Alaska. An abandoned cabin in some forest on some mountain. That's where Allegra found her latest escape. She'd first hopped from town to town, two to three times a day, crossing almost the entire United States and even making a few stops in Mexico and Canada, going to places she remembered seeing on postcards or Google. Moving around like that for almost a month had a purpose. She put up a trace that would be very difficult to track down - for anyone.
Allegra just wanted to be alone. No Angels in her head. No fake father who may or may not try to find her. No Castiel. No D... No... No, not that last one. She did want Dean. She wanted to look into those green eyes and feel the warmth of his body against hers as they slept. To feel his touch on her skin. To hear his rough but sweet voice. To have his lips on hers again. But after overhearing his conversation with Castiel, Allegra was determined not to let him risk his life for hers. It wasn't up to him to save her. So she left before he could stop and convince her to stay.
Every day, she heard Dean's thoughts ringing loudly and clearly as if he were standing right beside her. Every day, he begged her to come back. And every day that she ignored him, her heart broke just a little bit more. She pushed him away - for both their sakes.

After about a week, she returned early from one of her walks and saw a light on in the cabin. Pretty sure that she hadn't left any candles burning, Allegra carefully stepped up the wooden stairs and took John Winchester's knife from her boot. She had expected someone to find her eventually, but she had hoped it would've taken them just a little bit longer.
She opened the door and found Castiel seated at the table. He had lit all the candles in the cabin and had apparently decided to wait for her instead of coming back another time. He rose from his chair when Allegra came in.

"Hello. How have you been?" he asked her as if nothing at all had happened.

She didn't answer and just took her scarf off.

"It was clever what you did. It took me some time to find you."

Allegra crossed her arms over her chest, keeping the knife in her hand. She narrowed her eyes at him, knowing her harsh look would make the angel uncomfortable. She used to do the same with her fa... with Gabriel whenever he'd gone too far with one of his jokes.

"Perhaps we could sit down," tried Castiel, motioning to the table.

"I'm good here," she said.

"I merely wish to talk."

She scoffed at that.

"Oh, now you wanna talk? Okay... Sure, let's talk. Let's start with how you all lied to me."

"We didn't mean to..."

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!"

Allegra had to stop herself from punching Castiel's lights out.

"I want the truth, Castiel. No more lies, no holding things back. You're gonna tell me everything you know, or else you're gonna get me someone who can. Right now!"

Castiel looked at her with his sad puppy eyes, contemplating what he should do. Then Allegra heard a flutter of wings behind her.

"Castiel, go. I got this."

She spun on her heels and stood face to face with Gabriel. Her breath caught in her throat.

Of all the angels... Not him...

Castiel disappeared and left father and daughter alone. Gabriel started to walk through the cabin. Allegra watched his every move as he passed her.

"Nice place you got here," he said airily. "Little woodsy for my taste, but nice."

He sat down in the same chair Castiel had occupied. His eyes wandered over her.

"God, you've grown up so beautiful. You were pretty when you were young, of course, but I never thought you'd be... well, this."

His hand went up and down as he measured her up.

"But maybe try wearing a dress once and a while? I'm thinking something royal blue or maybe emerald or..."

"What are you doing?" Allegra interrupted.

The smile he gave her made her skin crawl.

"Can't a father compliment his daughter?"

"A father, yes. But not you." Allegra moved further away from him to the other side of the table and leaned on the chair. "I don't know you. And I don't wanna know you. So unless you've come to tell me what I wanna know, you can get your ass out the door before I make a hundred frogs hop out of you."

Gabriel was left a bit perplexed by Allegra's harsh words, but they had the necessary effect. He held his hands up in surrender and nodded.

"Okay, fair enough. Sit down. I'll tell you everything I know."

Allegra pulled her chair back and placed her knife within reach on the table.

"I find out this is another trick or lie, and not even God himself will be able to save you from me," she warned."

"No lies, no tricks, I promise," said Gabriël. "Is there anything you wanna know specifically, or do you want me to just jump into it?"

"What am I? If God created me as you said, and I wasn't born, does that mean I'm not human?"

"You are, to a degree. You're what could be described as a hybrid, I suppose. The celestial soul within you connects you to us. It's why you can hear and see us in your sleep. And why you don't have a blood type either, for example."

