sabriel mini-bang (9/10)
Chapter Nine: A Fight of Epic Proportions That Really Shouldn’t Have Been Winnable but for Some Insane and Ridiculous Reason Actually Was
The morning of the battle was mostly a blur, even to me. All I really remember is Sam. While everyone was worrying about the impending battle, he was getting everyone ready with a smile on his face.
I didn’t get it.
It wasn’t until Dean came up to me that I got it. I was leaning against the wall of the kitchen and watching as Sam was showing the detective one last time how to fight with a knife, laughing and congratulating her when she finally got it right. Diana was a great shot, but wasn’t comfortable with a knife. She’d have to be for the fight, though. Michael and Lucifer were quick.
“He’s just happy that we have a plan,” Dean said as he came to stand next to me.
I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Really? Cause this plan is really stupid in a lot of ways.”
Dean chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. But Sam’s just happy we found another way.” He shook his head and looked at Sam with a small smile. “He actually thinks we can do this.”
I snorted. “At least one of us does.”
After that, it was a matter of getting everyone to Stull Cemetery. There were so many of us and we weren’t sure when exactly Michael and Lucifer were going to show. We had to catch them by surprise. For all Michael knew, I was still trapped in a ring of holy fire.
What we ended up doing was having all the humans put on one of the amulets with the sigil that would hide them and all the non-humans cloaking themselves. There was a small wood at the end of the cemetery, so we all hid there. I had instructed everyone to wait until my signal. I kept my hand clamped around Sam’s even after he put the amulet on so I would know he was there. I knew that Castiel was doing the same with Dean.
We didn’t have to wait long.
Lucifer appeared first and it was only moments before Michael appeared as well. Neither of them looked right. I knew it was because they weren’t using Sam and Dean as vessels, but it was still strange. Lucifer’s vessel was literally falling apart and Michael looked like he was ready to burst out of Adam Milligan’s skin.
I could immediately sense that the soul of Lucifer’s vessel was gone, but Michael’s remained. I squeezed Sam’s hand and whispered, “Adam’s alive.” The only response I could get was Sam squeezing my hand back.
Lucifer and Michael were talking. I couldn’t hear them, but I could guess what they were saying. “I have to be a good son” and “I don’t want to do this” and “it wasn’t my fault.” Really, they were predictable. After a few minutes, I saw them both stiffen. I knew they were about to tear into each other.
I let go of Sam’s hand and flew right between them. I immediately pushed Michael as hard as I could and he went flying across the cemetery. I turned to Lucifer who looked at me with a glare. “What do you think you’re doing, Gabriel?” He said lowly. “You can’t stop this. Step aside.”
“Sorry, bro,” I said, materialising my sword and holding it towards him. “No can do.”
Before he could do anything, Lucifer was brought to the ground by Fenrir’s bulk. His giant jaws tore at Lucifer’s shoulder. He managed to do some damage before Lucifer threw him backwards. I turned away from them when Sam led Jo, Kat, Creedy, Tamara, Kali, and three of the demons to fight Lucifer. Castiel joined them almost immediately as did Coyote and Reynard.
We had decided early on that I should be with the people keeping Michael busy. He was more of a threat to the humans than Lucifer. Yeah, Lucifer had been waiting for this, but Michael had been actively preparing for battle.
So I went after Michael. My blade only gave him a moment’s pause. Then he had drawn his own and they were ringing against the other. Fighting Michael wasn’t easy. It took everything I had to just block him. Michael was the best of the best. No one was his equal.
It wasn’t long before Dean joined me. He led the group that was going to help me distract Michael. It included Crowley, Haley, Tommy, Ben, Kathleen, Anansi, Tim, Reggie, and three of the seraphs. Everyone else (Addy, Singer, Ellen, Rufus, Raven, Lenore, the other seraph, and the three other demons for those who are counting) were waiting for a chance to throw Lucifer back into the Pit. Chamuel and Sigyn were waiting as well - they were going to make sure that anyone who was hurt was taken to safety and healed.
Because there were so many of us and we had weapons that Michael and Lucifer had never seen before, we were able to hold our ground. Anansi, Crowley, the seraphs, and I managed to get a pattern worked out with the humans. The hunters would use their guns to trip Michael. Then we would move in. I would use my blade to try and get a blow in - I never hit to kill, but if I could manage to get a good cut in then even Michael would have difficulty continuing to fight. The seraphs followed my lead, but they weren’t as fast as Michael even when he was injured. Crowley had a knack for being able to sneak behind Michael and use one of the knives that were engraved. Then when Michael was recovering from the bullets and was able to get his bearings again, we would move back and the humans (who had by then managed to reload their weapons) were shooting at him again.
