What's Past Is Prologue (Castiel)

[samus]

Out of the frying pan, and into the fire..... although exactly how you looked at it was all a matter of perspective, of point of view. While the Doctor, whoever he actually was, had been helpful, it wasn't exactly the kind of helpful she had been looking for. Yes, it'd gotten her planet side, and yes she owed him a favor since he hadn't exactly asked for anything in return, but some materials with which to actually fix her gunship's FTL for good would have been nice..... as would a slightly more advanced world than this rock. Fossil fuels, just barely out of the atomic age and still struggling to even achieve space flight..... it was a good thing that her ship didn't actually require parts per se, since at least raw materials were plentiful here. Somewhat depressing, actually - a lot of the stuff that could get recycled and reused were just getting tossed to rust and decay in junkyards, but one man's trash was another's treasure.

That being said, being primitive didn't make the planet's inhabitants idiots - if she went out in the open for any length of time she was going to attract attention quickly, and that was the one thing she couldn't afford yet, even if she was off of the Federation's radar, at least for the moment. Given that she only had sublight capabilities still, if she had to run she wouldn't make it far, but then again the solution to that was easy enough - just don't get into a situation that required you to run. From that point on it had been easy enough to work out where to go - she'd made her way down under cover of night, staked out a location near the city outskirts that was seldom visited and landed her gunship in a copse of trees a fair distance away. No different from Tallon IV..... given how unlikely any technology on this planet surpassed that of the Pirates or Federation she highly doubted anyone would be able to detect the ship short of getting a visual on it, but for the mean time there was nothing to be done but just sit and wait for the ship to repair itself, and even with Adam coordinating the nanites to increase efficiency it would take at least a few days.

Merely thankful for the reprieve, though, Samus took the opportunity to simply forget it all if only for a few minutes, donning sage green fatigues and simply enjoying the feel of the wind as she relaxed atop the gunship, a few rays of sunlight poking through the tree canopy above.

[castiel]

It was troubling, how...almost quiet things were lately. With Lucifer freed from hell, Castiel would have expected at least some sign of increasing demonic activity, and the fact that very little had changed so far was something the angel found quite disconcerting. It was like the calm before the storm - or perhaps many storms to come. Because inevitably, this world was indeed changing from the one Castiel once knew, and as much as he dreaded admitting it, Lucifer was not the only massively concerning threat out there. Disconnected from Heaven as he was, he was not - could not be, even if he wanted to - entirely cut off from the murmurings of his fellow angels. The...he wasn't even sure what to call it, energy - radiation was perhaps closer - that had begun seeping into this world like a slow-moving plague had hardly even been noticed by the humans yet. But angels, they had ways of sensing the changes in the world they inhabited. And this one was not for the better.

He was not entirely sure what the archangels intentions were or would be in regards to the matter - and in regards to Samus Aran, the woman who had both experience with the substance and methods of combating it (though just how far those methods extended, he wasn't entirely sure - not more than ever he wished he had access to the information the angels had probably gathered). What he did know, however, was that she was someone anyone would want on their side - and Dean needed all the help he could get right now, especially with Sam missing. The moment Samus had appeared on earth, Cas had been able to sense her energy and pinpoint her location, but that meant that every other angel would be able to do so as well. He needed to get to her first, find out more about her...and find out whether or not she could (and would be willing to) aid him.

However when he'd appeared on the scene in that sudden way that angels did, only a slight rustling of what sounded like feathers announcing his presence, he was a little taken aback to find himself standing atop what seemed to be some sort of...well, words failed Castiel on this one. 'Space Ship'? Was that what they were called? Even with the time he'd spent on earth thus far, the angel was far from technology-savvy, but that hardly mattered now. What mattered was that a blonde woman, one who he could only assume to be Samus herself, was atop the ship as well - laying there, seeming to be...resting, or something of that nature. For a long moment he stood there in his trademark trenchcoat (seemingly oblivious to the heat of the day) and did nothing but blink down at her, completely unaware of the absurdity that was having a man just appear standing atop your gunship out of nowhere.

He did sort of feel he ought to say something, though. "Ahem. ....Hello." Castiel greeted her somberly at length, his expression a sort of neutral, thoughtful frown. "I...hope I am not disturbing you. Samus Aran?" Confirming her identity just to be safe was wise, and just an observation of formality, despite the fact that there was...no one else this could be. He paused for a moment to allow her to respond, keeping completely still. Even Castiel had enough sense to try not to startle her.

