I imagine this chapter is going to be really long. Not sure about the next one just yet. Anyway, enjoy it! There's a lot in this one, but I hope it's well received all the same.
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She still couldn't breathe. The outside hadn't helped at all. Thankfully, Catherine had managed to leave the bunker without arousing anyone's attention, which was very good because she was in quite the emotional state. The worst part was that she wasn't a very emotional woman. Things happened and the world continued on. It was just the way things were and getting upset changed nothing.
But this? This was her fault. Maybe it wasn't because she slept with him. He had mentioned on a few occasions the number of women – sometimes men – that he bedded as if he were talking about the weather or lunch. Sex didn't bother him any and, to be completely honest, those conversations hadn't bothered her either. He was an angel billions of years old with a charming accent and a sharp tongue. Who would ever expect that to be a virgin?
If it wasn't the sex, then what was it? He was so old and had known so many people. What made her a special little snowflake? Was it because of his newly imposed humanity? Did she happen to just appear at a convenient time? Perhaps they had spent too much time together under harsh circumstances.
Once he had his grace back, he would feel differently. He would remember how old and powerful he was. He would remember who he was and who the humans were. She knew he would. He had to. It was the only option she had left. The problem was cramming the damn thing back down his throat.
Cat blinked and looked up into the night and through the trees. She had gotten that phrase from somewhere else... Her head bowed back to the ground.
Lucifer. That was risky business if ever there was one. He was also a being that could not be outsmarted. He relied on the truth and the wording of his speeches. She wondered idly if he had any deaf men in Hell.
Catherine took a deep breath and stayed still for a moment, thinking over the last few days. Balthazar's pleading for them to leave the battle. Gabriel's already very risky plan with the number of people they had. How long since anyone had last seen her. Bal wouldn't want to look for her for some time yet and the others would just presume she was with him. There was still a limit on how much time she had, but... she stayed there. Going to Lucifer-... There wasn't a worse idea out there. Even if all she had to do was tell the truth.
If she stayed, would Balthazar? Would Gabriel's plan work without him? Would it work with all of them? Would it work with a thousand men? If it failed, was there another plan? If Lucifer got Gabriel's grace, could whoever was left alive manage to stop the fight? If they did win, what would be done with Bal's grace?
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, bowing her head to look at her feet. At least she wasn't crying about it all. Probably the shock's fault. When her eyes opened again, the glint off of the knife in her boot caught Catherine's eye. She stared at it for a long moment, thinking back to the last time she had used to the thing. It was too small to chop off heads, but she did anyway back then.
With a heavy frown, she unsheathed the knife and stood up straight to look through the trees again. The night was so quiet, the air terribly humid that it made her hair stick to her. Catherine lifted up the hem of her shirt and began to walk forwards, not really paying much mind as to where she was going or what she was doing with the knife. Her mind, for the first time in a long time, rested on Sidney.
She remembered the first time she saw him. He and his friend had been terrorized by some old man's ghost for nearly a week and neither of them had heeded her warnings until one of them came up dead. She saved him from the ghost and he wanted to learn about other stuff. She told him everything. Taught him what he needed to know to stay alive and paranoid. But then he wanted to join her on hunts. Said that he wanted to help save others, too. People like his friend. Said they could do much more if they stayed together and worked as partners.
The terrible part was that she knew that she should have turned him away. She knew that he had become a bit infatuated with her and that was not only a distraction but dangerous for the both of them. But she was young and wanted more for herself and he looked good enough and he treated her nicely and one thing eventually led to the other... Their relationship had lasted three years while they hunted together across the country. There were fights. There were make ups and break ups. It wasn't as dramatic as it could have been, but that was only because they worked together so easily and fluidly. They knew each other well.
Catherine remembered the last time she saw him far more vividly than the first. She couldn't quite place when was the last time they kissed or spoke or smiled or anything like that. She just remembered looking for the vampire nest and splitting up. She remembered being knocked out and awoken with five of them standing over her. She remembered hearing his voice, but not the words or sound of it. Four of them left her and she managed to kill the one with her little knife. Then she stood and found a wounded one – killed it, too. Then it was just blood everywhere. She remembered finding his head.