I don’t know how long it took, but I finally managed to get Michael with my blade across his stomach. He gasped and stumbled backwards and Crowley forced the knife into his back once more.
That’s when everything went wrong.
Suddenly, there were angels and demons everywhere. Anael was the first angel I saw. I guess she really had gone back. Before I could stop her, she immediately mowed Tim down and then Reggie when he tried to stop her.
This was bad. The sigils were crafted for Lucifer and Michael specifically. They wouldn’t do anything. against these angels. And we hadn’t prepared for demons at all.
All the humans were in danger.
Raphael was suddenly in front of me with intent in his eyes. I blocked his blade, but he moved relentlessly. I could hear the humans scrambling, trying to find a way to fight. I heard shouts and couldn’t tell you who was alive and who was dead. I had to focus solely on Raphael or risk getting killed.
“Relent or die, Gabriel,” he growled over the sounds of battle.
I shook my head and pushed him backwards, not giving an inch. “Don’t do something you’ll regret, Raphael.”
He brought his blade down as hard as he could and I blocked it before twisting away so I was behind him. I shoved him hard and had just enough time to shout, “Put your amulets on!” Then Raphael was on me again.
But I could sense the moment that the humans put their amulets back on. Well, it would be more accurate to say I could tell the moment I couldn’t sense them anymore. It seemed to confuse most of the angels. Even Raphael paused to blink at the sudden change.
I leapt forward, forcing him to the ground and holding my blade against his throat, twisting his own out of his hand. “I won’t let you do this,” I growled.
Raphael’s eyes narrowed. “Are you going to kill me, brother?”
I glared down at him. “No, I’m not,” I spat at him before starting to recite a very old Enochian spell. Raphael’s eyes widened and tried to stop me, but it was too late. He was forced out of his vessel and back to heaven. I stood, holding a blade in each hand, and looking around to assess the situation.
I couldn’t see the humans, but I knew the hunters must be taking care of the demons. Black smoke was covering the field. The seraphs were fighting off the angels. Luckily, there weren’t that many. Aside from Anael and Raphael, there were only a dozen other angels. Crowley had someone managed to get an angel’s blade and was mowing them down so mercilessly that I had to cringe. The five demons that were on our side were steering clear of the hunters that were shouting exorcisms and helping Crowley with the angels.
What was really troubling was that Castiel was trying to fight off Lucifer alone and Michael was heading towards them. I moved as quickly as I could - Castiel wouldn’t stand a chance against both Michael and Lucifer. He was only just able to hold off Lucifer’s attacks.
I was hit from behind before I could reach him, though.
“Well, well,” I heard a familiar voice say with what sounded like a smirk. “What have we here?”
I stood and glared as she moved in front of me. “Eris,” I spat getting back to my feet.
She smirked. “Hello, Loki. Looks like you’ve gotten yourself into quite the mess, haven’t you?”
“Out of my way,” I spat. “I don’t have time for you.”
“I think you do.”
She launched herself forward, but I stepped out of the way shoved my blade into her back. I heard her gasp of pain and I pulled her up towards me. “Never stand between me and my brothers,” I growled before throwing her to the ground and taking off towards Castiel.
I wasn’t fast enough.
I was still halfway across the field when Michael raised his blade. He brought it down and I flew to Castiel’s side, praying that I would be able to reach him in time. When I was at his side, I saw that something was holding Michael’s arm back. A second later, Dean’s amulet fell to the ground and he was visible again, the cord cut by Michael’s sword as he tried to force it away.
Just as the sword was about to reach Dean, I leapt forward and shoved Michael away. I turned when I heard Singer’s voice shouting in Enochian. His amulet had come off somehow and he was standing a few paces away from Lucifer and shouting the words that would open the cage, the rings of the Horsemen on the ground between him and the devil.
Lucifer tried to reach for the rings, to stop Bobby from finishing the incantation, but something stopped him. I frowned and watched as Addy was suddenly revealed, her amulet gripped in her fingers. She was bleeding badly - it looked like she had a gaping chest wound. She was lying on the ground between Lucifer and the rings and was wearing one of the amulets for protection and warding. Lucifer couldn’t get past her.
