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Zuriel woke up in an upright position, his hands were numb, wrists aching. His vision slowly came into focus, he moved his hands a bit to see if he could break free, but it proved useless. A man stood in front of him, back facing him as he stared at his radio, listening to the voice on the other side. He turned it off and turned to face him, looking back at the radio before moving closer to him and sitting in the chair in front of him. "You know what that shit means? It means the roads have all been closed. It means the phone lines have been cut. It means there are no signals getting in or out of this valley. But mostly, it means we're all fucked. The Goddamned Collapse... they think the whole world's coming to an end now... They've been waiting for it, for years. waiting for somebody to come along and to fulfill their prophecy and kick off their Goddamned holy war." he leaned back in his chair, seemingly thinking for a moment before leaning closer with a sigh, "The smartest thing for me to do, would just be handing you over..." silence filled the air for a few moments, he leaned back again and looked towards the door, muttering "Fuck..." before standing up, pulling out his knife, and cutting the things around his wrists, he had seen them before, but no one had ever stated what they were called. "Get out of that uniform, we need to burn it... There are some fresh clothes in there, when you get changed, you come and see me... We'll see if we can un-fuck this situation..." he stated before exiting the room. When the man was gone, he stood, stripping his clothes and moving over to the closet he had pointed towards, grabbing a red flannel, camo cargo jeans, a trucker hat, and some bandaged to wrap around his wrists. He fixed his hair, and went out to speak to the man that had saved him.~~~~~~~ Dutch debriefed him and told him a couple things he had to do before he could leave. He did as told and made his way to Fall's End, surprised by the chaos in a place that use to be so nice. The cultists were easy to take down, especially having been in the garrison, training under Castiel before he left to help the Winchesters. Pastor Jerome and Mary came up to him, already knowing their names, he spoke before they could open their mouths, excited that he was finally able to speak to them. "Hello, Pastor, Mary, I apologize for the mess, but I wanted to help you out first." he strode forward, stopping in front of Mary and gently grabbing her arms, pulling them up to inspect her wrists. "They healed nicely... I thought John would've done more..." he mumbled with a sigh. Mary pulled her hands away, staring at the stranger, "I've never met you... how do you know about that...?" He thought for a moment, Humans would be afraid of him if they knew he was an angel, especially in circumstances such as these, but he remembered something, "I overheard some of the citizens speaking of what happened to you. I apologize for any discomfort I might've caused you." he said hesitantly. Mary and Jerome smiled slightly, "It's fine, just frightened me a bit." she said with a chuckle. "Would you like to help us get the town running again?" she asked. Now it was Zuriel's turn to smile, "Of course."
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It was hard getting use to the fact that he couldn't fly anymore, the pain had subsided, but it was still a little frightening to look at your wings and be able to see the bone. He heard of a guy named Nick Rye, and people said he could teach him how to fly, though he was unsure of how to fly without half of his wing, he'd still go check it out. Walking through the woods was nice, seeing one of God's greatest creations, sadly, some humans bodies were lying here and there, some hanging from the trees, others just lying on the ground. It was by no means a pretty sight. Upon reaching the sign reading "Rye and Sons Aviation," he was greeted by shouts farther down the path. He ran down, and of course, there were 'Peggies' there... he pulled out the Aluminum Baseball Bat he had gotten off of one of the Peggies, and made his way around, sneaking up behind them and breaking their necks, hiding in the bushes when more arrived. It was hard, but when it was finally over, he was able to talk to who he assumed to be Nick. "Hello, Nick, how is your wife?" be nice and interested first, then pop the question, he had observed this is how most humans liked it. "Good... but.. I thought you had died..." Nick said, squinting his eyes. Crap, he had forgotten some people would recognize his vessel, Dusty was a shut in for most of his life, but that didn't mean word wouldnt get around. "No, only severely injured, a man named Dutch saved me and helped patch me up." he stated, and it was mostly true, Dusty was still alive, but he wasn't there, it was Zuriel, not Dusty. Nick smiled, "Well that's great!" the smile turned into that of fear as he began speaking again, "So you know Kim's pregnant, but the thing is she's due any minute, but those Goddamned Peggies took our only ticket out of here, can you please help us?" he pleaded. Zuriel was doing fine on his own two feet, and there was a new life on the line. He never wanted to harm anyone, but they were basically children of Lucifer, so he had to, Atropos would be mad if he didn't, plus he loved humans as God had intended. "Of course, where do I need to go and what do I need to get?" he asked. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! Okay, you have to go to John Seed's Ranch and get Carmina and bring her back." he said, and with that, Zuriel left.
