[SPN] faith is a series of complications (9/16; eighth act)
VIII: eighth act-this broken world we choose.
“That went pretty well, all things considered,” Loki remarked gaily, the moment they were back at Gabriel's hotel room, and it was hard for Dean not to see the bright grin slapped onto the girl's face. He did have to agree, it really was one hell of a lucky break that they had managed to get a good number of the pagan gods on their side; there was even a whole bunch of them he hadn't even heard about in his life. All in all, the girl had estimated there were about a hundred or so of the gods pledging their power to them-and considering their circumstances, that was quite a lot.
A lot of hands to help them, and a lot of hands to betray them. Call Dean a skeptic, but he wasn't inclined to believe all of this so quickly. It was only a matter of time before something else-something wholly not-good-would happen, so Dean couldn't see why it should stop now.
Sam, ever the too-trusting idiot, despite his big brain, smiled back in turn and rubbed his giant hands together. “Okay. So, uh...”
“What do we do now, Loki?” Gabriel spoke up, cutting through Sam. Dean saw the archangel's eyebrows knitting together in a frown, looking more contemplative and worried now after the bout of happiness he saw on the other's face back in the meeting earlier. Maybe he was thinking along the same lines as Dean was-after all, if it was anybody it would be Gabriel who knew best how the pagans worked. If Dean was already suspicious, it stood to reason that Gabriel might have thought the same thing. They were both waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop.
Loki raised her own eyebrows at Gabriel's face, blinking as she glanced between both Gabriel and Dean for several moments before her expression settled back down. “Well, now I'll bring you guys back to shiny America, so that you can work on finding out more about Purgatory and figure out what's going on,” she replied, “I'll liaise with Orpheus and the others to decide our next course of action. Once there's something, I'll head over to inform you guys.”
Well, that didn't sound too bad. At least if the pagans tried anything, Dean knew they'd be ready. He crossed his arms and nodded, acknowledging the response. “Sounds like a decent plan. I'll be glad to be back on my side of the globe.”
“We should return to Bobby's,” Cas intoned from beside him, “He would appreciate this accomplishment.”
Sam snorted at the angel's words. “Appreciate it, or call us idjits for pulling this moronic stunt.”
“Idjits.”
Dean rolled his eyes as his brother's mouthed out an 'I told you' at Cas while Gabriel looked between snorting in amusement and bursting out in laughter. Either way, neither of those actions would amuse the old hunter, now scowling before them and looking very unimpressed with the story they had just told him.
“Idjits,” Bobby said again for emphasis, eyes flickering between all four as Dean watched the elder's nostril's flare. “Couldn't you have at least called when you were there?”
“We weren't even in the country, Bobby,” Sam replied with a sigh, brushing one hand down his hair in a gesture of exasperation. “We really had no idea we would be brought out so far.”
“Yeah, Bobby,” Dean added, knowing that he had better say something as well, before the man could smack him for anything. He darted his eyes right towards Gabriel, glaring daggers at the archangel as he added on. “Nobody told us we'd be going halfway across the freakin' world.”
Gabriel raised his hands up in the universal gesture of mock-surrender. “Don't start pointing fingers at me, Deano. If it was within America I would have already asked you to drive, right?” The archangel rolled his eyes, turning his gaze towards Cas. “Seriously, bro, the amount of blame they place on me. I'm so hurt.”
Cas only returned Gabriel's words with a helpless shrug, and Dean could make out the flat tones that indicated he was actually being sarcastic. “It would be more helpful to inform them of their destination before departing, brother,” he replied, and Dean smirked at how Gabriel groaned at Cas’ answer.
“Quit your whinin',” Bobby half-snapped, now moving towards his study table where a vanilla yellow folder sat at the surface, looking relatively new. “We've got some movement while you guys were out shopping.” Picking up the file Bobby took a moment to glance through it to ensure that he had the correct one before he tossed it towards Dean. Catching the file, Dean immediately made to open it, eyes flickering down to the various reports, newspaper clippings and photos that lined the inside.
“Sandusky, Ohio,” the elder man started, his voice drawing Dean's attention away from the file. All four turned to look at the old hunter as he jabbed a finger at the folder, explaining. “Just got back from there with Rufus. You'll be interested to know what we've found.”
“Just cut to the chase, Bobby,” Dean quickly spoke, giving the file one more look before he snapped it shut and tossed it back to Bobby. The man simply gave him a look before he passed it over to Sam, and the younger Winchester instantly started pouring over all the information that the folder provided. “What's up?”
Bobby grabbed himself a bottle of whiskey and a glass, pouring out a cup before he could grant Dean an answer. “The Mother of All's reared her head up proper. Made some...” The man trailed off to a scowl, attempting to find the appropriate words before he gave up, shrugging. “Worm thing. Gave us a hell of a time.” He downed the glass in one go, grimacing at the alcohol burn he got for that. “And oh, your grandpa's dead.”
