. "W-We really do. But… why wait so long?"

"I had no choice," Lily answered. "Before the angels fell, before they lost their wings, there would've been no way to hunt them down. But now… Patience is a talent. You'd be amazed at what a person can do with a little bit of purpose and an abundance of time."

"Hmm." Sam hummed. "Ishim said you said some kind of pact, um… that you're using dark magic."

"Did he? I've studied angels all my… very long life. I use their magic to fight, to hear them, to stay alive."

Angela's brows furrowed. "Enochian magic. That's… possible?"

"It is if you're willing to pay the price of admission." Lily gestured to her eyepatch. "Every time I use one of their spells, a piece of my soul burns away. And once it's gone…"

"You won't feel anything anymore." Sam finished and Angela held his hand comfortingly. "You won't, uh, care about anything anymore. You won't be human anymore."

"I used to dream about my daughter every night," Lily noted. "Do you know what I dream about now? Nothing. You don't trust me. I understand. But when your brother confronts Ishim, the angel will kill him. Ishim's a big man in Heaven." She explained. "He's got too much to lose if the truth comes out. And when your brother's dead, you won't stand in my way anymore. You'll help me. And for that, I can wait."

~/~\~

Dean opened the door and walked into the church. He walked over to Castiel, who was sitting on the couch.

"Cas?" Dean walked over, sitting next to him. "Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Castiel assured. "And Ishim is fully recovered."

"Yeah. Okay." Dean pursed his lips. "Uh, maybe wish you hadn't done that just yet."

"Wait, why?" Castiel frowned in confusion.

"This Lily chick? Says that her daughter was human. I think Ishim… I think he's playing you."

"You're back," Ishim said suddenly, grabbing their attention. "So, what's new?"

~/~\~

Castiel struggled to stand while Dean helped him.

"Is it… is it true, Ishim?" Castiel asked as he walked toward him weakly.

"Is what true?" Ishim retorted.

"Lily Sunder's daughter, was she human?" Castiel demanded.

"Who told you that?"

"She did," Dean answered. "Said you were pretty obsessed."

"Well, she's a liar." Ishim scoffed.

"Why would she lie?" Castiel squinted.

"She's human. It's kinda what they do."

"Well, if she's a liar, she's pretty good at it," Dean replied. "You, on the other hand, kind of suck."

"Who are you gonna believe?" Ishim asked Castiel. "Your brother, or some filthy ape who's always talking down to you, always mocking you."

"You know, Cas and I might not agree all the time, but at least he knows who his real friends are."

"Why do his words bother you so much, Ishim?" Castiel asked accusingly.

"Who is he to question my choice? Who is he to question yours?"

"Well, it seems that some of my choices may need to be questioned," Castiel stood nose-to-nose with Ishim. "Now tell me. The girl—was she human?"

Ishim smirked darkly. "Oh, you're not gonna like the answer."

Dean pulled out an angel blade and rushed Ishim, who tossed Dean back against the wall with a flick of his wrist. Castiel threw a punch but was blocked. Ishim punched Castiel, who fell to the ground, and Ishim grabbed him by the collar of his coat.

"I used to envy you, Castiel." Ishim sneered. "You believe that?" he punched Castiel again.

While Dean had the chance, he used the angel blade to cut his palm.

"You survived Hell," Ishim growled. "You were chosen by God. But now look at you. You're just sad and pathetically weak." He punched Castiel, who fell to the floor and stopped moving. "So, now… I'm gonna help you. I'm gonna cure you of your human weakness the same way I cured my own," he produced an angel blade. "By cutting it out."

Ishim strode toward Dean, who backed up to reveal an angel-blasting sigil. Dean's hand hovered over it.

"Don't move," he warned.

"Do it," Ishim taunted. "You blast me away, you'll blast away every angel in the room. I'll survive. Castiel, on the other hand, he's hurt. He might live or he might just end up a bloody smear on the wall. Roll the dice."

Dean thought for a moment and lowered his hand.

"Yeah. That's what I thought." Ishim smirked.

"Ishim!" Lily shouted. "No."