[samus]

Five minutes...... no, a few hours or days, was that too much to ask? Apparently so, at least as of late. The first sign that something was wrong was when Samus felt more than heard the arrival of her visitor, although whether it was a few moments before he actually appeared or upon arrival was up to debate - she hadn't particularly been paying attention to the feeling until she heard the sounds of rushing air and felt the man's presence as if he had appeared out of nowhere, although that more than anything else was what got her to notice him. Eyes snapping open, Samus looked up to see what looked like a stock human, albeit one that was dressed way too heavily for the weather - the only reason she herself wasn't roasting in it was because of her altered body, and even then it was starting to edge towards an uncomfortable heat. More than anything, though, it was how quickly he'd appeared that had Samus's attention - he was not normal, and she should have been aware of him before he'd ever entered the clearing.

Either way, though, Samus didn't particularly like surprises, and certainly not when they involved the circumstances she was currently facing. As the man simply stood there and stared at her Samus stared right back at him, completely still save for the one hand hidden by her body and the slightly baggy fatigues that was slowly edging towards her emergency pistol, fully charged and more than capable of dropping anything human sized - even Pirates would be stunned by the weapon for a short while, but given that he'd made no hostile moves as of yet she wasn't about to don her Fusion Suit and waste him. That would be the last thing she wanted, to get mixed up in a missing person's investigation - no, best course would be to stun him, leave him at the edge of the clearing and move her ship elsewhere to finish repairs. Given how quickly he'd shown up, though..... again, the man clearly wasn't normal, and Samus wasn't entirely sure what would happen if she actually made a move and it was only that thought that kept her still once her hand closed around the pistol's grip. As he mly stood there for yet another few moments Samus remained completely still, not batting an eye even when he offered what sounded to be a horribly unpracticed greeting. At least until he spoke again.

Bursting into motion far faster than any normal human could hope to track or accomplish, Samus drew and fired her pistol at the man's center of mass with the intent to stun him before something akin to an energy pulse flashed over Samus's form, replacing her fatigues with the woman's Fusion Suit, the arm that had been holding the pistol now encased in the suit's arm cannon and still aimed directly at the man's center of mass, ready to fire again if the first shot didn't prove to be enough. He shouldn't have, couldn't have possibly been able to know her name - this was about as far off the grid as you could get, and short of being from the Federation or her own galaxy he couldn't have known who she was. Exactly how he'd ended up out here with her or what he intended to accomplish by it, Samus had no idea - the Federation had to know that sending a single person after her wouldn't be nearly enough, even without her old Power Suit, but there were enough pieces missing from the puzzle that she wasn't about to end him without getting some answers first.

[castiel]

Castiel hadn't exactly walked into this one with normal expectations - and there was certainly nothing normal about the speed in which Samus suddenly sprung into action. Although he'd been wary of some sort of reaction when he spoke her name, however, he hadn't quite been prepared for the abruptness of the attack. Foolish, in retrospect. This was a woman who understood that precious seconds of reaction time meant the difference between life and death. Nevertheless, he didn't have time to contemplate his mistake - seconds later, a stunning blast from the pistol collided with him. It was...always odd, feeling such a powerful blow. In his non-corporeal form, the angel rarely had to worry about such things, but when he was inhabiting a vessel it was a very strange sensation of...being aware of the power of the blow, but not quite feeling the brunt of it. Her shot likely would have been enough to knock him clear off his feet and keep him down, if he hadn't been...well. What he was.

Blinking several times as he considered what had just happened, he made no sudden movements as he slowly turned his gaze back on Samus - who still had the arm cannon pointed directly at him. He doubted it would take much to convince her to shoot again, or revert to a more formidable tactic - so he spoke quickly. "Please do not fire again. I have not come here with any intent to harm you." He wasn't sure how many times she'd heard those words before, or how empty they might've sounded to her - but Castiel projected no signs of falsehood as he spoke. ..In fact, it was sort of debatable whether or not the angel actually knew how to lie. Still, something told him his best bet here might be to introduce himself - as far as he knew, Samus had no grudges against angels, and hopefully she'd decide that they need not be filed under 'things to shoot on sight.'

