Sorry about the wait! Worked picked up suddenly, but we're nearing the end. Literally. A lot quicker than you may think.
Thank you for the follows, by the way. Now. Drum roll, please.
Displacement was a horrible thing to experience.
Catherine blinked, trying to see in the darkness and still not moving from her spot. Her first thought upon feeling no pain at all was that she must be dead. Then she realized that she was breathing and figured that maybe she wasn't. She blinked again, her eyes beginning to adjust, but instead of seeing a starry sky overhead like she predicted, it was a ceiling with a big white sigil going around the four corners of the small room. She was inside of a room... and that sound wasn't thunder.
Cat slowly leaned up to a better sitting position, looking around at the metal walls. More sigils in several colors and... the sound was definitely not thunder. It was the groaning of something else. Of-... Of the walls around her...
She began to glance around the room, realizing she was on a mattress and the floor beneath her had a big devil's trap that she recognized. She knew where she was. This was the Men of Letter's dungeon... and she was the one trapped in it now.
The walls suddenly creaked louder and she heard something not too far away loudly bang against something else. What the hell was going on? Why did they trap her in here? What had happened to Michael and Lucifer? What had happened to the graces?... Were the sigils in place to keep something out? She looked above her again and recognized some of the scribbles from the anti-detection wards she was taught. It was Enochian. They were keeping her away from angels... Angels.
Something loud echoed that sounded like a strong banister snapping somewhere and Catherine stood. It was angels they were protecting her from and it must have been angels trying to get in. How would they get this far into the bunker? Where were the others? What the hell was going on? She nearly tripped over her bag as she backed away in a panic... Someone thought ahead at least and she wondered if it had been Balthazar... But how did the angels get here? Maybe her friends were off somewhere else hunting down the archangels. Maybe they just weren't here. Or maybe they were dead...
She unzipped the bag, praying for a note or something, but only found the contents she had packed into that thing herself. Thankfully, that included an angel blade... Except she was still trapped. Catherine looked up to the entrance, the cabinets that were acting as a door buckling and shaking violently. The angels either sought to crush the room around her or get inside and kill her. She couldn't just wait around and find out... There was no telling how many were out there fighting against so many wards.
Cat stood and held the blade levelly in front of her. Close combat was not her style at all, but Balthazar had taught her what he had known. He seemed like he was good at it. She just had to do what he had said and stay focused... and run as soon as she got the chance. Finding the others alive was the goal here. She could figure out everything else later...
After a deep breath, she ran and slammed her body against a weak spot in the entrance, barreling through suddenly and stabbing the first person she saw through the stomach. The woman gaped back at her in shock, but burst into light and fell. Catherine lashed around and cut another angel's throat before he could unsheathe his blade. She didn't wait around for the light show. She could see at least two more angels coming towards her, swords drawn, and she ran.
Catherine flew out of the door, her body suddenly feeling stiff and slow, but she ran down the hallway as quickly as she could, noticing the broken sigils along the walls.
"Don't be dead," she muttered to herself, "Don't be-"
Someone grabbed her arm and she almost shrieked, but quickly stabbed him in the chest, too, once making sure he wasn't a friend. The first thing she noticed was that he hesitated to attack. The second thing she noticed was the black eyes. She watched him fall, but by that point one of the angels had caught up to her.
"You're not as scared as you should be," Lucifer purred, watching Balthazar closely. It was only the two of them standing in a barely lit parking lot, some place that was a bit further away than originally thought. The Winchesters would just have to move a bit quicker... Or maybe that was part of the plan.
This grand scheme was starting to piss him off considering he hadn't been let in on it.
However, the reason why was a bit obvious as Satan furrowed his brow. "You're not alone, obviously," he continued to speak, "but you're confident about whomever you're with..." Lucifer snorted. "I wonder who that could be." His hand reached out and caught hold of Gabriel's wrist. "Well, if it isn't the Greyjoy."
As Lucifer turned to face him, Gabe frowned. "You caught that reference?"
"Shut up," he sighed, before twisting his brother around and throwing him into Balthazar.
