"I thought I told you never to contact me unless it was an emergency?" Gabriel demanded, golden wings fully extended and filling the entire area behind him.
"It is an emergency," Ariel retorted, completely unfazed by her younger brother's defensive pose. "Our little, rebellious, fool of a brother has lost the half Winchester girl."
"…What?"
"They were attacked and she was taken while Castiel was surrounded," Ariel explained calmly.
"How long has she been gone?" Gabriel growled. He took a threatening step forward.
"Almost a week now," she admitted quietly.
"A week! Why am I only hearing of this now?"
"Because I thought I could Castiel and I would be enough to track her down and retrieve her," Ariel said defensively. "But she's hidden beyond even my reach. That is why I came to you, Gabriel, I need your help."
"I'm only going to help you for Beth's sake," Gabriel replied finally. "Do you know anything about her disappearance?"
"Only that Lucifer's minions were the ones who attacked Castiel and Beth," Ariel replied. "Gabriel, he has Nephilim working for him. What are we going to do? You and I both know how dangerous and out of control they are."
"We're not going to do anything," Gabriel told her firmly. Ariel sent him a flabbergasted look, her eyebrows drawn together. "Beth is meant to lead them for a reason, you know this. If we interfere, who knows what the consequences might be."
"But Gabriel—"
"But nothing, Ariel," Gabriel cut her off abruptly. Ariel's jaw snapped shut with an audible snap and she glared at her brother. "Go back to Castiel, tell him you have a lead on Beth and wait for my call."
Ariel nodded begrudgingly and bowed her head before she teleported away from the deserted parking lot, leaving her caramel haired brother behind.
"Sophie, slow down!" Beth called as she chased after her sort-of-cousin. The red head skidded to a sudden stop, almost causing Beth to crash into her before she managed to stop herself.
"Why? You know he'll get mad if we're late again," Sophie groaned, taking Beth's hand and tugging her along quickly.
"He can suck it up. It's not our fault we were helping the others out."
"Like he'll believe us," the younger female mumbled as they finally made it to the training field. "He doesn't like us at all."
"That's because we're bad influences on the others," Beth grinned smugly. Sophie shook her head in obvious amusement.
"You got that right," the red head agreed, returning Beth's smile. The two girls reached their destination a couple minutes later and slipped into their designated spot at the end of the front row on the left.
The other Nephilim sent them amused looks from the corner of their eyes and tried—and failed—to hold back their snickers. Their teacher spun around with a fierce glare on his face. The Nephilim fell silent immediately, bowing their heads with their hands clasped behind their backs.
"Milligan, Reynolds. Late again I see," Jonah stated, lips spreading into a thin line. "What's your excuse this time? A cat got stuck up a tree?"
"We were helping Father," Sophie replied loudly. Quiet, startled gasps filled the air at Sophie's words and Jonah's angry expression faltered immediately, being replaced with a look of bitter understanding.
"I see. I'll let you off on this occasion," he began, eyeing them closely, "but if you're late again, you'll be doing laps around the field until I tell you to stop, understand?"
"Absolutely," Beth murmured.
"Understood, Sir," Sophie agreed lowly.
"All right, back to business. Each of you pair up and spread out—we'll be going over the moves from yesterday again until you perfect it." Jonah watched as the group slowly found a partner and moved a little ways off from the rest of the Nephilim. "Milligan and Reynolds don't even think about it. You two will not be working together, find another partner you two."
Beth glowered at the full angel but did as she was told, regretfully moving away from Sophie and heading over to Jade—a Nephilim with bright green eyes and curly blonde hair.
"Hey Jade."
"Beth," Jade greeted, nodding curtly as she pulled her hair into a ponytail at the back of her head and faced Beth, an eager look crossing her face. "I hope you're ready to get your ass kicked."
"In your dreams, Kinney," Beth smirked playfully and Jade returned it moments later.
"Begin!" Jonah called out loudly. The fighting began as soon as he said those words and Beth ducked as Jade aimed a kick at her head. She quickly got back up and punched Jade's shoulder, causing the blonde to jerk back in pain and surprise.
The two circled each other—much like a couple of lions would before they fought. Beth watched her opponent closely, looking for any signs of weakness. She didn't have to look for long before she saw how Jade favoured her right side more than her left. Beth feinted right and then moved left as Jade attempted to block her. Beth landed a swift kick to Jade's hip but the blonde was faster, she grabbed Beth's foot and twisted before pushing the brunette away from her—Beth rolled across the ground, the breath knocked from her lungs.
