It was past 8 pm. Kye paced back and forth in the dark living room, staring at the gigantic clock on the wall. It had been an addition that she asked Michael to put up two and a half years ago in an attempt to redecorate the loft. Made it more "homey". She had never finished the project, however. The simple clock didn't add much to the room, but it reminded her so much of the old one her family used to have before the War.

Kye had a few good childhood years, and for that, she could never complain. She only wished her future family would resemble some of that. The love and affection between husband and wife, parents and children might not sound like much, but to Kye, those were invaluable things and even luxuries that not everyone possessed.

Never, in a million years, she would imagine herself here. Never would she think her future would be built with an archangel whose eyes were bluer than the sky. She prayed for his return as well as the safety of thousands of people and angels out there.

Kye fidgeted with her hands while looking out at the city's skyline. It was as beautiful as ever when she ignored the darkness where light used to be. The parts that still lit up sparkled like rare diamonds in the night, hiding the wounded, damaged side of Ayham. The camps, the tortured, starved, and sickly. Kye's thought turned to her family for the millionth time, picturing her mom and Nick's faces.

Did they have something to eat? Water to drink? Were Mom's eyes hurt again when the electricity was out in most parts of the city? Was Nick safe or did he get into some trouble because of his smart mouth? The thoughts of them, as painful as they were, were the only thing that kept Kye sane in these past months. The truth was she didn't know if they were alive. She had begged Michael to let her go and search for them, but of course, he refused. The city, as chaotic as it always had been, had taken a turn for the worse. Much worse. No one was safe anymore, angel or not. Michael's group was at the last phase in their civil war against Raphael and Lucifer—all or nothing—so she understood. She couldn't add more to Michael's plate. On top of that, she didn't know where to start. The city had been half-destroyed, and the survivors were displaced. The only hope that she had hanged on was Michael's promise to look for her family.

Kye was getting lost in her thoughts when a loud explosion shook the whole city and threw her to the floor. She could see it before feeling the impact of whatever had hit the Clock Tower. The loft swayed as if it was in the middle of a major earthquake. That unlocked some dusty trauma of the War over twenty years ago that Kye didn't know that she had.

She fell forward, but luckily, the couch was right there for her to hold on to or her nose would have been broken. Struggling to stand up with the ring In her ears and stars in her vision, Kye watched the cloud of smoke replace the Clock Tower. The darkness spread to the rest of the city, and the sounds of chaos—screams and sirens—filled the air. They were faint, but nerve-wracking enough when Kye knew she was the only living soul in the building. Maybe, in the whole neighborhood.

The wealthy residents had long abandoned their luxury homes and ran to God-knows-where. Michael had yielded and settled on leaving two angels to protect Kye after a long debate between them. He couldn't stand the thought of leaving her alone, and she knew he would need every last angel tonight. Michael would charge in Raphael's stronghold by himself if he could. That was Michael.

On the other hand, every angel would rather be fighting next to him than guarding her, an irrelevant human. Kye had sent the two angels away as soon as Michael left. The way they looked so happy, so eager to leave, despite the potential punishments they would receive from Michael told Kye she had made the right choice.

Her life was insignificant. She knew Michael would be angry at this statement, but it was the truth. Thousands of people and angels out there depended on Michael and his small army. She would rather die than hinder that.

Kye stood in the dark for a few minutes before deciding that it was time to go. She ran upstairs to Michael's office, grateful that the loft didn't have a lot of furniture. Glancing back one last time at the tall smoke cloud outside the glass windows, she turned the door handle.

Inside was a different world. The office was quiet and tidy, untouched by what had happened, but also emptier than she had remembered. Tracing the edge of Michael's desk, Kye walked around to sit on his leather chair. She sank into it and breathed deeply. His scent was everywhere, and it calmed her nerves. Kye counted to one hundred before standing up and walking toward the adjacent library.

She pushed open the double door and walked to the back wall. Kye gently touched the exposed bricks before leaning her whole body on its cold surface. She closed her eyes and recited the words Michael had taught her. He had modified the vault to allow her in. Before leaving the loft, Michael had said, over and over again as if he was afraid that she would forget, "You will know when it's time. Promise me that you'll get into the vault right away. Don't wait, don't think. Just get in and stay there. If I don't come back the next morning, use the trap door behind my desk to get out and go to the camp. Don't stop for any reason until you reach it. Tell Bobby Singer what happened. Make sure no one follows you."

She had kissed him after the fifth time he repeated that instruction. Her tears flowed down her cheeks and for once, none of them cared to wipe them away.

Michael held her face in his hands and whispered with his eyes closed, "Remember that even when I'm not here, a part of me will always be with you..." He then touched the small necklace on her neck, and it glowed warmly, reacting to him. Michael had always kept it in the vault, and the moment they landed here, he had put it back on her.

Kye hated to hear it. Not what he said, but the way he said it. Why must he sound like he would never return?

