A/N: What's up, fools! Ya girl is alive and well! LMAO

Now, now, I know it's been a hot minute. So, if you haven't seen the little blurb I added to my profile, I do have a handful of chapters I had written back then. Mostly unedited so bear with me. I'm going to post the chapters I do have (thankfully it doesn't cut off at a totally wretched spot) aaannndddd... *cue drum roll*

I am FINISHING the series with one last book - Rise to Meet the End.

It's not the exact ending I planned for back in the day, but given all that's gone on irl I'm going to do my best in current day to bring everything together. I actually have nine more chapters left of this that were written. Monster? Not a clue tbh oops lmao I do plan on checking into it, but Supernatural really grabbed me by the ankle and dragged me straight to perdition.

So, here we have it - the beginning of the end.

Thank you to everyone who ever read and stuck around. Rise to Meet the End will be posted here and on AO3 should I get my shit together like a good human being LOL

xoxo

Kuraki-chan

12: I'm Headed Straight for the Castle.

Zarya had quietly ventured into the kitchen for something to eat when she heard someone join her. "Hey, Sam," she spoke softly without even turning around.

"How'd you know it was me?" He asked curiously.

"Your vitals were still steady when you saw me so there's no animosity. Thank you for that, by the way." She settled on an ice cream sandwich and Monster. "Also, your cologne is way different than Dean's."

"So, you've been a dhampir this whole time." He commented as they sat down. "You were really that scared to tell us?"

"Was I wrong? Just look at how Dean reacted. I didn't want anyone to know. I didn't want to turn, but it was either that or die. And I couldn't die without knowing you two were okay."

Sam gave her a warm smile. "It'll be alright, Clarke. We'll figure it out. We always do. You are family. Just let Dean calm down a bit; he'll be fine. He's just freaking out over this Amara, God, Lucifer, dhampir stuff. It's not you, I promise."

She smiled as she finished the ice cream sandwich, feeling mildly comforted. Then they heard a crash from the main room and went running. Dean had heard it as well and ran in from the garage. "You're really not gonna say it," Lucifer told Chuck. Zarya could hear the distress in his tone.

When Chuck failed to say anything, Sam spoke up. "He's not gonna say what?"

Zarya's hand reached up and rubbed her chest where she began to feel an ache beneath the bones. She watched Lucifer stalk off down the hall, the ache growing stronger. An apology, she deduced when she heard a door slam. He just wanted his Dad to apologize for abandoning him…

She looked at Chuck with daggers in her eyes. "He just wanted you to apologize," she told him. "And you can't even manage that, yet you made him out to be the prideful one. Go fuck yourself." She started to take off after the archangel when Dean grabbed her arm.

"Just leave him alone."

She cut her eyes up at him. "Why? Because it's what you want?" She yanked her arm out of his grip with the strength he still wasn't adjusted to her having. "None of you want to give him a fair chance or even remotely understand why he does half the shit he does. I'm talking to him. End of story."

"Zarya," Chuck called after her suddenly. She whipped around with spite in her greener than blue eyes. He nearly flinched under her gaze. "Do you really hate me so much?"

"You cannot begin to understand how much I fucking hate you."

Without another word, she turned on her heel and stormed down the hall. She sighed when she heard her Halestorm CD being played loudly. Of course he's in my room, she thought as she stared at her bedroom door. With another sigh, she knocked loudly on her own, locked, bedroom door. "Lucifer, it's just me. Let me in my own bedroom before I kick the door down."

Wouldn't be the first time it's been kicked down either, she thought bitterly.

In a flash, the door was yanked open and she was pulled in with the door being slammed shut behind her. With her back against the door she stared up at the archangel calmly. "Whatever they want you to stay to me-"

"They didn't want me coming in here and talking to you. I know you just want your Dad to apologize. I don't blame you."

