FIC: Supernatural: Recrudesence 16 - 17
Title: Recrudescence
Author: ghost4
Disclaimer: Still not mine.
Author's notes: These were all original ideas when I first had them way back when. I swear. But being a half-fast (or half-assed ;) writer means that sometimes things look stale and lame by the time you get to the end. *sigh*
And I'll say it yet again, because it can't be said too much: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. It was appreciated. You have no idea how much.
As always, any comments, good, bad, or indifferent, are more than welcome.
You ask about my conscience,
and I offer you my soul.
You ask if I'll grow to be a wise man,
well, I ask if I'll grow old.
You ask me if I known love,
and what it's like to sing songs in the rain.
Well, I've seen love come,
and I've seen it shot down.
I've seen it die in vain.
Shot down in a blaze of glory.
Take me now, but know the truth.
'Cause I'm going down in a blaze of glory.
Lord I never drew first, but I drew first blood.
I'm the devil's son.
~Bon Jovi - Blaze of Glory
*
Dean watched the figure stroll out of the shadows of the nave, and felt the bottom drop out of reality. "Gabriel?"
*
"In the absolutely, devastatingly gorgeous flesh." He looked down. "Or, well, celestially willed physical form."
"You can't be alive," Raphael growled. "You died. Lucifer himself ended your existence. You can't be here."
"Oh, yes, I can," Gabriel chirped. He winked at Sam. "Big brother may have taught me all my tricks when I was younger, but we little brothers have a tendency to take what they teach us and do a whole lot more with it - isn't that right, Sammy?"
Sam ignored him, watching Raphael with predatory eyes.
"Right. Sammy's a little over-focused right now. That's cool." Gabriel slouched against a pillar, hands in his pockets. "But I think stressing Sam out anymore is probably a really bad idea - and things would be a little less tense if you guys all backed, the hell, down."
The last word split the air like microphone feedback. All the angels staggered back, clutching their heads. Dean dropped as his personal bodyguard lost his grip, and curled up, ears covered. It was a single syllable of Angelic speech…and it was enough to make Dean's eardrums feel like they were about to pop.
As soon as he could move, Dean dropped his hands from his ears and glanced up, shocked to see Sam getting to his feet as the angel who had held him for Raphael writhed on the floor. Sam was moving as if he was unaffected by the sound that had torn through everyone else - like he was used to it - despite the blood Dean could see dripping down to his collar. His ears were bleeding. It wasn't stopping him, though.
It wasn't stopping Raphael, either. As bad as it had been for the humans, the angels' reactions were even worse. The lower caste, like Dean's special friend, hit the floor hard, as whatever power was in the word laid them out. But Raphael only rocked back, as if he'd been punched. Hard. But not hard enough.
"I'm not so easy to put down, Gabriel," he said, straightening, a smile flickering around the edges of his mouth. "You'll have to do better than that." He raised the blade again, only a couple of steps away from an unflinching Sam.
"I dare you," Sam said, his voice like cool honey. "This is your last shot. The last time I give you a free shot. Because from now on it's my choice. Mine." He started stalking toward the angel. "And I'm telling you to fuck off!"
Sam's fury was…inhuman - cool and sweet and massive. Raphael actually gave way a step before he caught himself. "You can not -"
"Yes, he can, Raphael." Gabriel sighed, climbing up the steps and stopping next to a seething Sam. "This is so over. I know you were never the cleverest of us, but even you have to get this. Sam, here, holds the keys to our destruction. His is the key. We lost the ability to control this outcome a long time ago - if we ever had it. And one thing I learned, living down here?" He looked at Sam. "You have to cut your losses."
"You would know that," Raphael spit. "You left us as soon as you could."
"Oh, good lord. Are we back on that again?" Gabriel huffed. "I wanted to learn, Raphael. Between Michael's holier-than-thou attitude, and you running around like his little henchman, and the others all following orders like little drones…I just wanted to see why Dad said we needed to do this. Why we needed to give way to these things. I never meant to hurt you by leaving." He gave Sam a sad smile. "And I did learn, Raphael. I learned so much."
"What could any true angel learn from a pack of conceded, stinking animals?"
