Previously: Zachariah summons Castiel to reveal Heaven's real intentions: Castiel contributed to make the Apocalypse happen and now he has to let the remaining seals be broken. Castiel chooses to rebel when he learns that the last one is Lilith's death at Sam's hand. He steals a book from the library that contains the seal Camael used on Cain, he plans to do the same to Sam and Dean but is caught by the Garrison and sent to rehabilitation.

This chapter takes place in season 4 episode 20.

oOo

The perfect vessel

I snap my eyes open, all three of them, to a landscape of light and shadow.

Far beyond the skyline the ocean is heaving like an angry beast, revealing deep shades of blue with every lightning bolt that strikes the water. The sky is crawling with dark, glowing clouds.

I look down to the waves crashing on my feet. They look more like an eagle's claws, digging into the beach's sand. I raise my four hands to look at them, wiggling the bony fingers in which the fluid light is shining, filled with blue bubbles.

My body is massive, slow and hard to move. Every effort I make consumes my energy and I have a hard time holding it inside me. My wings feel too heavy on my back, and just unfolding them requires a great deal of effort and energy that was never needed when I was still using a vessel.

I've had only been using Jimmy Novak's body for a year, and I never realized how accustomed I've become to it. Everything feels dull now - the sky and the sea look dim, lacking the wide range of colors I perceived through human eyes. I can barely feel the wind blowing over my body and even the sounds seem muted.

I don't know what to do with my four hands.

I turn my head and tediously make my body move, looking around. From my true height, I can see a forest extending to a mountain obscuring the horizon.

Something feels very wrong. Where am I? Where are Zachariah and the Garrison's Angels?

I did get blasted out of my vessel, but... could Zachariah have made a mistake? Did he accidentally send me to Earth instead of Heaven for the rehabilitation I was meant to receive?

This is definitely Earth. I can feel the planet's revolution and its vertiginous motion in space. And yet...

Then I realize that my mind is empty. Empty of the schedules and charts placed there when I assumed command of the Garrison. Empty of all information gathered from the lives of Humans born on a Thursday. And I have absolutely no memory of how to create the ultimate seal of concealment I intended to use on Sam and Dean. And Zachariah burned the book right in front of me.

"No..." I grasp my head in my four hands. "Oh, no..."

My true voice rises in the salty air, soft and clear, so different from the rough and hoarse voice that had become mine through my vessel.

I have to pull myself together. I don't know where I am, what Zachariah did to me, or what happened - there's nothing in my mind but a cold blank space - but I have to assess the situation and use it to my advantage. Did I somehow manage to escape while I was getting rehabilitated?

I know one thing for sure, I need to get back into Jimmy Novak's body or any other vessel and find Sam and Dean. Zachariah burned the book, but I can still remember the very basic concealment seal. I can at least cloak their location and protect them until I find another way to permanently save them.

I have to hurry. The Garrison will probably find me any moment now. It's time to leave this place, right now.

Wait.

What is this?

There, cutting through the clouds, are fourteen Angels in their true form, sparkling like water in the sun. With their wings deployed, they fly straight to me and come down to the ground in a flurry of wings.

I don't even attempt to flee. It doesn't even occur to me to do so.

I know who they are. I would know the radiance of these Graces anywhere.

"This is impossible..." I whisper, taking a step back in horror.

My claws dig deeply into the sand. The Angel right in front of me is staring at me with his three purple eyes. He studies me from head to claws, his fiery Grace swirling in his translucent body.

"Castiel, I presume? I am Uriel. Like you, I am part of the Garrison."

Uriel.

It really is him. And all of my deceased brothers and sisters. The entire Garrison, just like on the day it was created.

Lightning flashes above in the stormy sky, matching my Grace that wildly swirls inside of me. Stepping back, I almost stumble because of my too heavy, too tall, too massive body.

Uriel is staring at me unblinkingly and tilting his head to the side with mirth.

"Michael explained everything to us." His voice flows like warm honey. "We've all been created for the same mission, you, me and them."

Waves crash on my claws, powerful enough to strike down dozens of Humans. My mind is blank and I can't even utter a word when Anna steps forward, pushing Uriel aside with the tip of her wing like she's asserting her authority in the group.

"My name is Anael," she says, staring at me with three dark green eyes. "I am responsible for leading the Garrison."