The two fell hard to the ground, the younger of the two pushing the other off as quickly as he could. "That was your big plan?" Bal yelled and tried to get to his feet, but Lucifer was standing over the two of them.
Satan wrapped his hand around Balthazar's neck. "No, no," he told him, "Gabby's better than that. It's why you're not dead yet... But I'm stronger."
Bal's hands wrapped his brother's wrist, hoping Lucifer wouldn't burst him into flames, when Gabriel stood up beside him. "Yeah!" he shouted, "Well-!" He suddenly leaped forward and tackled the devil like an American football player. The surprise worked, though. Lucifer doubled over with an oomf and fell back, but he quickly turned and threw Gabriel off of him again, the younger one slamming his back hard against the pavement.
Satan gasped for breath for a second or so and tilted his head. "Really?" He glanced over to Balthazar, who was standing now but only to back off a bit. "He kills Michael, you vow to protect him anyway, and then you tackle me? Really?"
"So maybe I'm running out of ideas," Gabriel gasped out, rolling on to his side and holding up a hand. "But we're still alive, so maybe my ideas are working."
Lucifer closed his eyes and shook his head. "Gabriel, the only reason you two are alive right now is because I'm letting you. I want your help to overthrow this nonsense. I know you loved Michael."
"I loved you, too," the other answered, going to his knees and then his feet again, "But you two are nuts. I'm not all for the mass genocide, brother. Yeah, Balthazar killed Michael, but it wasn't because he had other choices in the matter."
"Other choices?" Lucifer glanced over to Bal, who only stood his ground. "Michael was going to kill his human whore. Oh no, whatever shall we do?"
Gabe shook his head. "He was going to destroy her soul," he said seriously, "It's way different and you know it. That's not what we're about. It's not even what you're about."
"No, brother, I'm not about destroying them," Lucifer growled back, "I'm about making them suffer. To show what they really are to all of you idiots and to prove that I am right! Besides... He loves them more than us, Gabriel. I want them to hurt so that I can make Him hurt. You can't tell me there's no beauty in that."
"You're a dick," Balthazar finally spoke up and Lucifer blinked before looking over to him. He looked shocked, so Bal repeated himself. "You're a spoiled dick. I can't have Daddy's love, so no one can. Do you know what that sounds like?"
"Balthazar." Lucifer spoke in a low tone and shifted his jaw. "Shut up."
Bal flew back and hit hard against the ground but didn't move to get up. He grunted in pain as well, but it couldn't have been too terrible. "That tickles, Luci," he growled out between clinched teeth.
Lucifer hardly paid him any mind. He just looked back to Gabriel. "I'm going to kill him," he told his younger brother. "It's going to be slow and it's going to be very painful, but before I do that, I'm going to get back that soul you likely hid away somewhere and make him watch her suffer and be destroyed, too."
Balthazar grunted from the ground. "Original."
Gabriel glanced over to him with a tired smile, knowing full well the thought of all those threats were terrifying for him. Then he looked over to his older brother and squared his shoulders. "No, you're not."
"Yes," he said with full conviction and belief, "I am."
A gunshot echoed over the area, making dogs bark from far away and for Lucifer to look down at his chest. There was a small hole right where his vessel's heart was where a bright light shined through. He clicked his tongue, feeling a burning sting and turned around to face his would-be killer. During the shock of being shot through the back, it seemed that his hold on Balthazar had gone down as well.
Castiel stood there with the gun raised level, but he still shifted on his feet. He could see Gabriel give him a confused look from behind the devil, obviously currently unarmed or he would have taken the opportunity. Cas just shifted some more and glanced to his brother still on the ground, not bothering to get to his feet yet, but just watching for what would happen.
"Castiel," Lucifer groaned, "Did you just try to shoot me and assume that it would work?"
"I knew it wouldn't work," Cas shrugged, "but I thought it would hurt more than that."
"You're going to hurt more than that," he growled back.
Gabriel scoffed from behind him and muttered under his breath. "Wow, good comeback." He shot another look to Castiel, wondering if the Winchesters were hiding somewhere close by, but the younger angel looked too tense for that...
"Shut up," Lucifer said again from over his shoulder.