Makes sense, I guess, thought Allegra.

"I'm actually surprised you didn't figure that part out yet. You had the answer to that particular question all along."

She tilted her head at Gabriel, confused at his meaning. He waved his hand, and a paper appeared in front of Allegra. Her last name was written on it in big capital letters.

GALEN

Gabriel gave another wave, and the letters rearranged themselves to form another word.

ANGEL

"It was actually supposed to be Archangel, but that was too much of a hassle to make into something decent," clarified Gabriel.

"I-I'm an...?" Allegra was too overwhelmed to make a decent sentence.

"Well, half, but yeah. It's why you're so powerful but also why you're a walking target."

"'Cause it's not often demons can get to an Archangel." 

"Exactly. Look, as long as your soul isn't destroyed, you can't die. But because your soul is trapped in a human form, it can change, and that is their goal. Demons could reform it to their own liking, making you the greatest weapon in their whole arsenal. The part that makes you who you are will be gone then: your emotions, your memories, your very essence. Every bit of goodness that you have because of your human side will just cease to exist."

"If that's true, why did Michael take the risk of leaving me in Hell so long?" demanded Allegra.

"I asked him that same question, but he refused to answer. My brother is like that, unfortunately. It only has to make sense in his mind."

She sighed and sat back.

"Okay, then, what's the deal with my powers? The teleportation, the soul-finding, the shield... I get those. They actually make more sense now if what you say is true. But what about the plagues? Why those? If I'm another hybrid child of God, wouldn't I have the same ones Jesus had?"

Gabriel snorted.

"Believe me; you do not want those powers. Half the time, the kid didn't know what the heck he was doing. We actually had a good laugh with him. But he wasn't a hybrid like you. He was God's first prophet, and mostly a trial and error. No, you needed to be different. You had to know that with great power comes great responsibility."

"A Spider-Man quote? Really?"

"Don't interrupt. It's rude, and I never taught you to be rude," said Gabriel, a little too parental to Allegra's liking.

"No, you taught me not to take any crap from anyone," she countered.

Gabriel grinned at her with pride as only a father could.

"Touché."

It should have made Allegra happy. Talking with her long-lost father, making jokes, having him look at her like that... But all she felt was resentment. Disgust. Anger. If she let it all out now, she knew she would never find out the rest. And she wanted this over. So Allegra bottled it up as best she could, ignoring the looks and the jests Gabriel gave her, and pushed on.

"More responsibility than Christ, got it. But aren't the plagues a little too excessive?"

"Maybe," admitted Gabriel. "But they do deliver a message."

"Which is?"

"Don't mess with us."

"Okay, you can't seriously expect me to believe I exist just to prove a point?"

Gabriel shrugged. Allegra was even more vexed than before and fiddled with her knife. She needed a minute to let it all sink in. One; she was a human-Archangel hybrid created by God. Two; she was Heaven's powerhouse on Earth. Three; demons were after her because they wanted her soul and powers. Four; there was no one she could trust. No one, except...

"How do the Winchesters fit into all of this?" she asked.

Gabriel froze at her question.

"They... They don't," he replied, more nervous than he should be. "Why would you think that?"

"So, me helping Castiel get Dean out of Hell was just a coincidence?"

"The Winchesters have nothing to do with you, Allegra."

She didn't believe it for a second. And Gabriel noticed.

"It's better if you stay away from them," he said, trying to sound casual again. "They have their own destinies to fulfill, and you play no part in that."

"I can help them," said Allegra.

"No, you can't."

Gabriel's hard strict look made her feel small, but he wasn't going to win this one. She refused to let him win. 

"You don't get to tell me what I can or can't do anymore," Allegra said slowly.

"So you want Dean to end up like Eric?"

Her eyes widened in shock at that name.

"How do you know about him?" she whispered.

"I told you I kept an eye on you," said Gabriel. "I know you liked Eric, and I know what happened when you were together. I also know that you like Dean Winchester in the same way, perhaps even more, so I'll ask again; do you want Dean to end up like Eric?"

Allegra stared at Gabriel. She couldn't believe he knew about that horrid night and was now actually using it against her. She'd already been angry at him for a lifetime of lies and for leaving her, but now she was outright furious.

