08. sympathy for the devil
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  THE PLANE JERKED VIOLENTLY as the pilot suddenly swerved. The passengers gasped in shock and some even screamed. But not because three random people suddenly appeared on the plane.

If it weren't for the bright, blinding stream of light beaming from the ground, Andy would've believed that she had imagined the whole 'Lucifer rising' thing. But there she sat, miles above the earth between Sam and Dean Winchester.

None of them spoke a word as they landed, deboarded the plane, and were at least a few miles from the airport in the rental car.

Andy sat in the back, chewing on her fingernails as her mind spun. Dean was in the driver's seat, of course, and Sam was next to him. On the radio, talk of what that light was, and if it were a possible terror attack, persisted. Dean clenched his jaw. "Change the station."

Sam did. Again and again. Every station talked about the devastation Lucifer's return had caused all over the country. Finally, he huffed and shut the radio off entirely, leaving the three of them in silence once again.

Sam sighed deeply. "Dean, look-"

"Don't say anything," Dean cut him. "It's okay."

Both Andy and Sam raised a brow at the calmness of his tone.

"We just gotta keep our heads down and hash this out, alright?"

Slowly, Sam nodded. "Yeah, okay."

"Alright, first things first. How did we end up on Soul Plane?" Dean's eyes flickered to Andy in the back seat.

"I don't know," Sam shrugged. "Angels, maybe? You know, beaming us out of harm's way?"

Andy bit down too hard on her finger and she hissed as blood drew. She sucked on it tenderly, eyes darting between the brothers.

"Well, whatever. It's the least of our worries," Dean shook his head. "We need to find Cass."

Andy inhaled, suddenly remembering how Castiel stayed behind to take on the Archangels. A pit formed in her stomach. She fumbled for her phone, flipping through her contacts until she found Natalie's. She shot her a quick text.

'The Winchesters and I are alright. Where are you?'

She stuffed it back into her pocket and when she looked back up, Dean's eyes bored into her. She raised a brow but he just looked back at the road ahead. Now is not the time, she told herself.

  THEY DROVE THROUGH THE night until they pulled up to Chuck's home. Even from the outside, the damage was evident.

"Keep your guards up," Dean told them as they left the Impala.

All three hunters unholstered the guns as they approached the house. Dean entered first, followed by Andy and Sam.

Blood was scattered all over the floors and walls. The piles of books Chuck had stacked were demolished and torn to pieces. All of the windows had been shattered, leaving shards of glass everywhere.

Andy kept her gun up. She knew it would do nothing against Angels, but it gave her the illusion of protection.

Dean went to the kitchen while Andy began to creep up the stairs. Sam headed for the living room but was stopped in his tracks. He yelled and stumbled back. Andy and Dean ran with their guns raised. "Sammy!"

"Oh shit! Sam?!" Before she even saw him, Andy recognized the squirrelly voice of Chuck.

"Yeah! What the hell?" Sam groaned, touching his forehead tenderly.

Andy and Dean lowered their guns at the sight of the author wielding a plunger.

"Hey, Chuck..." Dean greeted him curtly.

Breathing heavily, Chuck lowered his makeshift weapon. "So you're okay?"

"Well," Sam scoffed. "My head hurts."

Chuck shook his head rapidly. "No, no. I mean, my last vision. You went, like, full-on Vader! Your body temperature was 150. Your heart rate was 200. Your eyes were black!"

Andy's stomach flipped at the thought.

Dean's brow furrowed. "Your eyes went black?"

Sam turned slowly, looking at his brother from over his shoulder. He couldn't seem to make eye contact with him. "I...didn't know."

Dean watched him for a moment before looking back at Chuck. "Where's Cass?"

Chuck frowned. "He's dead...or gone. The Archangel smote the crap out of him," He lowered his head. "I'm sorry."

"You're sure?" Dean pressed. "Maybe he just vanished into the light..?"

"Oh, no," Chuck shook his head. "He, like, exploded. Like a water balloon of chunky soup."

Andy audibly gagged at Chuck's description. "I know you're an author, but you don't have to be so...visual."

Chuck cringed, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry." His eyes lingered on her.

Dean huffed and mumbled under his breath. "Cass, you stupid bastard."

Andy and Sam both heard. Sam whipped around. "Stupid? He was trying to help us."

"Yeah, exactly." Dean spat.

A silence fell. Andy looked between the two of them. "So...what now?"

Agitated, Dean snapped. "I don't know!"

Andy inhaled sharply, her patience waning.

"Oh, crap..." Chuck said suddenly.

All three heads turned to him. "What?" Sam asked.

"I can feel them..."

The familiar whoosh of Angels filled the room. "Thought we'd find you here."

It was a voice Andy was unfamiliar with, but clearly, Sam and Dean knew who it belonged to. The hunters turned to see who had just appeared behind them.

A pale, balding, middle-aged man in a crisp suit stood before them. Dean's jaw clenched. "Zachariah."

Zachariah shook his head. "Playtime's over, Dean. Time to come with us."

As Zachariah took a step towards them, Andy clenched her gun tighter and took it off safety. If the Angel noticed, he didn't say anything.

Dean raised a finger, pointing it at him. "You keep your distance, ass-hat."

Zachariah paused and tilted his head. The bastard was enjoying this, Andy realized. "You're upset."

"Yeah, a little," Dean scoffed. "You sons-of-bitches jump-started Judgement Day."

"Maybe we let it happen, but we didn't start anything. Right, Sammy?" The Angel winked. 

Andy's eyes flickered to Sam, her temper slowly rising. She clenched her jaw. 

