Chapter 14

Dean opened up the bunker to discover they'd turned the alarms off but had projections of omens lining the walls. A map covering the roof highlighted specific town where Dean guessed the omens pointed to a vessel.

"These are the three most likely candidates. Chicago, New York City, and Coffee, Kansas. Who in those places we don't know but the omens have already started to pile on. It looks like Lucifer is circling in on a temporary vessel fast. Still we have one advantage we didn't have last time. Nick was the strongest vessel around, plan B. These would be C, D, and E. They will burn out quickly and he'll be weak in them which might help us get him back in the Cage. " Cas informed Dean.

"That is unless Charlotte says yes before we can get to him right? He'll be impossible to stop in her she's so strong on her own," Dean reminded them.

"It's true, but I doubt Charlie will say yes. She didn't mean to free Lucifer... she just didn't believe us when we said she would," Sam argued.

"Are you defending her?" Dean asked annoyed, "After what she did?"

"She didn't mean to free Lucifer! How is it any different from what I did. Both times everyone told me what we were doing was dangerous but both times we ignored them and freed the Lucifer. There is no difference. Charlie scr*wed up, majorly. But hopefully she won't mess up any more but inviting Lucifer in!"

Dean was about to reply when a familiar knock sounded at the door-the secret knock Kevin used. Cas quickly opened the door and Kevin ran in hair grown out again but face old with worry.

"Oh my God what did you guys do now? My brain burns everyone up there is talking nonstop and it's like they want me to hear them!" Kevin complained. The angel voices in his head would explain his pallor, but they didn't explain the girl who followed him in through Cas's open door.

"They do." Kevin turned to Charlie shrieking in surprise. "I can hear them too. The upstairs room is warded against angels and demons right? Kevin hide in there it will make Ariel's job of collecting you and hiding you in Heaven harder."

Kevin didn't know Charlie. Kevin knew the Winchesters didn't like Charlie. Still, her directions made sense so he did as she said and went to the warded room where no angel or demon could grab him for their various purposes.

As soon as Kevin moved out of the way Dean grabbed Charlie pining her arm behind her back. To his surprise, she didn't use any of her freaky angel or demon or whatever else she had in her but stood still as the boys grabbed her. Castiel clearly felt wrong manhandling Charlie whether it was because she was a kid, a girl, or a prophet no one knew, but even he helped restrain her.

"Chill boys," Charlie said sounding and looking older than her 15 years. "Lock me in a devil's trap if that would make you feel more comfortable. I'm just here to talk."

"Last time you were 'just here to talk' you let a hoard of demons on Cas and my tail!" Sam cried to Dean's bewilderment. He hadn't realized Sam and Cas had seen Charlie while he was unconscious but he guessed it made sense. They wouldn't have just sat by his bedside all day. They would have tried to find their own answers for when the God option didn't work out.

Sam picked the anemic girl up easily and carried her to the giant devil's trap. While he didn't chain her down he did through her in. Rolling her eyes in an attempt to not look as petrified as she was Charlie began speaking. "Nice to see you conscious Dean. How did your little chat with God go? I didn't get a chance to listen in, a bit busy being in Hell and all but from my own chats I can imagine it went something like-free will or a perfect world I chose free will. That daft look a yes?"

"Cut it out kid why did you come here? Are you already Lucifer's b*tch and just fooling us?" Sam asked terrified that Lucifer really was in the girl. He doubted it but he knew that angel, he had that angel inside him, and he knew that would be exactly the kind of thing Lucifer would do.

Charlie's veneer faded and her terror and sorrow shone clear on her face. For the first time since they'd met her in that hospital 3 months ago Charlie looked like your average teenage girl in the face of an Apocalypse you caused-that is to say terrified.

"Sam. Castiel. Remember how every time you found me you pleaded 'let us help you'?" Charlie's voice cracked along with her shell, "Can I still take you up on that offer?"

"You want us to help you?" Dean yelled, "After what you did! You started the Apocalypse that's not something that can just be forgiven. We warned you that Michael and Lucifer were in the same cage and you didn't listen. You are well beyond the point of asking for help!"

"Shut up Dean," Cas interjected, "It's not like you've never done something to start the Apocalypse."

"I just wanted to help my dad!" Charlie cried as she broke down into well deserved tears. "And I did, I freed Michael. Adam too is back in Heaven with his Mom. I didn't know I'd free Lucifer. I didn't know what would happen."

"You should have known! We told you!" Dean said secretly happy that she had freed Adam from the Cage. It was Dean's fault after all that he'd spent about 400 years Hell time in there. Adam deserved to be back at rest.

"Dean give her a break. You're just angry because she'd us all over again," Sam scolded his brother sympathetic to Charlie. Dean had a hand in the first Apocalypse but Charlie and Sam alone knew what it was like to have that on their shoulders and know that because of that the Devil wanted to ride them like a horse.

"It must be a tradition," Charlie muttered.

"It's not going to make them like you," Cas whispered stepping into the demon trap so he could be right next to the girl. "It might be better without them knowing."

Charlie shook her head at Cas and turned to the Winchester boys voice gravelly and face puffed. "Do you want to know why you should help me? The same reason you helped Sam when he did this."

"I helped Sam because he'd my brother and that what family does," Dean growled.

"If that's what family does then help me. Morganstern is my mother's name. I never met my father; he died when I was 8. He never even knew I existed. Still, my mom did a blood test when I was little in case she ever needed child support. When she found out he died she told me his name, John. John Winchester. You need to help me because you're the only family I've got. I'm your sister."