When the ground opened up, everything went quiet. I watched as Addy started falling into the Pit. Chamuel was faster than I was and plucked her soul from her body, sending it on to heaven before she could be trapped in the cage. I knew she had been close to death and was beyond help, but I mourned her nonetheless.
Lucifer stepped backwards and I glanced at Castiel beside me, brushing my grace against his. Might as well let him know I was about to do something monumentally stupid, right?
Before I could let him talk me out of it, I moved behind Lucifer and used my blade to slice through skin and grace across his stomach like I had done to Michael. Then I pushed him forward towards the door to the cage.
He fell in.
The door closed.
Everything was silent.
Then Michael yelled behind me and I turned just in time to block his blade. He didn’t stop, though. He kept coming at me and continued to slash and stab furiously. I could tell that he wasn’t thinking. He was acting on pure instinct and rage.
I couldn’t stop him and he found an opening, stabbing me in the stomach. He pulled his blade out and lifted it to strike me again. He was stopped, though.
“Michael. Enough.”
I fell to my knees, hands covering the wound. Castiel was at my side immediately. He had an arm around me and I could feel his grace against mine, trying to soothe the pain. When I looked up, it was to see my Father.
He was in a different form than the last time I had seen Him. He was in the shape of a girl, probably only about twelve or thirteen, and wore a hat and loose-fitting clothing. It should have been strange, seeing my Father in the form of a girl that looked so frail and young. But I knew my Father even after all this time. I had no doubt that this form was an actual human girl. She looked like she was battling some form of cancer. I had no doubt that He intended to heal her when he was done borrowing her body.
Michael’s eyes widened when he saw Dad. “Father,” he murmured, the blade falling from his hands.
I blinked and turned when I felt an arm wrap around me from my other side. Sam was looking down at me with worry. I wanted to tell him I’d be fine, but I knew I was dying. Michael just hadn’t made it quick. I didn’t say anything, but he must have seen something in my face. The muscles in his face tightened and his eyes started to water, but he only moved behind me. His arms wrapped around me and he pulled me back so I was sitting between his legs and pressed against his chest. My head fell against his shoulder and I felt him kiss my temple.
Dad smiled and looked up at Michael. “Yes, Michael. It’s me,” He replied with a smirk. “You haven’t been acting very well lately, have you?”
Dean had made his way to us now and he kneeled between Castiel and Sam. He put a hand on Sam’s shoulder and nodded to me. I would have laughed, but it hurt too much.
“I was only doing Your will - “
He raised a hand and Michael stopped talking. “You will have plenty of time to explain your actions. But later. Go home, Michael. And leave the boy here, please.”
Michael blinked and he followed the orders in an instant. Adam Milligan crumpled to the ground and I saw Sigyn kneel at his side, healing any injuries that remained. Dad moved to stand in front of Castiel. Castiel didn’t move, but looked up at Him with a look of pure awe on his face.
“Hello, Castiel,” He said with a smile. “I have heard a lot about you.” He laughed when Castiel’s eyes widened and he swallowed. “Don’t worry. It’s all been good. Better than good, actually. You were the only one that realised what I wanted all of you to do.”
He blinked and looked up at Him with a frown. “I don’t understand,” he said lowly.
“I wanted you to make a choice,” He replied. “I wanted all of my angels to find something to believe in and choose to defend it.” He knelt down and put the girl’s frail hand against his cheek. “I want all my children to have free will. Following orders should not be everything.” He smiled and even though it looked weak on the girl’s face, it was brilliant and bright with His light. “You did well, Castiel.”
I watched as Castiel swallowed and nodded. “Thank you,” he murmured, “…Father.”
Dad smiled and, still kneeling, looked at me. “Hello, Gabriel,” he said. “It’s been a while.”
I chuckled and ended up coughing. “Y’know me, Dad,” I replied roughly. “Always gotta be the stupid one.”
He smiled again, though it was smaller this time. “I wouldn’t say that,” He replied. “Though you have had smarter plans before.”
Sam’s arms tightened around me. “Fix him!” He exclaimed and I could hear the tears in his voice. He sounded almost exactly like he had when he had pleaded with me in Broward County.
Dad blinked and looked at Sam evenly. “Why? Is he important to you, Samuel?”
