We sat in the car and waited for Cas to inform us about what happened. So far, Crowley was spotted.
"Got him", Cas informed.
"The demon Crowley is making a deal; even as we speak, it's—going—down."
I raised my eyebrow, even though I knew how a deal worked, it sounded weird when Cas said it like that.
"Okay, good. Just don't lose him, Cas", I replied.
"I won't lose him."
He hung up, before he, seconds later called again.
"Do you know where he is?" I asked.
"I followed him. It's not far, but—it's layered in Enochian warding magic. I can't get in", he informed.
I nodded.
"It's okay. You did great. We'll take care of it from here."
He told us where Crowley was, some mansion with a lot of posh.
I was supposed to pose as a young lost woman who had no idea how to fix my broken car. And since we aware everyone in Hell or Heaven knew my face, we decided that I would need an illusion over me.
So, the smartest was to cast a spell who made me seem like another person who looked not all at like me.
Which we did. I wore a short black sequin dress, heels, more makeup than I usually had, and had put up my hair in a loose bun with my fake blonde hair strands hanging.
I pressed the button to the intercom that sat in the gate while I waited.
"Hello?"
"Hello. My car broke down. I— I need some help", I yelped and sounded distressed.
"I'll be down in a minute", the guy (demon, probably) said.
When the gate opened, I took some steps forward while playing cold and all that. To my surprise, it was quite funny.
Two men approached me, looking to be around thirty years or something.
"Evening, pretty lady. Get yourself on in here", the demon welcomed me.
I sighed in my head. Now as my memories were back along with the majority of my Sight (I still couldn't see angels' full true form), I was able see the true form of the demons, along with the vessels' faces of course. I could choose to only see the vessels' and the real and so on.
And that demon, nasty.
"I just need to make a call", I told them and smiled.
"You don't need to call anyone, baby. We're the only help you're ever gonna need", he said and smiled like a perv.
Dicks. It was enough that they were demons, I thought annoyed.
"Um… You know what? I think I'll wait in the car", I suggested and turned to 'leave', as the man grabbed my shoulder.
"We said, get your ass in here", he growled and turned his eyes black.
I grinned and ripped myself loose from his grip and kicked him down on the ground. The other one had a knife in the neck (all Sam), before he tossed it to me, who stabbed the other one in the chest.
"Don't underestimate girls, douchebag", I muttered while my glamour slipped away.
"Nice one, Abster", Dean said.
I shrugged before we began to break inside his house. I had to say, Crowley had some taste.
I drew a devil's trap under the rug and quickly shoved it back on the floor before I was handed a shotgun by Sam, who had switched off the electricity.
"It's Crowley, right?" Sam stated as a man in his middle forties approached.
And again, his face was nasty. His true face at least.
"So. The Three Musketeers finally found me. Took you long enough", Crowley said.
He took steps closer, before he stopped and looked down at the rug before he pulled it up and noticed the trap.
Crap.
"Do you have any idea how much this rug cost?" he complained, making me roll my eyes.
Suddenly, three demons disarmed us and pinned our arms behind our backs.
"This is it, right? This is what it's all about", Crowley said while holding up the Colt.
He aimed at me, before he for some reason shot the demons instead, making me wonder why the hell he just killed his own servants.
"We need to talk. Privately", he told us while he led us to another room.
"What the hell is this?" Dean demanded.
"Do you know how deep I could have buried this thing? There's no reason you or anyone should know this even exists, except that I told you", Crowley told us, making me raise my eyebrows.
The Supernatural books, helloo?
"You told us", I echoed skeptically.
"Rumors, innuendo, sent out on the grapevine."
"Why? Why tell us about that thing?" I questioned and pointed at the gun.
"I want you to take this thing to Lucifer and empty it into his face."
I tilted my head confused, since when did a demon want to kill his boss? The majority of Hell's citizens adored my brother since he had created them.