Balthazar watched them do a back and forth... He knew that Gabriel was stalling for more time, but Lucifer wasn't taking advantage of it. He stood by with witty banter and threats by his side. Were there reinforcements arriving? Why didn't Gabe look more worried?
Then, he heard it. Bal's head snapped around and he left, abandoning his brothers in a flourish of wings.
Gabriel and Castiel, both suddenly shocked, looked to where Balthazar had been and waited for him to reappear. Time ticked by slowly and Lucifer sighed to them both. "I wouldn't worry," he told them, "He's already too late."
Cas' eyes widened. "The bunker. But we-"
Gabriel lurched forward again, pushing against the older archangel before diving to the ground for his blade. This was getting serious now.
Catherine's feet pounded against the floor as she ran as hard as she could. Her jacket was gone – the extra fabric immediately becoming a liability after one of them had torn it to shreds – and she had a good bit of blood splattered across her. Miraculously, none of it was her own. Though, the really bad part about all of this is that she never could get very far every time she went in a different direction.
Once she tried hiding and sneaking away, but there were too many of them. Cat wasn't able to stay in one place for more than thirty seconds before someone ran across her.
Why were there so many of them? Why were angels and demons working together? Where were the others?
She couldn't even make it to the garage. Calling out for someone would only attract more attention her way than she already had. She even considered praying to Gabriel once or twice, but her own thoughts were either not working or he wasn't listening. It was probably the former since she kept getting panicked and distracted... That's the one she would like it to be, at least.
But this was just becoming worse. The longer she was in the bunker, the more of them that were after her. How did they even get in? Her panic was increasing by the second and she quickly glanced around as much as she could while running. Looking for signs of a body or blood or a fight or anything. It was like they had just left her there.
A demon quickly ran out from the corner ahead of her and charged, forcing Catherine to stop running and fight, stabbing him as fast as she could in the chest. The demon fell to the ground just as another began running for her and she cursed, not having enough time to pull the blade free.
She abandoned it and started running in the opposite direction, once again just going back over her same trails and ending up nowhere, except this time without a weapon.
After running back into the main room, which was apparently a big mistake, an angel grabbed her arm and twisted her body around until Cat's back was pressed against the wall. The angel didn't say anything. He only looked to be very angry and not hesitating his chance with any pleasantries. His other arm held his own blade and he had pulled back to plunge it into her and Catherine panicked. Gabriel couldn't hear her prayers. They were gone or dead or- Again, she thought of the only person that she really could count on, but instead of thinking on any of the good times she had with him or the funny or sweet or even annoying times, she only remembered how she had failed him and the last time she had seen him.
"Balthazar."
A powerful wind fell across her, the sound of wings echoing in the halls, and the other angel was exploding into light before she could even figure out what was happening. Someone had placed himself between them and quickly tossed the angel across the room. She knew him – recognized him – but he had killed two of the demons closest before he stopped fighting and stood protectively in front of her. She blinked up to him, mind stalling for the moment.
The angels and demons had stopped the chase and just stood, watching for movements from the new enemy. Balthazar stood in front of their target now, practically growling for them to come a hair closer. All it took was for one of them to turn tail and run before others joined in, but some stayed behind and stood their ground before darting forward in a charge.
Balthazar rushed forward and took them out as they came, never allowing himself to get overwhelmed. It was easy and fluid. He would just touch some of them and they'd burst into light and fall dead. He could vanish when he liked. He had his wings back – his grace – and he destroyed everyone threatening him. He was okay. Her plan had worked and he was okay. Her legs wanted to give out beneath her with relief and shock.
The last of them was dead quickly enough and the bunker was silent, the ones that had ran off were long gone. He waited a moment in case someone was lurking around until finally turning to see if Catherine was all right. She stared back to him, leaning against the wall like she would fall without it, completely alive. The moment threatened to take his breath away, but his legs moved without him and he was quickly approaching her, dropping the sword in his hands to their feet.
"Are you all right?" he asked with a raspy voice, hands just hovering over the sides of her face, hesitant to actually touch her.
All Catherine could do for the moment was nod, just staring up at him. "You have your grace," she eventually muttered, but realized that wasn't what needed to be said. "Bal."