I could feel Sam swallow and nod. “Yes,” he replied strongly. “You can’t let him die. You can’t.”
Dad studied him for a moment. “You prayed often,” He said simply. “You always asked me to protect your family. To keep them safe. Never once did you pray yourself. Why is that, Samuel?”
Sam shook his head. “Why does it matter?”
He smiled slightly. “Humour me.”
After a few moments, I felt Sam shake his head again. “No. If you’re really God, then you already know why. Just fix him.” He paused and I was reminded of the Mystery Spot again. “Please.”
I wasn’t surprised when Dad smiled widely. He always liked when humans challenged Him. He looked down at me and I could feel Him healing me. He was knitting my grace and skin back together and I could feel that His love and forgiveness and pride in me.
“You are lucky to have Sam by your side, Gabriel,” He told me with a smile.
I nodded, but raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, and You have nothing to do with that, right?”
He smirked and I could tell that He was amused. “Are you accusing me of meddling, son?”
I rolled my eyes and turned to Sam who was looking down at me with wide eyes. “Are you - ?”
“I’m fine, Sammy,” I told him simply, kissing him lightly.
As we all stood, Dean glared at Dad. “So that’s it? You think you can come in after everything that happened and expect everything to be okay?”
Dad looked at him with a hint of a smirk. I knew that He was amused by Dean’s anger. The Winchesters were Dad’s favourite kind of humans. The ones that questioned any and all authority, but still managed to do good things.
“I’m sorry for what you have been put through,” He said evenly. “But you have to understand, Dean - I had to give everyone a chance to choose. I can’t help that you and Samuel are faster at learning than everyone else.”
Dean glared. “So what? Sam and I had to die and be put through hell just because you couldn’t tell them that they needed to make a choice? What the fuck?”
Dad raised an eyebrow and smiled at Dean in amusement. “If you tell someone to choose, then it isn’t freewill, Dean. I want my children to have freewill. Humans, angels - you both deserve such a gift.” Dean opened his mouth to reply, but Dad shook his head. “No, Dean. I’m sorry, but there is no time to argue. I have work to do.”
I blinked, but Castiel was the one who spoke. “You are returning to Heaven?”
Dad looked up at him and smiled. “For a time,” He replied. “It’s a tiring job, don’t you agree? I’ll probably need to take another vacation in a couple thousand years.”
He turned to leave, no doubt, but I stepped forward. “Father.”
“Yes?” He turned and smiled.
“What about me and Castiel? Do…do You want us to come home?”
I could feel Castiel stiffen next to me. I knew that he was just as scared as I was. We didn’t want to go home. We wanted to stay with Sam and Dean. But if Dad asked us to go back to heaven, I wasn’t sure if we would be able to refuse Him.
He smiled and looked behind us at Sam and Dean. I couldn’t look at them. If the answer wasn’t the one I wanted, I didn’t know how I would be able to look at them.
“What do you say, boys?” He asked. “Would you like Gabriel and Castiel to come back to Heaven with me?”
They answered immediately. “No!” Sam exclaimed as Dean cursed, “Fuck no.”
Castiel and I both turned to glance at them. Dean was glaring at Dad while Sam was looking at Him with tight lips and wide eyes. When I glanced back at Dad, He was grinning. “Well, you heard them, boys. I have a feeling if I tried to take you away from these two, they’d try and come after me.”
Sam’s hand slipped into mine, gripping it tightly. I looked up and he was smiling widely. I squeezed his hand back and returned the smile. I turned back to Dad. “Thank you,” I replied tightly.
He raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t mean I won’t expect to see you every now and then,” He replied. “But I’ll let you get settled first. Now, I have to go talk to your brothers. Especially Michael and Raphael. They haven’t been doing very well since I left, have they?”
I shook my head. “What about the girl?” I asked before He could leave.
He smiled. “Her name is Natalie. I will return her to her family before leaving.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And heal her too, right?”
“Why, Gabriel,” He replied with a grin, “I thought you knew me. I’ve already healed her.”
I shook my head and then He was gone.
“What the hell just happened?” Dean asked in disbelief.
I grinned and turned to face him. “What happened is that we just won, Deano.” I smiled widely and pulled Sam down so I could kiss him hard and fast. “We won!”
Sam smiled widely in return and bent down to kiss me again.
We knew that there was still a hell of a lot we had to do. There would be people to heal and friends to mourn. There would still be monsters to hunt and demons to stop.