Her Grace flows inside her body like a waterfall of light and ice as she turns to face the others. Filtering through the clouds, the sun makes the delicately chiselled outline of her face shimmer.

"You will address with me or the Archangels for any precision about the orders."

All nod except for me. The wind rises, whispering through my radiant body's sharp angles - I forgot how different my true form is from a Human's. I can't think - I'm so confused it feels like my Grace is going to implode.

Have I been sent back in time, to the early days of my existence? Everything up to the most delicate grass blade growing out of the ground, everything looks the same.

It can't be... I've always been told that the natural curve of time can't be altered more than a few centuries back, and even that would require a huge amount of energy like that of an Archangel. Millions of years, though? God alone could achieve such a miracle.

There is one thing different, though. Where the sky and the sea join together in the distance, whirlwinds are forming and growing by the second.

"Hello, Castiel."

I turn my head to find an Angel moving forward and stopping right in front of me, his eyes sparkling with joy. My Grace freezes as I look into those three orbs of liquid gold.

"Camael..." I whisper, the crystal tone of my voice sounding alien to me.

I reach out, my long translucent fingers trembling as they brush against his face - my Grace flares at the touch. Puzzled, Camael blinks and pushes his head against my hand like a cat would. The sensation of rough, warm stone under my fingers is definitely real. This is very real.

"No... You're dead, you died two thousand years ago. I saw you die on the cross."

My brother's three golden eyes gaze at me fondly and he takes my hand to detach it from his face.

"And why did that happen, Castiel?" he whispers, interlocking our fingers. "What led me to my doom? Tell me why I ended up nailed to the cross and sacrificed. Tell me."

I yank my hand from his. His eyes shifted to a shade of frosted gold. the sun is clouded over, bathing Earth in shadows.

The wind is howling and blowing through my feathers, building big chunks of ice there.

"None of this is real..." I say, shaking my head in denial. "None of this..."

I recoil back and hit a warm, solid wall behind me. I spin my head around and gasp as I find myself facing Siosp, who's patting my shoulder with the soft tip of his wing. Miz is standing next to him, arms crossed and staring blankly at me. Here are standing all the ghosts of my past, Ephra, Ecaop, Hcoma, and even Riemu who sacrificed his life a long, long time ago to save me from the Leviathans.

"This can't be real... I... I'm in rehabilitation, aren't I?"

"This is a chance for you to make things right, Castiel."

My wings tighten behind my back at this familiar voice and I whirl around to face Levanael. Sweet, loyal Levanael.

She extends a hand, reaching out to me - behind her, the whirlwinds are growing, swallowing up the stormy ocean and clouds in violent, billowing spirals.

"Don't fight it, little brother..." she pleads in a murmur.

I look down at her limpid hand in which her Grace is flowing like water in the sun. My fear numbs and I can feel something in my holy spirit begin to warp and crack.

"It's for your own good," Riemu whispers tenderly.

"Don't miss this chance," Camael adds. "Do it for us, for all of us."

"Do what we should have done..."

With each of their words wrapping around me like a mantra, something deep inside me breaks. I shut my eyes tight when I realize what's happening and I grasp my head in my hands. With a scream stuck in my throat, I wrap my wings around me as if a feather cocoon could shield me from the icy sensation seeping into my holy mind. I can feel it altering, reverting, simplifying.

The deepest part of myself is fragmenting - the part where lies the love I feel for the creations I've been protecting and watching since the first moments of my life. The feelings and doubts that I was so scared of, those I had been repressing, fighting and denying for thousands of years, those I would have given anything not to experience... now I'm desperately clinging to them like I never thought I would.

My Grace pulses and wraps itself around my mind, clawing at the remnants of my compassion, my rage, my fear, everything that drove me to defy God and Fate, to choose to betray my Faith, save Dean and the entire human species. Gasping, I feel the hold on my mind loosen and pull back, and I fall to my knees, shaking in pain.

"I understand, Cas... I too longed to experience feelings..." Anna's voice says. "It's a deadly temptation, a path that can only lead to perdition." A hand glides into my feathers, gently stroking them. "You saw where that got me."

A shiver runs through me at the long-forgotten sensation of my former General's caring authority. My quivering wings spread and I look up, dazzled by her radiant aura. Thunder-lit tornadoes are sprouting across the ocean, they are everywhere now, devastating forests and mountains.