"My name is Castiel. I am an angel of the Lord. I wish to speak to you." He went on, his words spoken calmly and somewhat quietly, even now. He paused awkwardly, because explaining what he was, exactly, still wasn't something he was accustomed to doing. In the past centuries, he'd really only had to do it once: when he'd introduced himself to the Winchesters. Perhaps this was a little much for someone in Samus' position to take in right now, and all of the sudden he felt himself hesitating. "If now is not a good time, I could return when you are feeling less...hostile." Anyone else might have meant it as a snarky comment, but Cas still seemed dead serious - as if hostility could be turned on and off like a switch. ...Well...all in all this 'emotions' thing was proving to take a lot of getting used to, and he'd never claimed to understand humans...however much he might sympathize with them.

[samus]

The hell? So, clearly not human - whoever or whatever this was they had taken a stun blast right to the chest, something that should have been more than enough to drop them for at the very least a few minutes, but he simply stood there as if completely unaffected by it. Not something that would have phased Samus under most circumstances, but given that he clearly knew who she was and the fact that he still seemed rather at easy despite the much larger weapon now being pointed at him was enough to unnerve her in turn. As far as she could tell there were three possible conclusions - first and foremost was that he simply didn't think she would shoot, something which he was halfway right about. She didn't want to fire - she wanted answers, and she wasn't going to get any if he was a smoldering crisp. That being said, though, if he knew who she was then he knew she wouldn't hesitate if it came down to making a choice between him and her, which led to her next two conclusions, one that stated he wasn't afraid because he knew something she didn't and had some sort of ace up his sleeve, or he just plain didn't feel fear. While the second one did have her suitably concerned given that she liked having some sense of control, the last one was the tricky bit. People who didn't feel fear tended to do stupid things - fear existed for a reason, namely to help beings avoid things that might threaten their existances or to prevent them from doing anything which might end said existance, and someone without fear was either too stupid to know what it was or too brave to care.... in either case, not exactly predictable.

As for what the man said next, Samus would believe it when she knew it for a fact - taking peoples' words at face value hadn't exactly been working well as of late, and while she was tempted to scan the man to ensure that he wasn't a threat she didn't. Not with how fast he had appeared - she wasn't going to let her guard down with that kind of speed. That, and the more he spoke the more he seemed rather.... off. It was that odd little thing at the back of one's mind when around people who weren't sick, disfigured or acting in a way that suggested mental instability - that odd little feeling in the back of your mind that told you to keep your distance from them if you could. His voice didn't sound normal at all - the tone was right and it sounded human, but yet at the same time not. There was no emotion as far as Samus could tell - no feel to it, nothing to really give what he said substance, almost like speaking to a machine, a simple drone. After his next statement, though, Samus started to get the feeling that she was being played again - not for the first time in recent events, but still a sensation that was far from pleasant and one that she still wasn't used to, and she tightened her right arm's aim in reaction, placing her left hand on the weapon to steady it.

"Which one?" Samus said, quite simple and to the point. While she didn't at all doubt in the possibility of life after death or the idea of different planes of existance - especially not after what she had seen on Tallon IV years ago - the idea of gods and demons was still something that she didn't put much stock in. There was good and evil in the world, but it was the product of mortal beings, the results of actions made by those who were still alive, not the actions of all powerful beings using people as if they were toys. An idea she refused to believe for a number of reasons, the first and foremost being that she was master of her own fate - nothing was ever set in stone. As for the second reason..... it was simple enough. If there was such a force in existance it was a demon, not a god. It may have been the former once, but after everything that she had gone through she refused to believe if only for the fact that anything with that kind of power that allowed as much death and destruction as Samus had seen was no benevolent being. If this thing wanted to play that game, though, Saums would oblige, at least for the time being.

"Not in the least. You wanted to talk, so let's talk. First off, how and why? You know who I am and where I was, but how did you find me and why do you want to talk?"

[castiel]

Which one, indeed. Castiel listened carefully to her tone, trying to decipher disdain or disbelief - but he found he could not tell whether or not she believed him. He supposed she would have no particular reason to, which meant that all he could do was answer her questions honestly and hope that she might eventually be swayed. Hoping that she would trust him, he realized, was a bit foolish at this point, but if they could get to where she at least believed him, he would be satisfied for now. "The one that exists in many different faiths - Christianity, Judaism, Islam," He paused for a moment, holding her gaze steadily. "The one that created humanity." It was the only truth Castiel knew, despite the fact that worlds were merging and therefore other truths were potentially possible - so that was how he chose to answer Samus. He could only hope she wouldn't ask too many questions regarding his status with Heaven. Despite him holding firm to the belief that he'd done the right thing, his betrayal still was not something he wished to boast about. And if Samus regarded an angel with such distrust, what would she think of an angel who was, for all intents and purposes, 'fallen'?

