It was difficult to watch Dean mulling over whatever dark thoughts floated in his head. During her short time with the boys, she'd seen many sides of Dean. This one worried her the most. "Dean?" Bobby called out. "Dean! You listen to a word I said?"
Bobby had been trying to imply the importance of family, of sticking together, especially now with that the apocalypse was nigh. "Yeah, I heard you," Dean responded, crossing his arms. "I'm not calling him." He stood away from Arielle and Bobby, staring out the window. His sister lay on the couch and Bobby took a step, standing behind Dean.
"Don't make me get my gun, boy," Bobby threatened, though they all knew he would do no such thing. Arielle sat up, toying with the phone in her pocket. She'd been thinking about texting Sam back, asking him to let her help. She rejected the idea after realizing how bad Dean was doing.
"We are damn near kickoff for Armageddon. Don't you think we got bigger fish at the moment?" Dean stated, finally turning to his surrogate father.
Bobby locked his eyes on him. "I know you're pissed," he started again. "And I'm not making apologies for what he's done, but he's your- "
"Blood? He's my blood, is that what you were gonna say?" Dean challenged. Arielle stood now, slightly pulling Bobby away. She bit her lip, turning her own eyes towards Dean.
"He's our brother. And I don't think he knows he's drowning," she said softly.
The eldest Winchester went back to staring at the window, and though his arms were crossed, Arielle saw his hands were fists. "I tried to help him, I did. You both saw what happened."
"So try again," Bobby interjected, his tone still firm.
"It's too late," Dean replied evenly.
Arielle knew she should keep her mouth shut, but she couldn't stop the words from tumbling out. "There's no such thing."
"No, dammit," Dean roared, fully turning to face them now. "I gotta face the facts." Arielle held her ground, though she saw the red flush travelling upwards from his neck, the veins growing as his eyes focused on her and Bobby. "Sam never wanted part of this family. He hated this life growing up. Ran away to Stanford first chance he got. Now it's like déjà vu all over again." He dropped onto the couch, arms still crossed as he exhaled sharply. "Well, I am sick and tired of chasing him. Screw him, he can do what he wants."
His sister took a seat beside him, pausing before setting her hand on his shoulder. When his eyes turned to her, she shook her head. "You don't mean that," Arielle said.
His gaze never flinched. "Yes, I do. Sam's gone. He's gone," he stated, holding her gaze for a few more seconds before looking away. "I'm not even sure if he's still my brother anymore. If he ever was." Arielle sighed, green eyes turning to Bobby as the older man gave them his back. Arielle noticed his heaving shoulders and to her surprise, he swept his arms over his desk, sending books and papers flying everywhere.
Bobby turned to Dean, stomping towards him. Both Winchester siblings rose, bodies tense as one prepared to fight and the other to interfere. "You stupid, stupid son of a bitch!" Bobby screamed, getting up in Dean's face. "Well, boo hoo, I am so sorry your feelings are hurt, princess! Are you under the impression that family's supposed to make you feel good?! Make you an apple pie, maybe? They're supposed to make you miserable! That's why they're family!"
Dean stood his ground, never wincing. "I told him, 'You walk out that door, don't come back!' and he walked out anyway!" he returned, pointing to an imaginary exit. "That was his choice!"
"You sound like a whiny brat," Bobby started up again. "No, you sound like your dad." At this, even Arielle's temper began rising. "Well, let me tell you something. Your dad was a coward."
"My dad was a lot of things, Bobby, but a coward?" Dean said through gritted teeth.
Bobby gave a sharp nod. "He'd rather push Sam away than reach out to him. Well, that don't strike me as brave," he continued, before pointing his chin at Arielle. "He kept her hidden from us, and when they fell out, he didn't reach out either. You can't call that anything but cowardly. And you are a better man than your daddy ever was, Dean. So you do us both a favor. Don't be him." Arielle looked away now, feeling as if she was punched in the gut after Bobby's little speech. It was true. He hadn't reached out, after she decided to cut him out. Not once. "D-Dean?"