She slowly rose from her seat and walked over to the window. Had Allegra been in a town full of innocent people, she would never dare do this. But high up on the mountain, there was no one but her and the man she hated with every fiber of her being. So she closed her eyes and drew a lightning bolt on the foggy window with her finger. 
Clouds drew close together over the mountain. Grey and ominous. The animals that had been near hurried for shelter. It began to rain. Then the first lightning strike hit. It illuminated the entire mountain. A second followed, closer this time. The rain turned into hail. It pounded on wood and windows.

"Allegra, don't!" Gabriel jumped out of his chair and tried to hide the quiver in his voice. "Please, sweetheart, calm down."

"Don't call me sweetheart!"

Allegra rounded on him, and Gabriel recoiled at the sight of the raging fury with golden eyes. The Archangel inside her shone through. It was an awesome but terrifying sight to behold. She took a step in his direction. Another lightning bolt lit up the sky. It was almost directly above the cabin. The thunder roared outside, cheering the wind and the hail on to go harder.

"I am not your sweetheart," hissed Allegra. "I am not your daughter. You don't own me. Not you, not the other angels, not God. None of you get to tell me what to do anymore. I am done with all of you!"

Gabriel should have kept his mouth shut. He should've gotten the hell out of there. He didn't.

"Allegra, I'm sorry, okay?! You're right, we don't own you, and we should've told you from the beginning what you were! But I am begging you, do not turn away from us! We're your family, and we... I love you, Allegra."

Silence. The hail stopped. The thunder stopped. Everything was quiet. Relief spread across Gabriel's expression as he believed he made it right and halted the impending rampage. He was wrong.

"I don't care."

Lightning struck right through the cabin, destroying everything within a hundred feet. Only one person walked away from the fire. She didn't look back. In the burning remnants of the cabin lay a medallion with the picture of what was once a loving father with a happy daughter and the shredded pieces of a note with a father's farewell, now turned to ash.

***

"Sam, Dean. You're probably wondering what the hell is going on. Well, if you're watching this, I'm dead. Oh, please! Stop sobbing; it's embarrassing for all of us. Without me, you've got zero shot at killing Lucifer, sorry! But... you can trap him. The Cage you sprung Lucifer from? It's still down there. And maybe, just maybe, you can shove his ass back in. Not that it'll be easy. You gotta get the Cage open and trick my bro back into it. And, oh yeah, avoid Michael and the God Squad. But hey, details, right? And here's the big secret Lucifer himself doesn't even know - the key to the cage? It's out there. Actually, it's keys. Plural. Four keys, well, four rings. From the Horsemen. You get 'em all; you got the Cage. Can't say I'm betting on you boys, but, hey - I've been wrong before."

Dean had seen a lot of weird things, but this 'message from beyond the grave' Gabriel had recorded on the Casa Erotica 13 DVD was just freaking disturbing.

"And Dean... there is one more thing I would like to ask of you personally. Believe me when I say it is killing me to ask you of all persons. But euhm... I need to know someone will take care of Allegra when I'm gone. I've made mistakes with her. Unforgivable mistakes, I realize that. I tried to make things right, but I actually might have just made it worse. Yes, I know, you said you'd drag my ass to Hell if I reached out to her, but I had to. She's suffered. And that's on me. I'm taking a huge leap of faith here, but you might be the only person she'll let in. As much as it pains me to admit it, she trusts you. And from what I saw, you care for her. But that doesn't mean you get to go the second base and further, mister! Just... keep an eye on her, okay?"

Dean felt Sam's eyes on him. He kept looking at the screen, not betraying any emotion. 

"Also, you were right. I was afraid to stand up to my brother. Not anymore. So this is me... standing up. And this is me... lying down."

The next scene made both of the Winchesters cringe, and Sam quickly shut off his laptop. Dean looked at his brother and spoke before Sam had the chance to say anything about Allegra.

"Horsemen, huh? Well, we got War. We nicked Famine. That's two down. Collect all four? All we need is Pestilence and Death"

"Oh, is that all?" said Sam sarcastically.

"It's a plan."