She quickly flipped herself back to her feet and focussed on her half-angel strength, using it to send Jade flying back a few feet after the blonde tried to knock her down.
The others stopped their training to watch Beth and Jade's fight curiously, and a few even made some bets about who would win.
Beth made the first move and tackled Jade, sending them both crashing to the ground in a mess of flailing limbs and shouts of pain. Jade managed to get the upper hand, forcing Beth a choke hold while pinning her hands behind her back with her free hand.
"Do you yield?" Jade asked coyly, tightening her grip on Beth's neck. Beth choked on a breath as she continued to struggle against the blonde. "Give it up, Beth, you're not gonna win this one."
Beth hesitated before nodding begrudgingly and patting Jade's arm. The blonde released Beth and stepped back as the other woman fell to her knees, coughing painfully.
Jade held a hand out to her and ignored the way Beth glared bitterly at her. "Don't be proud, just take my hand."
Beth did wrapping her fingers around Jade's hand and allowing the blonde to help her up. Jade grinned teasingly at her in response.
"You're not so bad, Milligan."
"Neither are you, I guess," Beth said roughly, her throat aching. "Congratulations on beating me."
"Thank you."
They turned away from each other and headed over to their own little groups of friends, unaware of the disaster that was going to come crashing down on their heads later that day.
Ariel stood by the window, staring around her audience as they waited for her to speak. Her brother Castiel was standing in between the two sitting Winchester brothers and the older, more experienced hunter Bobby Singer was behind his desk, baseball cap balanced precariously on the edge of the surface of a book.
"There's one thing you should know before we go to rescue Beth," Ariel began, eyeing them all coldly.
"And what is that?" Dean interrupted impatiently.
"You already know, Dean Winchester," Ariel replied. "Your future self told you what she is."
"A Nephilim," Dean explained, clearing his throat awkwardly as three pairs of eyes snapped over to him. "He told me Beth and Adam are descended from a long line of Nephilim."
"No. She… she can't be one of them," Castiel denied, agitation filling his face. "They are all dead, and rightfully so."
"Excuse me?" Dean asked as he turned on Castiel. "Are you saying that Beth should be dead too?"
"You don't understand my brother's reaction," Ariel said, stepping in to defend her brother. "The Nephilim were created by our brothers not long after Lucifer fell and the others fell with him. The half angel, half human children grew too fast in their mothers' wombs and killed them during birth. The children were fast growing and had no control over their powers… until they were taken by their fathers and trained to control themselves and to fight," Ariel took a deep breath before continuing. "Our fallen brothers sent their children after the rest of us and they devastated Heaven with their attacks. Many of our brothers and sisters died during their rebellion. Our Father came up with a plan to put an end to them. He created his own Nephilim from His grace and the blood of His archangel sons and I and put the two into the bodies of His strongest, most willing humans. His new creations were also trained to fight and they were more powerful than their cousins and they wiped them out without hesitation…" Ariel trailed off, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Keep talking, feather brain," Dean ordered, gaining nods of agreement from his brother and Bobby.
"When the last of Lucifer's Nephilim were on the brink of destruction, we were sent out to destroy the beings we had helped create. When they discovered what we were doing they turned on us. They united with their cousins and went into hiding. They've been out of our sights for a long time… until now. They've come out of hiding and there are more of them than there have ever been. Beth and her twin are descended from the first two Nephil our Father made. The others will look to her as a leader and there is a big chance that Bethany will put up a fight and refuse to let us take her away from where she is. She is among her own now and she feels at home."
"She's our sister, of course she'll want to leave," Sam said, sounding completely sure of himself. Dean was the complete opposite of his brother, he didn't look too sure of anything after Ariel's story.
"Are you certain this is the place?" Ariel queried. Gabriel stood on one side of her and Castiel on the other. The lower angel had been a little hesitant—understandably—to work with Gabriel after learning that he'd been alive this whole time and in hiding, until he had been reminded that they were all there for Beth and didn't have time to deal with their family issues in that current moment.
"It took a while to find it but this is it," Gabriel assured her. He had his archangel blade clutched tightly in his right hand.
"We all remember the plan then?" Ariel asked. "The main goal is to get in and get out as quickly as possible with Beth in our possession. If you're attacked, spare no one and watch your back, don't let them get their arms around you or surprise you from behind."
"Yes, Archangel Ariel," Castiel said and bowed his head respectfully. Gabriel nodded as well to show he understood.
"Let us go then."