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Sneaking past the Peggies was easy, the problem was getting Carmina running, then figuring out how to pilot her effectively. When he finally got the hang of driving her, Nick came over the radio, he was ecstatic, but still worried they had hurt his plane. Zuriel has to put Carmina through a couple of tests, all of which she passed with flying colours. Nick yelled for Kim to get ready to leave and droned on and on about the plane until the Peggies came back.~~~~~~~ It was rough, but they killed the Peggies. Nick got Zuriel to help him pack his and Kim’s things, when Kim stopped them. “Are you really going to just abandon our home? Your family has lived here for generations, we can’t leave.” “Honey, you and our son are all that matter, and if leaving this behind means you two’ll be safe, then it’s happening...” “We’ve already talked about this, it’s a girl, you saw the ultrasound. And do you really want to leave here? She’ll never know who you grew up with, where your favorite place to spend your weekends was, where we met...” she trailed off. Nick stopped and looked at her, exhaling as he put his hands on either side of her stomach, “If all this means that much to you, then I guess we’ll stay, though I’m worried about what’s gonna happen when she’s born...” “She’ll be fine.. and so will we, we are Rye’s after all...” she stated with a smile, hands gently caressing the sides of Nick’s face. His smile grew slightly wider as he turned to Zuriel, “I guess were staying, if you need someone to blast your enemies from the sky, give me a call.” He stated, patting Zuriel on the back before going and grabbing the luggage to haul back into the house. Kim said something, but she was drowned out by John, coming over the radio. They were now hunting him down to be ‘cleansed’.
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Zuriel has always thought he was stealthy, but John’s men made him question that.~~~~~ Waking up in a river was bad, especially when the last thing you remember was shooting a moose in the back of the head, but seeing one of the people trying to harm you made it ten times worse. His hands were binded, but even if they weren’t, there were two Peggies on either side of him, and from what he could see, they were the ‘Chosen’. He was pulled closer to John, he said something he could barely hear, then looked at him, the woman in front of him being walked away. “Stop, this one’s not clean...” was all Zuriel heard before being shoved under the water again, John holding him under. When he was let back up, he saw Joseph in behind John, walking up to him. Joseph turned John to face him, “John, you need to love the sinner, not the sin...” “But Father-“ “Shhh... John, this sinner will reach atonement, or the gates of Eden will be shut to you.” “I’m not a sinner, and maybe the gates of Eden will be shut to him, but the gates of Heaven won’t...” Zuriel stated breathlessly. Joseph and John slowly turned to meet his eyes, “How do you know..?” Joseph asked. The angel thought for a moment, he sighed straightening up, “Get your men to back off.” Joseph’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded and they did as requested. Zuriel’s eyes glowed with grace as he pulled his wings into the same plane of existence for about three seconds before dropping to his knees, panting. The left wing was showing the bone, only half of it still having feathers, while the right was only missing the bottom feathers. The surrounding people’s eyes widened, “H-He’s sent from hell!” “Did you see those wings?!” People shouted. “My child, what are you..?” Joseph asked. Zuriel lifted his head slightly, “I... I was an angel of the Lord...” he croaked. “What do you mean, was?” John asked cautiously. “I was banished from heaven for messing with Atropos’, Fate’s, plan by helping someone on Earth, and before that, well, I’m sorry Joseph, but God was only here for a few months in the past couple centuries...” he looked up, “Lucifer had been messing with people before being killed, so he might’ve been talking to you, but, besides that, you’re just hallucinating...” he finished, chuckling as he started tasting the blood dripping from his mouth. John went to punch him, but Joseph stopped him, “John, don’t give into your sins!” He scolded, looking back at the man on his knees, “Are there other angels still alive?” “Not many, heaven’s barely running since most of the angels were killed during the fall, and there’s only one archangel left, and he needs to be killed or this world is doomed, angels versus humans? The demons sure aren’t gonna help, and most of the monsters have been killed by the Winchester brothers that Castiel insists on spending his time with...” he spilled. “Why are you bleeding, no one hurt you...” “Running low on grace, the thing that powers us celestials... just need to have some time to replenish it and I’ll be good.” “Hm... well then...” Joseph looked thoughtful as he walked away, the rest of the people in awe.