She often tried to not think about it all. It seemed like a horrible dream that wasn't even real. Yes, he existed, but what really happened to him? It was so much easier to assume that he just moved on or something. The truth was far too horrible to really believe. Not that she got over it quickly or anything. She just didn't think about it anymore. That was how life went, especially for hunters. She was in her thirties now. It would be her head soon as well. It was just the way things were.
Her own death wasn't some horrible calamity, though. She always knew it was coming. It was the deaths of others that startled her. Sidney's would always be the worst, though, because she truly had cared for him. Because what had happened was her fault.
Now Balthazar was in her life and she had known from the start that his stay would be a brief one. She had begun to care for him a long time ago, but that was just her being completely in awe of an angel in her presence, despite his filthy mouth and alcoholic problems. She was human. She was allowed to be struck by his kind and she was allowed to sacrifice what she had to in order to make sure he wouldn't fall to harm. There was love there, too, but it was a sense of devotion she felt was appropriate anyway. She wasn't the important one.
She couldn't allow him to do something so stupid. Meant to live forever, but he would give it all away to stay on Earth with one human for however long they both lasted? It did sound romantic. It sounded like a fairy tale. An angel falling from Heaven to stay with his human lover. And then his death would also be on her hands. His head would lay there with Sidney's.
She couldn't go through that again. Not for Balthazar. He needed to live. She loved him just as much, if not more, than she had loved Sidney. If he didn't have to die, if there was something that could be done to prevent it, she would make sure to do what she had to until her last breath. By her life, he would not die. He would not lose everything. Not again.
Catherine was in the thick of the woods now. The only light came from the moon and stars overhead. Even if it was day, she doubted she'd be able to see the bunker. Her shirt clung to her stomach, red dots appearing while she put away the knife in her jacket. She let out a deep breath and, for a moment, just stood there.
The nocturnal sounds slowly died down and there was a biting cold piercing through her back. His voice, lazy and cocky, spoke up from behind her. "So you thought about it?" She turned around slowly to face him, but he just kept on. "I mean, it was a big decision, like I said. Whole world. Up in smoke."
She stared back tiredly to Lucifer. He looked the same as the last time, even keeping his distance from her and everything, as if she would scurry away at the first quick movement. To be completely honest, she probably would have wanted to, but it wasn't going to change anything. "I'm surprised," Catherine sighed, looking Lucifer up and down, "All it took was a few prayers. I didn't have to kill a virgin or anything."
A sound escaped him that could have resembled a chuckle. "Kind of figured that was too fancy for you," he said, "Especially right now. I mean, you seem to be in a hurry." She didn't answer back, so he stood a little straighter and tucked his hands in his pockets. "Are you not scared of me anymore, Cat? Michael scares you, I know, but I really thought we had something special."
"I am scared of you," she easily admitted, "I just don't really care right now."
Lucifer just hummed in acknowledgment, nodding his head as if he understood. He probably did. "If I may be so bold as to ask," he spoke up, "what made you change your mind?"
She frowned, well aware of what taunts were coming. "You were right," she said after a quiet pause, "and I don't want him to die for me."
"Of course not," he sighed, "Who would? Though, I'm happy to say that I told you so." Catherine closed her eyes and turned away from him, but he still continued to speak. "What's with the blood?"
Blood? Her eyes opened and she looked down to her stomach, her fingertips lightly touching some of the red stains. "When we invaded Raphael's base," she explained, "Balthazar wrote sigils on both of us that warded away the watchful eye of angels." She looked back up to him. "I didn't have a pen this time. If I'm gone too long, Gabriel will look for me and there goes all of your graces... Though, you could probably take him, honestly." She heard that Gabriel was fast, but he only had his own grace. There was no telling how powerful Lucifer was.
After a moment, seeming to consider her explanation, he smirked. "I like you."
Her brow scrunched up and she frowned. "Why? For the praise?" she sarcastically asked him.
The archangel just shook his head. "No, no... You bled for me."
He pointed at her, about to say something else, probably something about the sort of people that had bled in his name before or how disloyal some of his demons were compared to her, but Catherine just frowned and spoke up before he could with a glare and low growl. "I didn't bleed for you."