He was silent as he stared at her in the eye. There was still something so innocent and genuine in those greener than blue eyes despite the vampire blood in half of her genes. "I'm sorry, Rya." His voice was so low that she wouldn't have been able to hear it over the music if not for her supernatural hearing. Her eyes widened slowly with the two words. "I just needed to do whatever it took to protect you from Remiel."

Her lip trembled slightly. Slowly, her arms snaked around his abdomen. He jumped a little at first, surprised by the gesture, but quickly wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He could actually feel her heart beating against him. "Thank you," she told him so quietly and filled with emotion that her voice shook. "I can't forgive you just yet, but I'm working on it. I know why you did it. I know."

"Why do you keep defending me? Even after all I've done and keep continuing to do. You're gonna end up pushing Sam and Dean away if you keep it up."

"I take responsibility for my own actions."

She was suddenly realizing how content she was just standing there and holding each other. She was doing literally all of the things she swore she never would. She hadn't felt so comfortable with someone since Nick. As much as she cared for them, not even Sam and Dean. Even after everything, not even Dean. Yet Lucifer made her feel so human, and so not human at the same time. She felt as normal as she could. She felt all of the attention he was so eager to give her. She just… felt. And she couldn't stop feeling. Even if she wanted to flip the switch, she wasn't sure there was one. At least not when she was around him.

Maybe it was because the taboo was even greater by being in the bunker, but she couldn't resist standing on her tiptoes to kiss him. He certainly wasn't about to tell her 'no'. As they pulled apart slowly, he tucked a stray lock of her hair back behind her ear. His knuckles just brushed by her cheek sending a chill down her spine and deepening the pink hue to her pale cheeks.

"I'll try talking to Him," Lucifer told her softly. "But the second He starts His shit again, I'm done."

Zarya nodded. "I wouldn't expect anything else."

It had been tense when the two finally emerged. Once again they acted as if nothing had happened between them. When Lucifer and Chuck sat down, Zarya vanished. She knew it would be her only opportunity to take control of the situation. She went straight to her car and took off. A couple of towns away there was an abandoned factory in some woods where she parked. In the bottom layer of her trunk she grabbed out a blood bag and drank it quickly before taking spray paint and Lucifer's sword in with her. She sprayed sigils all over the walls and floor before putting the call out to Remiel. The whole building shook just before she appeared.

"I see you got Carina to say 'yes'," Zarya commented. "And she's already looking pretty fucked up. Good job."

"That's what happens when I take someone who is not my true vessel."

"Oh, really? Your brother does just fine. You know, so long as I'm with him. Which, come to think of it, I usually am. Huh." She shrugged.

"Feeling a little brave today, are we little dhampir?" Remiel chuckled. "You can't kill me, child. You do not have the means to."

"You think so?" She made a face before pulling off the cloth concealing the sword. "Because I'm pretty sure I heard that this should do the trick."

The archangel's eyes widened when she saw her brother's sigil on the sword. So that was the one she had never been allowed to see or touch. You traitorous bastard, she cursed in her thoughts when she realized what was going on. "Just because my imbecile of a brother tossed you the weapon does not mean you have the ability to actually kill me with it."

Zarya spun the blade around a few times between both hands. "Well, I guess we're just gonna have to find that one out."

Remiel dodged the attacks out of pure fun the first round by teleporting just out of reach each time. When Zarya was getting visibly annoyed by it, she held her hand out and launched the dhampir through the air into a wall. The cement cracked up and down from the crater she made in it. Once she fell to the floor, Remiel used her power to hoist Zarya off the ground and make her choke. She started to feel helpless; like she was seriously about to lose so easily. That was when the door burst open.

"Rya!"

She heard Lucifer yell for her and then suddenly she was falling back onto the floor. As she sat up, Remiel went flying past her across the floor. Lucifer immediately knelt down to the dhampir. "Are you insane?" He chastised as he smacked the side of her head. "What the hell were you thinking just sneaking off and poking the bear? At least let me help you."

"Isn't that just cute?" Remiel spat as she stood. "My most powerful and revered brother on his knees for the weakest of my creatures."