Now that was unexpected. Dean felt his eyes widen at the sudden news, shocked at the abruptness of it. Samuel was someone he wouldn’t miss-especially with all the bullshit that he had pulled out-but... yeah, it was pretty shocking. Sam looked just as surprised, his own eyes equally wide as he glanced at Dean and then back at Bobby. “You positive?” he asked, understandably uncertain.
“About as sure as seeing a bunch of bullet holes in his chest,” Bobby replied as he shook his head, pouring out another glass. “Everything was a bloody nightmare. Blasted thing kept crawling into people’s ears and controlled them like puppets. Took Rufus getting it in him before we could figure it out.”
Dean's blood turned cold at the mention of the other hunter. Rufus had it? “Is he alright?” he instantly asked, eyes already on the alert.
Bobby gave a snort in response. “Last I saw him he was alive, yeah. Sorta shaken, but having a giant worm electrocuted out of your brain would do that to ya.” He downed his drink again and settled the glass back onto the table, keeping his gaze down for a few moments before he continued on. “Thing didn't go without a fight, though. Told us a good amount of stuff.”
Sam turned his head slightly to the side, frowning in confusion. “What kind of things, Bobby?”
“Stuff about the Mother of All we've been trying to figure out,” he answered with another scowl, arms crossing over his chest. The tip of his cap was obscuring his eyes, but Dean knew very well that in spite of the scowl, Bobby was thinking very hard about this whole thing-just like them, he wanted this whole thing over and done with. He leaned back against the wall, not speaking but listening intently to what the elder hunter was saying. “For one, those worm things were an original recipe. Turns out she just made 'em out of thin air or something.”
“She created them?” Gabriel swiftly interjected here, and it was quite an abrupt change to hear the sudden edge in his voice, when all Dean had ever heard was his utter bullshitting voice. It was a change that took Dean quite by surprise, and it hit home one fact that had never really registered into his brain until now: Gabriel, for all his aggravating ways and movements, was still a friggin' archangel of the Lord. He remembered back when Castiel described archangels to him, recalled how they were 'the most fearsome wrath of Heaven'. To be honest it was hard to look at Gabriel that way, after everything that he had pulled, but right at this moment, right here, was a reminder of who the false Trickster truly was. He was Gabriel the archangel, one of Heaven's fiercest warriors, and that was what his expression was showing now.
Bobby turned his gaze towards the archangel, eying him for a moment before nodding. “Yeah. Seeing as she's the Mother of All, it's not something that seems so far-shot.”
“Like the Father to us, and Lucifer to the demons,” Cas muttered softly from Gabriel's side, turning his head away. “She is the origin of all the other things that hunters hunt down.”
Dean found himself letting out a snort. “Well, ain't that just fucking peachy.” It was pretty good and all that they finally had something to work with, but seriously? Last thing Dean wanted to hunt was yet another big bad-it was actually getting kind of fucking tiring, and Dean had to wonder if they were just that lucky or just that dumb, to constantly land themselves in these kinds of situations.
No time to think about that, though. Sam let out a sigh, rubbing his face with the palm of his free hand. “Well, if she created them, and considering what Bobby told us... it’s not a far stretch to imagine that Eve needed a host to hold those worms or whatever they are.” He turned towards the man. “Got any video to show us, Bobby?”
“The one that got me going there in the first place,” the elder man replied, lowering his gaze to the file still in Sam's hand. “The CD's in there.”
Sam nodded and glanced back down to the folder, rummaging it to take out said CD. “Alright, let's see what we've got.”
While Sam busied himself with the video, Dean helped himself to a glass of Bobby's whiskey, pointedly ignoring the stern look that the elder man was giving him for that. Gabriel had already taken one himself and was currently downing it in a way that strongly suggested to Dean that the archangel was troubled over something.
Something big, he corrected himself as Gabriel finished the entire thing in one go, and was already helping himself to another without pause. Cas was sending worried glances over to the archangel, but didn't say anything else and remained beside Sam, looking at the video with him in a bid to identify Eve. Bobby was already back to hitting the books, looking up whatever he could find out about Eve, and with a jolt Dean knew that it left pretty much just him and Gabriel here.
He sure as hell didn't like it, but the archangel was helping them out at the moment-and it was a fact that they had made more progress than they had done in the last few weeks-so yeah, Dean supposed he could afford not being a dick to Gabriel for the next hour or so. Of course, that was if Gabriel would do the same as well. Dean supposed he had to try his luck, as he made his way over towards where the other was, settling down beside him. “You alright?”
“Depends on what your definition of that word is,” the archangel returned, rolling his eyes.
Dean returned the gesture. “Excuse me for trying not to be a dick.”
Gabriel snorted loudly. “Once a dick, always a dick, Dean-o. Thought you'd know that by now.”