" Uh-huh, okay, and why exactly would you want the Devil dead?" Dean asked with doubt spiking his voice.
"It's called survival", Crowley started and put the gun on the desk.
"Well, I forgot you two at best are functioning morons, I had hoped better from the angel girl here—"
News traveled fast around here.
"You're functioning…morons…" Dean muttered silently.
"Lucifer isn't a demon, remember? He's an angel. An angel famous for his hatred of humankind. To him, you're just filthy bags of pus. If that's the way he feels about you, what can he think about us?"
I shrugged and agreed with him.
"He's got a point", I stated.
"But he created you", Sam protested.
"To him, we're just servants. Cannon fodder. If Lucifer manages to exterminate humankind, we're next. So, help me, huh? Let's all go back to simpler, better times, back to when we could all follow our natures. I'm in sales, dammit! So what do you say if I give you this thing, and you go kill the Devil?"
He handed us the gun, handle first. I glanced at my brothers hesitatingly before I took the gun and stared at it.
"Awesome."
"Great."
"You wouldn't happen to know where the Devil is, by chance, would you?" Sam asked him.
"Thursday, birdies tell me, there's an appointment in Carthage, Missouri", he replied.
I nodded, before I put the barrel between his eyes and pulled the trigger. There was a small click, and then, nothing.
"Come on", I mumbled annoyed.
"Oh, yeah, right, you'll probably need some more ammunition", Crowley suggested and turned to get us the bullets.
Dick.
"Oh, uh, excuse me for asking, but aren't you kind of signing your own death warrant? I mean, what happens to you if we go up against the Devil and lose?" Dean asked him while Crowley searched for them.
"Number one, he's going to wipe us all out anyway. Two, after you leave here, I go on an extended vacation to all points nowhere. And three, how about you don't miss, okay! Morons!" he shouted before he tossed me the bullets and disappeared right after.
Again, dick.
"You can't be serious, Ellen", I said, smiling as she drained the last shot.
"Just watch him", she said and smirked.
We were at Bobby's, drinking and just having fun before we'd all go down.
"All right, big boy. Go."
And for some reason, Cas did it. Drained the five glasses in less than twenty seconds.
Oh right, forgot. Angels could hold their liquor. Another reason why it would be nice to have my Grace back completely.
"I think I'm starting to feel something", Cas said with a innocent look on his face, making me grin.
"You've done good, Cas. My turn. Jo vs Abigail", I said and changed seat with Cas.
"Ten glasses. The first who's done wins", Ellen told as she poured us shots, ten each.
"Ready, set, go!"
My hand immediately flew to the first glass before I put the glass to my lips and drained it. Fourth, started to feel slightly wobbly. Fifth, a bit more. Seventh, more wobbly. Eighth, I would need some water. And tenth, oh dear goodness.
"Yas!" I said and slammed my hands together while my brain seemed to dance salsa in my head.
"Abigail, Jo finished before you", Cas chimed in.
"Did she? Oh my, remind me not to drink tequila for at least a month", I slurred out before I was handed a big glass of water, which I gulped down in a few seconds.
"Okay, hand me a beer now."
Jo stared at me before she started to laugh and threw me a bottle before she went to the refrigerator.
"How's it doing, Abster? Still on your feet?" Sam asked and laughed.
"Everything's so awesome", I called with thumbs up.
And miraculously, my head cleared slightly so I at least wasn't too crazy. I could at least walk.
"Everybody get in here! It's time for the lineup. Usual suspects in the corner", Bobby informed us.
"Oh come on, Bobby. Nobody wants their picture taken", Ellen groaned, which Sam agreed on.
"Shut up. You're drinking my beer. Anyway, I'm gonna need something to remember your sorry asses by. Everyone is in the room now, getting in position for the picture, smiling", Bobby said, me positioning myself between Cas and Ellen.
"Good to hear, sunshine", I smirked.
"Bobby's right. Tomorrow we hunt the Devil. This is our last night on earth", Cas stated, making all of our smiles fade slightly.
