It's barely past eight in the morning, but lines of cars and trucks have slowly filled up the large dirt lot by the main gate.

Most cabins are located on the low hill behind the lot, so Kye can easily see everything from the deck of cabin 12.

She recognizes the moss green jeep almost instantly among other vehicles. The two brothers step out of it, wearing the same outfits that Kye saw them in yesterday. Dean yawns loudly and stretches his body while Sam walks over to a group of men for a chat. The guy doesn't seem to be in a bad mood. He laughs and pulls each of the men in for a half-body hug. His brother then comes over and taps on Sam's shoulder. Dean points in the direction Kye assumes is their cabin.

When Sam turns to Dean, he catches Kye watching them from the distance. He waves and gives her a bright smile.

Kye has no choice but to wave back. The way they left their conversation yesterday makes her feel awkward toward Sam. He didn't do anything wrong, in particular, and was very helpful to her, but Kye is pretty sure he was hiding something.

Maybe he just didn't tell her the whole truth, and she can't blame him for that.

They're strangers, after all, and Kye is not exactly who the Resistance would consider an ally. She also doesn't know how she feels about them yet. Not that that matters. Kye knows the smart thing would be to take time and observe the situation, but she needs Sam's help now.

When Kye finishes with her thoughts and looks down at the lot again, Sam is not there anymore.

"Damn it," Kye mutters.

She has missed him. Kye needs to get herself together quickly. Her mind is still hazy—she knows why—but it slowly gets back to normal, so there's that. Kye knows she can't continue sulking over what happened, even when a big part of her life is not there anymore.

No one to blame but herself.

Kye jumps at a cough only a few feet behind her. She turns around to see Sam standing there with a trademark earnest smile on his face.

The guy pants—must be from the climbing he did through the hill that leads directly to the side of cabin 12.

"Morning, Kye. How did you sleep last night? I hope you've settled in alright." Sam combs through his thick brown hair with his fingers. His pinkish face makes Sam look like a teenage boy.

"Morning, Sam. Yeah... I managed to get some sleep. Fortunately... How's the trip?"

There's no point in sharing her nightmares with him.

"Well, usual supplies run, you know... Got around a few checkpoints. The rest of the trip was just mountain roads. Nothing the Jeep can't handle... It can be boring sometimes, but Dean and I actually kind of enjoy it."

Kye chuckles. Men. As if she has a whole lot of experiences with them—normal human men, she means.

"That is good to hear," Kye looks down at her mustard-colored loafers and chews her bottom lip—a nervous tic she picked up after her dad died. "Uhm... Actually, there's something I want to ask you about."

Sam frowns. The way Kye looks and acts makes him feel bad. He knows he shouldn't.

After last night, Sam hopes Kye won't ask him any more questions that he has no answer to. Sam feels guilty, partly because he was there when Bobby revealed his plan to him and Dean, and partly—as strange as it sounds— because he was the one who carried Kye to their jeep at the exchange.

Sam remembers how it stayed with him that a grown human could be that light. The girl was skin and bone. Ruby is small but sturdy, unlike Kye.
Sam was afraid he would break her if he moved in any wrong way.

Sam had seen some pictures of Kye on Ruby's phone before, so he was shocked to see her in person for the first time. Her poor state saddened and angered him.

What he saw was a fellow human being who got mistreated by an angel. Nothing new, but from what Ruby had told him, the archangel was supposed to care for Kye, and the two had been in some kind of relationship for years up until the incident.

Relationship, his ass.

That, again, just confirms Sam's belief of how cruel these Heavenly creatures can be. They wear human skin and mimic what humans do to some extent, but they're not humans. They can never be. They're God's tools.

The girl indeed did something wrong, but Sam can never fathom hurting, then discarding someone he cares about that way. It doesn't make any difference to him that Michael decided not to torture or kill the girl.

There's no mercy.

Bobby and Dean always say the problem with Sam is that he cares too much, and that won't do anybody any good. They say he's a softie, but Sam doesn't care. He knows who he is. He knows that kindness doesn't equal weakness, and while their main mission is to defeat the angels, protecting others of their kind should always be the top priority.

Sam and his brother Dean are a few who know about the refuged angels in their camps, but those are different in Sam's book. To his knowledge, there aren't a lot of them at all. The Resistance only makes a few exceptions. Sam doesn't know exactly who those angels are, and he doesn't care.