“Yeah, well.” The man gave his drink a brief glare before downing it, and wondering when it had become a norm to be all snarky with an archangel-slash-former Trickster. “Not always.” Cas had been a dick once, yeah, but now... well, now he was kind of one again these days, but...
The archangel scrunched up his nose, the expression on his face one of clear disdain, and moved to start filling his glass back up. “Not always?” he quoted, lifting his now-filled glass and giving Dean a mildly skeptical look. “That almost sounds like a promotion to me, Dean.”
“It doesn't apply to you,” Dean instantly snapped back, glaring daggers at Gabriel; the archangel would have another thing coming if he ever thought that Dean would ever be nicer to him-bastard iced him like a million times just for the sake of tormenting Sam, and he wasn't exactly going to take something like that lying down, even though Gabriel had given up his life to stop Lucifer and helped them with the cage.
Shit, why did all the angels helping them out end up dying in the end? Their luck seriously sucked.
Gabriel made another disbelieving snort. “Stop being such a baby. So I killed you a couple of times. But that was with good intention.”
“What, to tell Sam to give up and let me go to Hell?” the man replied before he could help himself, and keeping out the bite in his voice was pretty much an impossible feat. Never mind the fact that this was all back in the past, and didn't really matter now, but it was still a fact that Gabriel had killed him. Constantly. A hundred Tuesdays, Sam had told him, and Dean didn't know how the hell his little brother could have ever managed to deal with that. He certainly wouldn't be able to. “You've got a hell of a way to show him that.”
All the archangel did in response was shrug. “I wanted Sam to see my point,” he answered, voice turning abruptly soft-an action that startled Dean as he turned towards the other with slightly wide eyes. He watched Gabriel letting out a small sigh, dropping his head lower as he added quietly. “But I guess I know better now.”
Dean quickly picked up his drink and downed the rest of the contents. “Damned right you do,” he half-spat in reply, letting out the momentary flare of anger he felt inside for what Gabriel had said. He should know better-of course the dick should know better, him and Sam were brothers, and more than that too, sometimes. Sammy was the kid he grew up taking care of, the baby brother who he'd always wanted the best for and nothing else. They were not just brothers by blood, but also brothers through sweat and tears and living and dying for each other in every sense of the word. No matter what, Sam would always be the first thing in his mind, and that would never change. He was still his little brother and he was still his family, and what family did was to have each other’s backs no matter what.
Almost as if he had read his mind the corners of Gabriel’s lips curled up quietly, the vaguely forlorn expression turning into something else entirely. “I know,” he returned, and Dean was pretty fucking certain there was something in that voice now he hadn’t heard before; something… familiar. The man frowned, not too comforted with this abrupt shift of personality. Seriously, were all the angels this bipolar? Sometimes it almost seemed to Dean that the only sane angels were the ones who had tried to murder them.
The man opened his mouth to speak up again, but there was a sudden, triumphant shout from Sam. “Found it!”
Both Dean and Gabriel instantly whipped their heads towards where the younger Winchester was, taking just a second before they both left their glasses on the table and went over to him. Beside Sam stood Castiel with a contemplative expression of his own, and looking rather lost in his own thoughts. Dean could see that he was listening though (even with the year apart, Dean still prided himself a bit on being acquainted enough with the language of Cas), and so only gave Gabriel a small nod before asking his brother. “What’ve you got, Sammy?”
Sam leaned back from his chair in response, falling away from the screen so that the other two could see what the laptop was displaying. Despite the questionable quality of the video itself, Dean could more or less make out the workings of a standard gas station from the screen. The video was paused, stuck on a single frame where the screen wavered and flickered dangerously as Dean raked his eyes across the footage, attempting to spot what Sam had found.
“Here, Dean,” his brother offered helpfully, one finger pointing towards his discovery. Dean followed the finger to look at where it pointed, the gears in his own head instantly clicking once he saw what it was that Sam had seen. Right there on the screen, right over where a girl’s face should be was instead the warped, twisted visage of something else entirely. The static around that small spot was too much for Dean to make out anything, but he was pretty willing to bet that she was the Mother of All. As far as he knew, feedback like that didn’t happen naturally on video, especially when this was from a security camera.
Bobby appeared from behind them all, peering at the screen too. “Well I’ll be damned,” he started, letting out a low whistle of appreciation. “I think we’ve found her.”
“That, or we’ve got a vague lead on how she looks like,” Gabriel added on, leaning closer towards the screen to eye the image himself. “It’s better than nothing, at least.”
Dean nodded as he straightened up, arms crossed as he pondered over their next course of action. Okay, so now they had some information about this Mother of All, which was great, but not exactly useful if they had any intention of hunting her down. There was also the thing about her making new monsters, and if this had been just an experiment (it felt like one to him anyway), he shuddered to think of the stuff that she would come out with in the future.
Bobby cleared his throat, glancing at Dean momentarily before speaking. “I'll send a message to the other hunters and tell 'em what to look for. They'll contact us the moment they have something.”