"You'd be surprised," Gabriel smirked. "Treachery. Treason. Torment. But also words that don't start with a 't'. Loyalty. Kindness. Sympathy. Creativity, fun, irony. Mercy." He sighed. "And how to know when to fight…and when to walk away."
He shook his head at the other archangel. "It's a stalemate, kiddo. You try to start their destruction again, and they start ours. We've hit the top of nuclear proliferation." His shoulders squared, his expression changed - there was something holy behind his eyes. And his next words were a command. "Let it go, Raphael. It's over. Stop, now, before you are judged."
Raphael snarled. "You may be my elder, but you do not give me orders! And you can't stop me! You don't have the strength!"
He lurched at Sam, who squared his shoulders and curled his fists.
"Are you serious? Raphael, just because I never picked on you like Michael and Lucifer, doesn't mean I can't take you over my knee if I need to." Gabriel flicked a wrist - and Raphael screamed - a sound made as much of rage as of fear as something hit him. his clothes and hair whipped, as if he was caught in a wind-tunnel, though the air in the church remained still. Raphael pushed on toward Sam, and slowly he advanced. But each step was worse - first his clothes began to smoke, then smolder...then his skin began to blister. Each inch he gained, cost him pain, but he wouldn't stop. Every step he pushed forward the effect got worse, until he was stripping flesh from his face and hands. And still he pushed on, ignoring the way each step caused him to slide backwards as the wind only he could feel tore meat from him. Under each wound was a glow, flickering and burning like lightening.
Raphael turned blazing eyes on his brother. "You can't stop me. You won't be able to put out this much power for long. I will free Michael!"
"You need a nap," Gabriel said, and snapped his fingers. And Raphael was…gone.
The sudden silence was deafening.
Dean used the lull to stagger to his feet. He stepped over the angel collapsed on the floor to head toward Sam. "Where did he go?" he asked Gabriel.
"I put him in time-out, until he learns how to play nicely with others. I love being the big brother." He smirked for a second, then Gabriel turned angry eyes on the lesser angels, who were still trying to recover.
Castiel was the first on his feet. With a dark look at the angels who held him, he staggered over to Sam and Dean, separating himself from those who followed Raphael.
Gabriel looked him over, then tsked. "Man, you been rode hard and put up wet, kid." He touched him…and Castiel sucked in a breath, straightening a bit.
"Thank you, Gabriel."
The archangel looked sympathetic. "It's not much, but we'll get you seen to once we get upstairs, okay? I have to go home anyway, for awhile, and get this bickering stopped. A-sap. You guys can't go on like this. Any of you have a problem with that?" He glared at the other angels, now standing unsteadily around the room… and they bowed their heads in submission.
"Right. Didn't think so." Gabriel turned to Sam and Dean, and Dean stiffened. "Now as for you two…"
Sam only glared, fists working. "I'm not sorry. I am the key, Gabriel...and if anybody fucks with Dean, or me, again, I will do it."
Gabriel sighed. "I know." He sounded understanding…and slightly sad. And there was a note in his voice that Dean recognized. The tone of someone who was dealing with a person deeply damaged, and unstable. "I don't blame you. You did a good job, Sam. They can't touch you or your brother now. But this is a fine balance. We're trusting you to maintain it. Can you?"
Sam took a breath, his hands slowly unknotting. "If this keeps Dean safe, then I can do it as long as I have to."
Dean frowned, "Do what, exactly?" He put a hand on Sam's shoulder.
Gabriel tried to smile...it didn't work. "Keep big brother under lock and key in there." The angel flipped a hand at Sam's head.
"Lucifer's in Sam's head?" Dean swallowed, trying to keep his heart where it belonged. It wasn't as if the news was totally unexpected... but it was still...devastating.
But Gabriel shook his head. "Not really. Brother-dearest is in his pen. But there's a link." Gabriel frowned at Sam. "How bad is it? Can he speak to you?"
Sam took a breath. "No. Not really. I...feel him, sometimes. It's strong, sometimes. but he's not here. I try not to think about it. It's better if I don't think about it."
Gabriel nodded. "I bet." He looked at Dean. "He's gotta keep him locked down and in control. Not an easy job. None of us ever managed it for long, that's for damned sure." Gabriel's smile failed. "I'm sorry, Sam." He sounded honestly regretful. "I know how hard this must be."