She sobbed and squeezed his hand until all of her fingers imprinted on his skin. "You'd better come back to me, Sky Boy. Or...Or I will make you regret..."

She copied the threat he had once told her, without the slightest idea of what she would do if he didn't come back.

The archangel laughed and put his lips to her cheeks. He kissed away the tears and wiped the last one off with his thumb. It was warm and a little rough. Her face was tingled, and her soul melted.

In the end, Michael stood at the door and smiled at her. It was the most beautiful and tragic sight that Kye had ever witnessed. The smile reached his eyes, and his whole demeanor changed. For a second, Kye thought she was looking at a mortal man, who loved and cared for her. Her heart broke, but she couldn't bring herself to look away.

Don't cry... I will do everything in my power to return to you. I promise. I just want you to be ready for anything. That was the last thing he had said before he left. Her thought was cut short as the heavy wall closed behind her. Kye took a deep breath. Just as the last time she had been here, the series of eternal flames flicked up from where she stood to the deeper end of the vault. With each soft click, one small red fire appeared on the hanging oil plate.

The seemingly boundless, barely lit space triggered Kye's anxiety. She walked slowly, counting every step while picturing something would jump out from these walls and swallow her whole. She knew it was a silly thought. Michael would never knowingly send her anywhere that was unsafe.

Kye let her eyes roam to the artifacts that filled the shelves and glass cases lining up both walls. She could easily tell which items were more important to Michael or his favorites by the handwritten labels and golden emblems on their covers or cases. She touched some of his elegant writings. A pang of sadness hit Kye when she spotted the mahogany box. Last time, she had been here under such different circumstances...

Now, she had learned that Michael knew about everything from the start and allowed it to happen, but did it make her feel any better about her action? Kye didn't think so.

Suddenly, muffled screams and banging noises got through layers of the vault to her ears. They seemed so close and Kye couldn't make out exactly where or who they came from. Her blood ran cold. The vault was supposed to be impregnable, but Kye didn't feel safe. Not anymore. There was no camera to tell her what happened outside. It was understandable since the vault was designed to be a storage, not a panic room.

Kye knew one thing: She wouldn't make it easy for whoever trying to break in here.

Hello, Kye.

The velvety voice pierced through the noises and statics of her mind like a tap on the shoulder. Kye had never heard it before. Granted that she had never heard anything besides her own voice and Michael's in her mental space. The subtle tickle slowly turned into a pull that she couldn't ignore. The sensation was so familiar—the same as when she connected to Michael.

Almost.

Kye didn't know how this person, or angel, could communicate with her this way, but she supposed the mental connection wasn't a private line between her and the archangel as she had thought. Kye tried to shut the voice out, but it wasn't easy.

You may not know me, Little One, but I know you. Very well, in fact. I can see why my brother likes you so much. Such an intriguing thing you are.

The voice poked and probed the most private sectors of her mind, relentlessly like a slimy tentacle, making Kye shudder. She felt violated by something that used to be so dear and intimate.

"Stop!"

She tried to fight it, but the voice moved around in her brain like a snake, feeding her its poison.

Oh, poor girl. Do you know how Michael is right now? Dead. No, actually...Worse. His army has been disintegrated, and he is alone. We will take our sweet time with him. Oh yes, we will. Piece by piece, drop by drop. We will tear his consciousness to shreds before rebuilding it again. From now until eternity. Can you imagine? An eternity of nothing but pain. Extreme, excruciating pain...

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! He is not dead. He can't be... He will come back." Kye closed her eyes and whimpered. She covered her ears in a feeble attempt to block out the voice.

How can you be so sure, Little One? Did he look confident to you when he left? Or was he just as uncertain and scared as you are right now?

"Get out of my mind! I won't believe a word from you! Fuck you, whoever you are!"

My, my...Feisty. I like. Check your watch then. It's a new day, and he is still not back. Why is that? With his power, don't you think he should be back by now if his side has claimed victory?

Then the voice suddenly changed its tone. Like a mournful song, it whined.

We never wanted to do that, you know? Our poor brother. Before he lost consciousness, he still thought of you. He had so many plans for you both, for your future. Now it will never come to life...

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Kye screamed at the top of her lungs while falling to the floor.

Her voice was hoarse. She was so angry, so heartbroken. How many times did she have to lose him? They had said goodbye over and over again, each time was longer than the last and Kye just didn't have it in her anymore. She had no more tears left to cry, no more heart to break, and no more power to pick up the pieces. She decided that this was it. This was the end of her.

Kye was lying in a room full of weapons and cursed objects, any of them would do the job just fine. Her brain was frozen with pain, and her eyes traveled to the highest shelf before her.

Three metal objects glared back. They were shiny and calling her name so loudly. They seemed sharp enough to give her a quick and clean relief. Michael must have taken good care of the ancient weapons for them to be in this good condition. Once again, he continued to care for her even when he was not here.