“Alright, Bobby,” Dean replied, nodding. Sam did likewise and Gabriel looked like he was about to say something when Cas suddenly spoke up.
“I have to go,” came Castiel's sudden words, so random and out of the blue that everybody had to pause and turn their heads around to give the angel a confused look. Cas’ head was still down, and he was shuffling his feet-what the hell?-and yeah, nothing about this was suspicious at all. Dean just barely managed to keep on his own poker face as the angel repeated himself. “I have to return. The others are calling me.”
Gabriel had a blank look on his face, and Dean could tell that his response was injected with false cheer. “Sure, go on ahead. We'll update you once we've got more information.”
Castiel nodded once before whisking off, and at the moment he was gone Gabriel sagged, shoulders relaxing as the archangel let out a small sigh. Both Dean and Sam turned towards him now, questioning looks on both of their faces.
“Gabriel, what-” Sam began, but the archangel cut him off before he could finish.
“Next time, Gigantor,” he swiftly said before any of them could get a word in edgewise. Dean looked at the expression on Gabriel's face, the grim determination that had settled on his features. It was a look that Dean himself could relate to-a look that told him about all the necessary evils that had to be done for the sake of something much more important. It had been the look on his face when he was younger, when Sammy was still young and John charged him the task of protecting his brother. A look that more or less screamed to him 'my idiot little brother is screwing something up and I need to help him'. And thinking about it, Cas was Gabriel's younger brother, wasn't he? Sure, Gabriel was a shitty one, but now seeing that look on his face...
Letting out an annoyed huff under his breath Dean nodded out his acknowledgement, green eyes staring at Gabriel's own determined hazel gaze. “You're heading off?”
Gabriel's response was in the form of a brilliant grin. “You know me too well, Dean-o.”
“Just go,” he quickly snapped back, eyes narrowing now. “Do what you need to do and bring Cas back here from whatever bullshit he's gotten himself into.”
“Will do,” Gabriel replied before he vanished with a snap of fingers.
It was easy enough to keep track of Castiel's Grace, especially when he had been exposed to it himself. It was almost like trying to find a part of himself, and the call of Castiel's Grace instantly drew him to the location where the other had zapped himself to after learning the identity of Eve.
Gabriel wasn't an idiot; he knew very well what Castiel was doing here now.
Damnit, bro, the archangel thought to himself as he reappeared at the building he had gone to the last time, although this time he could feel the difference of the atmosphere with his other non-human senses. It had been sealed off from humans, warded against angels and demons alike, with the exception of the two now inside said building. Gabriel could feel the wards trying to push him, but he remained unaffected still. He was still recovering, but he hadn't reconnected with the Host yet. He hadn't changed the properties of the vessel he was in either, so for all that the world could tell, he was a pagan god at best, a non-entity at the worst. Either way, it was helping out here in spades.
Slipping past the patrol that guarded the entrance, Gabriel slunk into the building once more, grimacing at the condensed smell of sulfur that assaulted his senses; he had never liked the smell. Still, this was no time to be all picky. Shaking his head, Gabriel composed himself and quickly went down the path he had walked through last time, trying to ignore the building stench that was now causing his eyes to water. Ungh, how could Castiel even stand this? If the smell was on the other's clothes when he dragged him out of here, Gabriel resolved to make Castiel take a bath to get rid of this horrible stink. If he got Castiel out of here.
The archangel bit down on his bottom lip to silence that last thought in his head, and made the last few turns, ears slowly picking up snatches of conversation through the doors of the room where Castiel and Crowley were currently in. The words became distinct enough for Gabriel to pick up just as Crowley was finishing his question. “-so our little beauty was last there, hmm?”
“The Winchesters were discussing that,” came Castiel's voice, his reply blank and neutral and Gabriel could all-too easily imagine the equally blank look on his face. Not for the first time, Gabriel had to admit that the term 'poker face' was something that could adequately describe the angel if he tried hard enough.
It wasn't hard to note the dry tone of Crowley's response, and Gabriel knew the demon well-enough to easily imagine the eyeroll that accompanied his one-word answer. “Obviously.”
There was a brief pause before Cas spoke up again, this time questioning. “What will you do?”
“I'll be getting Growly and his pack to sniff her out,” the demon replied simply, almost sounding thrilled to answer. “If she has been at that gas station, then it shouldn't be hard to get a scent and pick it up from there. With luck, she should be in our hands in the next few days.” There was the sound of a distinct hand clap that could only belong to Crowley, the triumph in his voice not that hard to notice. “Once we have her it’s the home run for Team Crowley and Cas. We'll finish up our partnership, gain our individual spoils and no one will be the wiser.”
The pause from Castiel then was almost tangible, along with the odd hesitancy that told so many and yet so few things to Gabriel at the same time. “And you are certain this will work?”