And he was right. Probably.
The town was really creepy and not just because of no humans were there, but it was also filled with reapers, dozen of them. And they seemed to wait for something…
"Place seem a little empty to you?" Ellen asked Dean.
"We're gonna go check out the PD. You guys stay here, see if you can find anybody", Dean informed.
"Okay."
While Sam and Dean drove off, Ellen parked the car and waited for us to come out.
"Ever heard of a door handle?" Jo asked Cas, who sat in the car for the moment, when he then zapped out.
"Of course I have", Cas replied, making me grin.
The grin quickly vanished as my eyes focused on the reapers.
"Do you see them?" I asked him.
"Yes, I do. This town's not empty", Cas informed Jo and Ellen.
"Reapers."
"Reapers? As in more than one?" Ellen questioned.
"They gather when there's coming a great catastrophe. Pompeii, Katrina, you name it", I said before I wandered off to find out more.
Every Reaper ignored both me and Cas as we tried to find the reason why they had gathered for a tea party.
"Cas, look", I said and nodded to the Reaper inside a big building.
"Take my hand", he told, which I did.
His wings flapped a bit before we ended up inside the building where the Reaper had been.
"Do you hear that?" I mumbled and followed the strange sound, which led me and him to a dark room.
Something was wrong, I could feel it. And then, out of nowhere—
"Hello, sister", a man's voice said before I only saw white light.
With that feat, we both ended up in a ring of holy fire. I stared at the dancing flames and immediately realized that I would die if I touched them. If I could get affected by the Angel Banishing sigil, this would fry my nonexistent wings.
"Jophiel. Good to see you again", the same voice greeted me, making me turn to face a man in his forties.
"Lucifer", I said in a quiet voice.
Happiness, sadness and the 'we're screwed' welled up in my chest. Lucifer, my brother, he stood in front of me.
So many years… I had missed him so freaking much.
"I see that you've become a human, now. How is it like? Being weak? Or is a lot of the real you still there?" he wondered.
I felt my jaw tense insulted before I replied.
"Being human is quite different, but you'll get used to it after twenty-six years. Especially with no memory of my life as an angel, and with French fries", I replied.
"So I take it you're here with the Winchesters", he said.
"We came alone", Cas lied.
"Loyalty. Such a nice quality to see in this day and age. Castiel, right? Castiel. I'm told you came here in an automobile", Lucifer stated.
"Yes."
"What was that like?"
"Um. Slow. Confining", Cas admitted, making me nod in agreement.
"What a peculiar thing you are", he told.
It was then I noticed the small burns in his vessel's face.
Seems like Lucie is hollowing that poor man from inside out, I thought.
"What's wrong with your vessel?" Cas wondered.
"Yes. Um, Nick is wearing a bit thin, I'm afraid. He can't contain me forever, so—"
"You— You are not taking Sam Winchester. I won't let you", Cas growled and almost took a step into the fire before I pulled him back.
"Castiel. I don't understand why you're fighting me, of all the angels", Lucifer remarked.
"Really, Lucifer? Did you really have to ask that?" I muttered.
"I rebelled, I was cast out. You rebelled, you were cast out. Almost all of Heaven wants to see me dead, and if they succeed, guess what? You're their new public enemy number one. We're on the same side, like it or not, so why not just serve your own best interests? Which in this case just happen to be mine?
Same for you, Jophiel. You have fallen. The second you stop being useful for our brother, he'll punish you for ever leaving them. I would never do that to you", Lucifer said gently, making me look away from his eyes.
Even if he was right, the Earth would be filled with Croats if I ever chose Lucifer. And if I chose Michael, half of the Earth would be floating around in space, in pieces.
"I won't", I said and shook my head, staring at Lucifer stubbornly, yet sadly.
He was my brother. He still was my brother who had encouraged me to create the stars.
"I will not, either. I'll die first", Cas said.
"I suppose you will", Lucifer stated.