Sam shifted his weight back, leaning into Deans touch. "Can you fix me?" he asked the archangel.
But Gabriel only shook his head. "The wounds are in your soul, Sam. Angel's don't have those. We don't really know how they work. I wouldn't know where to start."
Dean could feel the shivering starting to course though Sam again, and he swallowed, tightening his grip on Sam's shoulder. "That's okay. That's my job."
Gabriel nodded, looking Dean square in the eye. "This won't be easy. He's only half the way home. You think you're up to helping him?"
Dean met those eyes steadily. "You take care of your family; I'll take care of mine."
Gabriel nodded seriously. He looked at Sam. "I'll do my best to keep them away from you. That I promise. Hell, none of them would dare to mess with you now, anyway. You've saved your family by being exactly what you never wanted to be - you gotta love the irony. Or, well, I do," the former trickster winked. "You did what we couldn't; pushing Lucifer back, standing up to Raphael… creating balance. Your family saved our Father's creation though their pain and their sacrifice." He smiled again, and this time there was something soft and bright and beyond human in it. "No angel could have done this, Sam. We just don't have the heart for it. But you do. And that is why your kind is so…astounding. And why we now give you honor. Thank you."
And then he folded his hands and bowing his head, and Dean had the impression of wings folding somehow… and he went to one knee in front of them.
Dean's eyebrows shot up. Castiel smiled at them - with no trace of bitterness or insincerity - folded his hand, bowed his head, and sank next to Gabriel.
Then, one by one, the others followed.
For a second Dean couldn't quite let it in… then he couldn't help the smirk that crawled across his face. He leaned into Sam. "Think it's 'cos we're so awesome?"
Sam shuddered under his hand, one hand reaching up to push against his temple. "I have to get out of here."
Dean's shocked amusement evaporated. He was starting to recognize Sam's 'too much' moments, and Sam loosing control in this crowd would be beyond bad. "Okay. Then we go."
And they did, walking through the knelling angels. Together.
*
Part 15 Epilogue
Author: ghost4
Disclaimer: Still not mine.
Author's notes: These were all original ideas when I first had them way back when. I swear. But being a half-fast (or half-assed ;) writer means that sometimes things look stale and lame by the time you get to the end. *sigh*
And I'll say it yet again, because it can't be said too much: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. It was appreciated. You have no idea how much.
As always, any comments, good, bad, or indifferent, are more than welcome.
You ask about my conscience,
and I offer you my soul.
You ask if I'll grow to be a wise man,
well, I ask if I'll grow old.
You ask me if I known love,
and what it's like to sing songs in the rain.
Well, I've seen love come,
and I've seen it shot down.
I've seen it die in vain.
Shot down in a blaze of glory.
Take me now, but know the truth.
'Cause I'm going down in a blaze of glory.
Lord I never drew first, but I drew first blood.
I'm the devil's son.
~Bon Jovi - Blaze of Glory
*
Dean watched the figure stroll out of the shadows of the nave, and felt the bottom drop out of reality. "Gabriel?"
*
"In the absolutely, devastatingly gorgeous flesh." He looked down. "Or, well, celestially willed physical form."
"You can't be alive," Raphael growled. "You died. Lucifer himself ended your existence. You can't be here."
"Oh, yes, I can," Gabriel chirped. He winked at Sam. "Big brother may have taught me all my tricks when I was younger, but we little brothers have a tendency to take what they teach us and do a whole lot more with it - isn't that right, Sammy?"
Sam ignored him, watching Raphael with predatory eyes.
"Right. Sammy's a little over-focused right now. That's cool." Gabriel slouched against a pillar, hands in his pockets. "But I think stressing Sam out anymore is probably a really bad idea - and things would be a little less tense if you guys all backed, the hell, down."
The last word split the air like microphone feedback. All the angels staggered back, clutching their heads. Dean dropped as his personal bodyguard lost his grip, and curled up, ears covered. It was a single syllable of Angelic speech…and it was enough to make Dean's eardrums feel like they were about to pop.