“Cas, Cas, Cas,” Crowley returned in a drawl, sighing loudly in exasperation. “Are you seriously getting cold feet now?”
“My feet are not cold,” the angel instantly interjected, although his answer only caused Gabriel to cringe, even from the sidelines. Seriously, bro-wrong place, worst time.
Crowley, on the other hand, let out a snort in response. “Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to try.” Footsteps sounded out after those words, and Gabriel remained deathly silent as the tap of the demon’s polished leather shoes drew closer towards the door and he heard the demon’s voice getting closer and louder. “Seriously, angel, it would do you well to loosen up a little.”
The archangel could almost hear the bristle of Castiel’s invisible wings to that remark, and if that wasn’t enough the sudden sharp, icy tone of the angel’s voice was enough to demonstrate how little he took to that remark. “I cannot afford to relax against Raphael. He is-”
“-an archangel, the most fearsome wrath of Heaven, blah di blah,” Crowley smoothly interrupted, sarcasm dripping from his words once more. “I think I should know that better than you do, considering I was the one who proposed this relationship in the first place.” Now standing next to the door Gabriel could see the back of Crowley’s head past the small window, and for a brief moment he considered getting rid of the demon here and now to make all of this quick. But he wasn’t at full strength, and Gabriel didn’t want to mess up anything either-besides, he could get more information if he continued to lurk here for a while longer.
“I want to ensure that you hold up your end of the bargain,” Castiel spoke up again, to yet another disdainful snort from Crowley that was pointedly ignored as the angel continued speaking. “Considering how you easily betrayed Lucifer, somebody like me would not fall short of the list.”
Crowley sighed once more. “Relax, angel,” he replied, snapping his fingers to most likely summon something or other-probably some of his usual scotch, if Gabriel had to guess. “I’m a demon of my word. Although I can’t say the same for you, Cas.”
The silence told Gabriel everything he needed to know-Castiel was confused, and Crowley’s resulting chuckle wasn’t making things any better for him, and how his gut was currently screaming for him to flee. If anything, Gabriel was one to trust said gut feelings, since they were the reason why he had made it past his harder times while on Earth. Slipping away from his spot near the door the archangel prepared to get out of this place as soon as possible, but at the moment he turned around Gabriel found himself coming face to face with eight pairs of blood red eyes belonging to a giant, shaggy but still powerfully built hound unlike anything ever seen on the face of this world. Mainly because it couldn’t be seen in the world, at least not by everybody who lived in it. Not unless Hell had a contract on your soul.
The hellhound let out a low, warning growl and Gabriel took a few steps back, gulping as he heard the doors behind him swing open to the sound of Crowley’s golf claps and the tap of his polished shoes as the demon stepped forward. Gabriel turned back around, ignoring Castiel’s stunned expression and concentrated on the smirking demon before him, addressing him curtly. “Crowley.”
“Loki,” the demon returned, the smile on his face only stretching further. “Or should I say Gabriel? It really gave me quite the shock when I found out your true identity. I suppose you never meant to tell me the truth despite our long relationship?”
Gabriel’s only response was the small, upward curve of his lips. “Private witness protection. Nobody knew about it except me.”
“That was back then,” Crowley pointed out, idly gesturing with a hand; behind the archangel Growly the hellhound shifted, pulling back just enough for Gabriel to have space, but also close enough that it could lunge right back out and snap him into two, if Gabriel so much as attempted something under the demon’s nose. The archangel made the smart decision and stayed still, throwing a dirty look towards the King of Hell, who returned the look with another one of his smarmy smiles, speaking up again. “Things have changed a lot while you were gone, Gabriel.”
The archangel couldn’t help but snort. “I think I can see that, Crowley.” He shifted slightly, crossing his arms and arching up an eyebrow. “King of Hell, huh?”
“You’re well-informed, at least,” was all that the demon said, before turning his attention towards Castiel now, dark amusement edging in his voice. “So, Cas, what should we do?”
Both Castiel and Gabriel jerked their heads towards Crowley at the question, and the archangel felt dread gripping him tight, rendering him unable to speak as he watched the angel narrow frosty blue eyes at the other. “What do you mean?” he asked, his voice already betraying the emotions that Castiel had been attempting to hide.
Crowley gave the angel a mildly unimpressed look at the reply, although the expression soon melted into something else much more darkly gleeful as the demon rubbed his hands. “What I am saying, Cassie dear, is that our dear friend Gabriel here has overheard us and knows that you’re working with me now. Considering the shared contacts you two have, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume just who he’ll be running back to tell this development to now, hmm?”
“Crowley-” Gabriel started, but the demon waved his hand and the archangel promptly shut up at the putrid breath of the hellhound breathing dangerously close to his throat, making his hair stand on end. Castiel stiffened, eyes growing wider in alarm and Gabriel could feel the pulse of the other's Grace starting to unfurl.