A moment of silence passed between them and she was pretty sure he was offended in some way, but Lucifer spoke up again. "That must hurt," he said, looking to her blood stained shirt for a moment, "You're very strong. I'm happy that you've joined the winning team, Catherine."
She only frowned in return. "You talk a lot."
He scoffed. "You really don't care, do you?" Obviously not wanting to push things too far, Cat stayed quiet and didn't say anything. He watched her for a moment, taking his own sweet time, before slowly walking closer to her. She shifted in place, but didn't move away. He only barely seemed to notice before speaking again. "You are familiar with the art of deal making, aren't you? I would say, since I am who I am, that there would have to be more to the contract, but you're also... ah," Lucifer scrunched up his face and shivered, "human. Even you have to admit that you people were never the cleanest sort."
She would even dare to believe that he was trying to make her angry just to get a reaction from her. Catherine just glared back to him. "Satan's a germaphobe," she eventually said with a nod, "Useful." No matter what he did or said, it was too late for her to back out of this situation now. She would have to go in and either win or fail. "Just tell me what you want me to do."
"I'm going to enjoy you in Hell," he said coldly, watching her frown fall away and being proud of it. "You got a knife, apparently. You'll need to cut Michael's throat. Say a few words and the graces will just come pouring on out. Except for his, but... I think I can manage that."
Her frown quickly came back. "How am I supposed to get that close to him? He's not-"
"Shut up." She did and he continued. "That's all part of the deal. You'll sort of have an out of body experience... until you cut him open... and it'll take a little while to get back to the both of you but don't worry. I'm sure you'll provide a wonderful distraction until I'm there. He won't kill you, but he won't be your biggest fan either."
Now the fear was finally starting to set in. This was risky and had too many possibilities of failure. Not to mention the obvious problem. Catherine bit her cheek and took a deep breath. "I guess I should have expected that."
"Yeah," he agreed, "but I hear you're used to him by now. He wasn't angry before, though." She glared back at him, but didn't say anything. "Now," his hands found her shoulders, "let's get this over with, shall we?"
As Lucifer leaned in, she pulled away. "Balthazar."
He frowned to her and she felt a dull pain pulse through her arms and over the old wound in her shoulder. "I told you," he said, "He'll be saved. I never go back on my word, Catherine. I don't lie." He gripped her shoulders harder and held her in place. "Lucky for you, I'm also patient." Lucifer then pulled her closer and kissed her full on the lips.
If the touch of him on her shoulders didn't remind her of who this was, the kiss certainly did. It seemed to take forever for him to break away. When he did, she was left with a coldness that seemed to nest down in her core and she feared it would never leave.
When she opened her eyes, however, she saw Lucifer making a face of disgust. "Humans," he grumbled, then shook his head and smacked his lips, "Seems my little brother likes you just as much as I thought, though." Catherine glared at him just as soon as he turned serious. "Go north," he said, "When you see him, walk straight up to him and slit his throat."
"What do I say?" she asked, remembering there had to be words spoken.
"You know the words," he answered, "It's Enochian. I gave them to you."
The kiss. She frowned. "If all I have to do is go north, then why won't you be there?"
He almost smirked to the question. "It's called cat and mouse, dear," he said with amusement, "I'll lead him to you, but I have to vanish when he gets here or you lose your chance." Finally, his hands left her shoulders. "And Catherine, don't hesitate. If it fails, I'll hurt you a lot, okay?"
Before she was done nodding, he was going. Catherine grimaced, bending forward and lightly touching the wounds on her stomach. Her entire torso had been throbbing since he showed up.
Go north, he says. Catherine groaned before unsheathing the knife again and walking on. If she lived though this stupid contract, she was sure that disgusting kiss would never leave her. More importantly, she wondered about Balthazar and if he had decided to look for her or not yet. Perhaps he decided to let them both have the night to consider the conversation. Perhaps he decided to hell with it and just left without looking at all. It wasn't as if she seemed to return his feelings, did she? Perhaps she hurt him far more than she thought. She hoped not. She hoped he had looked for her and maybe even gone to Gabriel by now. So much depended on it.
She was so stupid. The feeling only just really washed over her in that moment. Maybe there was no other choice now than this. Maybe there never was. Whether the stupid thing failed or succeeded, he would hate her. If that hate drove him to choose to take his wings back, perhaps she could live with it.