"I let you down, Cas... I let all of you down because I lost sight of my purpose in this world," Anna whispers, gently stroking my feathers. "I lost sight of what truly matters. Because of Humans."

"Disobeying and doubting is worse than dying," Siosp says, "it betrays our very nature and kills us in a much more definitive way than death ever could."

A crackling sound crawls over the ground. The ocean is splitting in two and parting. Shades of blue and gray in the sky grow darker and darker until the sky collapses on itself, as though engulfed into the gaping void.

When Camael lays his golden eyes on me, glowing with harrowing sorrow, I can feel the icy grip on my holy spirit again.

And this time, I don't fight it.

"Don't take what I've done for an example to follow, Castiel," Camael implores, his voice sounding so far away. "I placed in a Human the devotion I owed to our Father, I served Cain as if he were God and forever lost myself in this blasphemy."

The darkness seeping into my Grace pools inside my holy spirit until my entire body grows darker, light becoming shadow. One by one, my feathers wither and fall to dust. It burns and tries to dismantle what I am, altering and shaping me. Vegetation withers, the ground cracks open to let glowing lava gush out. I barely catch a glimpse of the land bristling with volcanoes in the distance before a bright wall of feathers fills my vision. All the Garrison Angels have spread their wings to build a cocoon of light around me.

"Creation is on the verge of destruction because we forgot that we serve Heaven, not Humans," says Anael.

All fear has left me. I nod at my General's wise words. Anael is right. We were created to serve God and obey His orders. Nothing else matters.

How could I think otherwise, even for a short while? This is ridiculous. Humiliating.

"Castiel..." Uriel narrows his purple eyes at me. "I was wrong to rebel, but just think: I would never have strayed from the right path if it weren't for Humans."

"They are the ones threatening all of our Father's creations," Levanael hisses.

"We are not defined by Humans. Don't mistake your mission for what it isn't, Cas!"

"With or without the Apocalypse, Humanity will be extinct someday and we'll still be here."

"Why would you turn your back on our Father's eternal love and trust for these self-destructive failures of animals?"

I spin around, my darkened Grace flowing with a sense of serenity I haven't felt in ages. The dread that plagued me for so long shrinks to the core of my mind, eventually morphing into cold rage as I gaze upon each one of my brethren who have died, either corrupted by mortals or from the direct impact of Human existence.

Rage and shame – they consume me for having failed in my mission, in my true nature. How did I lose sight of what I am, of the very reason for my existence?

"If Humans had never existed..." Everyone falls silent as soon as I speak out in a clear voice over the storm - I barely notice the lava coating my feet, thick fire bubbles bursting through its glowing surface. "… peace would reign in Heaven and Earth."

Suddenly, everything falls silent - the wind has died down and when I look up, the Garrison Angels are folding their wings back with a soft rustle of feathers. The landscape is back to the way it was in my early memories, wild and struck by the ocean's fury. Stormy clouds clear away over the waves to let the sun's rays filter through. A rainbow shines on the horizon and a salty wind blows through the lush forest leaves.

My body is back to normal, radiating with light, and my feathers weigh heavy on my wings.

"Exactly," Anael agrees. "And what is our duty, Castiel?"

"To serve God, not His creations. To obey orders."

"We are so proud of you," says Camael, his golden eyes sparkling with joy.

"You will do justice to the Garrison."

"Serve Heaven for those who have failed. For our Family."

"Do it to honor our memory, little brother."

My Grace pulses with hatred inside of me. Hatred for this failure of a species that we took care of and that slowly poisoned us with their feelings and free will. My brothers all died for naught.

"What are the orders?" I ask.

Anael steps forward, resting her hand on my shoulder. She looks down and points to a tiny spot below. A fish crawling out of the water. Its gray scales are oozing, slimy and stained with sand. Its distorted legs clumsily move on the ground.

"Wipe Humanity out of existence once and for all. Destroy this abomination that poisons us. It's us or them."

My brothers' eyes track my foot as I lift it up and slightly move it until my claws hover over the creature that frantically crawls, as if it senses its imminent death.

The order drives my Grace and compels me to obey, without any hindrance from intrusive thoughts or disgusting doubts. Free from hesitation, I slam my foot to the ground, so violently that the earth trembles and my claws sink into it. Blood and entrails spill out and the sand eagerly sucks them in.