The demon squinted his eyes and sighed in a gesture of false disappointment. “And here I hoped we would have been able to talk on nicer terms, Cas, considering how we're partners and all that. But I suppose it's always the same for all of you angels.” He raised his hand, fingertips rubbing each other as he prepared to snap his fingers. “Let me just make this simpler, Castiel,” he started, dark eyes glancing towards the angel. “You can do the honors for me, or I'll do it myself. Either way, I'll call it even and we can go on with our arrangement. How about that?”
Gabriel quickly turned his gaze towards Castiel, clenching his jaw at how the lesser angel was studiously avoiding his gaze. “Are you really going to let me die again, bro? After everything?” Castiel the naïve but hopeful little angel, Castiel who was nothing but curious and saw the good in everything. Castiel, who had once followed Gabriel all over Heaven like a little duckling, and who Gabriel had taken under his wing. Castiel, who he had hurt in the end because of his own selfish decisions to flee from Michael and Lucifer's spat, and hid on Earth for so long until the Winchesters dragged him back to reality and had it shoved into his face. He knew he had hurt the other, yes, but-
“Think of Sam and Dean, bro,” Gabriel continued, gesturing at him with his hands. “If I'm gone they're going to put two and two together, and you wouldn't want them finding out about this.” He flinched slightly at the hellhound moving ever closer to his throat, its giant nose almost brushing against the skin of his neck. “Is this how you want things to go, Cas? To let them know that you're working with Crowley, and that you're lying to them? To Dean?”
Castiel stiffened once again, his jaw clenching up, and Gabriel knew he was hitting the angel in his weak spot. It was low of him, he knew, but seeing things how things were already he could only recall Loki's words to him. He needed to stop Castiel, before it was all too late. Before whatever it was that had frightened Loki came to pass. “Dean won't be happy when he knows what you've done, Cas. But it’s still not too late. This still can be fixed.” It had to be, or else Loki wouldn't even have cornered him for this.
Crowley, of course, played the voice of the devil, eyes rolling before he spoke. “Think of your war, Castiel. Will you let a moment of stupid sentimentality ruin everything? You're up against an archangel, angel, don't forget. You're going to need all the juice you need to pit yourself against him. You can't afford to lose, remember?”
“There are other ways, bro,” Gabriel quickly countered, sending a brief glare towards an amused Crowley. “We don't have to do this. You don't need to do this. Remember what you and the bozos fought for.” He took a step forward, steeling himself against the dangerous growl that came from behind him as he moved. “You can choose, Castiel. It's never too late to choose.”
“Countless lives to one, Cassie,” the demon returned, smirking. “I suggest you choose wisely.”
The silence that followed was harsh and tense and stretched on for what seemed to be hours, as if the world itself was waiting for Castiel to make his decision. Gabriel swallowed down the lump in his throat as Growly's nose brushed against the back of his neck, the hellhound's putrid breath rolling off his skin. Crowley only watched quietly, but it was hard to ignore the sure look on his face, to see the confidence and certainty that the King of Hell had that Castiel would choose what he wanted the angel to choose.
Gabriel clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes at Cas, biting his lip. C'mon, bro. Please make the right decision.
“Tick tock, angel,” Crowley started after a while, hands tucking into the pockets of his pants. “Time's running. Make a decision, or else I will.” He raised his hand as he said that, fingers already set in a gesture to snap. The hellhound shifted behind him, another low growl sounding behind him and Gabriel prepared to jump away, to flee and defend himself as much as he could-he had already spent a good deal of his energy just coming here, he wasn't certain if he could get out of this properly. Still, he had to try. The Winchesters needed to know, if Castiel was going to stick with Crowley. They had to know.
The archangel held his breath as Castiel finally raised his head, blue eyes turning to glance at him with an unspoken apology written in them. He raised his hand, Grace pulsing and shifting under his fingertips as Castiel sucked in a deep breath and lowered his head. “I apologize, brother.”
Gabriel couldn't find it within himself to say anything, too shocked and stunned to reply as he stayed rooted to his spot, watching blankly as Castiel lifted his hand higher, fingers starting to curl into the gesture of a snap. So this was it. In the end, he was going to be betrayed by yet another one of his brothers-another from his family. Elysian Fields flashed past his mind once more, to the vivid memory of Lucifer's expression as the devil cleaved through him with his own blade and how similar it looked to Castiel's expression now, as the angel prepared to end him.
“No one makes us choose anything, Cas,” he spoke, voice nearly a whisper even in the silence of the room, and Gabriel closed his eyes, preparing himself for his painful end. With the way he was now, there was no chance of him surviving whatever it was that Castiel threw at him. If this was how he was going to go, then so be it; he was tired enough from all the stuff that Lucifer and Michael had already done, and to see a replay of it with another two of his brothers... Gabriel really didn't have the heart to see it again. If Castiel was intent on keeping this up and continued to put himself against Raphael, then he'd be better off dead. At least he didn't have to see it all happen again.