Everyone Sam has come across is human. That, he is pretty sure of. At the end of the day, he can tell the difference, can't he? But angel or not, as long as they are loyal to the organization and do their jobs right, they can stay. Dean, on the other hand, doesn't think so...

"Do you know where Ruby is, or how can I get ahold of her?"

Kye's question pulls Sam back to reality. After a few seconds, Sam feels relieved that it's something he can actually help her with. He must have taken quite a while down memory lane because Kye keeps staring at him.

"Sorry," Sam inhaled. "Her camp is not too far from here... Not too close, either. My brother and I go there all the time. We can give you a ride. In the meantime, I will give you a phone and Ruby's number, so you can call her."

"That works! Thank you, Sam. You're a lifesaver!" Kye beamed at the guy.

Her sudden smile makes Sam forget everything he is about to say. His mind becomes as blank as a sheet of paper. His arms and legs don't feel like his anymore. Sam is not sure what to do besides grinning like a simpleton.

It's embarrassing but not bad. Strange, yes, but something warm has bloomed inside.

It's been a while since Sam was in any type of relationship. It usually didn't last long. The Winchester brothers have a reputation. Girls basically throw themselves at them. It's fun and easy, but sometimes, in a certain mood, Sam wishes it could be more.

The life they live and the war they have been neck-deep in since they were kids have prevented them from having any meaningful connections. That was what Sam thought, but after a while, it sounds like an excuse too.

Sam just doesn't know how to fix it.

Some people are just lucky. Love is not for the Winchesters. At least, not now.

***

"Hello, if you're trying to reach the most awesome Ms. Ruby Adlin, please leave the message after the tone. I'm busy saving the world, so I can't pick up right now. No, literally, I am! I will get back to you whenever I can. Muah!"

Kye feels defeated after the umpteenth unsuccessful attempt of trying to reach Ruby. The last time Kye saw her sister in person was when they met in the same alley they had reunited after Alastair's attack. Kye gave Ruby the lance, and Ruby said she would call Kye soon, as usual, but Kye never received that phone call thanks to everything being thrown into turmoil when Michael found out that she stole the lance.

Kye destroyed her personal phone as soon as the archangel announced her employment would be terminated, and she would be taken to the warehouse. She had only used disposables from the beginning to contact Ruby and her handler, Bobby, but Kye needed to make sure no traces, not even the smallest one, would lead the angels to Ruby.

Michael gave her some time to gather whatever she wanted from the loft, but Kye had been too rattled and heartbroken to care about anything. She had spent the whole day begging Michael for forgiveness to no avail. He didn't even want to see her. Kye knew it would be that way. She couldn't possibly explain or defend herself without involving Ruby, and she refused to do that.

Funny how months of preparation up to the moment she took the box out of the vault, then drove it to Ruby, Kye had never once felt as much pressure and fear as when Michael's office door closed in her face. No amount of her banging on it, crying, and begging got it to open again. The sense of finality in that moment sank in and sucked all the life out of her.

Kye had the feeling this would be the last memory they had of each other, and it killed her.

...

Kye sits on the floor, staring at the phone's darkened screen. She needs to figure out what's next. A lot is going on, and she needs a plan. Fast. She wants to know what happened after Ruby got the lance and if her sister gets Gadreel back.

Kye prays that at least one good thing would come out of this hopeless situation.

***

"Girl, just slow down. You don't have to go! They will be back in a couple of hours anyway!" Bobby wailed after his protégé.

As tiny as she was, Ruby was a force to be reckoned with. She had destroyed many things on her way to the parking lot out of anger, but Bobby couldn't find the heart to discipline her.

He understood the girl had been on the verge of going crazy with worries after months of not seeing Gadreel. As much as he didn't want to encourage that relationship, he had to admit it was sort of admirable.

"No! Bobby, I have to be there!" Ruby tried her best not to scream, but half the compound had heard her by now. "I can't believe you didn't tell me about the convoy! I'm the one who got you the weapon, aren't I? So why the hell do you want to hide the news from me?"

Ruby threw her bag in the truck and climbed in, not looking back at her handler.

Bobby muttered under his breath and slammed his hands on the truck. He then put his head through the driver-side window. "I didn't hide it from you! I want you to stay because there's a job for you to do. Who's gonna do it now, Ruby? We're short!"

"No, we're not," Ruby scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You always make that excuse when you want to keep me at the camp. Not gonna work this time."

She gave him a taunting face and stepped on the gas.