On the other hand, this all felt a bit too easy. Maybe it was because she was doing the wrong thing, but it was still Michael. How could this be easy?
She walked along for maybe a mile, when there was a sound of large wings. Catherine stopped moving out of instinct and stayed quiet to listen. Was it Michael? Gabriel? Lucifer had told her not to hesitate. Taking a deep, silent breath, she moved forward through the trees until he became visible.
Michael just stood there, looking up to the sky with a frown as if he were thinking and he seemed to have no idea she was there. Was this a trick? Michael was the first angel. How could he not know about a human standing ten feet away from him? He only stared up to the sky and Cat realized her feet hadn't actually stopped moving yet. What if he decided to leave before she could get her shot? Everything would be over. He had Balthazar-
Michael took a step and she ran forward, the last few feet moving away from her far too quickly and, before she could realize it, her knife whistled through the air and the archangel's throat was sliced. It all happened so quickly. She heard words being spoken by her own voice, but hardly noticed that she was speaking them. She had just struck Michael. She had wounded Michael. He was going to hurt her, but Lucifer was right. He wouldn't kill her. He would want to hurt her badly. The thought made her shuffle back just as quickly as she cut him.
But he hardly glanced over to her before his head fell back and a bright white light ruptured through him. Catherine fell back to the ground, covering her eyes as she realized that it was the graces. That had been so easy. Of course it was easy. She chanced a look to him and had never seen something so bright in her life. The graces shot from him as if they were trying to fly away, but they all just pooled to the ground a few yards away from them, acting like they had no other place to go but wanted to be away all the same... She could relate.
While the last few graces poured away, Catherine tried to crawl backwards on the ground. Lucifer also wanted her to act as a distraction, but she remembered the last times she was in the presence of Micheal. He frightened her far more than anything else could. Satan or Hell had nothing on him.
He took a deep breath and choked. With a cough, his knees brought him to the hard ground. Blood drained down his chest and had started to trickle out of his mouth when he suddenly glanced over to her. His blue eyes glowed and his face was contorted with shock. Then anger.
She tried to get up and run before her body was dragged back to him. The world went dark and the pain began again. This time she even thought that she was screaming.
His graces were gone. Even Raphael's. Michael brought a hand up to his neck before looking at the bloody red palm. He couldn't gain them back. Not right now. He knew that the hunter girl hadn't acted alone in this, but this wasn't something Gabriel would pull. Not while leaving her by herself, at least. No, this was a different brother.
His face pulled into a sneer as he stood and looked down on her. There wasn't as much blood as the first time. That was mostly for show, really. He knew Balthazar wouldn't leave those woods without her. It was just her fault that she didn't really get it over with sooner. Now, though? He didn't need blood to make her hurt.
"Look at me," he growled, kicking her ribs hard enough to twist her over on the ground to face him. His voice was mostly lost on him. It just sounded raspy and rough after her deep gash. "You fool. What did he promise you?" She didn't speak, of course. Just bit her lip as hard as she could. "It won't be worth it. I should have never have left you alive. Ever! You corruptive creature! All of you are!"
She whimpered before spitting up blood. It only seemed to make him angrier. "You will die and you will die horribly in the hopes that you might learn something. Now. Behind me." He waved an arm and threw her to the side so that he could see the graces pooling and bubbling away from him. They wanted to be somewhere – be a part of something – but there was a confusion. Michael began to walk forward, Catherine being dragged behind him like he was pulling her, but the graces slowly moved away the closer he got. They moved into a small clearing in the brush where the sky could be clearly seen and tall grass covered the ground instead of dead leaves and twigs. The graces just weaved through the grass, getting further and further away.
Michael angrily stopped walking along the edge of the little clearing. The white wisps continued on for several feet before gently flowing to a stop as well. The archangel growled in his throat. "That spell of yours... It'll be some time before I can even touch a grace again. Even my own is burning." He turned around to face her again. "What did he promise you?"
There was no answer. Catherine laid still on the ground, trying to take shallow breaths to not hurt herself further. Any movement sent a painful jolt through her body, so she just stayed there, one arm wrapped around her torso and the hand clutching so hard to her shirt that the knuckles had gone white.