When I look up, I find myself bathing in pure white light.

No sight of the beach or the Garrison Angels. Nothing but this brightness all around me, boundless and endless.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, don't you agree?"

I blink when I hear my superior's voice and turn my head to see him perched on my shoulder, looking so tiny in his human vessel. Lit from below by my Grace shining in my translucent body, his face is hollowed out with shadows that conceal his eyes and deepen his smirk. Hands clasped behind his back, Zachariah stretches his vaporous wings behind his back.

"Makes you feel a lot better once it's done, doesn't it?" He smiles, turning on his heels to meet my eyes. "Free from everything unnecessary. Relieved of all that holds back our ambitions."

I do feel better. Calmer. I remember everything that occurred like something foolish that makes no sense to me now. Why would I turn my back on Heaven and God for two mere Humans? Why was I even so upset?

"Now that you're functional again, you can resume your position of commander."

My body is so heavy that the mere act of nodding feels like an effort that sucks up my energy. I never realized how slow and lessened we are without our human shell to cradle our Grace and allow us to channel our power.

"A seal has been broken during your rehabilitation and I need all of your acting skills to make everyone in Heaven believe that you're doing everything you can to protect the last remaining five. Here's your real mission though: you need to ensure that four seals will break by tomorrow, okay? Let the demons do it, or even better, break them yourself to accelerate the process. If you want something done right, better do it yourself. I trust you to stage a defeat that will convince the Council members who still don't know about the upcoming glorious events. Do you understand the situation?"

"I understand. Orders are orders, and the Lord works in mysterious ways."

"Exactly!" he grins. "That's the spirit! Nice to see you back to your old self. Use your army to break the seals, the soldiers I sent you last year already know the plan. Should some of them fail to do the job, send them to rehabilitation, or just execute them if you have to. I'll support you in the reports afterwards. Do whatever you need, kid."

"I need a new functional vessel to achieve my mission with optimal conditions."

Zachariah presses two fingers to his temple, frowning.

"Indeed, you do. There, I just called Balthazar, you'll arrange this with him. I got a meeting coming up with the top brass, I'll be expecting your defeat report for the next seals."

"I understand."

His grin widens.

"It's good to have you back. This rehabilitation is a stain on your file, but rest assured that when the Apocalypse begins and Michael defeats the snake, you, I and even your little hairless monkeys will be rewarded in ways you can't even imagine. Heaven will flourish on Earth and our entire Family will shower us with praise."

As soon as Zachariah flies out, I hear another flapping of wings and feel a weight on top of my head. Looking up, I can vaguely make out Balthazar's figure, sitting cross-legged on my head and tracing with his fingertips the chiseled patterns adorning the edges of my face.

"Welcome back, Cassy! So, how was it? I've been dying for millennia to ask what happens in there, no one seems to know anything, really."

I heave a hand in which flows my Grace and gently pick up my older brother between two fingers to bring him down from there and lower him to my eye level. He slides along my finger until he's standing in the palm of my hand.

"I need a new vessel, Balthazar."

Balthazar smooths out his clothes and fixes the V-neck of his shirt, which reveals a portion of his chest. Small as a dot on my hand, he looks up at me with a disappointed pout on his lips.

"I see how it is, you won't kiss and tell. Such a shame." He sighs, a shadow flashing across his face made of flesh. "I could provide you with some viable alternatives if that's what you want, but I recommend you take back good old Jimmy Novak instead. Out of all my livestock, he's the best fit for your Grace and you're already used to control him."

"Jimmy's still alive?"

"Well, he was when we all left the place after the party. Now we just have to check if he's still up for it. In my experience, vessels that have been used once are always more difficult to persuade. They often turn us down like deceived lovers after bad sex."

I spread my wings and close my hand around my elder brother, confining him in a cage of fingers - his slightly blurred silhouette shows through. Balthazar talks too much and wastes precious time with his rantings.

"I will persuade him. Heaven's orders prevail over some worthless mortal's consent. Next time, I won't make the mistake of allowing him to take back his word. I will fry his brain to keep him at my disposal."

Now that Balthazar is finally quiet, I heavily beat my wings, using my energy to leave Heaven and shift into the ephemeral parallel reality, concealing my appearance from human eyes. It's cold and dark when I break through the clouds, holding Balthazar in my fist.