Bobby sighed as he watched the trail of dust follow the dark grey truck. The vehicle was a beast. Ruby struggled every time she needed to climb in and out of it but would fight tooth and nail if Bobby or one of the boys wanted to take it away from her. It didn't make any sense, but they just yielded to her as they had done with a million other things.

Ruby had never asked for anything or wanted to depend on anyone. She had always been a lone wolf ever since she joined the Resistance even when she knew Bobby would die for her without hesitation. That was why he wanted to make sure Ruby got what she wanted, even if it was the last thing he did.

The girl was Bobby's joy and pride. She was family—one with the Winchester boys—that Bobby had never dreamed he would have after his wife had passed away.

He was lucky. 

Ruby was hot-headed and reckless, but the girl was far from dumb. The plan she had laid out, though outlandish as every other thing coming from her, would have worked if Alastair had not changed his mind at the last minute.

Why the hell had that crook decided to do so?

That beat Bobby and everyone, but nothing had ever been straightforward when it came to Alastair.

Bobby chewed the inside of his mouth. The original plan was after the Resistance got the meetup details from Alastair, their people in the Council would organize something like a street-cleaning operation for criminal activities in that same area at the same time.

They would "stumble across" Alastair with Michael's lance hot in hand. That would give him a death sentence, no doubt. The plan would require precision since Alastair would not give up the meeting details until the very last minute, but the Resistance had prepared for times like this. They had people planted in the Council who actually called the shot.

The organization had targeted what was inside Michael's vault for such a long time. The vault contained countless weapons and supernatural objects that would help further their cause, but it had been moved a few times and always under heavy guard. A lot of people had died trying to access it.

This time, however, the vault was at the loft where Michael resided. Piece of cake, but it still wouldn't have been possible without Alastair's sudden abduction of the team, which led to Ruby's action and a chess piece they had never had before—Kye.

They succeeded, even with only the lance, but the day before the supposed meeting, Alastair had contacted them again. He announced that he didn't want the lance anymore. Instead, he wanted "the girl who stole the lance."

It threw everyone for a loop. What a bizarre demand. What did the girl have to do with anything? Nobody knew what kind of game Alastair was playing, but he had agreed to return half of the team first as a gesture of good faith. That was the reason for the convoy being sent out today. The rest would be back after the Resistance delivered the girl.

Alastair didn't let them know which three members he would release, but the directors knew all too well. Most likely, none of the angels would be included in this group.

Alastair was known for his grudge against angels.

Bobby didn't want to break Ruby's heart. He had tried his darndest to hide the news from her, but the girl had been able to pry it from old Rufus, a handler and Bobby's close friend. Not like it was a tough job. That man couldn't keep a secret if someone dangled a bottle of whiskey in front of him, and that was exactly what Ruby had done.

Bobby couldn't blame Rufus. He was that way with good booze too, but damn, one time he could really count on the old fool to keep his mouth shut, and Rufus had to spill everything. All Bobby could hope for was, by some miracle, Ruby would come back with Gadreel, and everything would be good again.

***

The usual bustling junction where Durham meets Main is mostly empty tonight besides a long line of people in front of The Swan.

Nobody wants to wander out in this weather unless they absolutely have to or, in the case of these people, desperately looking for something or someone to help them forget about their miserable lives.

Surprisingly, in a dying world, losing one's self in loud music on a daily basis is still the priority to some.

Muffled music seeping out from behind the impressive double door with a huge black swan logo excites the people who are waiting under the freezing rain.

The Swan is a trendy club that belongs to Councilman Crowley. It has opened since before the War under a different name. Rumors are the club is just a front for many of Crowley's illicit activities, but the man knows how to avoid unwanted attention.

The murmurs get louder when two black Lincoln SUVs smoothly approach and stop in front of the club's entrance. The man who has just stepped out of one doesn't seem to notice all the gawking and whisperings thrown in his direction.

His dark brown hair is slick back, and his overcoat is getting damp under the rain. The man's electrifying blue eyes scan the surroundings.

"Hey, come here! Don't worry about the umbrella..."

Michael looks down at the big puddle. His expensive shoes are half-submerged in the murky water.

Her laughter echoed through the air. It was even better than the sounds of Sandalphon's bell choir...

Her long sundress with tiny blue flowers was soaked...

She had lost her shoes somewhere back but didn't slow down...

The girl was running right in front of him. So close, yet so out of reach. Her two long braids swung back and forth with every step she took. Once in a while, she turned back and beckoned him to run faster.

He didn't know where they were running to or what she wanted to show him. He didn't know why he needed to run. If he teleported, he would have been right in front of her, but there was something about this pursuit by foot that was so exciting and intimate.