We were silent, all of us, just staring at the flames around us. What the hell could we do now? Were the others alright?
"What's your purpose here?" I questioned.
Lucifer looked up from staring at the wall and smiled.
"Don't you know what happened here? Oh, humans really have affected you, sister", he said amused.
"In this town, a very large battle happened here, a lot of casualties. And I will need that place to summon an old friend of ours. You may remember him, Jophiel. Dad's old friend. Very old friend."
I widened my eyes, Death? The Horseman? I kind of knew Death, and I really didn't want him to be in the game. But, since it was said in the Book of Revelation that he and the other chumps would be in this endgame, he probably would pop up. If my brothers didn't stop my brother, at least.
"Death? You are going to summon Death?" Cas asked.
"Of course, he'll be useful in this. Giving me a bigger chance to win."
"Why are you even doing this, Lucifer? To getting revenge on Dad?" I asked slightly frustrated.
Lucifer's eyes narrowed slightly.
"He betrayed me! Cast me down for something I was right about! And then, He left us! He left you! Because of foolish Gadreel and His precious humans! You have lived with those apes for years now. Can't you see how flawed they are?" he exclaimed.
I swallowed while looking Cas before I turned back to look at my brother again.
"Perhaps they're flawed, but they are a lot better than us, brother. If I had done all the mistakes as an angel instead of a human, I'd have fallen long before all this. Because our kind can't forgive, even for the smallest of things", I mumbled.
Lucifer was going to say something, I guessed, but suddenly, Meg arrived with a smug smile on her face.
"Abster. Good to see you again", she said.
"You really missed something fun. Seeing that blonde lovely girl— Jo, right?— being clawed to shreds by one of my hellhounds, quite the show", she laughed.
No! Jo! Fury clouded my eyes and the only I could see and think about was Meg being dead. With no thought but wanting to kill her, I lunged toward her, before I was stopped by both Cas and by my brother's powers.
"Abigail, there's nothing you can do", Cas whispered to me in his arms while I felt tears burn in my eyes.
If Jo was dead… No, she couldn't be. Meg probably lied…
"I got the Winchesters pinned down. For now, at least. What should I do with them?" she asked my brother.
"Leave them alone", Lucifer ordered after have considered it for a second.
"I—I'm sorry, but are you sure? Shouldn't we—"
"Trust me, child. Everything happens for a reason", Lucifer said softly and stroke her face in his cupped hands, making me wanna puke and growl on the same time.
She didn't deserve affection after what she did, even if it was fake.
And for the second, he called her child. Did that make me her aunt?
"Can you stop with your father-daughter bonding? It's enough that I'm trapped in this ring, seeing this and unable to escape is even more disturbing", I snapped.
"Maybe you don't like it because you never had a father who never was there for you? And you had two", Meg taunted.
I started to breathe more heavier, feeling angrier and really wanted to rip that demon to shreds. I smote Ruby once, maybe I could smite Megster….
"Now, now, now isn't the time for insulting", Lucifer said.
"Why won't we let them be alone for a while?"
Meg nodded and cast me a smug look before she left the room with Lucifer in front of her.
I sank down on the floor and let my heart cry on the inside. Even though I had known about Lucifer being released and all that, I couldn't help but feel heartbroken, seeing Lucifer acting so… different. But of course, spending a pair of millennia in the Cage, and since one year was over 100 years in the Cage…
"Are you feeling well, Abigail?" Cas wondered and sounded worried.
I shook my head and let a tear roll down my cheek.
"Imagine someone you love very dearly, do a mistake and turn into something you don't recognize", I whispered and touched my now open necklace while talking.
Cas kneeled down and slowly wrapped his arms around my body.
I inhaled the scent of him, cinnamon and other spices I couldn't name in English.
"I'm not so good at interpret human emotions, but I understand you. I lost my brother Uriel", he said softly.