"Do you remember anything?" he followed up quickly, his eyes quickly glancing over her body just in case she was hurt and didn't notice. His hands moved to her shoulders, lightly touching her.
Cat's brow furrowed and she blinked to him. "I-... I remember... leaving. And Lucifer. Michael... Bal-"
"You don't remember after that? You don't remember-" He stopped, wondering if she even realized she had been dead, but just shook his head before she could get a word in. "No, it's fine. It's fine. You're back. You're okay-"
"Bal." She stressed his name, finally getting him to stop and look to her. "I made a deal with him," she finally got out one of the many things she wanted to say, "I made a deal with Lucifer. I-"
He just started nodding. "I know. I know. I know what happened. We didn't get there in time, but we found the graces. We figured out the rest-"
"No, Bal," she shook her head, distraught and trying to step a little closer to him. Perhaps she was right about the whole line between humanity and angel thing. Maybe he didn't care like he did before. "I'm sorry," she finally got out, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have gone to him. I wanted to help you. I wanted to get your grace back, but I'm sorry I did it like that. I promised you, Bal. I'm so sorry..."
Cat slowly stopped speaking, because he had stopped moving. Balthazar stared back to her, frozen in place like he couldn't believe what she was saying and that made her want to start screaming it at him. She worried away at what he was going to do or say, but he just didn't move for a long, terrible moment, until he quickly reached forward and wrapped her in a tight hug.
One of his hands tangled into her hair and she felt his kisses on the top of her head. "It's all right," he murmured to her, soft and warm like he used to. "You're back. Everything's okay now. Everything's okay."
Still confused, Catherine just buried her face into his chest, questions and doubts going around her mind. A lot of things had happened since her deal with Lucifer, that was apparent enough. Yet, even after gaining his grace back, he still seemed to feel the same. He just... probably didn't want to or something. There were too many things happening at once, but he was still holding on to her, so she stayed quiet in his arms.
Bal only held her tighter, trying to relish the moment and think on what to do. He could find a safe place to put her since the enemy obviously wanted their hands on her and he could go back to Gabriel to fight. Or he could whisk them both away to safety and abandon his brothers rather than abandon her. He knew what he should choose, but he also knew which one he would regret more if things went badly.
He tilted his head lower, his lips lightly moving over her temple. "It's too dangerous here," he murmured, "Michael's dead and Lucifer's seeking vengeance. He'll skin you alive if he got his hands on you."
Michael was dead. How in they hell were they able to kill him? "Did I die?"
His eyes closed. "It doesn't matter. You're here now." Bal took a steadying breath and inched away from her to see her eyes. "You can't stay here. I need to go back to Gabriel, but I have to get you to safety-"
"No." The opposition nearly shocked him, but she only looked insulted. "No, I'm not leaving you to fight against the freaking devil. I'm not a damsel in distress! Well... I'm not usually, but I'm not weak, either!"
"I know," he said sternly, hands brushing against her cheeks, "I know... But you can't stay here. I won't let you. I'm not doing that again."
"Balthazar, you can't go back to all of that fighting by yourse-"
"I'm not. Doing that. Again." He didn't mean to sound so harsh, but it at least managed to make her stop arguing for the moment. "Do you understand?" he asked, knowing full well that she couldn't. "You're going somewhere far away from here. Somewhere safe. That's it... I will not go through losing you again, you understand?"
She still didn't answer him, a bit shocked by the sudden emotion – the determination he gave off. It didn't matter what she told him, because she had hurt him once already and he refused to be hurt again. "... Balthazar," she breathed out his name and bit the edge of her lip, "I failed you-"
"Stop." He shook his head, refusing to hear it. "Stop apologizing. You're here. Nothing else matters so long as you stay here, all right? I'll keep you safe. I'll handle everything."
"I love you." He froze again, like he was wondering if he heard right and she wondered if saying that was a mistake or not. "I failed you. I should have told you. I shouldn't have left. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, but I love you... I'm sorry that I hurt you. I'm sorry." She forced her mouth closed, otherwise she would just continue to apologize like he already told her to stop doing. But he didn't move. He didn't jump forward to hold her like before. He just remained still like that and the anxiety came back. "Bal..."