...And yet, from what he'd heard of her, their situations were not so different. Perhaps she would be able to relate, perhaps she'd even trust him more readily - but Castiel didn't want to take that gamble until he knew a little more about her. Her following questions did not surprise him; it would only be natural that she'd want some answers at this point. Remaining calm and evidently unfazed, the angel addressed the inquiry of how he'd managed to find her first. He imagined that Samus did not disclose her location to very many people, especially now of all times, and the fact that someone had managed to find her anyway was probably somewhat...disconcerting. However, explaining angels' methods of tracking was, again, something that Castiel didn't have to do very often. He paused for a brief moment, wondering how to word it best. "I was able to sense your presence, once you arrived on this planet." he replied simply enough at last. 'Presence' - that probably needed a bit of elaboration. "Your...spiritual energy, I suppose. It is simply a method of tracking angels use, although I most likely would not have detected you had I not known what to look for."

Which brought him to her next question - why he'd been looking for her, why he wanted to talk. Castiel was able to answer Samus more readily this time, having prepared how he was going to address this beforehand. "I am not sure whether or not you are aware, but Earth is currently faced with a myriad of problems. One of which is fairly recent - and has gone, for the most part, undetected - although my superiors believe that it could very quickly become a threat to be reckoned with." Not that he pretended to know what the other angels intended to do about it - he was taking the initiative here. It still felt...strange, not following orders. But now was hardly the appropriate time to be doubting himself. "I am...unsure how how to describe it, exactly. There have been growing traces of radiation which we do not believe have been found on earth before now - a dark....energy of some sort. And from what I do know of your past, I believe you have reason to be familiar with it." He would start with this issue - it was the one he needed to know the most about, and it was the one most likely to capture Samus's attention. Bombarding her with talk of Lucifer and the apocalypse wasn't likely to lessen her disbelief at this point - even Castiel knew that much.

[samus]

As the man remained still for the most part Samus did as well, only slightly shifting in place to maintain her aim despite the awkward position. As she watched him, though, she noticed that rather than reacting negatively in the way that a lot of religious fanatics tended to do when one questioned their beliefs or statements as anything beyond what was true, the man instead seemed to seriously consider her words. His answer, though, was similarly vague just as his previous one had been - she wasn't familiar with any of those schools of thought, not to mention that there was a small hole in it as far as logic went. If it was indeed whatever being that had created humanity as a species, then why was its power limited to this planet in particular, and why was it only upon making landfall that it had been able to sense her? Humans as a species existed not just on this world - they were one of the largest factions within the Federation, at least an entire galaxy away, so why just here? Then again, this wouldn't have been the first being that Samus had encountered that would have thought of itself as such - Mother had been a prime example, but for all of her very real power and influence she had still been little more than a machine. All of that aside, however, the one thing that Samus didn't doubt at face value was the next thing Castiel said after that, although there was a certain dubious element to it as well. Samus already knew of two species theoretically capable of such a feat - the very race that had adopted her, the Chozo and their Far Sight, and then after them the Luminoth - but even then the extent of their abilities were still limited. Picking someone out of a crowd wouldn't have been much of an issue, but a single human out of what appeared to be an entire planet populated by them? Even that kind of power had been far beyond the scope of any one Chozo or Luminoth unless they knew exactly what they were looking for and a general idea of when and where to look, although thinking back on it Samus had to admit that she probably felt somewhat different compared to the stock human - between her own experiences as well as the Chozo and then later Metroid additions made to her genome, it might not have been all that difficult after all.

