Crowley brought Allegra to some sort of empty lab. She gripped her knife a bit firmer, fully prepared to fight her way out if she had to. But for some reason, she didn't believe Crowley dragged her to wherever the heck she was if he wanted to hurt her. He could've done so when they were alone in the park.
"You've been busy, love." Crowley leaned against the table. "You're making quite a name for yourself down there, and believe me, that's not easy to accomplish. Aside from me, you are the thing demons fear most right now. Can't help but wonder what Dean thinks about what you're doing. Oh, wait... "
Allegra didn't even give the demon the chance to smirk. She jumped on him like a cougar would its prey and quickly took the upper hand by grabbing him by the throat and holding her knife against his groin. Crowley raised his hands in surrender and gulped.
"Easy, love, easy. Let's not be rash. Whatever happened to that demure girl you used to be, huh?"
"She got tired of getting screwed with." Allegra hissed and pressed her dagger up.
"Noted. Now, if you wouldn't mind pointing your little knife somewhere else? I am the only one who can give you the answers you so desperately want after all, and I have to say, I'm not feeling inclined to do so at this particular moment."
She glared at the demon but eventually stepped away.
"I don't like what I'm hearing, and my little knife will be the least of your worries."
Crowley straightened his back and tugged on his suit.
"The angels pulled a real number on you, didn't they? The lies, the secrets... Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned; that's always been one of my personal favorites."
Allegra scoffed.
"Like demons are so much better."
'We are in the sense that we don't lie amongst ourselves. Call it a sort of code, if you will. But that's not why we're here now, is it? We're here because you want to know what your connection is to Lucifer."
"And you just happen to know that?" questioned Allegra suspiciously.
"I do, love." Crowley's tone of voice became more serious. "Word traveled on why you were going after demons, so I did a little digging. And I have to say; even I was shocked at what I found."
He leaned in, carefully avoiding Allegra's dagger.
"You were created for him."
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"What?"
"Well, not solely for him as I understand it. You were created for either Lucifer or Michael. To be their... how shall I put it delicately? 'Significant other' maybe?"
"You don't seriously expect me to buy that, do you?"
Crowley extended his hand, and all of a sudden, he was holding a papyrus scroll. He handed it over to Allegra.
"It's all in here. How's your ancient Aramaic? Nah, never mind, you translate it later, and I'll tell you the gist of it now. The scroll is a prophecy. It basically says that the Almighty will, at some point, create a mortal angel who will 'hold the torments of the land of the Nile.' Pretty obvious that's you, love. And this angel, being mortal and all, must ultimately decide to stand with either of two brothers described as 'one loyal and righteous' and 'one banished and fallen.' Fairly sure that's our two boys currently in the Cage. Now, all this must be done by the most sacred of unions; the one that goes 'till death do us part' at the end."
This had to be some sick joke. Crowley had to be messing with her. Keeping her distracted whilst his demons set a trap or something. But his dead-serious expression made Allegra realize it was anything but a joke.
"In other words, love, you need to decide which of the two lucky fellows is going to be your hubby. Either bachelor number one and personification of the divine, Michael, or bachelor number two and personification of everything wrong with the world, Lucifer."
Allegra put her knife away and opened the scroll, but Aramaic wasn't one of the languages she'd taught herself. She stared at the scribblings on the papyrus. Her vision blurred. She panted, gasping for air. She staggered back and leaned on one of the metal slabs for support. The papyrus scroll dropped on the floor, and Allegra put her hands against her knees. She took a long deep breath, but she still found it difficult to focus. She needed to think, to talk to Bobby, to see... Dean...
'I do this, and you don't have to make a choice anymore. I do this, and you are mine by right. You'll be my queen.'
Lucifer's words, spoken in Sam Winchester's voice, rang through Allegra. What Crowley suggested was the most ludicrous thing she'd heard in her life, but those words suddenly made sense now.
'You could never have undone my work.'
Allegra's thoughts raced to tie the knots together.
His work... But I never met Lucifer before. When did he...? Oh my God...
She looked up at Crowley. Her eyes watered, but she managed to hold back the tears.
"When... When I was 13, I spent almost a year in Hell. Alastair tortured me, but another demon got me away from him. He kept me locked up and tried to convince me I shouldn't have faith in the Angels. That I shouldn't believe in them. Was that...?"
Crowley gave a curt nod. Allegra gave a choked gasp.
"That was something agreed upon by Lucifer and Michael a long time ago," said Crowley. "I don't know the details, but apparently, they were each allowed to spend time with you so that you would get to know them. To make it easier to decide, I suppose. But they needed to wait till the time was right, which was your 13th birthday when your powers awoke. Alastair was working on Lucifer's order but got a little carried away. And Michael... Well, he had to wait until the agreed amount of time had passed to get you."
"Michael hardly ever spoke to me. If he wanted me to pick his side, then shouldn't he have made more of an effort?"
"Maybe... or maybe he hoped you would choose not based on them but their vessels."
Allegra's eyes widened at the King of Hell. His wicked grin resembled the Cheshire Cat's a bit too eerily.