Eyes still closed, Gabriel waited and braced himself for the moment of intense pain, that split second of white-hot intensity before everything faded to darkness again. He heard Castiel shift and the archangel clenched his jaw, bracing himself tighter-
“No.”
That had been Castiel's voice.
Gabriel instantly snapped his eyes wide open, stunned into silence by what the angel had just said. Castiel was facing Crowley now with his eyes narrowed, the hand directed at the archangel earlier now turned towards the demon, and if anything the pulse of Grace from before was only growing stronger and more powerful, thrumming with holy energy.
Crowley spent a good minute or two staring at Castiel, as if the angel had grown a second head on something in his vessel, before he remembered to blink. “I'm sorry, Cas, but did I hear that right?” He twisted his head to the side, cupping his ear. “You said 'no'?”
“I said 'no',” the angel confirmed, his own gaze never wavering as he kept his hand towards the demon. Distracted by the danger that his master was currently facing, Growly the hellhound barely paid attention to Gabriel as the archangel slipped away from the direct line of being a hellhound's chew toy, and closer towards the relative safety of Cas. He didn't enter either person's field of vision, of course, not wanting to disturb anything without risking blowing things up.
Of course, it would be a long shot before that method would even work. “You can stop lurking around, Gabriel, I can see you,” Crowley called out with a roll of his eyes, before returning his gaze back to Castiel, shaking his head. “Really, angel, are you going to just stop now after everything you've done? After all that you've accomplished? Are you really going to let that soft head of yours get the best of you?” The demon arched up an eyebrow, crossing his arms across his chest. “It’s the life of one against many, Cas. Even I have no wish to see the end of the world hanging over our heads yet again.”
“We,” Castiel started without pause, eyes darting towards Gabriel for a moment before going back to Crowley. “We have stopped it from happening once, and we will do so again if it is necessary.” There was a moment's pause, and then he added on for good measure. “The deal is off, Crowley. I will no longer aid you in locating Purgatory. The next time we meet, we will be enemies.”
The demon's only response was to sigh, shaking his head once more. “Suit yourself, angel,” he replied, shrugging. “It's your loss.” And saying that, Crowley swiftly lifted up his hand and snapped his fingers loudly.
Not even thinking twice, Gabriel was already throwing himself out, shouting out the angel's name. “Cas, get away!”
Castiel just barely managed to avoid being chomped into two when Growly lunged, a giant blur of black and red rushing at an inhuman speed. The angel stumbled as he landed, barely managing to regain his balance as he whirled around with his blade now in hand. Gabriel himself didn't have the power to draw out his sword yet (or do anything else for that matter besides transporting himself at best, and even that required massive amounts of effort), and so was forced to remain dodging attacks by the hellhound as he looked at the blade that Castiel was holding now, feeling vaguely uncertain as he shifted his gaze back to the other. “Is that going to work?”
“We’ll find out now, I assume,” the angel managed to reply before going onto the offensive, dashing forward as Growly attempted to attack again, slashing out his sword in a wide arc. There was a sharp yelp from the hellhound as holy steel met damned flesh and the beast twisted back, claws scraping against the floor as it landed roughly. Castiel stepped closer towards the canine, his blue eyes narrowing while the grip on his blade tightened. Gabriel picked himself back up, brushing himself off as he looked at the angel. “We need to get out of here.”
“This place is warded heavily,” was Castiel's steady reply, eyes still fixed on Growly as the hellhound crouched, ready to spring forward again. “We will not be able to fly until we are outside of this building.”
All Gabriel could do was to roll his eyes at the response. “Figures,” he muttered, right before jumping away again when the hellhound went back into attacking both of the angels. Castiel lunged at the same time as Growly, thrusting his sword forward in a jab to strike the beast. Growly quickly twisted away, avoiding the jab before it could land and immediately lashed back out with its jaws. Castiel let out a pained cry as the hellhound's sharp canines grazed the skin of his arm, leaving a trail of scratch marks that smoked with the putrid stench of sulfur. “Castiel!” he cried out, alarm in his voice.
Castiel only growled and clutched at the injury, eyes flashing as the angel shouted back at him. “Stay back, Gabriel!” he went before sidestepping the swipe of Growly's giant paw, the hellhound's sharp claws flashing under the lights. The angel countered with another jab, hitting home this time round, as the blade plunged through said paw. Growly howled loudly, the power of its cry causing the lights of the room to flicker and burst. Gabriel winced and raised an arm to defend himself from the resulting shower of sparks that rained down on him, while Castiel took his chances and threw another jab at the hellhound. Growly saw the attack coming before it hit and swiped its injured paw, claws digging into the flesh of Castiel's upper arm, the force of the attack causing him to lose his grip on his sword.