Lucifer stood with his angel blade in hand. "Rya is actually the strongest of your creatures, Remiel. Even stronger than yourself."

"She is nothing!" Remiel screamed. Her eyes ignited a violent amethyst and she tossed Zarya back into the air while she fought her brother below.

On the second level, just above where Zarya forcibly levitated and choked, Sam and Dean appeared with Chuck. They all witnessed Zarya helpless under Remiel's power while the two archangels hashed it out violently below. Chuck couldn't believe his eyes. Zarya could feel the struggle beneath her. She could feel Lucifer's rage at his sister for all she had done. She felt his protectiveness over her. Suddenly, she could feel her finger tips. She closed her eyes and focused solely on her blood link to Lucifer.

"That's not possible," Chuck breathed shakily.

"What's not possible?" Sam asked quickly.

"She… she's breaking Remiel's influence over her. Remiel wouldn't be able to control her anymore. It takes immense power to do that against an archangel…"

He was right. Zarya could feel it burning through her blood as her fingers began to curl in. She struggled loudly to pull her arms in, feeling as if an invisible force was holding them back. The crushing on her lungs became no more than being submerged under rushing waters. As she let out another battle cry, her fangs extended. The two archangels below skidded to opposite ends of the room and looked up at the fighting dhampir. Chuck could see the admiration and pride in his son's eyes as Lucifer watched Zarya break free. Her eyes snapped open to reveal a fiery crimson red and she finally fell back to the floor, that time with a good landing. She stood tall and looked Remiel boldly in the eye.

"I have had enough of your bullshit," she called to the archangel before using her speed to attack her.

Zarya was moving so fast that none of the three celestials could see her, let alone Sam or Dean. She landed punch after punch and kick after kick. She only took a second when she heard Lucifer call her name. She whirled around just in time to catch the sword in her hand. Remiel just barely blocked the attack with her bare hands. She was visibly tired and Carina's body began to decay. Zarya pushed against her hands, but for a minute they were deadlocked.

"There is nothing for my brother to see in you," Remiel hissed low.

"Apparently there's more to see in me than you," Zarya quipped back with a smirk.

"I'll bet your precious Winchesters don't know about the blood bond you two now share. That's usually quite an intimate thing - sharing blood, is it not, Zarya?" The dhampir grit her teeth and gave a harder push of the blade. "It's okay, I'll be sure to tell Sam and Dean how you two have slept together just before the light can leave your pretty little eyes."

Zarya's body reacted before her mind could even think of what to do next. She ripped the blade downwards and out of Remiel's defensive grip before plunging it up and forward through her chest. She leaned close to Remiel's ear as she gave a twist. "You're not going to do shit," she whispered in the Verbis Diablo. Remiel coughed and blood spilled down her chin. "You're going to rot knowing that your brother chose me." Another twist of the blade. "Yeah, we share a blood link right now. And oh yes we have slept together. And you get to die by my hand. Go fuck yourself one last time, Remiel."

As the youngest archangel slid off of the sword, a bright purple light illuminated the entire warehouse. In the midst of it something sounded like it popped. Once the light died down they all realized that the 'pop' had been Remiel exploding which left Zarya covered in blood. She stood there with an apathetic look on her face, sword in hand, and dripping with blood. Her eye twitched a little. Everything else faded around her - the pounding of the brothers' feet down the metal stairs towards her, Lucifer cutting them off and trying to get her attention; she was dissociating. Finally, she felt cold hands on her face and met Lucifer's eyes.

"You did it, Rya," he told her proudly with a smile. "You killed Remiel once and for all."

Her eyes remained open, watching Sam and Dean skid to a halt just a few feet away, as Lucifer boldly kissed her. The sword slid from her blood dripping hand and clattered to the floor, echoing throughout the entire warehouse. Chuck had to brace himself against a wall as he witnessed the public display of affection. Sam's mind was positively blown, words unable to form. A burning, seething fury coursed through Dean. He no longer acknowledged that it was Cas' body and stormed forward with the intention of ripping Lucifer away from Zarya and punching him in the face.

