"Call her."
"I have."
"Then call her again."
Dean rolled his eyes at his brother.
"Dean, don't be an ass," insisted Sam. "Just do whatever it is you do to get Allegra here."
"Dude, you want her here so badly, you call her then, she's got a phone now!" snarled Dean. "I've been trying to get Allegra to talk to me, but she's the most stubborn chick I've ever met!"
"We need to know if she's got anything to do with those killings."
"For the last time, Allegra didn't do this. I've seen the blood plague, and I've seen the boil plague, and that is not how she does it."
Dean knew Allegra wasn't involved with the killing, but Sam was right; they did need her here asap.
"Allegra, I know you can hear my thoughts. We have a case we could really use your help with. Stop ignoring me, dammit!"
He looked anxiously around the motel room. When it was clear the redhead wouldn't appear, Dean sighed in frustration and sat down on the bed.
"We should call Cas," he said.
Sam scoffed in reply.
"You're kidding, right? Dean, I tried. It was the first and second, and third thing I did soon as I got topside. Son of a bitch won't answer. He's worse than Allegra."
"Well, let's give it a shot. Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray to Castiel to get his feathery ass down here."
They waited for a moment. Then Dean tried again, making his prayer to the Angel of the Lord a little more urgent.
"Come on, Cas. Don't be a dick. We got ourselves a... plague-like situation down here, and... Do you...Do you copy?"
Sam cleared his throat in his usual smug bitchy way. Dean almost rolled his eyes at his brother. He sure hadn't missed that.
"Like I said, son of a bitch doesn't answer."
But the sudden flutter of wings and Dean looking at something behind him made Sam realize he was dead wrong.
"He's right behind me, isn't he?"
"Hello," greeted Castiel.
***
After establishing some ground rules with the angel on him getting his ass down to Earth when Sam or Dean went all 'who you gonna call,' Castiel jumped to the matter at hand.
"These killings were committed with one of our weapons. There's only one thing that could have brought this into existence. You call it the Staff of Moses."
"Wait, the Staff?" interrupted Sam.
"It was used in a dominance display against the Egyptians, as I recall," said Castiel.
"But I thought the Staff turned, like, a river into blood, not one dude."
Dean wisely kept his mouth shut on this. He never told Sam how Allegra had tortured Alastair all those years ago, and his brother had never witnessed her using the plagues. But a dude could most definitely turn into blood. Or at least have it come out of him from... well, everywhere.
"The weapon isn't being used at full capacity," replied Castiel.
"Okay, but... what is Chuck Heston's disco stick doing down here, anyway? I mean, don't you guys put away your toys?" asked Dean.
"Before the Apocalypse, Heaven may have been corrupt, but it was stable. The Staff was safely contained. But it's been chaos up there since the war ended. In that confusion, several powerful weapons were stolen."
"Wait, y-you're saying your nukes are loose?"
"Yeah, I'm afraid so. But you've stumbled onto one of them. We must find the weapon that did this. I need your help."
Sam scoffed at the angel.
"That's rich."
Dean couldn't really blame the reply. Those feathered bastards changed their opinion of the Winchesters at every turn. Of course he wasn't inclined to help. But did they even have a choice with something that dangerous out there? What's worse was that Castiel knew it and threw them both a scowl.
"Sam, Dean, my 'people skills' are 'rusty.' Pardon me, but I have spent the last year as a multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent. Believe me, you do not want that weapon down here. Help me find it, or more people will die."
"Okay, fine," consented Sam. "But can we perhaps also talk about the one person we know who has the power of the plagues and doesn't need a magic wand to use them? What would happen if Allegra gets her hands on the Staff? Like... plagues 2.0 or something?"
"Dude, seriously!" Dean punched his brother's arm, but Sam just gave him another bitch-look.
"Allegra doesn't have the Staff," said Castiel. "We know, we've been keeping an eye on her. But... she can definitely help. Both Allegra and the Staff have the powers of the plagues. She will be able to sense its whereabouts."
"Yeah, I tried reaching out." Dean sighed. "She's still giving me the cold shoulder."
Castiel looked at him intensively and then nodded.
"Ah, yes, your argument. You should apologize."
"Wha-me?! Now, hold on just a minute here!"
"I'll get her."
And with that, Castiel was gone. Dean threw his hands in the air, mentally preparing himself for what was bound to be one hell of a next 5 minutes. He really wished Sam would say something, but his bother apparently thought playing with a pencil while they waited was more important than giving advice. When Castiel finally returned, the angel was forcefully pushed back against the table by an enraged Allegra.
"GODDAMMIT, CASTIEL, I SAID NO!"
She looked like she was about ready to kill Castiel but froze when she saw Sam standing beside the angel.