Ishim turned to see Lily and Sam both armed with angel blades while Angela stood behind them holding Grace.

"Hello, my love." Ishim greeted.

Lily motioned Ishim forward while Sam and Angela ran toward Dean.

"Hey." Sam and Angela greeted.

"I thought you were supposed to keep her out of this," Dean grunted.

"Yeah, we changed our minds," Angela replied.

"Good call," Dean noted as Lily and Ishim fought.

"All right. Plan B. Come on." Sam muttered. "Baby, you stay here."

Ishim pushed Lily away harshly and Sam ran toward Ishim, slicing at his side with an angel blade.

"Aah!" Ishim yelled in pain.

He punched Sam, who fell back onto the ground. Dean jumped in and sliced Ishim on the leg. Ishim grabbed Dean and tossed him before turning to face Lily.

"It's over."

"No," Lily pulled off her eyepatch to reveal one clouded eye. "I will never be powerless again."

She put her hand up and her eye flashed brightly. Ishim was pushed against the wall by an invisible force.

"You can't hold me here forever." He growled.

Ishim fought against the force and slowly started to move forward. He managed to get close to Lily and raised to angel blade, ready to strike. Just as he lunged forward, Castiel stabbed him in the back with an angel blade.

"Aah!" Ishim yelled as he dropped to the ground, dead.

Castiel fell to his knees and looked up at Lily. "You held him for long enough."

~/~\~

Ishim was lying on the ground and Lily stood over his dead body.

"All right, so, uh… What now?" Sam asked.

"He's dead. Are you done?" Dean questioned.

"Revenge is all I've had for over a hundred years," Lily replied. "It's what I am."

"Wrong answer," Dean replied firmly. "You're done."

"Dean," Castiel warned before looking up at Lily. "I'm sorry. I was wrong. And… while it's true that I didn't know we were killing an innocent, ignorance is no excuse." He stood up and walked toward Lily. "I truly can't imagine the depths of your loss. This was your child. And while I do not have a child of my own, I have a niece who I love very much. But I can't fully imagine the pain. So, if you leave here and you find that you can't forgive me… I'll be waiting."

"Thank you," Lily replied sincerely.

~/~\~

Castiel sat at the map table in the bunker with Grace on his lap. Sam, Dean, and Angela walked into the room and Dean handed Castiel a beer.

"You earned it."

"Well, this will do very little for me," Castiel replied. "But I-I appreciate the gesture."

"What Ishim said… You're not weak, Cas." Angela noted. "You know that, right?"

"I mean, obviously, you've changed, but it's all been for the better, man," Sam assured.

"And you have been with us every step of this long, crazy thrill ride," Dean added. "And no matter how crazy it got, you never backed down."

"And that takes real strength." Sam nodded.

"Love you, Unca Cas." Grace smiled.

A smile tugged at Castiel's lips. "Thank you."

"Cas, I don't like how the whole Billie thing went down. Okay?" Dean sighed. "I know you think you were doing the right thing. And I'm not mad. I'm worried. Because things like 'cosmic consequences' have a habit of biting us in the ass."

"I know they do," Castiel replied. "But I don't regret what I did, even if it costs me my life."

"Don't say that, hon," Angela whispered.

"So, what are you gonna do if you find Kelly and, uh, Lucifer Junior?" Dean inquired. "It is a Nephilim, right?"

"Oh, no. It's more than that. An ordinary Nephilim is one of the most dangerous beings in all of creation." Castiel explained. "But one that's fathered by an archangel, the Devil himself? I… I can't imagine the power."

"But, Cas, at the end of the day, it's a mom and her kid," Sam commented. "I mean, do you—do you think you'll be able to…"

"There was a time when I wouldn't have hesitated," Castiel admitted. "But now, I don't know."

"What are we gonna do?" Dean pursed his lips.

"Let's drink," Castiel held up his beer. "And hope we can find a better way."

A/N: Hey, guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And thank you for being patient while I try to find a balance between writing, school, and my sorority, I appreciate it. Love you guys, xoxo :)

~Emily