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Word got around fast about him being a celestial and the Seeds had more reason to nag on him, saying things like, “This was God’s plan.” “Just say yes.” “The bliss can help you.” And other things of the sort, though, surprisingly, Jacob was more quiet than not. He might’ve been in John’s region the most, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t hear the other Seeds talking via radio. The first time he was caught by Jacob, it was weird, he woke up in a chair, strapped down, with grotesque pictures of animals that had been partially destroyed in the background. He tried at the straps holding him to the chair, but to no avail. Jacob walked up, passing the two people infront of him, talking about how the world is diseased and the end is nye. He looked over him for a second, still continuing his rant, before pulling out a music box and winding it up, the tune of ‘Only You’ making his vision fuzzy and him dizzy before passing out.~~~~ The dreamscape was nothing like how he had imagined, people standing in there assigned positions, holding their guns, and firing when he came near. He wasn’t killing them because he wanted to ‘Cull the Herd’, he was killing them because he needed to end this, the lives of the masses more important than the lives of the few. ~~~~ People were walking around the room, he couldn’t move, still strapped down, and even if he wasn’t, he was to weak to even try an move. A kid came over to him, shouting when he realized he was alive. The guy that seemed to be the leader said something, obscured by the buzzing in his ears. Everything was dark again.
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He woke up to shouting, the older guy he had seen earlier yelling at a woman. She stormed out of the room before the younger man started talking. Zuriel sat up, vision going blurry for a few seconds before coming back into focus slowly. The older guy, of whom was named Eli from what he had gathered, rushed over to him, "You need to rest.." he said quietly. "No, I need to help za county.." he slurred, batting at the other man and missing by a longshot, "What did you give me..?" he asked, narrowing his eyes and staring at his hands. He laughed after a moment, a thick fog in his mind that made him deeply confused and, for some odd reason, made almost everything funny to him. "Something to help with the pain, now as I told you a moment ago, you need to sleep." "Angels don't sleep." he stated, pointing a finger up at Eli. "Okay? Well humans do, and if you keep up that religious shit, Tammy might kick you out." "But I am…" he whined. "Whatever you are, we dosed you up enough to knock out a horse, how your awake? We may never know." "Well, I refuse to sleep, I was sent here for a reason, and I intent to dedicate myself to the cause until my dying breath, now if you'll excuse me.." he said, standing. He got at least ten feet away before tripping, he caught himself, wings flapping instinctively. He seethed, pain coursing though his wings and body, "Oh my, Father, why hath thou forsaken me in my time of need?" he whispered, clutching his shirt, over where his heart was. "What the fuck was that?" Eli asked, looking at the books that just fell off the shelf. "I don't know, maybe an earthquake." he said sarcastically. He used some of his grace to get rid of the effects of the medicine and numb the pain he felt. "No way on God's green earth that was an-" "He doesn't like the G-word..." Zuriel stated softly, rolling his shoulders. "Okay, well, I think we might've given you to much-" "No, as I said earlier, I am... was an angel of the Lord." Eli stared at him, unbelieving. Zuriel sighed and started walking away, "Radio me if you have any problems." he stated before going through the hall leading to the exit door.
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John's men were on his tail right after he set foot in the Valley, maybe it was because of the tanker he blew up? Probably. Well, in any case, he was caught after a few minutes.~~~~~~~~ He woke up in a chair sitting before John, John staring at him intently and Deputy Hudson in a chair on the other side of the room. "Welcome back, angel..." John chirped. "Why are your guys so rude when transporting us..?" he asked quietly, rolling his shoulder. John jumped slightly when one of his tables moved. "They try their best..." he said, narrowing his eyes. "Well their best best sucks..." he mumbled. John stared at him for a second before striding over to Hudson, he walked around the room, spilling his backstory. If Zuriel was completely honest, he couldn't care less, mainly because he had seen it happen, but partially because of what the man was doing to others. "Now.... Who's ready to say YES..?" he asked. Zuriel looked over at Joey, he knew her because of Dusty, they had spoken and on top of that, he had access to his memories. Joey had been through a lot, if the scars, tears, and messed up makeup told you anything. He sighed defeatedly and looked back to John, "Yes." he said, tone unenthused. John smiled, "Yes, Yes, Yes," he said, gradually getting louder as he hopped around the room, he pointed back at Zuriel, "You will NOT regret this!" he exclaimed, "but first..." he walked behind Joey's chair, "confessions are supposed to be private... so I'll take her back to her room." he stated. Joey's eyes widened as she started sobbing again, muffled "no's" coming from behind the duck tape. When John left with Joey, he had an opportunity to escape, but, he didn't.