Wings pressed tightly behind my back, I dive straight down towards the city lights, bright like glittering spider webs. I clearly feel the link leading me straight to the righteous man and to my vessel and I snap my wings open to slow down as we reach the ground. I land on the concrete pavement of an industrial area where a freeway runs through. Coming out of the horizon, there's the car carrying the Winchester brothers and Jimmy.

With a snap of his fingers, Balthazar makes my hand spread open for him to see. From this height, the swarming life on the ground seems so insignificant... I can't remember how I ever deemed it right to throw away my duty and my family for one out of many species. I really lost sight of the right path for a moment.

"Your flesh suit is napping," says my older brother. "Now is your chance to dive into his dream and remind him of his commitments. Vacations are over, time to go back to work!"

I take one heavy step forward, clenching my claws on either side of the road, and crouch down to stretch out a hand above the ground, waiting for the car to reach us so I can touch Jimmy and enter his mind. But just as the black car drives between my legs with a low engine hum, I freeze when the soft voice of a child echoes through my Grace, making it shimmer.

Heavenly Father,

Jesus, Mary, Joseph,

Angel Castiel,

Show me the way,

Let Your hand be with me,

Please guide me to Your truth,

Keep my parents from harm...

"Hey, Cassy, what are you doing, staring into space? You missed them!"

I glare at Balthazar who's gesturing at the car straying away from us.

"Quiet!" I rise to my feet. "Claire Novak is praying."

"My gift is praying to you?"

I focus on the weak voice flowing through my Grace and feel that the child isn't far from here.

We've been attacked by demons and now there is one of them in my mother's body.

I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm scared and I don't know what to do...

There are many of them... Hundreds, all around. They say they are going to use me as bait, to lure my father and the two men who helped us into a trap. They will drag them all to Hell and kill me in front of them.

Castiel, if it is true that you exist like my father said... please help us! Deliver us from evil.

Amen.

I squint my eyes in the direction where the little girl is being held captive as she claims.

"Claire has been captured by demons and her mother is possessed. Demons don't care about a vessel's family - they're targeting the Winchesters."

"And? All the more reason to get Jimmy's body back and go wipe the floor with them, right?"

"Strategically, this would be the most effective way to protect the Winchesters, but it would also endanger Claire and Amelia. To the demons, they're nothing more than bait that they will probably kill the second they cease to be useful."

"Oh come on, Cassy! Who cares if the soccer mom dies? As for Claire... well, I'll just try to make you a new perfect vessel within the next few thousand years. I can even manage to have it be a brown male with blue eyes and a smoker's voice, since you seem to fancy that."

"I don't care what my armor looks like or what gender it is. I have to protect Claire and Amelia though. When Jimmy offered me his body, he made me promise that they would be safe, and a promise made by an Angel commits all of Heaven."

"Fine, and how exactly will you achieve this miracle, boss?"

"You told me once that Claire is the perfect vessel made for me... the time has come for her to commit her life to a greater purpose."

"You mean I'll finally get to call you little sister? Or sis?"

Ignoring Balthazar's teasing, I spread my wings and fly away, flapping my wings in the cold winter air.

It hardly takes me a split second to reach the place from which Claire's presence radiates. Still invisible, I carefully land and crouch, scanning through the concrete walls. The place is crawling with sulfur reeking demons, Claire's soul is like a shining beacon of purity sitting in the middle. Tied to a chair, tears streaming down her face, she follows her possessed mother with her eyes.

"Balthazar, I can't talk to her or take possession of her body without revealing my presence. I am slow in this form and won't be able to protect both the mother and the child from the demons."

Still perched on the palm of my hand, my brother merely shrugs.

"I knew this whole plan was messed up, Cassy. The only other way to get in touch with her would be to wait until she's asleep, but as you can see, she's awa..."

I reach down through the ceiling to the child's soul, plunging her into a deep sleep.

"You realize you just wiped your ass with free will right there?"

"Free will was never real."

"See, I'm not sure whether I like what the rehabilitation did to you, but I have to admit it's nice that you've finally grown a p…"

Shutting out his chatter, I close my eyes and dive into Claire Novak's dreams.

oOo

Not a single cloud to be found in the clear blue sky, sun rays falling on the ground and melting away every last shadow. My legs dissolve into a blur of grass. The dream is painted in bright colors within a narrow circle, beyond which ground, air, everything seems to collapse in a soft waterfall of mist.