"Yeah, I know, and that happened because of my brother. What if I could have persuaded him to not do it? To not rebel. What would have happened with the world then? No evil? At least no evil that can harm Earth", I mumbled and thought about the Mark on the poor boy Cain.
He had bore it for thousands of years, and he was still fighting against it, if I knew right.
Cas put his lips on my hair and let them linger there while stroking my back.
"You can't blame yourself for what your brother did", he replied with a voice as smooth as silk.
"I know, but it just feels like I could've done anything. All my years as an angel after he got cast down, I hadn't thought about it like this before. Probably because I didn't feel the same way about things, like now", I mumbled.
Cas caressed my cheek with his thumb before he lifted up my head gently and kissed my lips softly.
And suddenly, a very familiar word but much more kinder flowed into my mind, the word Uriel had tried to use on me.
Sleep.
But, this time, I let myself fall into the welcoming darkness of sleep.
Third person's POV
Castiel carefully positioned Abigail so she was leaning against his chest, while his arms were around her.
Sometimes, he wished he also could sleep like she could. But watching her sleep in his arms so peacefully without any worries was something he could do all the time.
He hadn't really told her the truth, he didn't exactly know how it was like to see your brother change drastically. He himself hadn't been so close Uriel as she had been to Lucifer. Even if he had called Uriel brother, he hadn't been the kind of brother Lucifer had been for her.
Castiel remembered seeing Abigail and her older brothers when he had been young. He had witnessed them in Heaven creating some of the animals. But he still couldn't understand why Gabriel had chosen to create such a strange yet fascinating creature, the platypus.
They had been so much different compared to now.
Abigail began to shiver in her sleep. Hadn't he seen humans shiver when they were freezing? But it wasn't cold, but still, Castiel took off his trench coat without a second thought before he slowly put it over her body. He hoped that she wouldn't freeze as much as she had done.
Even when she had stopped shivering, he could still see her not feeling well.
The word 'pain' had been written on her face when she had seen Lucifer, it had been so clear even he had noticed.
But what he didn't notice was Lucifer himself was watching his younger sister and brother in the shadows, not making a sound as the young angel wrapped his ebony black wings around them like a protective shield.
He didn't like the angel and his sister having a relationship. Especially not when she was weak with the many emotions she had received when becoming human. He couldn't understand why she liked those apes and had become one. Her heart could then so easily be shattered.
And that was something he didn't want. Even if she had chosen to fight on their Father's side those years ago, he didn't want to hurt her, not really. Not if it wasn't necessary.
Lucifer knew and hoped she wouldn't side with Heaven. He knew that Michael would punish her for ever leaving if they won. And he wouldn't let that happen. Because she was his sister and he loved her.
Always.
Normal POV
"Children, the new specie has fully evolved, creatures superior over everyone else, Humanity or Humans as I call them", Father informed and showed us the Garden with many fruit bearing trees and animals.
But near the Tree of Life sat the two beings we had watched for so long evolve. They were looking like apes without hair and had finer features than the monkeys. Both the male and female were naked but didn't seem to care about it.
They were so beautiful, just like I had imagined them when seeing their ancestors for the first time. I really felt joyful when I had been ordered to guard the Tree of Life, it meant that I would get to interact with them.
"Their names I have given them are Adam, the man, and Lilith, the woman. I want you, Gabriel, to give a message to all the angels to bow down before them, to love them more than me", he told us and watched the two humans with genuine love.
He really did love his two latest creations, I thought.
Gabriel nodded and flew away to inform the rest. Lucifer stared at the pair with disdain and disgust before he shook his head and looked at Father.
"Father…. I can't. These human beings are flawed, murderous. I cannot love them more than I love you. Please, do not ask me to do this", Lucifer begged.
I looked at him in shock, he never said 'no' to an order. Never. None of us had ever done that.
Father ignored Lucifer and left to go back to the throne room. And left were Lucifer, Michael and me. Lucifer still glared the the humans while Michael went back home.