The fact that this person possessed such an ability, though, already suggested that he wasn't with the Federation - if they had operatives capable of such feats they would have caught up to her before she'd even left the general vacinity of SR388, nevermind the actual galaxy. It was precisely because they had possessed such abilities that the Chozo had been renowned for their wisdom, a legacy that they had apparently left to both herself and the Luminoth alongside her - both civilizations had remained somewhat seperate from the Federation and neutral overall, and aside from the fact that the former had more or less raised her, the Luminoth themselves owed her a debt..... not one that she would ever return to collect if she could avoid it given the circumstances at the time, but at the very least she knew they were friends at the very least. While Castiel clearly wasn't affiliated with either group, though, the similarities in ability and the fact that he wasn't affiliated with the Federation either, at least as far as Samus was able to work out, was enough for her to lend him the benefit of the doubt, at least for then and there.

As she relaxed slightly and lowered the cannon enveloping her right arm so that it wasn't aimed directly at Castiel but still pointed in his general direction, the self proclaimed angel cut right to the chase, and Samus couldn't help but note with a small sense of irony that she had more or less been in the exact same situation several years before with one of the two races she had compared him to just a moment ago. So, in the end it had all come down to the fact that Castiel, just as the Federation and Luminoth before him, wanted to make use of her skills to help with at least one of the aforementioned problems he had mentioned, yet again poking another hole in his earlier logic. If his god was so powerful, then why not simply wave an arm and make the problems go away? Even as she thought it, though, Samus knew inwardly that it might not be that simple - the Chozo of Tallon IV had ascended to the point where they supposedly could have done such, but even with all of that power the most they could do was seal it away and use what strength that remained to set conditions favorable to Samus so that she could finish the job upon arrival years later.

It all came down to the question of whether or not to help, then. The vast majority of her jobs where generally very well paid, with only a small handful of exceptions over the years. Tallon IV, her return to Zebes and the entire incident with the other Hunters had all been personal matters, things that she had needed to do for closure or for personal vindication, and while the incident on Aether had started out as a paid job - a job which she had completed and indeed gotten paid for - the assistance lent to the Luminoth had been done so simply because there had been bigger things at stake and she had felt that saving them would in some way make up for her failure to prevent the fall of Zebes. As for SR388 and the Biologic labs..... that was a whole other can of worms, and one that she would rather not think about anytime soon if it could be avoided. In the end, though, it all came down to the fact that any friends she might have had where too far away to be of any help or would be put in a delicate position should she seek them out, and she needed people on her side. She wasn't entirely sure what kind of favors she'd be able to get out of this if she ever needed to collect, but at the very least it'd be one less group to worry about. During all of the time spent thinking, several long moments passed from the end of Castiel's reply as the hunter thought it over before speaking again.

"Alright. If you want the problem dealt with I'll need a little more information than that, though. Where do you want me to go and exactly what do you want done about it?" Samus finally replied, finally lowering her arm cannon completely as she rolled over before standing to face Castiel. While she'd give him the benefit of the doubt and accept the job, request, whatever you wanted to call it, she wouldn't do so blindly - she'd gotten burned the last two times she'd trusted someone without reservation and she wasn't about to let it happen a third time. Aside from that, though, there was one small detail that bothered Samus - the fact that Castiel seemed to think that she would be somewhat familiar with how to deal with his problem. She'd never been this far outside of Federation or Chozo space before now, and as far as she knew nearly all of her past problems had been dealt with in rather permenant fashions - Zebes, the Ing, Phaaze, the X, all gone with the sole possible exception of the Metroids. If the Federation had been able to duplicate their project from the Bottleship before it had been destroyed it stood to reason that the destruction of the Biologic labs wasn't going to be the end of it either, but this was too far for even the Federation to operate. All in good time, she guessed - she'd been able to deal with each of those, so whatever this problem was would probably be relatively easy in comparison..... or at least she hoped it would be.

[castiel]

He watched her closely as she gradually seemed to relax a little, first lowering her arm cannon somewhat, then entirely as she stood to face him. This could only be a good sign, Castiel decided, letting his guard down a little now that it appeared he wouldn't have to worry about abruptly teleporting out of the way to avoid another shot. Perhaps it would even mean...yes, it appeared as through she was agreeing to help him. Despite his stoic nature, Castiel couldn't help but feel a twinge of relief. It had been difficult for him to make the decision to seek outside help on this issue, especially without consulting Dean or Sam first, but there was no doubt that they'd require the aid. Conflicts between angels and demons, well, he at least knew where to start when dealing with them - but this wasn't exactly his field. And being in the dark, at least more than he was used to being, didn't sit well with him.