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He sat in the chair for about ten minutes before John skipped back in, grabbing his tools and whistling a calming tune. "So, you said you were a fallen angel, right?" John asked. "That is correct," Zuriel replied, sadness evident in his posture and tone. "Then fallen angels sin... hm..." he stopped moving for a moment, leaning on the table, now facing Zuriel, "I never thought angels could sin, well, besides Lucifer of course… anyways, were you an angel after we started the Project?" "Yes, I've been an angel for centuries, Naomi kicked me out-" "Then have you always held this grudge towards us..?" John asked, cutting Zuriel off. "Yes... all of us have... what you guys are doing isn't right, God left, I..." Zuriel sighed, "I just wanted to help the humans... and that's how I got in this situation..." he dropped his head, now staring at the floor. "If this is what makes humans feel better, or is at least a suitable punishment for their actions, then I suppose I must atone..." he mumbled. John walked in front of the angel and stared down at him, after a few minutes, Zuriel felt a sharp pain in his back, the world now being consumed by darkness.
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He jolted upward as he woke, seething at the pain in his chest. He looked down to see the word Wrath carved into his chest, understandable with how many of his men he had slain, but still painful both physically and mentally. He scanned his surroundings, he let out a sigh as he realized he was stranded in the middle of a field, and his shirt was gone. Surely no one was going to want to take in a shirtless man with the word Wrath freshly carved into his flesh. While he could heal himself, that would defeat the whole purpose of staying there in the first place, plus he needed as much grace as he could get, sadly, the fact that no angels were around and lack there of in heaven put him in a spot where he either had to use the rest of his grace on stupid things or wait until he had more. Though waiting was going to be hard, he decided that would probably be the best course of action.
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Again, radio silence in Jacob’s region, though John was getting a lot more... energetic? in his attempts to lure Zuriel back. He heard John, but mostly ignored him because he was like a spoiled child over the radio whining about how he took his outposts back and how he was sooo sinful. Now Zuriel sat on an ATV, staring bath the signs attached to the bridge to go into the Henbane region, according to Dutch, there was a powerful fume in this area that made you hallucinate, but he hoped that being an angel would either get rid of the effects completely or at the least lessen them. It was a sad thing to HOPE, but, it’s not like any of his brothers or sisters would come to his rescue, and no way his Father was coming. Chuck was to busy, as was the only brother he had that still cared about him, because of Lucifer’s son, Jack, the Nephilim, had opened the rift and Alternate Michael was using Castiel’s boyfriend, Dean Winchester, as a vessel... Dad help that poor man... Zuriel sighed and rode into the Henbane, looking seeing some barrels of the Bliss lying on the side of the rode, a green gas floating around them. He could smell it, and he had to admit it smelled really sweet. He kept driving, eventually catching a signal from someone on his radio.
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Walking into the trailer park was horrible, as he could already see the man he was going to be helping, Charlemagne Victor Boshaw IV, otherwise known as Sharky. He had been a nightmare while watching over the area, getting drunk and almost dying or killing others, setting things on fire, setting people and animals on fire, getting arrested more times than you could count with both your fingers and toes, and other horrible things, but when it came to the line separating evil from good, Sharky was good, he helped people, put up with them, and didn’t discriminate. He was a good man, but still probably had something going on up in his brain, something really, really bad. “Yo, what is up, amigo? Wait, do I know you?” Sharky asked when Zuriel approached him. “Uh, yes, I believe so...” Zuriel searches through Dusty’s memories, “yes, you do, I was the rookie that let you off the hook more times than not.” “Oh, the cool cop? Dusty? I thought you had died man!” He said with a chuckle. “Ha, no, almost, but those...” he thought for a moment, trying to act as much like Dusty would, “Goddamn Peggies can’t take me that easily!” He cringed slightly as he used his dad’s name in vain. “Haha! They sure as hell can’t! Grab a beer and we can burn some Angels together!” He said, pushing his foot on one of the pedals infront of him. Zuriel was hesitant at first since he said they were going to burn ‘Angels’ but when he saw what they were actually fighting, he was okay with it and actually quite enjoyed it.