The blonde's head jerked up at the confused tone in Bobby's voice. Her eyes widened when the spot Dean was standing in three seconds ago was empty. Arielle and Bobby looked at each other. "What the hell?" Bobby muttered, numbly walking into the area Dean had occupied.
"Angel duty," Arielle muttered after some seconds, slamming a fist onto the couch before digging through the cushions. "Bobby, it's started. We need to find Sam, now. I don't think the angel's will make it possible for us to find Dean, but we got a shot at Sam, slim as it is. And if we find him, we still have a chance to stop this." She gave a relieved sigh when the Impala's keys jingled in her hand.
"Where you going?" Bobby asked as he headed to the kitchen. He was hoping like hell his contacts would come in handy. She quickly understood as she grabbed her jacket and slid it on.
"Research. We need to find out exactly where Lucifer is. If I got this right, there has to be a door opening to this world, kind of like the Devil's Gate you guys told me about. If we can find that, we can find Sam before he faces off with Lilith and help him stop her," she replied as she headed to the front door. "There can't be an apocalypse party without the guest of honor, right?"
The young woman's back ached and she stretched it out before pouring over the books again. "There has to be a connection," she muttered, flipping through pages as her eyes switched between them and the bright computer screen. "Sam is Lucifer, Dean is Michael, the seals are obviously keys to the prison, but where is the door?"
She felt her phone vibrate and Bobby's name came up on the screen. "Any luck?" he greeted as she held up the phone with a shoulder while typing in Lilith's name into a search system. "Sam ain't answering and I doubt Dean's in the coverage area anymore."
Arielle shook her head absentmindedly, going back to a book to examine an image. Saint Michel terrassant le Dragon was the title, created by the artist Josse Lieferinxe. She blinked suddenly, pulling the book closer to her face, focusing on the Dragon's eyes. "Yellow. The yellow-eyed demon. What's his name again?"
"Azazel. What's he got to do with it? He's dead," Bobby stated and she could practically see the frown on his face. Her mind started making the connection, though, as she deleted Lilith's name and quickly typed in Azazel.
"Sam and Dean told me about him, how he was the one that started the family into the hunter's life. He started it all," she stated breathlessly, her eyes burning as she scanned link after link. "There has to be a connection, I know it." She cut off with a triumphant cry when an article caught her eye. Many would've called it another case of insanity, but she had picked up the boys' eye for the supernatural.
"What do you have?" Bobby asked and she heard him shuffling around his desk, a jangle of keys jarring in the line. Biting her lip, she skimmed through the article.
"St. Mary's. Eight nuns were killed there back in 1972. The priest who committed the murders said a demon possessed him and made him do it. He even gave a name – Azazel."
"I'll be damned," Bobby murmured as all fell quiet on his side. "Where- "
Arielle interrupted him before he could finish. "Bobby, I gotta go." Flipping her phone closed, she didn't bother with the books or computer. She stood and made a quick exit as the phone vibrated in her hand. An hour later, she had a map spread out on the trunk of the Impala and she traced out the distance between her and the appointed nunnery. "Shit!"
It would take her more than a day to get there, if she didn't sleep at all. She had a feeling her time was running short and this show would be on the road long before she even got halfway there. Looking at her phone, she saw the dozens of missed calls from Bobby and ignored them to check the time. An hour until midnight. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," she muttered, pacing as she tried to figure out a way to get there faster. She froze, her eyes going up to the sky. "Fuck." Taking a breath, she closed her eyes. "Castiel, I know you can hear me. I need your help. My brothers need your help. Stop being a fuckin' puppet to those assholes upstairs and help us."
Her eyes stayed shut, afraid that the space before her would be empty when she opened them. "Do you plan on saying more in that prayer?" his deep voice came and her eyes snapped open. She let out the breath she was holding, her hand landing on her heart.
"Christ, I wasn't sure that was going to work," she confessed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Please, I need your help. I need to get to St. Mary's." The surprised look on Castiel's face was something new to her.
"How did you know about the convent?"
"I'm good at what I do. Are you going to help me or not? There's still time to stop this, Castiel, to save Sam and Dean from this crap destiny they want to push onto them. I don't know what you've been through up there. I won't pretend to know. But you've seen what Sam and Dean have gone through, what they've lost," Arielle pleaded to the angel. "You can't let those assholes do this. They're all they have."