"Sam? What...?"
When she then noticed Dean, she rounded on Castiel again, eyes shooting fire.
"Un-freaking-believable! Kidnapping isn't enough; you gotta bring me back to this guy?!"
"Hello to you too," Dean replied, irritated and with a scoff.
"What the hell do you want?" demanded Allegra.
Before Dean could react, Sam jumped in, showing Allegra his notes and one of the articles.
"Three murders; one guy literally became a puddle of blood, one died of boils, and one got his skull eaten out by locusts."
"What? But those are...plagues." Allegra's eyes widened. "You think I'm doing this?!"
Her voice went up a few decibels, making all three men shrink back. Castiel, especially, was terrified, putting himself behind Sam. But neither the angel nor Sam were the objects of Allegra's rage. She was projecting everything on Dean.
"You son of a bitch! Seriously?! First, you accuse me of using the plagues to torture Bobby, and now you're accusing me of killing innocent people for no reason at all?!"
Dean had known it wouldn't be a walk in the park, but this was getting out of hand. He tried to say something, but Allegra just kept on ranting.
"You know I hate those powers! You know I hate to use them! Blame me for whatever the hell you wanna blame me for, but not this! You stuck-up, halfwitted..."
"Woman, will you shut up for 5 seconds and let me do the talking?!"
He hadn't meant to yell, but it did have the desired effect. Allegra held her tongue abruptly at his outburst. Sam and Castiel looked from Allegra to Dean and back to Allegra, waiting uneasily for either one of them to speak. They had to go.
"Guys, can you leave us alone for a minute?" asked Dean.
Castiel grabbed Sam's shoulder before the latter could protest and beamed them out instantly. Allegra stared at Dean, then shook her head and turned around. But before she could disappear as well, Dean seized her wrist. The redhead froze at his touch.
"Don't you dare," he growled. "Don't you dare leave again. We're gonna talk about this right now, whether you want to or not. Ignore me all you want, but I'm not letting go until I've had my say."
Despite saying that, Dean loosened his hold on Allegra just a little. She adamantly refused to turn back around to face him, but that didn't matter much. She didn't have to look at him to listen.
"I shouldn't have said what I said that night at Bobby's, and I shouldn't have hurt you like that. And I'm not the one accusing you of anything here. Sam wanted to know if you knew anything about these murders for obvious reasons."
"I don't!" Allegra sneered
"Hey! Still talking!" Dean bit back.
His body trembled in anger, and he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Starting another yelling match wasn't going to help the situation any further.
"I know you didn't do this," he continued. "But we need your help in this, also for obvious reasons, yet we can't work together until we get through whatever's going on between us."
Dean waited a moment, but Allegra stayed silent.
"I know it was a lie. What you wrote in your notebook about the Cage. I just don't understand why you would pull a stunt like that. What, to push me away like Bobby said? Because you care? That's a funny way of showing you care."
Dean felt Allegra's wrist turn in his hand as she finally faced him. His breath caught. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. Had she been crying all this time? He let go. His hand went up to her face, and he carefully wiped a tear away with his thumb. Standing this close to her again, touching her, gazing into those beautiful eyes...
He forgot about the case, about Sam and Cas, who were probably just outside the room listening in, and about Lisa too. Just like that, Allegra was all that mattered to him. Dean's other hand slowly slid down her arm, their fingers locking into each other when they met.
"You told me once you would never forgive yourself if I died because of you. Whatever it is, I don't need you protecting me, Allegra. I don't need you to..."
Dean's words were cut short as Allegra's lips were suddenly on his. His heart nearly exploded out of his chest; it was beating so fast. He was surprised that she instigated the kiss in the first place, but once he registered this was really happening, he responded eagerly.
Allegra pressed her body against his, and Dean slid his hand around her, letting it rest on the small of her back. She mimicked his action whilst her other hand went round his neck, so they were locked in a tight embrace. Her tongue softly licked his lips, prompting Dean to open his mouth just a little, but it was enough. Their tongues met and danced around each other. The moan stifled by their kiss was the most arousing thing Dean had ever heard in his entire life. Reluctantly, they parted from each other, both panting like they just ran a marathon, their foreheads against each other.
"You need to stay away from me," whispered Allegra.
"You're the one who kissed me here," pointed Dean out.
"I know... that's why you need to stay away. I can't be alone with you, Dean, 'cause when I am, I lose control. And I can't lose control. Not with you. You mean too much to me."
Allegra's lips brushed against his.
"I'll help you guys with the case, but afterward... we can't see each other again. You have Lisa. And I'm better off on my own."
"I don't believe that," said Dean, refusing to let go of Allegra. "And Lisa, she's..."