But we won. We saved the Earth.
One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten
The morning of the battle was mostly a blur, even to me. All I really remember is Sam. While everyone was worrying about the impending battle, he was getting everyone ready with a smile on his face.
I didn’t get it.
It wasn’t until Dean came up to me that I got it. I was leaning against the wall of the kitchen and watching as Sam was showing the detective one last time how to fight with a knife, laughing and congratulating her when she finally got it right. Diana was a great shot, but wasn’t comfortable with a knife. She’d have to be for the fight, though. Michael and Lucifer were quick.
“He’s just happy that we have a plan,” Dean said as he came to stand next to me.
I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Really? Cause this plan is really stupid in a lot of ways.”
Dean chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. But Sam’s just happy we found another way.” He shook his head and looked at Sam with a small smile. “He actually thinks we can do this.”
I snorted. “At least one of us does.”
After that, it was a matter of getting everyone to Stull Cemetery. There were so many of us and we weren’t sure when exactly Michael and Lucifer were going to show. We had to catch them by surprise. For all Michael knew, I was still trapped in a ring of holy fire.
What we ended up doing was having all the humans put on one of the amulets with the sigil that would hide them and all the non-humans cloaking themselves. There was a small wood at the end of the cemetery, so we all hid there. I had instructed everyone to wait until my signal. I kept my hand clamped around Sam’s even after he put the amulet on so I would know he was there. I knew that Castiel was doing the same with Dean.
We didn’t have to wait long.
Lucifer appeared first and it was only moments before Michael appeared as well. Neither of them looked right. I knew it was because they weren’t using Sam and Dean as vessels, but it was still strange. Lucifer’s vessel was literally falling apart and Michael looked like he was ready to burst out of Adam Milligan’s skin.
I could immediately sense that the soul of Lucifer’s vessel was gone, but Michael’s remained. I squeezed Sam’s hand and whispered, “Adam’s alive.” The only response I could get was Sam squeezing my hand back.
Lucifer and Michael were talking. I couldn’t hear them, but I could guess what they were saying. “I have to be a good son” and “I don’t want to do this” and “it wasn’t my fault.” Really, they were predictable. After a few minutes, I saw them both stiffen. I knew they were about to tear into each other.
I let go of Sam’s hand and flew right between them. I immediately pushed Michael as hard as I could and he went flying across the cemetery. I turned to Lucifer who looked at me with a glare. “What do you think you’re doing, Gabriel?” He said lowly. “You can’t stop this. Step aside.”
“Sorry, bro,” I said, materialising my sword and holding it towards him. “No can do.”
Before he could do anything, Lucifer was brought to the ground by Fenrir’s bulk. His giant jaws tore at Lucifer’s shoulder. He managed to do some damage before Lucifer threw him backwards. I turned away from them when Sam led Jo, Kat, Creedy, Tamara, Kali, and three of the demons to fight Lucifer. Castiel joined them almost immediately as did Coyote and Reynard.
We had decided early on that I should be with the people keeping Michael busy. He was more of a threat to the humans than Lucifer. Yeah, Lucifer had been waiting for this, but Michael had been actively preparing for battle.
So I went after Michael. My blade only gave him a moment’s pause. Then he had drawn his own and they were ringing against the other. Fighting Michael wasn’t easy. It took everything I had to just block him. Michael was the best of the best. No one was his equal.
It wasn’t long before Dean joined me. He led the group that was going to help me distract Michael. It included Crowley, Haley, Tommy, Ben, Kathleen, Anansi, Tim, Reggie, and three of the seraphs. Everyone else (Addy, Singer, Ellen, Rufus, Raven, Lenore, the other seraph, and the three other demons for those who are counting) were waiting for a chance to throw Lucifer back into the Pit. Chamuel and Sigyn were waiting as well - they were going to make sure that anyone who was hurt was taken to safety and healed.
Because there were so many of us and we had weapons that Michael and Lucifer had never seen before, we were able to hold our ground. Anansi, Crowley, the seraphs, and I managed to get a pattern worked out with the humans. The hunters would use their guns to trip Michael. Then we would move in. I would use my blade to try and get a blow in - I never hit to kill, but if I could manage to get a good cut in then even Michael would have difficulty continuing to fight. The seraphs followed my lead, but they weren’t as fast as Michael even when he was injured. Crowley had a knack for being able to sneak behind Michael and use one of the knives that were engraved. Then when Michael was recovering from the bullets and was able to get his bearings again, we would move back and the humans (who had by then managed to reload their weapons) were shooting at him again.