"Don't you count?" Castiel answered suddenly. "You will be killed for interfering."
Arielle blinked, taken aback at his quick response, before hanging her head. "Castiel, I'm alone. Dean and Sam are the only family I have, half-brothers at that. I know it will be a lifetime before I truly become a member of their family. And I'm okay with that. What I'm not okay with is standing by and watching them be torn apart, though. This short time with them, I've seen the lengths they go through to protect each other. They'd never admit just how much they love each other, but it's so obvious to everyone around them. I know that feeling, I had that. I may never have it again, but they can. And I'm not letting some goddamn yuppies with wings destroy that!"
The angel stood silent, his eyes on the ground. Arielle opened her mouth to curse him when his blue eyes finally looked up at her. The words died in her throat and she felt her heart race. She couldn't hold his gaze and turned away, but when she got a hold of herself and faced him again, he was gone. "Goddamn it, Castiel!" she hollered, thumping her fists on the trunk. Her head fall into her hands as she rested her elbows on the car. After some minutes she gave a scream, crushing the map in her hands, imagining it was the brunette's head instead. She grinded her teeth and threw the crumpled paper as far as she could, shoulders heaving as tears burned at her eyes. Using the back of her hand, she wiped at them furiously.
"Are you done?"
She jumped, a different scream escaping her lips this time around. "Fuckin' shit! Can you not do that?!" she cried, though a laugh followed it. "You gonna help then?" Castiel reached a hand out, but she jumped back. "Woah, woah. Question first." She gave him a sheepish grin, casting her eyes at the Impala. "Can baby come?"
Somehow, Castiel had helped transport her and the car a mile or so away from the convent. After securing her gun and two freshly blessed clips, she slunk through the shadows as she kept an eye on the time. Something inside her warned she was cutting it awful close, but she kept a steady pace. There would be guards, obviously, demons protecting Lilith.
The convent entrance was empty and it made Arielle's suspicious rise. Stepping through the halls, she kept her back to the wall as she quickly rounded corner after corner. Commotion caught her ear and she headed towards it, her senses on high alert.
The next turn brought her face to face to Dean.
"What the hell?"
"What are you doing here?"
Stopping, a single word came out of their mouths in a chorus. "Castiel."
The sound of a scream made them turn towards the end of the hall and they saw a sanctuary. Sam, Ruby and Lilith were inside. Both siblings raced towards Sam and neither missed the smile Ruby gave them as she extended a hand and slammed the doors shut. "Sam!" Dean shouted, banging on the door. "Don't do it, Sam! Don't kill her!"
Arielle looked taken aback. "What? Why shouldn't he?"
"She's the seal. She dies, Lucifer takes a walk," Dean explained quickly as he banged on the doors harder. "Sam!" The blonde's green eyes widened as the pieces fell into place. Everything – Mary's death, Azazel feeding demon blood to the children, Lilith's rampage, the angels' interferences – everything led to this moment. Soon, she was pounding on the door with Dean, screaming Sam's name. Dean grabbed a candelabra and hammered it against the door.
"This is getting us nowhere," she said, chest heaving. "Fuck it." She took a step back, pulling at Dean's jacket. "Kick." The siblings simultaneously kicked at the door, finally breaking it down. Arielle drew her gun while Dean pulled out the knife Ruby gave them.
The demon grinned. "You're too late."
"I don't care," Dean replied. Sam, who was on the ground, stood suddenly and grabbed Ruby from behind, holding her in place as Dean stabbed her. The demon fell to the ground, the grin never leaving her face.
Sam clutched at his head, slightly stumbling before looking up. "I'm sorry," he choked out to his brother. The trio notice the blood pattern complete, and a blinding light explodes from the center of it. The ground trembled, glass shattering as the walls began to crumble.
Arielle quickly went to the opposite side of Sam, placing his arm around her shoulder to keep him steady. She watched his frightened eyes focus on the light. "Sammy, let's go!" Dean shouted, grabbing Sam's jacket. The rumble of the earth grew.
"Dean… he's coming."