REVIVE ▸ d. winchester [2] ✔

Chapter 34

When Dean was dragged from his sleep, he had expected Sam to be urging him to get up and at the day, or for Bobby to be telling him of some case they had to go chase down. He even expected Zeke's cold nose to be rubbing against his arm as he does every other morning, begging to be fed or given attention.

But he certainly didn't expect to find Cas standing over his bed in a stern stance, nor the surprising words that poured out of his mouth at such an ungodly hour of the morning. 

"Azrael is dead."

The grogginess in his eyes makes it difficult for Dean to open his eyes and focus on the angel in the dim light of the room, but all fatigue leaves his mind and body once he actually comprehends what Cas has told him.

"Cas, what did you say?" Hardly believing his ears, he asks for clarification as he sits up, leaning back on his elbows and looking up at the angel with wide eyes.

"Azrael is dead. His body was found in heaven just an hour ago."

Dean doesn't say anything for a moment. He lays still, thinking. How? How is this possible?

He hardly knows how he should feel. Relieved? Content? Angry that he wasn't the one to kill the son of a bitch? His confusion leaves him in silence for a long moment before he looks to Castiel. He speaks up, his voice gravely serious as he kicks back the sheets on his bed and moves to stand up. "Wake up Sam and Bobby."

Just a few minutes later, the group is standing in the kitchen of the bunker, bright lights blinding the three men who had been pulled out of their much needed sleep. At their feet, Zeke sits patiently as if wondering what all the bustle was about. He had no idea of the hell they were going through. 

"Cas, how is this possible?"

Sam's voice is hoarse with sleep, but he gives his full attention to the situation at hand. The same goes for Bobby and Dean who, both leaning against the counters with their arms crossed, wait for Castiel's explanation.

"Azrael was found stabbed through the stomach, alone in his private room in heaven. No one knows how long he'd been dead before someone found him, but we know that whoever did it, they used the angel blade and they took it with them when they fled. The blade is nowhere to be found." Castiel gestures with his hands to stress the gravity of this problem. While the group likely would have been celebrating the death of the archangel that wreaked so much havoc on them and on the world, they couldn't anymore. Not with the question of who could have committed such a murder hanging in the air. 

The first question is asked by Bobby, who, woken in the middle of the night, looks more exhausted than usual. His question isn't about Azrael or even about what his murder means to heaven or Earth. It's about the only thing he truly cares about. The one thing his mind has been worrying about for the past few days. "Where's Jackie?"

"Jackie is missing," Castiel answers honestly, not sugar coating the truth. "We thought we would find her in heaven but... we looked everywhere. Gabriel and I, and the other angels, when we heard of Azrael's death, we knew this was our best opportunity to take back heaven. I personally was up there, but I didn't find her. She wasn't anywhere." 

Neither Sam, Dean, nor Bobby comment, leaving Castiel to continue solemnly.

"Azrael's little heaven that he created is being eradicated as we speak. Any angels found in heaven after Azrael's death will be imprisoned and interrogated, but until we understand exactly what happened, those angels will be held in our prison or in the dungeons." Castiel could tell that his words were leaving the three hunters speechless, so he moves to console the men on at least one of their worries.

"Gabriel is leading it himself; if he finds any hints as to Jackie or her whereabouts, he's supposed to come to me immediately."

Sam clears his throat, and running a hand through his messy hair, he asks, "I don't want to keep making assumptions but, is it possible that Jackie could have..." He pauses, making a light gesture with his hands as if to complete his sentence. The others don't need any more clarification, understanding what Sam had been hinting at without question since they, too, were wondering the same thing.

"Considering Azrael was found with an arrow through his heart, I wouldn't consider it too much of a stretch." Castiel's words yet again lead the group to dynamic conclusion, just as they were each beginning to wrap their own minds around the situation. "I made sure to check myself- I think it's worth mentioning that her bow is also nowhere to be found."

"Jesus," Dean whispers under his breath, knowing that now there was nothing more to question. Jackie was the one to kill Azrael.

"If that's true," Dean speaks up, "that means she's out there. She's going to be confused and lost, and we don't know if she even knows what she's doing."

"But she'll be running," Sam interjects. "And we can find her." 

Cas nods, agreeing with the Winchesters' statements. "We have heaven under control for the first time in weeks. Let me worry about that; you all focus on Jackie."

Sam, Dean and Bobby all nod, each of them mentally accepting their new challenge. Just hours ago they had gone to sleep believing their greatest and only concern was on stopping Azrael. And only days ago, they had believed it to be her to be killing innocents across the country the evidence against her damning. But now, they knew it was the same girl who had taken down the most dangerous being in the universe, supposedly all on her own.

"We'll find Jackie," Dean says, believing with all of his heart and mind that they would do so. Finding one girl couldn't be that difficult, and compared to their previous daunting tasks, he considered it to be a walk in the park.

"We'll find her."