A steady squeak rises over the sizzling song of crickets. In front of me, Claire's blond hair flows to the rhythm of muffled pulses, light and airy as if it were under water. With her back to me, the child is sitting on a swing, stamping her foot on the ground with each push and making the chains squeak, even though they're not attached to anything but the void.

"I heard your prayer."

Only when I hear the rough sound of my voice do I realize that in this dream I once again have Jimmy Novak's appearance. Claire's foot scrapes the grass, tearing off a clump of dirt and halting the swinging motion at once. Now that she's motionless, her feet and legs start fading into the grass and lose their density like a wisp of smoke.

With a fluid motion, she turns her head just enough to peer over her shoulder, setting her blue eyes on me. Her features are wavy, as though seen through a liquid veil.

"You're Castiel."

It didn't sound like a question, but I nod nonetheless as I step around the swing to stand in front of her – my feet melt and sink into the grass once I come to a stop. She turned her head to watch me with a combination of fascination and fear.

"Are you going to help us?"

"I promised your father I would protect you and your mother."

Blinking, Claire lets go of the chains and stands up - immediately, the swing vanishes as though disintegrated in space. Standing in the rustling grass, the child looks up at me hesitantly.

"Why do you look like my dad?"

"I have been in his body for a year. I assume both our minds chose the most acceptable form for you to view me in."

Claire takes one step closer, reaching out to touch my tie.

"But what do Angels really look like? I imagine you…"

All of a sudden, the tall grass gives way to a completely different setting. The crickets fall silent, replaced by an organ playing and a chorus in Latin to the glory of God.

The summer sun's glow has faded into a church's half-light. We're both standing in the multicolored beam of stained glass windows that cast colorful pools on the floor.

"… like this," she says, withdrawing her hand.

I look down at my modified appearance, and move a stiff hand. My fingers made of stone comply, gracefully chiseled. Instead of Jimmy Novak's, I now display the appearance of a white statue representing a woman draped in a robe and sporting short wings behind her back. I reach up higher, feeling my cold face, until I reach above my head a halo shaped like a golden ring.

"This is not what I look like."

My voice echoes in the church, vibrant with a wistful tone across the vaults. The rows of chairs facing the altar are all empty, and I gaze up at the erected cross where a Jesus Christ is nailed, dripping with blood. I drop the golden halo and it slowly, very slowly falls to the ground - and when it shatters into a thousand pieces, I alter the child's dream.

The church's dim light fades away, along with the songs to my Father's glory and the bloodstained figure of my dead brother. The stone statue cracks and explodes as I force my true form upon Claire's mind - my body grows and fills with blazing light while my wings burst out from my back in a flurry of feathers. Eyes fixed on the child who keeps shrinking at my feet until she's nothing more than a tiny dot on the ground, I carve in her dream the lush green fields of the Garden of Eden as I remember them.

"Oh my God..." Claire breathes out.

Stepping backwards until she stumbles and falls on the grass, the little girl cranes her neck to stare at me, her eyes wide and her hand clamped over her mouth to stifle a scream. My Grace is whirling in my translucent body and seems to be blinding Claire who shields her eyes with her arm, shaking all over. I drop a knee to the ground with a mighty earthquake that startles her, and tilt my head to the side, staring at her unblinkingly.

"You prayed to be guided and shown the way... are you ready to do the Will of the Lord?"

My voice comes out as a thousand whispers, like Claire's mind is warping my voice to handle it better. She finally withdraws her arm and stares at me wide-eyed - tears rolling down her cheeks, she silently nods.

"To protect you and your mother, I need to take possession of your body."

"But..."

"Your blood is special." I lean over her. "You are chosen, loved by God and destined to serve us. You were born for this reason only." I plant all four of my hands on the ground, leaning further down as I spread my wings behind my back, until my face nearly brushes against Claire's. "I need your consent. All you have to do is to say yes to me and your family will be saved."

Breathing hard and choking on her tears, Claire rises to her feet with her eyes still on me, terrified - if this were not a dream, she would probably have fainted by now. She stretches out a shaking hand to touch the rough surface of my face with fearful and reverent tentativeness.