He watched her lay there, not answering him, hardly even breathing. "He's going to burn everything if he gets here before I can reclaim them," he spoke and still didn't receive an answer. "Did you want the world to end? I was going to save it. I was going to save all of you. My Father commanded me to love mankind and I do! I would have saved everything!" She knew what he was preaching. Gabriel and Dean had already explained it. She just continued to stay quiet, not feeling like trying to talk sense into him. His voice broke her thoughts. "Either way, we have time," he told her, slowing inching closer, "Lucifer will get here or your spell will wear off, but we'll still make the most of what time we have. Won't we?"
Catherine slowly turned her head, the first sign of life from her in several minutes as she looked up to him and watched him approach her through half lidded eyes. She was scared and there was a coldness building in her that frightened her more. He was going to kill her. She was going to die. Her mind instantly went to Sidney and just as quickly moved to Balthazar. The way they had parted wasn't fair. She really should have said something. Literally anything that amounted to the truth. She loved him dearly and all he knew was that she walked away from his confession and didn't come back. How was that right?
Maybe she was right about an angel's fickleness and he already hated her and didn't care one way or the other. Maybe he had already looked for her and gone to Gabriel, but that wouldn't help now.
"Brother."
She slowly blinked, hearing that horrible graveled voice and finding that she was thankful for the devil. Catherine took in a shaky, relieved breath, as Michael narrowed his eyes and turned around.
Lucifer stood there, in between his big brother and the graces that mingled into the grass. He glanced down to the hunter and back up again. "I have a contract. You can't just do stuff like this, you know."
"Lucifer." Michael frowned deeply, seeming to barely hold his anger. "Cheap tricks were never beneath you, but this is ridiculous."
"It's war, dear brother." He lightly smiled and glanced back to the white mists. "Those are mine now." When he looked back to Michael, the other glared at him hard.
After a deep breath, the elder spoke, "I won't let you take them. Not without a fight and you know-"
"I don't care," Satan chuckled, "We missed the mark by years, Michael. Does any of it even matter anymore? Yes, you and I both want things to be resolved and I respect that, but the road to get there?" He shrugged. "The way to sin is always the easiest, wouldn't you agree?"
The other nearly growled, but a sound from behind him gave him pause. Once Lucifer glanced over, he turned as well to see Catherine, slowly trying to make her way to her knees, hand still clutching hard to her shirt as if that alone took the pain away. Michael narrowed his eyes, as if he were confused by what he was seeing happen in front of him. Lucifer just chuckled again. "Well, she's a pistol, I'll give her that. Don't worry, Catherine. The men are talking."
She didn't say anything. Once Cat gained some balance to her knees, she put one leg beneath her and hauled herself up to the best standing position she could manage. Once finally standing, she allowed herself to finally cough and let the blood that had collected in her throat to ease away, but the act made her stumble slightly. After another breath and she was sure she was balanced again, she looked up to the angels in front of her. Lucifer looked impressed. Michael only tilted his head, seeming more and more confused the longer she was able to stand. She knew what he was thinking. Humans were such versatile and driven creatures that could never really be categorized or some sort of long meaningful speech that she knew he hated even thinking about.
Catherine took one more breath, wishing that the air in her lungs didn't hurt so badly, before she began to pull and rip a piece of her shirt off. She greatly enjoyed the split second of their faces falling once their eyes landed on the banishing sigil carved into her stomach, decorated along the sides with the anti-detection sigils she had talked about earlier. Balthazar had shown this to her a very long time ago, before she even met the Winchesters. She still wondered if he gave her that knowledge out of fear of Castiel or as a sign of trust... She thought of the last time she had seen him and her chest felt hollow.
Lucifer and Michael both looked up to her quickly, her hand finally untangling itself from the piece of cloth. Such a quick second passed that seemed like an eternity where no one knew what the other was going to do. And then-
"No!" Satan's shout brought them all back. Both angels raised their arms to her and she quickly brought a hand down against her stomach.
A bright light and the sound of screams erupted in the area. Then, just as quickly as it began, the light was gone and all noise along with it. One person remained in the clearing and she fell like a rag doll to the ground.
Oh dear.
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