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After helping Sharky shut down the music systems (as they had malfunctioned), he said his goodbyes to Sharky and headed towards the Jailhouse. He fought his way through the hoard of Angels, making sure he got them in the head each time, then went in to check on the people behind the walls. As you would expect, most of them were injured and dying, Zuriel had to watch helplessly as they were carried back inside and to the Med Bay. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around. "Fuck, Rook, I though you had died..." The man said, pulling him into a short, but tight embrace. "How could you think I'd leave you and the rest of Hope County to your own devices? You know I can't trust you..." Zuriel said after looking through his memories. The Sheriff smacked him on the side of his arm, smiling, "Thank you for not dying on us, we need all the help we can get with how fast our men are dropping, plus having the other Deputies and Marshal eating out of those fucking Seed's hands..." he said, smile fading and arm dropping to his side. Zuriel knew he was sad, at the least about Staci and Joey, "Um, if it's any consolation, I've already seen both Joey and Staci, and they still have a lot of fight in them... even if Staci's putting up with Jacob, it isn't willingly though.... but they're still on our side." he said, trying to cheer his vessel's former mentor up. "Yeah, but the same can't be said for Cameron.." he sighs, "Promise me you'll get them back, no matter what... well, unless the cost is your life..." Earl said, tone consumed by the sadness within. "I promise," Zuriel replied, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
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He knew he was close to a breakthrough in the valley, so he made his way back, attacking outposts, freeing civilians, and destroying Silos.~~~~~~ He was storing grace, so he now had to deal with fatigue, hunger, and thirst, knowing this, he payed a visit to Fall's End, getting a meal from the Spread Eagle before heading back to Dusty's house. Pulling up into the driveway, he noticed the lights upstairs were on, so he proceeded with caution. Pistol and flashlight in hand, he entered the house, checking the bottom floor for threats before going upstairs. The wood floor creaked under the weight of his body as he made his way down the hall, checking each room before getting to one that had caused these issues in he first place. He quietly released the air in his lungs before entering the room, looking around the room, he found nothing, he entered the room, holstering his gun before hearing the door close with a creak. He spun around on his heel, going to pull the gun out again, "Ah, Ah, Ah..!" John said softly before tutting, "You should always check behind the door, you never know where the monsters will be lurking, Angel," he purred. Zuriel took a step back for each three steps forward John took, holding his gun, but not pulling it out, "What do you want?" he asked, voice calm and collected. "Oh, I just wanted to talk to you... alone..." he stated, swiping his pointer finger across one of the photos sitting on Dusty's dresser and blowing the dust off. "Hand off your gun and I'll be out of your hair before you know it," he said, eyes flickering between Zuriel's eyes and gun.
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Zuriel sighed and moved his hand away from the gun, “Good job, my dear Wrath” John practically purred. The angel stared at him as he walked over and sat on the bed, patting the seat next to him, “Come sit with me, Angel,” he said. “I won’t shoot, but I refuse to sit next to or near you...” Zuriel all but growled. John’s expression morphed into something of pain, he cleared his throat and shifted slightly, “Alright, Deputy, I like you, I like you... well, a lot, and not just because you’re an angel. I have a proposition for you, you come to the Ranch at least once a week, NOT to kill me, and I’ll release Hudson and leave Fall’s End alone...” The angel stared at him incredulously, seemingly thinking it over, after a moment, he spoke, “Leave The Ryes and Grace alone as well, and you have yourself a deal...” he said, dropping his arms to his sides. John smiled, the look closely resembling that of the Chestshire cat, “Excellent, I’ll see you this Saturday, Angel,” he said, standing and leaving the house. Zuriel thought about if he made the right decision as he lied in bed... did he..?
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It was Monday when he had agreed to see John, now it was Wednesday, he needed to go back to the Henbane and help the people there. He went to catch a cougar named Peaches, it was more easier than not, which was nice for him. Sadly, Faith came for him not to long after. The hallucinogen named the bliss made him trip, he fell over as his consciousness was taken away from him. A young girl’s voice softly saying, “Welcome to the Bliss” was the last thing he remembered before he was taken by the drug.~~~~~~ “I know they’ve told you bad things about me, that I’m a liar, that I’m a manipulator...” his vision slowly came back as the young woman took his hands into hers, “well let me tell you a different story... a TRUE story....” she smiled and started walking, hands ghosting over the flowers on either side of her. “Rachel..?” Zuriel asked, still hazy from the drug. She spun around to face him, jumping back when she did, “Who.. w-what are you?” She asked. Zuriel looked beside him, noticing his wings were in the same plane of existence, they were slowly forming back together, he didn’t have enough grace yet to heal them, so it must’ve been the Bliss. “I’m an angel of the Lord... Zuriel..” He slurred. “Is that how you know my name?” “Yeah.. I... know what happened... I’m trying my... my best to stop this... and help you... work with me and we’ll survive...” he said, words coming out more clearly. “I... I don’t know... you, I can’t trust you, I’ll send you back, but, Joseph...” “I’ll take care of him, as well as Jacob and John, I know it’s not your fault, Joseph forced you into this... I’ll give you a chance at redemption, just help me, I swear, I can fix this...” Faith looked him in the eyes, her eyes sparkling with tears, “O-okay, I’ll keep Marshal safe, you take care of the brothers... I’ll pull you back occasionally to check on you...” she says grabbing his hands and making him fly up on top of the statue of Joseph, “jump off, it’s the easiest way to get back...” she said, wiping her eyes. Zuriel nodded, hesitating before jumping off, falling into the ravine below.