I don’t know how long it took, but I finally managed to get Michael with my blade across his stomach. He gasped and stumbled backwards and Crowley forced the knife into his back once more.
That’s when everything went wrong.
Suddenly, there were angels and demons everywhere. Anael was the first angel I saw. I guess she really had gone back. Before I could stop her, she immediately mowed Tim down and then Reggie when he tried to stop her.
This was bad. The sigils were crafted for Lucifer and Michael specifically. They wouldn’t do anything. against these angels. And we hadn’t prepared for demons at all.
All the humans were in danger.
Raphael was suddenly in front of me with intent in his eyes. I blocked his blade, but he moved relentlessly. I could hear the humans scrambling, trying to find a way to fight. I heard shouts and couldn’t tell you who was alive and who was dead. I had to focus solely on Raphael or risk getting killed.
“Relent or die, Gabriel,” he growled over the sounds of battle.
I shook my head and pushed him backwards, not giving an inch. “Don’t do something you’ll regret, Raphael.”
He brought his blade down as hard as he could and I blocked it before twisting away so I was behind him. I shoved him hard and had just enough time to shout, “Put your amulets on!” Then Raphael was on me again.
But I could sense the moment that the humans put their amulets back on. Well, it would be more accurate to say I could tell the moment I couldn’t sense them anymore. It seemed to confuse most of the angels. Even Raphael paused to blink at the sudden change.
I leapt forward, forcing him to the ground and holding my blade against his throat, twisting his own out of his hand. “I won’t let you do this,” I growled.
Raphael’s eyes narrowed. “Are you going to kill me, brother?”
I glared down at him. “No, I’m not,” I spat at him before starting to recite a very old Enochian spell. Raphael’s eyes widened and tried to stop me, but it was too late. He was forced out of his vessel and back to heaven. I stood, holding a blade in each hand, and looking around to assess the situation.
I couldn’t see the humans, but I knew the hunters must be taking care of the demons. Black smoke was covering the field. The seraphs were fighting off the angels. Luckily, there weren’t that many. Aside from Anael and Raphael, there were only a dozen other angels. Crowley had someone managed to get an angel’s blade and was mowing them down so mercilessly that I had to cringe. The five demons that were on our side were steering clear of the hunters that were shouting exorcisms and helping Crowley with the angels.
What was really troubling was that Castiel was trying to fight off Lucifer alone and Michael was heading towards them. I moved as quickly as I could - Castiel wouldn’t stand a chance against both Michael and Lucifer. He was only just able to hold off Lucifer’s attacks.
I was hit from behind before I could reach him, though.
“Well, well,” I heard a familiar voice say with what sounded like a smirk. “What have we here?”
I stood and glared as she moved in front of me. “Eris,” I spat getting back to my feet.
She smirked. “Hello, Loki. Looks like you’ve gotten yourself into quite the mess, haven’t you?”
“Out of my way,” I spat. “I don’t have time for you.”
“I think you do.”
She launched herself forward, but I stepped out of the way shoved my blade into her back. I heard her gasp of pain and I pulled her up towards me. “Never stand between me and my brothers,” I growled before throwing her to the ground and taking off towards Castiel.
I wasn’t fast enough.
I was still halfway across the field when Michael raised his blade. He brought it down and I flew to Castiel’s side, praying that I would be able to reach him in time. When I was at his side, I saw that something was holding Michael’s arm back. A second later, Dean’s amulet fell to the ground and he was visible again, the cord cut by Michael’s sword as he tried to force it away.
Just as the sword was about to reach Dean, I leapt forward and shoved Michael away. I turned when I heard Singer’s voice shouting in Enochian. His amulet had come off somehow and he was standing a few paces away from Lucifer and shouting the words that would open the cage, the rings of the Horsemen on the ground between him and the devil.
Lucifer tried to reach for the rings, to stop Bobby from finishing the incantation, but something stopped him. I frowned and watched as Addy was suddenly revealed, her amulet gripped in her fingers. She was bleeding badly - it looked like she had a gaping chest wound. She was lying on the ground between Lucifer and the rings and was wearing one of the amulets for protection and warding. Lucifer couldn’t get past her.