"Your girlfriend," finished Allegra for him. "And you do love her, regardless of what just happened. You're gonna go back to her, and you're gonna be happy. That's never gonna happen with me, Dean. I can't have a family. You can. So go and have that family. Be happy. You deserve it. You've done enough."
Dean wanted to say that she deserved it too. That she deserved the whole world after having suffered the way she had. He wanted to tell Allegra that he did want that family but that he wanted it more with her than with Lisa. If she hadn't set that whole scheme up, he would've stayed with her. He would've chosen her. When Dean opened his mouth to say just that, a knock on the door interrupted him.
"Dean? You okay in there?"
Dammit, Sammy, you have the worse timing ever!
Allegra backed away. Dean tried to hold onto her, but she made him let go. When she looked up at him, she gave Dean a little smile.
"Come on. Time to put that game face on."
***
Castiel's idea turned out to be solid. Allegra did have a link with the Staff; her own powers and the Staff's pieces were pulling at each other. She was able to find it pretty fast. The Staff, or at least part of it, was being used by a teenager whose brother died because of corrupt cops. With the Staff, he made sure they got what they deserved and a lot more.
Allegra had been waiting in the motel room for the guys and Castiel to return. When they did, Castiel gave Allegra the piece of the Staff they got from the kid, asking her to go somewhere safe and retrieve the other pieces with it, whilst they got the name of the angel who sold the piece of the Staff a soul ('cause apparently that's what angels did now).
She could've left before they returned, but she did say she'd help with this case. And she had to admit; she wanted the whole Staff found too. A mortal man brought chaos to Egypt with that thing. Allegra didn't even dare to think of what she could do with it. What they could make her do with it.
So she decided to play along for now, and when they had the rest of the pieces, she would find a way to destroy that damn thing. The trick was gonna be doing that without Castiel discovering her true motive. Allegra had made her peace with the angel after he rescued her from Lucifer, but they were still a long way from being friends again. She didn't trust him, nor any of the other angels, for that matter. Castiel promised her he wouldn't make her do anything she didn't want to, and so far, he hadn't (aside from kidnapping her for this case, that is). But the presence of the Staff on Earth was a game-changer. She knew it, Castiel knew it, and whoever stole the Staff from Heaven undoubtedly knew it too.
In the year she spent living with Bobby, Allegra found several locations that could be used as a safe house after she put up the necessary wards and protection charms, including those against angels though those wouldn't last very long. She was in one of her safe houses now, trying to make her own powers and the Staff's blend into one so that she could find the other pieces. But she had trouble focussing. Her mind just kept going back to the Winchesters. Well, one of them, anyway.
Allegra felt bad for having kissed Dean like that. Giving him false hope and making him rethink his relationship with Lisa was the last thing she wanted 'cause she actually liked Lisa. And Dean could've picked worse, considering his track record. But at the same time, she couldn't ignore the fact that it had felt so damn good.
It had been like their first two kisses. Better even. There were no hesitations, no careful exploring, just blissful passion between the two of them. In retrospect, it was probably a good thing Sam interrupted them. Who knows what would've happened otherwise...
Sam... Allegra kissed him as well. Or rather, he kissed her, and she allowed it (and so much more). But it hadn't been Sam but Lucifer, so... did that really count? Sam's body but with someone else at the wheel. To this day, Sam hadn't given Allegra any indication that he remembered or even knew of what had happened between them. Then, there was still the very vexing question about his soul, which was still nowhere to be found. So either Allegra's radar was broken (which seemed unlikely), or Sam was walking and talking without a soul. Which was bad. So very, very bad.
Come on, Allegra, focus, she reprimanded herself. One crisis at the time. First, the Staff, then Sam Winchester.
Allegra held the piece of the Staff against her chest and closed her eyes. She needed to find the other pieces and find a way to destroy them. No matter what.
Finally, she locked onto the remaining pieces. But instead of going to get them one by one, she decided to have the pieces come to her. It was the safest option, considering she didn't have any backup at the moment. Thanks to her powers and the piece of the Staff clutched in her hand, Allegra became a magnet for the other pieces. She felt the pieces drawing closer and closer to her until suddenly, she was nearly knocked down by the sheer force that had appeared in the room.
All the pieces of Moses' Staff were in one place now, beckoning each other to become one again. But one piece hadn't come on its own. One piece had a most unexpected and unwelcome guest attached to it.
"Well, well, what do we have here? Our little plague-master."
Allegra looked up at the man with a dark outfit, blond hair, and a smug expression. She stepped back, creating a bit more distance between herself and the stranger.
"Who the hell are you?" she demanded.
"Oh right, you don't know me yet." The man grinned. "Yes, I'm actually one of the few angels you don't hear inside that pretty little head of yours. Name's Balthazar."