The three angels let out their graces in a combined force of power at the house—the house explode, wood and debris flying in all directions as the sounds of screams and cries filled the air. Ariel shared a look with her brothers before they were on the move, walking with purpose towards the destroyed house.
Beth's ears were ringing and her head aching. She couldn't understand what had happened, one moment her, Sophie and Jade had been sitting with Terry and Jade's brother Luke discussing the inevitable war that was fast-approaching and the next, the mansion was exploding and her new-found family were crying out in terror as they were all thrown off their feet.
Beth's hair fell into her face as she weakly pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, looking around through blurry eyes. The bottom floor was littered with debris and bodies. Blood was splattered across the walls.
"S… Sophie," Beth gasped out, forcing herself to crawl across the floor towards the strawberry-blonde girl. Sophie was lying on her stomach, her face pale and smeared with blood. She was pinned under a large pile of wood from the roof of the house. "God, no." Beth grabbed the wood at the bottom of the pile and strained herself trying to lift it. "Come on," she growled out through clenched teeth. She focused on the grace she had inside herself and shoved at the wood, sending it crashing off of Sophie.
The slightly smaller girl was limp and not moving as Beth moved closer. The dark haired nephil let out a sob, pulling Sophie into her lap and cradling her friend. "No, Sophie. Please."
"Beth!" Beth's head snapped up at the sound of Castiel's voice. Her watery eyes met Cas' and she sobbed again before turning back to Sophie. "Beth, we need to go now."
Beth shook her head in refusal, clutching Sophie tighter. Castiel glanced between the two girls in pity, knowing that what he was going to do would make Beth hate him. He grabbed Beth under her arms and slowly pulled her out from under Sophie, ignoring the way she protested and fought against him. Sophie's body slipped back to the floor and Beth fought harder, desperate to get out of his grip.
"No! Let go of me!" Beth yelled. Castiel wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off of her feet slightly as he carried her towards the door. Beth caught sight of Lucifer before they made it outside and she saw the blonde archangel nod firmly at her—she knew immediately that he would come for her. He would make everything right again. Beth went limp in submission and allowed Castiel to fly her away from the mansion.
Beth went right back to struggling as her and Castiel landed in Bobby's living room. She backed away from the angel, a defensive air about her.
"I want to leave, now," Beth hissed, not seeming to recognise him or her family as they filled the room.
"Beth, what's going on?" Sam asked in concern. He faltered when she sent a deadly glare at him.
"I need to go back," she said urgently. Her gaze flew around the room wildly, looking for an escape route. "I have to. I need Father."
"What the hell's wrong with her?" Dean questioned, looking at Castiel.
"Lucifer's influence over her is stronger than we anticipated," Ariel explained, crossing her arms over her chest as she took in Beth's ragged, bloody appearance. "He's got his hooks in deep with this one."
"What can we do?"
"Lock her up," Ariel replied seriously. "In angel proof restraints. It's the only way to stop her from using her powers to summon our fallen brother."
"Don't even try it," Beth growled, her eyes glowing a bright blue-white colour.
"Beth. Snap out of it," Dean ordered sternly. Beth looked to him, her eyes still glowing slightly. "We are your family. Not them. We need you, not them."
Beth's face clouded over with confusion, though the distrust was still clear on her face. "No. You're wrong," she said, not sounding too convinced. "They're like me."
"No they're not, Beth," Sam joined in, catching onto what his brother was trying to do. "You may be from the same race but you're nothing like them. You are good and you help people. They don't."
"Beth." Castiel stepped up to her side, his hand instinctively seeking out hers. Her breath hitched at the familiar sensation of his warm skin against hers and she threaded her fingers through his. "Everything's going to be okay now. You're safe here."
"But I… I don't know what's happening to me," she said, looking only at Castiel. "I didn't recognise you. How could I not recognise you? W-we're all family but I don't want to be here. I want…"
"What do you want?" Cas asked softly.
"I have to go back to him. I want to go back to Lucifer."
On the outskirts of Singer's Salvage Yard, stood a tall blonde male and a slightly shorter male with black hair. They both watched the house intently, their angelic hearing meaning they could hear every word the occupants of the house were saying.
"Are you sure she's on our side?" Jonah asked, glancing at his older brother.
"Ariel was right, I have got my hooks deep in that one," Lucifer replied smugly. "It's only a matter of time before my control over her becomes too much and she has no choice but to come to me and when she does, only then will the Nephilim be truly loyal to me and the rest will come out of hiding when they hear of their new Queen."