"Then... yes," she whispers in a broken voice.

I waste no time to focus beyond the dream, on Claire's blood rushing through her veins and the racing beat of her heart in her induced sleep. I pour myself into her body like I did last year for her father, letting her blood absorb my entire Grace.

I suddenly understand what Balthazar meant when he said Claire is my ultimate and perfect vessel. From the moment I merge into her body, I feel absolute control over my power, so that even the very act of possessing her allows me to resorb my aura in a split second - her blonde hair barely ripples when I invest her body.

I crack an eye open, head down, hands clasped on my knees. There is a rope around my midsection tying me to the chair. I can see the demons chattering and cackling through my long locks of blond hair. Never had the world looked so clear and sharp. Not only can I detect their true form, their slimy wings and actual ugly faces, but I can also gauge their power level and degree of soul decay without even having to look at them. Nothing but small fry - precisely 132 demons in the area, strategically positioned to trap the Winchester brothers.

I unlace my child's fingers that were joined for prayer and lay them on my lap. My energy is pulsing within me and I contain my aura so perfectly no demon has even noticed my presence in Claire's frail body.

I've never felt so powerful in my entire life. I should have had this body since last year. Jimmy Novak's now strikes me as ill-fitting and low-quality in comparison.

My Grace wraps itself around Claire's soul, which is so much brighter than her father's but radiates a primal kind of fear. I smother it with my energy to numb her consciousness. Then, I close my eyes, flooded with the sense of peace and serenity that comes before a battle.

Balthazar, I send the thought to my brother whose presence I can feel outside. You're dismissed. I have the situation under control. Gather the Garrison in a meeting room and wait for me to announce the new orders.

Roger that, sis. Can't wait to see everyone's face when they have to take their orders from a little girl. This is going to be so much funnier than the goat joke!

Well, I guess I'll have to adjust to being referred at with female pronouns now, as Anna, Levanael, Rachel, and all of my other sisters have.

Once Balthazar finally left, I focus on my new vessel's outstanding abilities. I enjoy them all the more after having been temporarily deprived of a vessel - in our true form, controlling our power is hard, and I've never felt so slow and vulnerable as I did when I found my actual physical form back.

I have every intention of remaining inside Balthazar's gift. With this vessel adapted to my Grace and created especially for me, I'll be able to efficiently serve Heaven. The Will of God will be achieved on Earth as it is in Heaven, and I will prove myself worthy.

I will wash away the disgrace of my attempted rebellion.

"Our target has arrived, the Winchesters are with him," says a large-bodied demon.

The demon possessing Amelia licks its twisted lips with a long, black, slimy tongue. Its hideous face covers the human's like a thick layer of mold.

"Perfect. Can you imagine how Hell will reward us when we bring back these premiums preys instead of an empty vessel? We'll get all the glory and high honors!"

The demons cackle and disperse, leaving only Amelia's possessed body by my side, but my attention is diverted when, for the second time today, a prayer from a Novak family member is addressed to me. Unlike his daughter, Jimmy shows no sense of respect when his angry voice echoes through my Grace. My enhanced hearing allows me to listen in a more direct way: he's standing right outside the building.

Castiel, you son of a bitch!

You promised me my family would be okay!

You promised you were gonna take care of them!

I gave you everything you asked me to give, I gave you more!

This is the thanks I get? This is what you do? This is your heaven?

Help me, please! You promised, Cas!

Just HELP ME!

I sit very still, eyes shut, not even batting an eye as I listen to him begging. It seems like being around Dean Winchester already caused his Faith to falter. I have no intention of breaking my promises.

When the door opens and Jimmy Novak steps inside, I stay focused on all my senses, tied to my chair. My goal is to secure the Archangels' vessels as well as Jimmy Novak's wife and daughter. I will complete this mission and then proceed to bring about the Apocalypse as Heaven requires.

"Hi, honey. You're home," says the demon possessing Amelia in a singsong voice.

Claire is safe already, protected and wrapped as she is in my Grace. Three Humans left to rescue.

I'm ready.

oOo

In the next chapter

"Okay, prima Donna, if that's what you want: Our Father in heaven, baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph and all that crap, yadda yadda yadda get your holy ass down here, amen. Is that good enough for you, or you want me chomping on a freakin' wafer too?"