He wanted her help, that went without saying at this point - and he was prepared to tell her whatever he could to insure that she could help. But he also wanted answers...and he wondered, as of now, how many of them Samus would be able - and willing - to give. Little was known of the radiation the angels had sensed, and even less was known from the humans' standpoint, which left them all to collectively wonder: just how serious was this going to get? Instead of voicing that thought aloud, however, he first answered the question she'd posed a moment ago. "There are two sites in which the radiation has made itself most noticeable: Prypiat, Ukraine, and the United States...the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, to be accurate." Both locations had a relatively low population in their immediate vicinity, compared to the big cities and busy residential areas this could've been happening in, so Castiel supposed they'd gotten lucky. It still didn't mean they didn't have any reason to worry. There was always reason to worry when you weren't entirely sure of what you were dealing with...and in his experience, the sooner you investigated your concerns, the better off you'd be.

As for what he'd like done about it, well...the answer should have been simple. 'Get rid of the problem'. But of course, it was never that simple, and Cas knew better than to believe it would be. There was still so much they didn't know about this problem, and why it was happening now. One thing was for certain: it had the potential to become very dangerous, and seeing as Lucifer was currently trying to cause the apocalypse, this was the exact sort of thing that the fallen angel could easily decide to try and use to his advantage. "Ideally, I would like you to find the source of the problem - what is causing it, why it is happening now. I...imagine getting rid of it would be no simple matter, but that is what we'd like to accomplish, in the end..." he continued, going right ahead and stating the obvious in his usual way. By asking Samus to investigate this, he knew he could be potentially getting her into something big - and he knew that she had other, pressing concerns to deal with at this point as well. He didn't want to ask too much of her - not yet.

"It is my understanding that, given your experiences, you are better equipped to understand these incidents better than my colleagues or I might be. And that, above all, is what we must do before this issue gets any worse. ..Understand." Castiel finished, falling into silence once more as he awaited her response. Then something else occurred to him - Samus was a...bounty hunter, he believed they were called, and perhaps she would have liked a little more reason to get invested in this than he had given her thus far. He thought for a moment. "I do not have much in the way of 'human currency', but...if there's anything I could do for you in return..."

[samus]

As Castiel began to explain in depth regarding the details of the problem he wanted fixed, the first thing she noticed was the lack of detail rather than what he did know, and that was exactly what got most of her attention as she began walking, moving to pass Castiel on the way to her ship's top hatch as if he were no longer there. Yet again, Samus was reminded of Aether - a job that had sounded easy and simple but had turned out to be anything but. Memorizing the names of the two locations that Castiel had specified, she made a specific note to get an idea of what she was going to be heading into before she actually went - given the fact that her gunship was still in the process of repairing itself the last thing she needed or wanted was to tack on additional problems on top of the ship's FTL drive. It'd mean going into the city where she had parked her ship on the outskirts of, but with any luck she could blend in easily enough - the fatigues under her suit didn't seem too out of place from what she had seen so far, and as long as she kept a low profile there probably wouldn't be any issue.

As Samus approached the hatch, though, she stopped at the edge of it, noting that it was now locked - more likely than not it meant that Adam had likely been keeping an eye on the encounter using the gunship's external sensors, so with any luck he'd already have some information ready for her. Yet again, though, Samus was bothered by the fact that Castiel seemed to think that she would be particularly familiar with the problem that he and his aforementioned colleagues would be, but after listening to how he worded his reply, it was entirely possible that it was merely some piece of technology they'd developed ahead of their time gone rogue or some other such thing. It wouldn't be all that surprising, really, especially given many of the events she'd discovered so far in the planet's recent history, but as a small panel on her arm cannon rotated to expose a handful of miniturized controls she couldn't help but get an uneasy feeling from the job overall - not enough to warrant backing off or declining it, but enough for her to make a note to exercise a certain degree of caution.

"Just let me know how to get in touch with you or your 'colleagues' once it's done or when I have more information with you. As for payment, we'll worry about that later - money's not going to do me much good out here anyways." Samus answered after a moment spent pressing a short combination of controls on her arm cannon, glancing back over her shoulder as the panel flipping back shut again as the hatch in front of her unlocked itself before beginning to move forwards again with the intent of stepping on the hexagonal hatch. As before, it all came back to that - what she needed right now were allies and favors owed, not money. Money was good, but given her rather hands on approach to things and the fact that she was perfectly capable of supporting herself - especially in a climate that was laughably mild compared to that of her childhood home - favors gained and debts owed were far more dependable in the long run.