She was a dot of blue fire, dancing ahead and inside him...

His hand caught the skirt of her dress. One fistful of the fabric, and he could pull her in, but it slipped from his hand again. All patience in the world didn't seem enough. It ran thin, but he picked up the pace instead of getting upset.

Somewhere along the way, he also ditched his shoes. Wet, cool grass felt good under his bare feet.

The sky was heavy with dark clouds. Occasionally, thunders broke from afar through the rain pitter-patters. He didn't stop. He ran faster and faster until he reached the speed no human could achieve.

Only his wings could carry him faster.

He wanted to test the limit of this vessel. The sensation of running was so addictive. It was different from hovering, flying, or teleporting. He felt freer, more alive, and more in tune with this physical body than ever before.

He caught up to her, then ran past her before circling back. Her laughter vibrated through every fiber of his being.

A small smile crept up on his face.
Slowly, it became a full, genuine one. Slowly, his whole face beamed.

The girl seemed surprised. "Wow... That's something I want to see more," she said.

He didn't fully understand what she meant, but she seemed happy. That was what mattered.

He stood there, waiting until he could feel her small hands on his face. He closed his eyes and breathed in her presence. Her touch lingered before it moved down to where his vessel's heart was.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

The heart beat so fast. For the first time in eons, he felt something he could hardly contain.

His true heart was glowing.

He put his hands over hers before lowering his face. Slowly. The rain drenched them, but all they could feel was the warmth of each other's bodies through the thin layers of their clothes.

Her lips were soft under his. He wanted to make this moment last forever, or as long as he could...

"Do you want to get out of this?"

His eyes opened and followed hers to their feet. They were standing together in a large puddle. The water had risen past their ankles. His expression must have amused her because she laughed again and tiptoed to put her lips on his...

Michael's memory is cut short by the urging of his men for him to get inside. Precarious time. He shouldn't stand here all exposed.

Loud techno music washes over Michael as the double doors closed behind him. A sea of different shapes, sizes, colors, and smells all mix together. Everyone seems lost in a stage of intoxication.

Michael can feel all human emotions in this place. Their desires. Some are familiar to him; some are not. Some smell rotten. They disgust him.

His group wades through the moving people on the dance floor to an elevator at the back of the club.

It leads up to a VIP room on the second level. Built with glass walls, the room gives a panoramic view of the dance floor below. Michael's eyes move from the dancing lights to the man sitting on the curved leather couch with his face shrouded in the shadow.

Four humans stand in different corners of the room, heavily armed, but it won't make a difference to him. As long as they don't have the angel bullets.

Michael has never worried about mortal weapons, but he took Zaapiel's advice to wear a bulletproof vest after the attack.

His "assistant" has been upset. Zaaphiel took it as his failure when Michael got ambushed and injured. He fired the surviving human guards and sent all angels who were on duty that day back to their garrisons for punishment.

It was expected. After the War, the angels' main job on Earth has been to assist Michael, so they know what would happen when they fail.

Human guards, on the other hand, are a different story.

Michael is glad Zaaphiel understood how he wanted them to be handled. Michael still remembers how upset Kye was when she witnessed him 'discipline' members of her kind.

"It's cruel." Sure. "Unfair"? It was the whole point so no one would step out of line. Nevertheless, as their relationship developed, Michael slowly refrained from doing certain things in front of Kye out of emotions he didn't know he possessed. 

Fear, guilt, or shame.

Michael just knew he never wanted Kye to look at him that way.

One time, unbeknownst to him, Kye had stood on the other side of his office door, holding in her scream while he burned a person's eyes out for spying. That person was one of the Resistance scums, but it didn't matter to Kye.

She quit and left the loft that same day. She didn't go back to her home or any place Michael knew. Kye even went as far as purchasing some crude wardings to keep him away.

It took him almost a week to find her. A few more months to convince her to come back. Michael's mind was made up back then: It's not worth it to lose her for that or any reason, but here he is...

"You're on time!" Bobby exclaims. "What an honor."

Michael blinks at the older human who is eyeing him up and down, well aware of how annoying it is. There aren't a lot who dare to purposely get on Michael's nerves, for a good reason, so he remembers every one of them.

Michael feels exhausted. His grace is intact, and his vessel is as strong as ever, but something isn't working properly inside.

"Say what you have to say."