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He woke up on the ground surrounded by dead bodies, he rubbed his head and sat up, looking where his wings were, as he had expected, they were still broken. He stood and headed out.~~~~ Thursday, that’s what day it is, two days in the Henbane and he met Faith, he hadn’t done much in the Whitetails lately, so he made his way over there, Jess was cool after he helped her kill the cook, and Cheeseburger was amazing, no one else owns bears, so it surprises them when their fighting some dude and a bear comes out of a bush and attacks them. He hadn’t been able to talk to Jacob yet, and the radio he carried with him was being attacked by John, Joseph, and Faith, Jacob not talking for some reason. It wasn’t too long until he was shot in the leg and being dragged back to Jacob.
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It was weird, he woke up and saw Jacob and Joseph talking before walking over to the cage he was in, Staci standing next to the cage infront and slightly to the left of him. Joseph sat before him and started talking about his life before this, his wife dying and him killing his daughter, when he started talking about holding her after she had been brought out to him, he cut him off. “Joseph, I saw that, I-I swear on my father’s name, he didn’t want you to do that,” he stood, pacing in the back of his cage, “Lucifer was probably humored by the fact that you actually believed that Go- Father, would want you to murder your daughter. In the cage or not, I’m sure he found out...” “Look, angel, I understand your anger, but that’s what God told me to-“ “JOSEPH!” He yelled, wings flapping slightly, he stopped and calmed himself before continuing, “do not call him the G-word, he hates that, he was away writing a book when that happened, and Lucifer was...” he sighed, “messing with people’s heads...” Joseph stared at him, but Jacob started to talk before he could, “What the hell was that noise?” “Language, brother, and you didn’t hear?” He turned to face his brother, when he shook his head, he looked at Zuriel, “show him.” “I’m not your-“ Jacob stared at him, putting a knife to Staci’s throat, the shorter man whimpering slightly. Zuriel growled slightly before pulling his wings into the same plane of existence, the cage was small, so his wings weren't stretched to their full capacity. Jacob stares at him, eyes wide, Staci was trembling. “Get the knife away from him or I swear to Chuck, I’ll fucking murder you.” He hissed. Joseph chuckled, “Fallen angel you are...” Zuriel’s gaze dropped to the floor, wings drooping before fading back a different plane of existence. “Just get off of him or I will kill you... no matter what dad said.” Joseph smiled at him, “You can’t do that, Angel, you’re low on fuel, remember?” He said before leaving. Jacob grabbed the music box and opened it up, the bittersweet tune consuming the angel.
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Conditioning. More dead bodies. They disappeared into smoke as though they never existed. This wasn’t a full hallucination, from what Zuriel had gathered, your second time was the time Jacob first sent you out, on a test... test, test, test, and then the real thing, the real mission... the most important casualty. Alls fair in love and war, all is a broad term, there should be boundaries, and this war wasn’t prompted. Worlds ending? Let’s help it end sooner, good plan, right? He wakes up, foggy from the song, the tune still in the back of his mind, he sat up, looking around and gathering his bearings, dead bodies, just as he had suspected. Blood, dead humans, no... it was a bloodbath, not as many as he had expected, but still, they were dead, by his hand. He sighed and started to make his way into the forest, pulling out his map when the radio came on, “Hey, it’s Dutch, no one’s heard from you in a while and I wanted to make sure you were okay. Talk to me whenever ya’ get a chance.”