"Lucifer and Michael were, after all, both counting on the Winchesters to say yes. So..."
He put his hands up like a scale and balanced them against each other.
"Decisions, decisions. Never easy. Personally, I would've gone for the Moose; he seems a bit more controllable than big bro. Lots of deep issues with that one. And Michael ain't exactly the easiest of the two either. Or so I've heard anyway. Not that Lucifer is any better, but at least with him, you can have some fun too."
Crowley sighed.
"I know. It's a lot," he said. "I actually hadn't expected this either. But there it is. Now you know."
"Why... why did you tell me?" Allegra asked in a tiny voice. "What do you get out of this? Michael and Lucifer are stuck in the Cage. It's over."
Crowley was a snake. A lowlife. But there were two things Allegra was certain of when it came to the King of Hell. One; he was and would always be a Crossroadsdemon. In other words, if there was a chance he could get a deal, he would take it. And two; Crowley looks out for number one. So the only reason he would've told her all of this was if there was something in it for him. And Allegra believed she knew what it was.
"Prophecies tend to come true, love. You keep that Cage locked, and you're right; you don't have to choose. We both win. But if they do find a way out, this game starts all over again. And when it does, I do hope you'll think of me as the one who gave you answers when no one else would. Turn a blind eye, as it were."
Bingo.
"Fine."
"Sorry, love, didn't catch that." Crowley hovered closer to her.
"I said fine, I agree." Allegra straightened herself. "If what you've told me is true and the scroll checks out, you get your immunity. I won't kill you. Not now, not ever. I'll even sweeten the deal for you; if you're in mortal danger, you call me, and I'll protect you. That's what you want, right? To show me to your enemies. You got it. But... if I find out all of this is a fake, I'm coming after you. Hide behind your tricks and demons; they won't save you from me. I'll make you suffer through every plague again and again until you beg me to finish you off. Clear?"
The grin that was plastered on Crowley's face disappeared at last. He nodded solemnly and then beckoned Allegra to him. She rolled her eyes but stepped to him and pressed her mouth on his. The kiss sealed the deal with the Crossroadsdemon. Allegra only made it last 3 seconds. She pushed Crowley away and rubbed her mouth with the back of her hand. No amount of minty-flavored mouthwash was going to get that out.
"Pleasure doing business with you, love." Crowley winked and snapped his fingers.
Allegra's surroundings changed, and she found herself back in the park, not that far from Dean's house. The papyrus scroll was at her feet. She carefully picked it up and held it against her chest. She was tempted to run to Dean, to admit she lied to him and ask, no - beg, for his help. But he had a family now. Allegra didn't want to get in the way of that. So she would turn to Bobby instead. He'd be home in the morning, so she could tell him everything then.
Suddenly, Allegra heard a flutter behind her. She spun around on her heels and came face to face with Castiel. His piercing blue eyes were looking right at her.
"Allegra... What have you done?"
***
"What have you done?" Castiel demanded again when Allegra didn't answer the first time.
"What do you care?" she reacted sharply.
He sighed. He had already feared this would happen if they kept ignoring her.
"You need to stop your investigation, Allegra. You won't like what you find. And I would have thought you knew better than to make deals with demons. Especially Crowley."
Allegra's hand hit Castiel's cheek faster than he anticipated. He was surprised at the sting of it. It shouldn't have hurt him like that. But it did. His hand crept up to where she struck him.
"You son of a bitch!" yelled Allegra. "How dare you?! Crowley is the only one who gave me any goddamn answers. I've been calling you for months, but you and those other assholes up there have done nothing but ignore me. You should've been the one to come clean, Castiel, instead of spying on me like some freakin' Angel 007!"
He backed away from her, remembering vividly what Allegra did to Gabriel in Alaska. It was prudent to watch his back when she got angry. She was, after all, part Archangel. If she wanted to, she could destroy him.
"I don't know what a 007 is," Castiel said carefully. "And I was not spying; I was watching over you. We all are. You are important to us, Allegra."
"Don't give me that crap, Castiel," rebuffed Allegra. "You don't give a damn about me. You just don't want me to go dark side 'cause then you'd really be in trouble. Or was Crowley lying? Tell me he was. Please, tell me that everything that slimy scumbag told me was a lie. Give me a reason to go after his ass."
He wanted to say it so badly. But Allegra would not accept another lie. She scoffed as Castiel averted his eyes.
"And this? The prophecy? It's real, isn't it?"
She waved the papyrus scroll in his face. Where did the King of Hell even get that?
"Crowley shouldn't have given this to you."
Castiel tried to take the scroll from Allegra, but she smacked his hand away and made sure the scroll was out of his reach.
"Will you just for once tell me the goddamn truth!"
He considered it a moment. But he couldn't. Too much was at stake.
"I will only say this once, Allegra; stop your investigation and stay away from the Hunters," said Castiel in a strict and demanding voice. "You go where we tell you to go. Your destiny lies with us. It's about time you embrace it."