Zachariah continued. "You had a chance to stop your brother and you couldn't. Even little-miss-spitfire over here failed," He glanced at Andy with disgust and disappointment. "So, let's not quibble over who started what. Let's just say it was all our faults and move on. Because like it or not...it's apocalypse now."

"Yeah, 'cause that makes it all okay, right?" Andy scowled. 

An amused look came over Zachariah's face. "Andromeda Crane! I haven't had the pleasure yet."

"And you won't." Her eyes narrowed. 

Her lack of decorum didn't phase Zachariah. He chuckled and shook his head. "You are just as Sariel described; fiery." 

Andy's stomach flipped. Natalie had spoken to Zachariah? About her? 

"Putting that aside," Zachariah said, shifting his gaze to Sam and Dean. "We're on the same team again, Winchesters." 

Dean scoffed. "Is that so?"

"You want to kill the devil; we want you to kill the devil. It's...synergy."

"And I'm just supposed to trust you?" Dean raised a brow. "Cram it with walnuts, ugly!"

Something in Zachariah changed. "This isn't a game, son. Lucifer is powerful in ways that defy description. We need to strike now, hard and fast! Before he finds his vessel." 

"His vessel?" Sam spoke up, voicing all of their confusion. "Lucifer needs a meat suit?"

"He is an Angel," Zachariah said as though it were obvious. "Them's the rules. And when he touches down, we're talking four horsemen, red oceans, fiery skies...the greatest hits. You can stop him, Dean...but you need our help." 

Andy looked at Dean, uneasy. His demeanour gave away nothing of what his next move would be. Would he say yes to Zachariah? 

Dean was silent for a moment. Then he puffed out his chest, taking a deep breath. "You listen to me, you two-faced douche. After what you did, I don't want jack squat from you!"

Zachariah snapped. "You listen to me, boy! You think you can rebel against us? As Lucifer did?" Then he paused and his eyes glazed over. 

The humans looked at each other, confused. Then, another whooshing sound. Chuck shouted in surprise. Andy whipped around and relief flooded through her at the sight of Natalie. 

Zachariah's jaw clenched. "Sariel." 

She sauntered forward in front of Andy and Dean, separating them from Zachariah. "I go by Natalie, now." 

"What are you doing?" Zachariah insisted. "You are a deserter, you do-" 

"Enough." Natalie raised her hand. Zachariah vanished with a pop. Andy's jaw hung open. 

Dean's brow furrowed. "What...the hell?" 

Natalie turned back to them, smiling sheepishly. "I got your text, Andy." 

Andy blinked, stunned. "Uh-huh...since when could you do...that?" 

"I've been relearning how my powers worked since getting my Grace back," Natalie shrugged. "I thought Zachariah would be a good test subject. I never liked the pencil-pusher anyway." 

  ANDY SAT ON ONE of the motel room beds, knees tucked into her chest. Her mind raced, unable to process the day's information fast enough. Dean cleaned and reloaded his weapons at the table. Andy knew he was looking at her now and again. She didn't care enough to tease him in that moment, or even to be annoyed. 

After Natalie had banished Zachariah, she left in a hurry, leaving them all with unanswered questions. Andy kept replaying the moment in her mind. Even though it was Natalie standing there, it was so unlike her friend. Andy hoped that her being an Angel wouldn't change things, but she was beginning to doubt it. 

The room door opened and Sam walked in. Andy and Dean looked up at him. "Hey," He greeted. 

"Hey," Dean replied. Andy remained silent. 

Sam rummaged in his pockets and pulled out two little satchels. "Here," He tossed one to each of them. "Hex bags. No way the angels will find us with those. Demons either, for that matter." 

Andy examined the bag in her hands, running her fingers over the fabric. 

"Where'd you get it?" Dean asked.

"I made it," Sam answered. 

Andy looked up, brow raised. "How?" 

Sam looked at her and hesitated. She tilted her head. Sam swallowed. "I...learned it from Ruby."

Andy inhaled sharply and something inside her snapped. It was as if the floodgates had opened and all the stress and anxiety that she had been bottling up since learning the truth about Angels exploded. "That's it," She stood, her whole body trembling. She white-knuckled the hex bag in her hand. "You two can deal with whatever bullshit is coming on your own. I'm out." 

Sam stared at her quizzically. "Andy, what are you..?"

"Hold on a minute," Dean stood, brow furrowed. "What do you mean you're 'out'? You're just gonna leave?" 

Andy scoffed and took her leather jacket from the coat rack. She stuffed the hex bag in her pocket. "Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. Great observation skills, Winchester." 

"Andy, you can't go just yet," Sam's pleading tone annoyed her suddenly. It was no longer endearing. "It's not safe. Angels and demons are out there-"

"They're out there looking for you two. I have nothing to do with this." She snapped. 

"Bullshit," Dean interjected. "You and that Angel of yours are wanted just as much as Sammy and I." 

"Zachariah couldn't care less about me," She crossed her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes in an icy glare. "He couldn't seem to get enough of you, though." 

Dean and Andy stared each other down. An immovable object and unstoppable force. Neither would back down. 

"Going on your own right now is stupid," Dean huffed. "You're gonna get yourself killed." 

"I've been a Hunter long before I met you, Dean. I can handle myself," Andy spat and turned on her heel. "Don't act like you care all of a sudden." She walked out of the motel room before Sam or Dean could say anything more.

AUTHORS NOTE

Hi...so it's been a while. I HAVE BEEN WRITING I promise but life got busy lol. Met a boy, went out for a month, he was stupid. Same old same old. BUT im back and ready to write more of my beloved Andy. 

Also, thank you so much for 4.5k reads!! I'm so glad you all like this silly story of mine!