They got in the Impala and drove off. Sam tried to make up a strategy to get the last two rings whilst Dean just kept thinking about what Gabriel said about Allegra. He warned that son of a bitch to stay away from her because he was afraid of what would happen if they faced each other. 
He witnessed first-hand what she did to Alastair and didn't even want to think about what she might have done to Gabriel. He hoped boils. In a very unpleasant place. But having him throw up frogs would've also been nice to see. Whatever Allegra decided to do, the bastard had it coming (even if he did the right thing in the end, saving them from Lucifer and sacrificing himself in the process).

After a couple of hours, Dean pulled over at a bar outside a town in northern Kentucky. They could get a motel there, but first things first - food. 

"So how do you wanna do this?" asked Sam after they settled in a booth and ordered burgers, and got their beers.

"The gruesome two-some has got to be leaving a trail," thought Dean aloud. "I'd say our best shot would be to follow the bodies."

"Terrific."

Sam took a breath and started typing on his laptop again, but Dean knew he was dying to ask him something else. His eyes kept shifting up to him.

"What is it, Sam?"

"It's just... Allegra."

Dean groaned. It was bound to happen.

"I thought you hated her?"

"I never said that!" answered Sam quickly. "I just didn't trust her... at first. But she's okay, I guess. So... you wanna go after her?"

"I have no idea how, Sammy." Dean sighed. "I have no way to track her down, and I wouldn't even know where to start looking since she can literally hop over the whole friggin' world if she wants to. She said she would always come if I just thought of her, but... she's blocking me."

He reached out to Allegra almost every day, but she stayed away. She didn't come when they lost Ellen and Jo, nor when the angel Anna (a regrettable one-night stand) almost succeeded in killing them before they were born by going after younger versions of their parents, nor when they went up against the first two Horsemen of the Apocalypse, nor even when that douche Zachariah resurrected their half-brother Adam to get Dean to say yes to Michael. And sure, Dean understood perfectly that Allegra needed time after having that bombshell dropped on her. But she could've at least let him know something. 

The waitress suddenly appeared at their table with their burgers and two new bottles of beer. Dean looked up in confusion. Since when did bars do a refill on beer? 

"We didn't order those," he remarked.

"It's from the redhead at the end of the bar."

Dean held his breath. He slowly turned in his seat, firmly believing it must be some other redhead that took a shine in either him or Sam. But there she was, dressed in her green leather jacket and a white dress. Hair up with a golden ribbon. Brown eyeshadow and eyeliner accentuating her gold-shimmering eyes. Lips as red as blood curled up in a somewhat mischievous smile.
Allegra got up from her stool at the bar and made her way through the crowd towards them as Dean clumsily got up. He couldn't believe his eyes when she halted in front of him. It was really her. 

"Allegra... damn, you're looking hot!"

It was out before he knew it. Dean felt like a complete idiot for having said that out loud. And from the stifled chuckle at the other side of the booth, his brother was thinking the exact same thing. But Allegra still smiled and dipped her head, accepting the compliment.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Winchester."

God, he had missed that smile. A voice shouted at Dean to take her in his arms and just kiss her right then and there. Thankfully, she spoke before he could make a real embarrassment out of himself.

"Okay, so before things get awkward here, I need to say something. To both of you. I'm sorry I left like that. I just needed some time alone to work things out."

"You got nothing to be sorry about," said Dean quickly.

"So you're not angry at me for leaving and ignoring you?"

"No. Well, yeah, maybe just a little. But I understand why you did it. So it's okay."

She smiled at him again.

Keep it together, Winchester. Keep. It. Together.

"Also, euhm... thank you. For what you did. You too, Sam. I know the two of us got off on the wrong foot, but you did help me out. So... thank you."

"Yeah, sure, you're... you're welcome," stammered Sam. "Glad you're better now."

Dean was glad he wasn't the only one completely awestruck at Allegra's appearance. But he couldn't help but feel the tiniest pang of jealousy.

"Allegra, do you euhm... know about Gabriel?"

Dean turned around and glared at his brother. Was he kidding right now? 

"That Lucifer killed him?" replied Allegra. "Yeah, I know. It was on angel radio. But I'm not gonna waste any tears on that guy. Couldn't care less, really."

Sam furrowed his brow, but Dean just nodded approvingly.

"Okay then, all settled. You know, we could really use your help. Ever hear of the Horsemen known as Pestilence and Death?"