As soon as he could move, Dean dropped his hands from his ears and glanced up, shocked to see Sam getting to his feet as the angel who had held him for Raphael writhed on the floor. Sam was moving as if he was unaffected by the sound that had torn through everyone else - like he was used to it - despite the blood Dean could see dripping down to his collar. His ears were bleeding. It wasn't stopping him, though.
It wasn't stopping Raphael, either. As bad as it had been for the humans, the angels' reactions were even worse. The lower caste, like Dean's special friend, hit the floor hard, as whatever power was in the word laid them out. But Raphael only rocked back, as if he'd been punched. Hard. But not hard enough.
"I'm not so easy to put down, Gabriel," he said, straightening, a smile flickering around the edges of his mouth. "You'll have to do better than that." He raised the blade again, only a couple of steps away from an unflinching Sam.
"I dare you," Sam said, his voice like cool honey. "This is your last shot. The last time I give you a free shot. Because from now on it's my choice. Mine." He started stalking toward the angel. "And I'm telling you to fuck off!"
Sam's fury was…inhuman - cool and sweet and massive. Raphael actually gave way a step before he caught himself. "You can not -"
"Yes, he can, Raphael." Gabriel sighed, climbing up the steps and stopping next to a seething Sam. "This is so over. I know you were never the cleverest of us, but even you have to get this. Sam, here, holds the keys to our destruction. His is the key. We lost the ability to control this outcome a long time ago - if we ever had it. And one thing I learned, living down here?" He looked at Sam. "You have to cut your losses."
"You would know that," Raphael spit. "You left us as soon as you could."
"Oh, good lord. Are we back on that again?" Gabriel huffed. "I wanted to learn, Raphael. Between Michael's holier-than-thou attitude, and you running around like his little henchman, and the others all following orders like little drones…I just wanted to see why Dad said we needed to do this. Why we needed to give way to these things. I never meant to hurt you by leaving." He gave Sam a sad smile. "And I did learn, Raphael. I learned so much."
"What could any true angel learn from a pack of conceded, stinking animals?"
"You'd be surprised," Gabriel smirked. "Treachery. Treason. Torment. But also words that don't start with a 't'. Loyalty. Kindness. Sympathy. Creativity, fun, irony. Mercy." He sighed. "And how to know when to fight…and when to walk away."
He shook his head at the other archangel. "It's a stalemate, kiddo. You try to start their destruction again, and they start ours. We've hit the top of nuclear proliferation." His shoulders squared, his expression changed - there was something holy behind his eyes. And his next words were a command. "Let it go, Raphael. It's over. Stop, now, before you are judged."
Raphael snarled. "You may be my elder, but you do not give me orders! And you can't stop me! You don't have the strength!"
He lurched at Sam, who squared his shoulders and curled his fists.
"Are you serious? Raphael, just because I never picked on you like Michael and Lucifer, doesn't mean I can't take you over my knee if I need to." Gabriel flicked a wrist - and Raphael screamed - a sound made as much of rage as of fear as something hit him. his clothes and hair whipped, as if he was caught in a wind-tunnel, though the air in the church remained still. Raphael pushed on toward Sam, and slowly he advanced. But each step was worse - first his clothes began to smoke, then smolder...then his skin began to blister. Each inch he gained, cost him pain, but he wouldn't stop. Every step he pushed forward the effect got worse, until he was stripping flesh from his face and hands. And still he pushed on, ignoring the way each step caused him to slide backwards as the wind only he could feel tore meat from him. Under each wound was a glow, flickering and burning like lightening.
Raphael turned blazing eyes on his brother. "You can't stop me. You won't be able to put out this much power for long. I will free Michael!"
"You need a nap," Gabriel said, and snapped his fingers. And Raphael was…gone.
The sudden silence was deafening.
Dean used the lull to stagger to his feet. He stepped over the angel collapsed on the floor to head toward Sam. "Where did he go?" he asked Gabriel.
"I put him in time-out, until he learns how to play nicely with others. I love being the big brother." He smirked for a second, then Gabriel turned angry eyes on the lesser angels, who were still trying to recover.
Castiel was the first on his feet. With a dark look at the angels who held him, he staggered over to Sam and Dean, separating himself from those who followed Raphael.