When the ground opened up, everything went quiet. I watched as Addy started falling into the Pit. Chamuel was faster than I was and plucked her soul from her body, sending it on to heaven before she could be trapped in the cage. I knew she had been close to death and was beyond help, but I mourned her nonetheless.
Lucifer stepped backwards and I glanced at Castiel beside me, brushing my grace against his. Might as well let him know I was about to do something monumentally stupid, right?
Before I could let him talk me out of it, I moved behind Lucifer and used my blade to slice through skin and grace across his stomach like I had done to Michael. Then I pushed him forward towards the door to the cage.
He fell in.
The door closed.
Everything was silent.
Then Michael yelled behind me and I turned just in time to block his blade. He didn’t stop, though. He kept coming at me and continued to slash and stab furiously. I could tell that he wasn’t thinking. He was acting on pure instinct and rage.
I couldn’t stop him and he found an opening, stabbing me in the stomach. He pulled his blade out and lifted it to strike me again. He was stopped, though.
“Michael. Enough.”
I fell to my knees, hands covering the wound. Castiel was at my side immediately. He had an arm around me and I could feel his grace against mine, trying to soothe the pain. When I looked up, it was to see my Father.
He was in a different form than the last time I had seen Him. He was in the shape of a girl, probably only about twelve or thirteen, and wore a hat and loose-fitting clothing. It should have been strange, seeing my Father in the form of a girl that looked so frail and young. But I knew my Father even after all this time. I had no doubt that this form was an actual human girl. She looked like she was battling some form of cancer. I had no doubt that He intended to heal her when he was done borrowing her body.
Michael’s eyes widened when he saw Dad. “Father,” he murmured, the blade falling from his hands.
I blinked and turned when I felt an arm wrap around me from my other side. Sam was looking down at me with worry. I wanted to tell him I’d be fine, but I knew I was dying. Michael just hadn’t made it quick. I didn’t say anything, but he must have seen something in my face. The muscles in his face tightened and his eyes started to water, but he only moved behind me. His arms wrapped around me and he pulled me back so I was sitting between his legs and pressed against his chest. My head fell against his shoulder and I felt him kiss my temple.
Dad smiled and looked up at Michael. “Yes, Michael. It’s me,” He replied with a smirk. “You haven’t been acting very well lately, have you?”
Dean had made his way to us now and he kneeled between Castiel and Sam. He put a hand on Sam’s shoulder and nodded to me. I would have laughed, but it hurt too much.
“I was only doing Your will - “
He raised a hand and Michael stopped talking. “You will have plenty of time to explain your actions. But later. Go home, Michael. And leave the boy here, please.”
Michael blinked and he followed the orders in an instant. Adam Milligan crumpled to the ground and I saw Sigyn kneel at his side, healing any injuries that remained. Dad moved to stand in front of Castiel. Castiel didn’t move, but looked up at Him with a look of pure awe on his face.
“Hello, Castiel,” He said with a smile. “I have heard a lot about you.” He laughed when Castiel’s eyes widened and he swallowed. “Don’t worry. It’s all been good. Better than good, actually. You were the only one that realised what I wanted all of you to do.”
He blinked and looked up at Him with a frown. “I don’t understand,” he said lowly.
“I wanted you to make a choice,” He replied. “I wanted all of my angels to find something to believe in and choose to defend it.” He knelt down and put the girl’s frail hand against his cheek. “I want all my children to have free will. Following orders should not be everything.” He smiled and even though it looked weak on the girl’s face, it was brilliant and bright with His light. “You did well, Castiel.”
I watched as Castiel swallowed and nodded. “Thank you,” he murmured, “…Father.”
Dad smiled and, still kneeling, looked at me. “Hello, Gabriel,” he said. “It’s been a while.”
I chuckled and ended up coughing. “Y’know me, Dad,” I replied roughly. “Always gotta be the stupid one.”
He smiled again, though it was smaller this time. “I wouldn’t say that,” He replied. “Though you have had smarter plans before.”
Sam’s arms tightened around me. “Fix him!” He exclaimed and I could hear the tears in his voice. He sounded almost exactly like he had when he had pleaded with me in Broward County.
Dad blinked and looked at Sam evenly. “Why? Is he important to you, Samuel?”
I could feel Sam swallow and nod. “Yes,” he replied strongly. “You can’t let him die. You can’t.”