[luci]

Gotham City was a hopeless cesspool of the worst humanity had to offer. Sure there was the masked vigilante the Batman, but how much could one human really do for a city like Gotham? If Lucifer knew enough about humans as he believed he did, the vigilante's work would put a mere dent into Gotham's criminals. But it was not the Batman that was on Lucifer's mind - he'd been able to sense one of his brothers in Gotham City. Specifically Castiel, the other fallen angel. It was a shame Castiel didn't support his cause, it truly was. Lucifer almost expected Castiel to easily turn to his side after being cast out from Heaven for having some semblance of free will. But Castiel was more like the other angels than Lucifer would have liked to believe. Falsely righteous with a complete lack of understanding anything other than what they were fed by their Father...

It was no wonder God abandoned them. When Lucifer had sensed Castiel, he'd also sensed someone else nearby. Someone... not quite human, but not demonic or angelic either. Confusing, but all would soon be revealed. With the sound of rustling wings, a new figure appeared nearby Castiel and Samus - the figure of Lucifer. Immediately the archangel's gaze went to Castiel, the reason he had even gone there. Then he spotted the other one. It was a woman, one who looked human enough. However, Lucifer wasn't one to be fooled by appearances. He knew already that something in her blood made her different form a normal human. But that was nothing interesting to him. If she were even remotely human Lucifer saw no need to allow her to get in the way of his... conversation with his brother.

"...What? Did you think I would never find you?" Lucifer asked, his tone almost resembling a scolding parent after a child did something foolish. It was a common attitude for Lucifer to take when dealing with his younger brothers. It would be hard to say that Lucifer didn't find how afraid of him they were just a little bit humorous, in an ironic way. If he'd won the battle against God, he would be treated like a hero and his father would be thrown into Hell. It was always strange, looking back and seeing how a few little things could have changed everything...

[castiel]

Castiel could appreciate someone of Samus' nature - all business, to-the-point, and someone who wasted very little time once she had a goal in mind. As for how to get in touch with him...well, that was simple enough. Preferring to steer clear of methods such as 'cell phone usage' (Cas still wasn't entirely clear on how those things even worked), he jumped straight to the easiest - albeit supernatural - solution. "Whenever you need to get in touch with me, simply speak my name. I should be able to sense your call." That was, as long as she wasn't anywhere... 'out of range', so to speak. But Castiel didn't see Ukraine - or most places on earth, for that matter - classifying as a problem in that way. Still, just to be safe, he considered giving her Dean's cell phone number. Dean knew much more about this 'technology' business than the angel did, and was significantly more likely to successfully answer a cell-phone call. Before he could speak again, however, something in the air stirred...and Castiel sensed a presence he'd been both anticipating and dreading running into for some time now.

It was easy to see, to any observant eye, that the angel had reacted negatively to the presence of the newcomer - his entire being seemed to tense, his features hardening and turning just a tad...darker as she slowly turned to survey the form of his formidable older brother. No, in truth, Castiel had known that there was little chance of hiding from Lucifer, of all people. He'd just hoped that they'd be able to figure out a way to deal with him before their next encounter - and he'd certainly hoped that the fallen archangel wouldn't find him now, of all times. This...was unfortunate. To say the least. "Lucifer." Castiel spoke his name quietly, warily - and above all, coolly. His usual serious, mostly emotionless tone had given way, had allowed something slightly...uneasy, even angry, to seep through and express itself.

Somehow, he'd expected Lucifer to have become...much different. To have twisted to fit the much-feared image of the Devil he'd become, and yet...recognizable through his vessel, the archangel really wasn't all that much different than he'd been all those thousands of years ago - before all of this had began. Angels, as Castiel knew, were supposed to avoid all forms of attachment. And yet it still saddened him somewhat, to see what all of this had come down to: family pitted against family. But Lucifer had chosen his path long ago...and now, by turning his back on the other angels and aligning himself with the humans, Castiel had chosen his. There was no going back, for either of them. Casting a quick glance at Samus to try and briefly gauge what she was making of all of this (a hostile reaction now might seal both of their fates, if Lucifer wanted a fight), Castiel turned his gaze back on his brother with a frown. "What do you want?"