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No one had heard from him in a while, though he knew he probably should’ve went back to the Wolf’s Den and made sure Eli knew he was okay, he should’ve, but he didn’t really want to. He walked through the forest, hoping he’d be at the F.A.N.G Center by nightfall. He heard wolves howling in the distance and sticks snapping beneath his feet... but then another sound, leaves rustling and crunching... it was fall and leaves were now living up to the name of the season and falling, but the path he was on was clear for the most part and the noise sounded like it was coming from his right. He followed the noise and saw nothing, he turned back to face the path when a hand came up to grip his mouth. His eyes flew shut and wings flapped defensively before the owner of the hand spoke, “Shhh... it’s alright, Angel...” Jacob said, small smile on his lips when he opened his eyes. Blue meeting blue. Jacob pulled his hand away, walking slightly farther up the path and pulling his signature knife out, tossing it in the air and catching it. “Why are you here, Jacob..?” Zuriel asked. Jacob's smile widened slightly, he leaned against a tree and faced the celestial, still toying with his knife, but now keeping it in his hand. “Well, I’m here to hit you with a proposition...” Zuriel crossed his arms, holding them tight against his chest. “What kind of proposition?” The taller man chuckled, meeting Zuriel’s eyes, “I’ve noticed how well you do, you aren’t weak, you’re actually one of the strongest ones I’ve ever been able to train. Now, that might be because of you being a celestial, but I’d like to think it’s not. So, my proposition is that you come join me once a week at the Veteran’s Center, whether you partake in the conditioning is up to my mood on said day, but you’ll be safe, I’ll not play the music unless you know I’m going to.” “You Seeds really like spending time with me, huh?” Zuriel sighed, “...Stay away from the Wolf’s Den, F.A.N.G Center, and Lumber Mill and you have yourself a deal...” he replied after a moment. Jacob walked over to him, sheathing his blade, “Alright, deal,” He said breathily, outstretching his hand. Zuriel shook it, watching as the eldest Seed disappeared into the woods.
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He was dancing with the devil, no, Lucifer was actually pretty nice, all things considered. What he was doing was like dancing with Asmodeus, the Prince of Hell that took over when Crowley was believed to be dead any Lucifer was in Apocalypse World, the infernal spirit that had the audacity to try an kill Crowley, and on top of that, he kept the only remaining archangel in his dungeon to feed on his Grace. Gabriel had the right to send that prick to the Empty, the place where no one besides Castiel had returned from. F.A.N.G Center, he remembered it being liberated, and now that he had a directory before him, he knew where it was and that it was the closest place he could go without weapons.
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He got new weapons and set out to bring Cheeseburger back, that trip took a day out of his time. He returned Cheeseburger saying that he had to go take care of some business that he didn't need a tank for... which wasn't necessarily untrue. He took one of the ATVs sitting on the side of the road and made his way to Holland Valley, then John's Ranch. Now, if his memory served him correct, John would only be with him for a day, more than likely letting him leave the following morning, and he still had to go to Jacob, so he had to plan well. If he got to John's house early in the morning, they could do something for that day aand he could leave the next day and go to the Veteran's Center and live up to what he had told the brothers. After going to the Whitetails he could head over to the Henbane and help the veterinarian and get a medic back at the jailhouse... hopefully... He pulled up to the ranch, stepping off the ATV and walking inside, the Peggies shot him dirty looks, but thankfully didn't try an kill him. One of the cultists told him to sit at a table set up next to the fireplace. "Wait here, John'll be out shortly," the woman grumbled before walking away.
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He stared into a nearby fire, memories of several of his and Barbus’ hunting trips flashed through his mind, he smiled slightly at the remembrance of his best friend, demon or not, he aspired to return to him after this was all said and done. John appeared on the bottom step, dressed in his normal attire, minus the vest and glasses, his hair messy, wet, and slightly curly. “Hello, Angel, nice to see you...” “You said I had to come here if I wanted you to let Joey go and stop harassing Fall’s End...” Zuriel replied, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Well, I didn’t think you’d care about them enough to possibly put your life at risk... good on you...-“ “Zuriel.” “Oh, my apologies,” John said, tone somewhat remorseful as he stepped onto the main floor, walking over to the celestial and sitting across from him, “In any case, thank you for coming, I seriously didn’t expect it.” At the distance they were at, John could see the fire flicking in Zuriel’s eyes, yellowish-gold piercing his icy blues. “So, why are you so against the project?” Zuriel gave him an incredulous look, “First off,” he started after a few seconds of silence, “God is gone, as I’ve said numerous times... secondly, what you're doing is wrong in so many ways, thirdly,-“ “Mhm, mhm, well, I get what your saying...” he moved his hands up to his face, placing his chin on them as they folded before him, elbows resting on the table, “but, shouldn’t I take this with a grain of salt? Seeing that you are a fallen angel after all...” Zuriel was taken a back, he huffed softly at the balls John had, “Um... no, I was kicked out of heaven because I made a celestial that is a higher tier than me upset...” he stated, visible hurt evident on his face and in his tone and posture. John narrowed his eyes, humming affirmatively, “Alright, continue.” “...okay... um, demons don’t even treat humans this way... they use them as vessels at most or kill them... I mean, crossroads demons and their HELLHOUNDS aren’t even this bad...” he said, eyes furrowing together. “So you’re comparing is to demons now? Wow, that’s rude...” “How can I help you understand?” Zuriel said, sitting back in his chair, now agitated. “What do you mean?” “The world isn’t ending, the apocalypse has been held off over three times, God left, and you guys are worse than most monsters out there with your methods. Go ahead and kill me if that’s what you want to do, but you guys are horrible... Lucifer was better than you...” John laughed, sitting back and crossing his arms, “Oh really? Jeeze, I didn’t expect you to be this snappy...” The angel cocked his head slightly. “I like you, we’re gonna have a lot of fun together...” John stated, small smile gracing his lips.