Dad studied him for a moment. “You prayed often,” He said simply. “You always asked me to protect your family. To keep them safe. Never once did you pray yourself. Why is that, Samuel?”
Sam shook his head. “Why does it matter?”
He smiled slightly. “Humour me.”
After a few moments, I felt Sam shake his head again. “No. If you’re really God, then you already know why. Just fix him.” He paused and I was reminded of the Mystery Spot again. “Please.”
I wasn’t surprised when Dad smiled widely. He always liked when humans challenged Him. He looked down at me and I could feel Him healing me. He was knitting my grace and skin back together and I could feel that His love and forgiveness and pride in me.
“You are lucky to have Sam by your side, Gabriel,” He told me with a smile.
I nodded, but raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, and You have nothing to do with that, right?”
He smirked and I could tell that He was amused. “Are you accusing me of meddling, son?”
I rolled my eyes and turned to Sam who was looking down at me with wide eyes. “Are you - ?”
“I’m fine, Sammy,” I told him simply, kissing him lightly.
As we all stood, Dean glared at Dad. “So that’s it? You think you can come in after everything that happened and expect everything to be okay?”
Dad looked at him with a hint of a smirk. I knew that He was amused by Dean’s anger. The Winchesters were Dad’s favourite kind of humans. The ones that questioned any and all authority, but still managed to do good things.
“I’m sorry for what you have been put through,” He said evenly. “But you have to understand, Dean - I had to give everyone a chance to choose. I can’t help that you and Samuel are faster at learning than everyone else.”
Dean glared. “So what? Sam and I had to die and be put through hell just because you couldn’t tell them that they needed to make a choice? What the fuck?”
Dad raised an eyebrow and smiled at Dean in amusement. “If you tell someone to choose, then it isn’t freewill, Dean. I want my children to have freewill. Humans, angels - you both deserve such a gift.” Dean opened his mouth to reply, but Dad shook his head. “No, Dean. I’m sorry, but there is no time to argue. I have work to do.”
I blinked, but Castiel was the one who spoke. “You are returning to Heaven?”
Dad looked up at him and smiled. “For a time,” He replied. “It’s a tiring job, don’t you agree? I’ll probably need to take another vacation in a couple thousand years.”
He turned to leave, no doubt, but I stepped forward. “Father.”
“Yes?” He turned and smiled.
“What about me and Castiel? Do…do You want us to come home?”
I could feel Castiel stiffen next to me. I knew that he was just as scared as I was. We didn’t want to go home. We wanted to stay with Sam and Dean. But if Dad asked us to go back to heaven, I wasn’t sure if we would be able to refuse Him.
He smiled and looked behind us at Sam and Dean. I couldn’t look at them. If the answer wasn’t the one I wanted, I didn’t know how I would be able to look at them.
“What do you say, boys?” He asked. “Would you like Gabriel and Castiel to come back to Heaven with me?”
They answered immediately. “No!” Sam exclaimed as Dean cursed, “Fuck no.”
Castiel and I both turned to glance at them. Dean was glaring at Dad while Sam was looking at Him with tight lips and wide eyes. When I glanced back at Dad, He was grinning. “Well, you heard them, boys. I have a feeling if I tried to take you away from these two, they’d try and come after me.”
Sam’s hand slipped into mine, gripping it tightly. I looked up and he was smiling widely. I squeezed his hand back and returned the smile. I turned back to Dad. “Thank you,” I replied tightly.
He raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t mean I won’t expect to see you every now and then,” He replied. “But I’ll let you get settled first. Now, I have to go talk to your brothers. Especially Michael and Raphael. They haven’t been doing very well since I left, have they?”
I shook my head. “What about the girl?” I asked before He could leave.
He smiled. “Her name is Natalie. I will return her to her family before leaving.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And heal her too, right?”
“Why, Gabriel,” He replied with a grin, “I thought you knew me. I’ve already healed her.”
I shook my head and then He was gone.
“What the hell just happened?” Dean asked in disbelief.
I grinned and turned to face him. “What happened is that we just won, Deano.” I smiled widely and pulled Sam down so I could kiss him hard and fast. “We won!”
Sam smiled widely in return and bent down to kiss me again.
We knew that there was still a hell of a lot we had to do. There would be people to heal and friends to mourn. There would still be monsters to hunt and demons to stop.
But we won. We saved the Earth.
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