Kye laughed like a mad woman while her eyes were swollen with tears. As if her thoughts were read, the wall shook, and all three weapons fell right in front of her. They were within arm's length and, with just one reach, Kye could grab any of them.

Pick me, they all sent her their silent invitations.

She reached for the first weapon. It had a sturdy curved blade that was sharp enough to sever her hand in one swing. Overkill, but it would work.

The second one was thin and long with wavy patterns. It was such a beautiful object that Kye felt almost guilty to get it dirty with her blood.

The last one looked just like many knives she had seen before, but as Kye studied it, it gave out a soft glow that moved around like a living creature. So much grace emitted from the blade that Kye couldn't help but be pulled in.

Her fingers were prickled, and Kye just knew. This would be the one.

She tested the blade's sharpness, and it satisfied her. Michael would never store anything useless in here. Kye smiled and looked around the vault as if it was an extension of the archangel.

In a sense, it was. Just like the necklace. Just like her.

Wait for me.

She put the blade on her wrist. Cut it deep and cut it vertically, and then she would be done. She doubted anyone would find her in time. No one knew that she was here. Poor Ruby, how would she go on when both her sister and Gadreel left this Earth? Poor mom and Nick. No one would find and rescue them. She was a failure. She had failed everyone. Bobby, Sam, people at the camp...

The camp.

Bobby?

Bobby Singer?

Did she forget something?

Kye felt something very important had slipped away—no, it had been robbed away from her mind as the screaming and banging outside reached a crescendo. She could still catch some fragments of logic, but she must try harder. Pushing herself up and against the wall, Kye panted as the searing headache split her brain in half. The blade in her hand still looked beautiful, but a sickening terror washed over her. Kye threw it as far away from her as possible. At that moment, the grandfather clock in Michael's office struck six times.

Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. The ancient mechanism still worked very well, and Kye was fully awake.

The sounds came in like a breeze, clearing the fog in her mind, and suddenly, the evil presence was gone. No more voices. No more screaming or banging. Her mind was as quiet as the world beyond the vault's walls.

Kye touched her wrist and realized that the small watch that she had always worn wasn't there. She got up on her hands and knees and crawled under the line of tables against the walls to search for it. In one corner, the watch's metal frame sparkled in the light from the eternal flames.

Kye pulled it out to see that the watch had been covered in a mysterious layer of dust as if it had sat there for years. Its glass face was broken, but it still worked.

6:10.

Kye sighed deeply. The night had passed without her realizing. To say that the voice had not shaken her was a lie, but she refused to believe it. Michael couldn't die. It also didn't take much to see that whoever was talking to her wanted to harm her, but couldn't for some reason, so they tried to convince her to do it herself. It was such a heavy feeling drowning in her own head, and Kye got a chill just by thinking about it now.

She had almost fallen for it.

Trying to shake it off, she thought of the sounds from the grandfather clock. How miraculous it had been to get through all the darkness, her paralyzing pain, and despair, several layers of concrete, one large library, and a long corridor to get to her. She shouldn't be able to hear it at all from here when the clock was all the way on the other side of Michael's office, but somehow, she did. It had saved her life.

Kye stood up and dusted her clothes. Her whole body shook. The purple dress that she wore got a little dirty from her rolling around but, overall, not too bad.

She looked down at her watch again. 6:18. Still early, and Michael could be back at any second. Now, she needed to leave the vault and find out exactly what had happened.

If Michael had failed, she would need to get out of the city as soon as possible to alert Bobby and the Resistance. A new war would start, and she would need to locate Mom and Nick by any means necessary. They should be at one of the camps Raphael had set up. They must. Kye's blood boiled just thinking about how much suffering they had been through, but she needed to keep her spirit. She couldn't afford to give up now.

When all this is over, we will look for them together, and we will find them.

Michael had promised her that before he left, so of course she believed him, but if he couldn't come back...Kye shook her head and sat down on the floor again. She touched her pendant.

Michael, where are you? I need you.

Complete silence. She had not prayed to him all night because she couldn't distract him from what she believed was the most dangerous and devastating night of his existence, but she needed to hear him now.

If you get this, can you let me know that you do? Show me a sign, please.

Michael...

Michael...

Michael...If you're not with me anymore, I will come for you. You get it? May take a little while, but I will be there, after taking my family to a safe place. I will find you, no matter what. No matter where you are. Do you understand?

Michael...

This silence killed her. Kye looked down at her watch. 6:50. The vent started again. They must have restored the city's power grid. Kye inhaled the stuffy, musky smell of the vault one last time before standing up and pressing her palms on the entrance wall.

It moved outward in a heavy swing. Kye peeked her head out first before stepping fully into the bright library. The wall smoothly closed behind her, and the vault's entrance disappeared as if it had never been there. Kye looked back one more time and braced herself forward.