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The rest of the day was spent following John around as he attended to his duties as head herald of Holland Valley, between conversations with his followers during his breaks, he tried to justify the actions in the name of the Father and the Lord, assumably to get Zuriel on their side as he had been from the get-go, but he was insistent. Zuriel listened, but didn’t reply unless expected to, at this point, he didn’t need to eat, sleep, drink, or go to the bathroom, so whenever John was doing any of those things, the angel was usually sitting on a bench or in a chair not to far from the herald, looking at his surroundings and the cultists, though they either showed fear or anger whenever they caught each other’s eyes. Sure, celestials can smite you and infernal spirits can take your soul or kill you with hellhounds, they shouldn’t ALWAYS be feared, though Crowley was a bitch, Castiel was usually well behaved when not possessed or in bad company... the Winchester’s being the only exception, mainly Dean, despite him being a demon for a while, he seemed to have gotten the angel to be better... if he could say that... “Dang it,” John muttered, looking at his phone, dispite being in the middle of a one sided conversation between him and Zuriel. The angel looked at him with an inquizitive expression. “Joseph needs Jacob, Faith, and I to contact him for a meeting...” he exhales, pocketing his phone, “You’ve been lovely in accompanying me, but I have to go, can’t wait to show you my bunker next week!” He says with a smile, promptly turning on his heel and walking away. Zuriel stood where John left him for a moment before walking back to his car, hopping in and turning on the engine, it stuttered until it turned on. Now to meet up with Jacob.
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He parked in front of the Veteran's Center, looking around before putting his car in park. Zuriel sat there for a moment, staring at the main gates, he sighed as he climbed out of the van he borrowed from one of the outposts. Walking up to the gates, the two lieutenants guarding the gate pointed their guns at the man approaching, Zuriel raised his arms and stood still until Staci was able to come help him. He could here 'Only You' playing in the distance, a red haze danced in the corners of his vision. Staci led him into the main building, up a flight of stairs, and into a room. The room had animal heads attached to wooden boards and hung on the wall, animal skulls sat on top of a bookshelf beside the office table towards the back of the room. He sat on the chair the human directed him towards, watching as he hung his head, body straight and tense behind him. "So..." Zuriel paused for a moment, the hell he went through the past several times he had come here flashing through his mind as he tried to come up with a topic to discuss, bet before he could, Staci spoke. "Uhm.. are you really an angel..?" he asked, head lifting slightly so he could look at Zuriel. "Yes... if you're asking because of your friend, he's fine, we're benefitting from each other, as long as I'm with him, neither of us will die." Staci relaxed slightly, body stiff, but muscles not straining as much anymore, "Okay, okay..." he said quietly, maybe talking to himself. Zuriel smiled at him, watching Jacob as he entered, snapping and pointing to the wall next to the door, he let out a heavy breath as he sat on his chair. Staci made his way to the wall Jacob had pointed at, body in the same position it had been in a moment ago. "Alright, so, you want the deputy back, correct?" Jacob asked after a couple seconds. Zuriel narrowed his eyes slightly, "Correct." "Hm, okay, here's the deal, you quit fucking with our shit, and I'll let him go." "...That's… very bold of you to assume I can do that, I hope you know this 'project' is affecting the lives of thousands of people." "Obviously we know that, we're trying to save them, or at least that's Joseph's wish..." "Mhm, is there anyway to prove myself to you without stopping the destruction of Eden's Gate..?" Jacob leaned back in his chair, the creaking noise echoing in the small room, "While I don't necessarily believe in Joseph's ramblings, he's gotten this far without any so called 'angels' fucking shit up, so, answer my questions and survive the trials, then I'll think about it..." Zuriel nodded slowly, letting a silence settle between them for about a minute before speaking again, "Deal, as long as you radio me instead of shooting me in the leg or playing that song." "Come willingly and we won't have to resort to such actions," Jacob replied with a grin, "Peaches, show him out, I have work to do." Staci's head snapped up, he nodded and opened the door with a small 'yessir', waiting for Zuriel and walking behind him, telling him when to turn until they got to the gate, he gave the angel a small smile as he left.