What had happened with my brother? He never ever disobeyed, he'd rather die.
"Brother, what is wrong?" I asked him gently and touched his wingtip with mine softly.
"What is wrong? Father asks us to love these… apes more than him. How can he believe I can do that? Can't you see how weak these things are?" Lucifer questioned.
"I do see that the humans are fragile, but they have their own beauty and Father has now asked us to love them, and so we do", I responded softly.
Lucifer looked at me hurt before everything started to fade…
"Lucifer", I whispered when I opened my eyes.
It had been a dream, a memory from a long time ago. We were still in the ring of holy fire, not in Heaven. And my body was leaning against Cas' body with his arms around me and his trench coat over me.
Such a sweetheart he was, I thought touched.
"Thanks, Cas", I mumbled and handed him his trench coat before I rose.
I looked around to find Lucifer, but he was gone. Just, poof. But I saw someone else instead. Megster.
"Where's Lucifer?" I questioned stiffly.
"He's off to summon Death", she said and sounded quite smug.
I stared at her for half a minute before I noticed a bolt spin on the pipe. I raised my eyebrow but kept my eyes on Meg. Clearly, Cas was planning something, and from what I saw, it seemed to be a good plan.
Meg grinned broader and really looked happy, genuinely happy. To be honest, I had never seen her so happy. Not even when she had made out with Sam, or possessing him for that part.
"You seem pleased", Cas observed.
"We're gonna win. Can you feel it? You cloud-hopping pansies lost the whole damn universe. Lucifer's gonna take over Heaven. We're going to Heaven, Clarence", she said and let out a laugh of joy.
"Funny for you", I muttered.
"But the weird thing is that I have heard something else from another person. Name's Crowley. You may know him. British accent, good taste on liquor and rugs. Did I forget to mention that he's the King of Crossroads too?" I wondered.
"You don't know Crowley", Meg stated and sounded like she really meant it.
"Oh no, I don't, but I know my brother. Think about it, Megster. He hates humanity. You, demons, are worse than humans, according to him. But you're loyal as hell. So, why not use you for his own goals?"
"You're wrong. Lucifer is the father of our race. Our creator. Your god may be a deadbeat. Mine—mine walks the earth", she defended.
"Good for you", I said before the pipe flew into Meg and pushed her through the ring, into Cas' arms.
He tried to smite her, with no luck. And I was quite sure that my juice only worked like on very rare cases, like the Ruby thing.
Meg started to laugh at his mistake.
"You can't gank demons, can you? You're cut off from the home office and you ain't got the juice. So what can you do, you impotent sap?" she scoffed.
"I can do this", Cas stated and leaned in to kiss her.
A huge wave of jealously roared in me, what the hell was he thinking? The second I got my hands on the knife or my smiting powers would come back, I would kill the bitch.
But suddenly, he threw her into the flames and gestured to me to go through. And with that, I felt like the biggest sap of all times. Of course he wouldn't have kissed her, had I become an idiot?
I grabbed his hand and watched his wings make a quick motion before we ended up on a field with dead people and my brothers, Lucifer, Sam and Dean.
"Come on", I mouthed to them before we flew away.
"Just received an update that the governor has declared a state of emergency for Paulding County, including the towns of Marion, Fetterville, and Carthage. The storm system has reportedly touched off a number of tornadoes in the area", the woman on the news reported, but I didn't listen, not really.
Jo and Ellen were dead, for nothing. The Colt didn't kill Lucifer. Apparently, we and five other things in the Creation were immune to that thing.
I stared blankly at the copy of the photo we had taken the night before all this, while my tears trickled down and fell on the floor.
We had lost so much, in only five years. Everyone we knew got hurt or killed, once or twice.
"Death tolls have yet to be estimated, but state officials expect the loss of life and property to be staggering."
With a last look on the picture, Bobby leaned forward an dropped the photo in the flames and we watched it being consumed by the flames, until there was nothing left.
Just, nothing.