She noticed him blink, his eyes shifting just a bit, right before he kissed her. He pushed her back hard against the wall and she couldn't help but wonder if this was the proper time or place. However, Balthazar just as quickly pulled away, touching his forehead with hers. "Sorry," he said breathless, but his eyes locked with hers and stayed that way. She stopped wondering about what the rest of the world was doing, but still didn't move to kiss him again as much as she wanted to. He still loved her. The knowledge was enough.
It almost seemed like he was about to smile, but bit his lip instead and pulled away from her completely, breaking the eye contact. "I need to get you somewhere safe."
Catherine's eyes darted behind him and Balthazar flinched at the sudden drop in temperature, but turned to face the threat anyway.
"Now hold your horses, Romeo," Lucifer said tiredly, waving one of his red hands and blood splattered his face, "She's not going anywhere." With a twist of his hand, Bal flew several feet away into the steps of the library, screaming in pain. "I'm not Michael," Satan said, approaching Catherine, "I don't play with my food."
She looked to Balthazar as he gasped in pain while she tried to decide quickly on what to do. With little time to act, Cat finally just lunged for Lucifer, but he easily took her from the air and twisted them both around before her back slammed into the floor.
"Then again," he growled, his hand suddenly wrapped around her throat, "I have been waiting for this. Look sharp, Balthy!"
Balthazar could only look at the two, paralyzed. He wanted to scream at how fast everything was happening. He wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. She looked terrified and he could do nothing. Again. Over and over again. "No!"
Another gunshot rang out, but this time Lucifer stiffened and collapsed. Catherine gasped for air and quickly scrambled to get out from underneath him.
"Move!" Dean screamed, running in the room with the Colt in his hand still aimed for the devil, his younger brother right behind him.
Cat quickly did as told, gaining her feet long enough to run to Balthazar. He was breathing hard, watching Lucifer in shock, but his hands still grasped her when Cat was close enough.
Dean looked over to them and made sure the gun was loaded for the fifteenth time since he got his hands on it. "He won't stay down long," he said, nodding to Balthazar.
Before he could say anything else, wings sounded next to them. Gabriel stood watching Lucifer, blood across him as well, as Castiel yanked the gun from Dean's grip. "We're staying," he said, looking to Bal, "Get them out of here."
Dean looked offended about the gun for a second, but then blinked in confusion. "Them?"
Balthazar began to stand while Cat held on to him. "We can help," she tried reasoning, "You guys can't just do this on your own. This is crazy."
He looked down to her, pulling on her arm to get her to her feet. "I handled Michael on my own."
She stared at him. "... You what?"
Dean just looked around. "Why did he say them? Give me back the damn gun."
Balthazar ignored him and gripped on to Catherine's hand. "Hold on."
She heard his wings – even could be fooled into thinking that she felt them against her – and suddenly she was much warmer, the ocean at her ears and sand beneath her feet. While she only watched Balthazar, Dean twisted around, looking at the tiny island in the broad daylight with nothing but clear ocean surrounding the three of them. "What the hell?" he screamed, "You don't kick me out of the damn fight!"
Bal still ignored him, watching Cat shake her head. "Don't go. Don't do this."
"I must. I told you why," he replied sternly, "I'll be back for you both when it's done." She still looked scared, so he continued. "I'll be okay. I won't die... I won't do that to you."
Slowly, her worry turned into determination. Cat closed her eyes for a long moment before looking to him again. "Swear."
He leaned forward and placed a lasting kiss on her forehead until he slowly moved away. "I swear." His wings beat against the ground, stirring up the sand, and he was gone.
Dean looked at her, to the ocean, and back to her. "This is bullshit!"
Again, sorry about the lateness. I was going to wrap up the whole story in this chapter, but since it's already pretty long and I haven't updated in about a week, here's the first part. The big finale is coming next and I hope you're as excited as I am!
(And there will even be a bonus chapter of goodies, but that's still a bit of a surprise.)
Review, follow, etc. Thank you all for staying with this for so long. :)