"Now, now," Bobby raises his hands.
"What's the rush? I think we can help each other out—"

"What makes you think I need your help? What makes you think I even want it? How arrogant... What could you possibly do for me? If I decide to smite you and burn your puny soul out of your body right here right now, what are you going to do?" Michael asks with a smile. His eyes glow bright blue.

The four humans standing in the room's corners reach for their weapons at the exact same time. On Michael's side, his guards also do the same.

Such a childish display. Waste of his time.

"You people really overestimate yourself." Michael sounded utterly bored. His eyes dim as he sits down.

"Hey, everyone," Bobby eyes his people. "No need for all that name callings and gun drawings. I didn't come all the way out here in this nasty weather for this."

Bobby slowly puts his hand in his pocket and pulls out a small USB stick.

"Here is a little token from us. It's what we got on Alastair so far. What he's been up to, where he goes, who he meets. This also contains a code for our tracking devices on Alastair's known vehicles. I know when you put us and him on the scale, we may not seem that much different, but the Resistance doesn't brutally murder angels for no reason. We also don't attack civilians. It's just not our style. Everything always happens in Luc's territory, so, at this point, it is safe to assume Alastair and Luc are working together. This has to stop. It's hard for us to remain the peace as it is. We can't let Alastair stir the pot any further. You know that could lead to a full-scale riot, right? I don't think any of us would want that."

Michael stares at the USB stick in Bobby's hand. It is a good offer. He has nothing to lose. He can finally get rid of Alastair with minimum effort, paying the human back for what he did, but Michael can't help but feel there's more to the story than the righteous crap Bobby's just tried to sell.

"Why do you give me this?"

"Well, I just told you!" Bobby threw his hands in the air. "Did you sleep through the entire speech?"

"No, that might be part of it, but not all. Don't play games. I want the real reason."

Bobby studies the archangel's body language. Michael is definitely not as calm as he lets out. Something is eating at him, but what?

As much as Bobby doesn't like the angels as a bunch, the more he learns about them, the more fascinating they seem. There are layers of emotions they are taught to subdue, and they have done a good job of fooling everyone into thinking they are one-dimensional, ruthless creatures, but they are more human-like than anyone from both sides would like to admit.

Bobby smiles. "You know, kids are pain, but we have no choice but to love them."

Michael watches the multi-color lights from the dance floor without making any comment.

"Have you heard of Kye's adoptive sister, Ruby?"

Michael slowly turned to Bobby with an indecipherable expression.

"She's like a daughter to me," Bobby sighs. "She's impulsive, but she doesn't do things without reason. Among the group Alastair's been holding captive, there's one named Gadreel."

"Gadreel," Michael muses at the name.

Bobby stops for a second to gauge the archangel's reaction before continuing, "As we anticipated, Alastair didn't send any of the three angels back. He returned the three human soldiers instead. The directors, at this point, all agreed that it best we returned the lance to you and asked you for the girl. We know how important the lance is to you, and for us, no matter how powerful a weapon is, it can not be compared to three live angels." 

"Get to the point."

"Well, I'm getting there... Ruby and Gadreel are, well, together. Alastair demanded the lance in exchange for the angels, so that's what she did. She planned the whole thing to save Gadreel, but now, Alastair changed his mind."

"What does he want?"

The crunchy sound emitting from the glass tabletop where Michael's hands are is music to Bobby's ears. He knows he has won.

"What does he want?" Michael repeats.

"Alastair is a pervert sicko. That's what I've heard. He said he wanted the girl. Kye. For his 'researches'." Bobby makes the air quotes and shakes his head.

Bobby knows Ruby will never forgive herself or him if something ever happens to Kye. Ruby has already felt bad enough to get her sister involved in this mess. Honestly, so has he.

The months they spent together, planning on how to steal the lance, gave Bobby a better look at Kye even from a distance. She can be a good addition to the organization, but moreover, the girl doesn't deserve whatever Alastair has planned for her.

Bobby needed Michael's help to deal with Alastair, but he wasn't sure how. The archangel didn't show any interest in seeking revenge as far as Bobby could see, but at this moment, Bobby realizes all rumors about Michael and Kye are true.

"We will take her to Alastair," Bobby says nonchalantly. "And you will know where and when it happens—"

"You will take her to Alastair? She will be at the exchange?"

"Well, of course. I mean, Alastair is not an idiot s—"

Michael shakes his head. He stands up abruptly and heads for the door. His men follow suit.

"Michael, we'll talk again! Soon? I hope?" Bobby screams after the archangel, who doesn't look back.