Gabriel looked him over, then tsked. "Man, you been rode hard and put up wet, kid." He touched him…and Castiel sucked in a breath, straightening a bit.
"Thank you, Gabriel."
The archangel looked sympathetic. "It's not much, but we'll get you seen to once we get upstairs, okay? I have to go home anyway, for awhile, and get this bickering stopped. A-sap. You guys can't go on like this. Any of you have a problem with that?" He glared at the other angels, now standing unsteadily around the room… and they bowed their heads in submission.
"Right. Didn't think so." Gabriel turned to Sam and Dean, and Dean stiffened. "Now as for you two…"
Sam only glared, fists working. "I'm not sorry. I am the key, Gabriel...and if anybody fucks with Dean, or me, again, I will do it."
Gabriel sighed. "I know." He sounded understanding…and slightly sad. And there was a note in his voice that Dean recognized. The tone of someone who was dealing with a person deeply damaged, and unstable. "I don't blame you. You did a good job, Sam. They can't touch you or your brother now. But this is a fine balance. We're trusting you to maintain it. Can you?"
Sam took a breath, his hands slowly unknotting. "If this keeps Dean safe, then I can do it as long as I have to."
Dean frowned, "Do what, exactly?" He put a hand on Sam's shoulder.
Gabriel tried to smile...it didn't work. "Keep big brother under lock and key in there." The angel flipped a hand at Sam's head.
"Lucifer's in Sam's head?" Dean swallowed, trying to keep his heart where it belonged. It wasn't as if the news was totally unexpected... but it was still...devastating.
But Gabriel shook his head. "Not really. Brother-dearest is in his pen. But there's a link." Gabriel frowned at Sam. "How bad is it? Can he speak to you?"
Sam took a breath. "No. Not really. I...feel him, sometimes. It's strong, sometimes. but he's not here. I try not to think about it. It's better if I don't think about it."
Gabriel nodded. "I bet." He looked at Dean. "He's gotta keep him locked down and in control. Not an easy job. None of us ever managed it for long, that's for damned sure." Gabriel's smile failed. "I'm sorry, Sam." He sounded honestly regretful. "I know how hard this must be."
Sam shifted his weight back, leaning into Deans touch. "Can you fix me?" he asked the archangel.
But Gabriel only shook his head. "The wounds are in your soul, Sam. Angel's don't have those. We don't really know how they work. I wouldn't know where to start."
Dean could feel the shivering starting to course though Sam again, and he swallowed, tightening his grip on Sam's shoulder. "That's okay. That's my job."
Gabriel nodded, looking Dean square in the eye. "This won't be easy. He's only half the way home. You think you're up to helping him?"
Dean met those eyes steadily. "You take care of your family; I'll take care of mine."
Gabriel nodded seriously. He looked at Sam. "I'll do my best to keep them away from you. That I promise. Hell, none of them would dare to mess with you now, anyway. You've saved your family by being exactly what you never wanted to be - you gotta love the irony. Or, well, I do," the former trickster winked. "You did what we couldn't; pushing Lucifer back, standing up to Raphael… creating balance. Your family saved our Father's creation though their pain and their sacrifice." He smiled again, and this time there was something soft and bright and beyond human in it. "No angel could have done this, Sam. We just don't have the heart for it. But you do. And that is why your kind is so…astounding. And why we now give you honor. Thank you."
And then he folded his hands and bowing his head, and Dean had the impression of wings folding somehow… and he went to one knee in front of them.
Dean's eyebrows shot up. Castiel smiled at them - with no trace of bitterness or insincerity - folded his hand, bowed his head, and sank next to Gabriel.
Then, one by one, the others followed.
For a second Dean couldn't quite let it in… then he couldn't help the smirk that crawled across his face. He leaned into Sam. "Think it's 'cos we're so awesome?"
Sam shuddered under his hand, one hand reaching up to push against his temple. "I have to get out of here."
Dean's shocked amusement evaporated. He was starting to recognize Sam's 'too much' moments, and Sam loosing control in this crowd would be beyond bad. "Okay. Then we go."
And they did, walking through the knelling angels. Together.
*
Part 15 Epilogue