The archangel expected such a reaction. As a matter of fact, he intended for it. He immediately whipped around with his hand out and stopped the elder brother dead in his tracks.

"You unfortunately need me in order to get rid of the Darkness no matter how much I get under your skin," he smirked arrogantly. "And, especially being short a few from the original line up, I need Rya. Isn't that right, Dad?"

When Chuck's answer failed to be heard, Sam looked up at Him still frozen against the wall staring down at them. "Chuck?" He called up with a hint of desperation.

"He's… he's right," Chuck finally admitted. "She… she's like a Hand of God to him. Especially now that Remiel is… dead…"

Once the fury turned to hopelessness in Dean's eyes, Lucifer released him. He looked at Zarya brokenly. She was no longer the innocent young waitress she had been when they first met. She had acquired scars all across her pale flesh, some much worse than the rest. Her hair was a choppy mess just touching past her shoulder blades. She was practically covered head to toe in blood. And to top it all off, she had become a dhampir in death. They had taken an innocent young woman and sent her down the path she never would have been on by not staying with them. She would still be human. She would have a regular life to live.

"So, what now…?" Sam broke the silence.

After a moment, Chuck finally gathered himself and responded. "We trap Amara; put her back in the box. She needs to be destroyed, but I won't kill her."

"Why not?" questioned Dean.

"Amara's been caged for billions of years, but y'know, she was always there. She had to be there. Y'know, yin and yang. Dark and light."

"English, Chuck."

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "There's a harmony, a balance, in the universe. Light needs dark. Dark needs light. If you blow one of them up, then, well then…" He shrugged.

Zarya finally rejoined herself with the realization. "It's a cosmic imbalance," she spoke quietly as she looked up slowly to Chuck. Her expression was darkly apathetic. "Tip the scales and put creation in danger."

Lucifer smirked up at his Father. "Always gotta keep the cosmic scales balanced somehow."

"Okay, so we gift-wrap Amara. I mean, we got the team back together, so—" Sam started.

Chuck started to slowly walk down the stairs as he corrected the taller Winchester. "Not quite. We're still a few members short of the original line-up."

"Yeah, first time it took the combined strength of me, Remiel, and our brothers to weaken Amara before Daddy-O finished her off." Lucifer shrugged. "Rya and I are stronger than Remiel and I were, but that still leaves three open slots."

"And Michael is in no condition to fight," Chuck sent a glare towards his son. "And it's outside of my power to bring Gabriel and Raphael back."

"But you restored Castiel," Sam argued.

"Archangels are different. They're stuff of primordial creation. Rebuilding them, that's… that's time we don't have."

"So what do you need to win?"

Chuck shrugged. "Whaddaya got?"

Lucifer grinned at Zarya who didn't bother to acknowledge him. "A whole army of demons at Rya's disposal."

Dean put his head in his hands and rubbed his face exasperatedly. "Do I even want an explanation for that?"

"He was too lazy to command the demons and made me do it," Zarya answered with an emotionless tone and apathy still firm on her face where Remiel's blood was beginning to dry.

"But Crowley-" started Sam.

"Crowley is a pathetic joke," the ravenette spat. Chuck and the Winchesters each flinched at her harsh tone. "The demons will do as I say."

"We have the angels," Lucifer added. "They weren't too keen at first but they acknowledged me and Rya's power." He smirked directly at Dean who glared in response.

"What about Rowena?" Sam suggested. "I mean, she's a snake, but she's a powerful witch. And she's got the Book of the Damned."

Lucifer grinned and looked again at Zarya who sighed; the first show of expression at all. "I can get in contact with Sofia who often works with her and is also a very powerful magic user."

"Getting these groups to enlist and then work together…" Sam shook his head. "It's not gonna be easy."

Chuck scoffed with his gaze on Zarya. "I think you underestimate the influence and fear the Vasile name holds over every creature amongst my creation."