Had Allegra still been the girl who believed the Angels were the good guys and to whom she owed everything, she would've cowered and obeyed. But that girl was gone. After growing up in the hardest and most cruel way possible, her innocence was gone.
Allegra teleported faster than Castiel could anticipate and covered his eyes from behind. His hands went to her wrists to pry her hands away, but it was no use. The plague was already taking hold of him.
"It took me some time to figure out how to use the plague of darkness to torture someone. You're gonna be like this for three days, so that should give you plenty of time to think about what I'm gonna say next."
Allegra made Castiel go down on his knees. He screamed as he felt his eyes burning beneath her touch. His hands pulled at Allegra's wrists, but she didn't budge.
"You're done messing with me," said Allegra in an icy bloodcurdling voice. "God doesn't own me. Michael doesn't own me. Lucifer doesn't own me. I'm no one's prize, and I sure as hell won't take any more orders from you or anyone else you wanna send. You need something from me, you get your ass down from your cloud and ask. And maybe, just maybe, I'll help you out. But I decide how I use my powers from now on and no one else."
She finally let go, and Castiel stumbled to the grass. He raised himself as best he could, carefully touching his face. The skin around his eyes completely melted over them, casting him into perpetual darkness. He heard Allegra's footsteps as she walked around him. He stiffened when she raised his head by his chin with her fingers.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Castiel. Make me do anything against my will again, and the angels will learn what I'm really capable of. That's a promise."
Castiel tried to seize Allegra but all his hands caught was air. She left him alone, more vulnerable than he had ever been. And with a most harrowing sensation unlike anything he ever felt. For the first time in his existence, fear crept through the angel's very core.
***
Bobby still hadn't come back yet. He called, saying he was gonna be home around noon-ish. That gave Allegra some time to find any books he had on Aramaic. With those and a little help from Google, she slowly managed to translate the scroll. So far, Crowley hadn't been lying (which kind of irked her 'cause that meant she had to save his ass when someone wanted to kill him). She was about to start on the last lines when she heard the door.
"Kid, you here?!" Bobby called out to her from the hallway.
"In the living room!" she yelled. "Bobby, you're never gonna believe this, but I..."
Allegra fell silent when the Hunter came in, closely followed by another man. Someone Allegra had never thought she'd see again.
"Sam?"
"Hey, Allegra," greeted Sam. "It's good to see you again."
Her eyes flickered from him to Bobby. They were both acting too casual, like Sam hadn't been gone for three months, which immediately raised some red flags. Allegra got up from behind the desk and walked over to the youngest of the Winchester brothers.
"How... How the hell are you back?" she asked bluntly. "I mean...No, actually, that is what I mean."
He shrugged.
"I don't know. I just woke up in that cemetery."
"Okay... When?"
"That same night, I think."
Allegra punched Sam's arm hard, and he winced.
"Auch! What did you do that for?!"
"Why?! That was 3 friggin' months ago, Winchester! You couldn't have shown up a bit earlier?!"
"I told him not to," said Bobby.
Allegra rounded him, and he quickly took a step back.
"You knew about this?" she asked incredulously.
"Sorta," admitted Bobby, making sure he stayed well out of her reach.
Allegra huffed and put her hands on her hips, looking very much like a strict mother scolding her sons. What the hell was she supposed to do with all this information? And what about...?
"I'm guessing Dean doesn't know?"
"No," answered Sam. "And we're not gonna tell him."
"Sam, he needs to know you're okay," urged Allegra. "He's your brother."
"Which is why we're not telling him."
"Did you leave your brain behind when you mysteriously escaped the Cage?"
"Allegra, we can't tell Dean. He'll just come back and pick up where he left off. I know he's with Lisa and Ben and that he's got a shot at a normal life with them. He's keeping his promise, and I'm not gonna make him break that just because I'm back."
"Sam..."
"You want him happy too, don't you? You don't wanna ruin what he has, right?"
Allegra sighed. Yes, she wanted Dean happy. And no, she didn't want to ruin his chance at a family and happiness, which was why she hadn't gone to him last night after her whole Crowley/Castiel thing. But neither did Allegra feel comfortable keeping this particular detail hidden from him. She regretted lying to Dean. If she had to keep this secret as well, she didn't know how he was ever going to forgive her if they did meet again.
"Allegra, please don't tell him," implored Sam.
She tsk-ed and rolled her eyes.
"If he finds out on his own, I'm saying you forced me, got it?"
"Thank you. And it really is good to see you again. I actually missed you."
"Uhu, sure."
Sam opened his arms, and Allegra stepped into his embrace. A shiver ran down her spine. The hairs on the back of her neck went up. Something was wrong. She pushed herself away a bit abruptly, getting a confused look from both Sam and Bobby.
Maybe something lingered inside of Sam because of Lucifer and his apparent short time in the Cage. At least, Allegra hoped it was because of that. But she had an even worse feeling about Sam now than when he was hooked on demon blood. And considering how well that had gone, Allegra feared whatever it was that would make the young Winchester spiral this time.