The angel swore out in Enochian as he drew back, stumbling to regain his balance. Smoke hissed from the wound as blood oozed out, dripping down his arm and staining his clothes. The sword had been flung across the room, skidding on the floor and landing in one of the far corners of the room, making it impossible to pick it up without being torn to shreds by the hellhound. Growly growled as it stalked closer now, as if having understood the situation; both Castiel and Gabriel were now forced to step back, both of them eying the hellhound cautiously and ready to bolt the moment it tried to attack again. The beast’s eyes flared, canines barred in a deep growl as Growly moved all the more closer, muscles tensing up and ready to lunge at any moment. Any second now-
“Get ‘im, Coyote!”
An impossibly fast figure rushed from the doorway in a blur, a flash of white and grey crossing his eyes for a single moment before Growly was sent flying to the wall. Coyote stood triumphant in his spot, blue eyes gleaming in an unspoken challenge as the wolf-dog waited for the hellhound to get back on its feet before lunging again, striking at the beast where it hurt most. It was easy enough to see who had the advantage in the fight, and while the two canines were occupied Loki stepped into the room, quickly making her way to where Gabriel and Castiel were, helping them up. The archangel couldn’t help but let out a snort as Loki did a swift patch up on him with her powers. “It would have been nicer if you arrived here earlier,” he pointed out, looking mildly annoyed.
Loki’s only response was to grin. “Glad to know my sense of timing is as amazing as always,” the Trickster replied, giving Gabriel a quick once over to ensure that he was fine, before she turned her attention to Castiel. “Finally made a proper choice now, have you?”
Castiel opened his mouth to respond, but the Trickster cut him short with a wave of her hand. “You don’t need to answer me-what’s more important is that you’ve made the right decision here.” Once making sure that Castiel was alright too (save the giant wound he was still sporting) Loki turned back to where the dogfight was happening, whistling to get Coyote’s attention. Responding at once, Coyote deftly avoided the lash that Growly attempted to land on him and darted out of the room, most likely already making good his escape. Once the wolf-dog was gone Loki wasted no time, snapping all of them out of the place before the hellhound could lunge at them and crunch them between its jaws. Within seconds the scenery had snapped back into the familiar front steps of Bobby’s place, and a few more moments after that the door burst open to Dean and Sam’s worried expressions.
“What the-” Dean started, only to stop when he looked at Cas and saw the wound he still had. “Jesus, Cas, what the hell happened?”
Loki spoke up before either of the angels could get a word in edgewise. “Raphael happened,” the Trickster explained with a shrug, already making her way to patch up Castiel with a touch of her hand, and everybody blinked at the swift recovery of the angel. “It’s not a happy war up there, I’m afraid.”
“Son of a bitch,” Dean instantly swore, voice dipping into a snarl as he stepped closer towards Castiel. “Why didn’t you tell us you were going to tangle with Raphael, Cas?”
Gabriel watched as Castiel raised his head and looked at Dean with those big, doe-like eyes of his, mouth opening and closing as the angel attempted to say something, but nothing seemed to be able to come out from him; to be honest, Gabriel wasn't too surprised by that. Castiel had just made what was a pretty big decision, and one that had changed... well, changed a lot of things. His partnership with Crowley had been dissolved, along with one of his best chances of winning the war. How was one supposed to talk about that, let alone Castiel to Dean? The archangel knew the other well enough by now that despite all appearances, Cas was even worse at talking about his feelings than Dean himself was, and that was seriously saying something.
Somehow managing to sense the situation, Loki stepped in again, cutting in smoothly to prevent anymore awkwardness to spring up in the atmosphere. “It was an ambush. Just be thankful that I happened to be looking for Gabriel as well, or else things would have been much worse. Anyway,” she went on, raising her voice just a little higher so that nobody could interrupt. “You can all thank me for saving your butts later, but first I have news.”
Everybody instantly straightened themselves at the announcement, Gabriel going on the alert at the unspoken meanings behind Loki's words. “Did Kali and the others come to anything?” he asked.
“There's good news and there's bad news,” the Trickster answered before she paused and frowned. “Well, more like good news and slightly annoying news, but whatever. In the meeting we've found a way to take out Eve.”
Sam blinked at the news. “That's great-”
“Hold your horses there, Sam,” Loki started again, interrupting the younger Winchester. “Yeah, we've found a way, but first we need a little something before we can start hunting her down.”
Dean narrowed his eyes, natural distrust evident in his eyes, on the expression across his face as the man questioned cautiously. “And what exactly do we need?”
“Nothing from any of you,” the girl replied to the hidden question in Dean's words, smiling as she did so. “What we need are the ashes of a Phoenix.”
Both of Bobby's eyebrows instantly rose up. “No hunter's seen a Phoenix in years,” he stated, more curious then demanding.
“That's because they're pretty much near-extinct,” Loki answered simply, before glancing back to the brothers, and she let out an amused snort at the narrowed eyes coming from both of the Winchesters this time. “I haven't finished yet, so stop with the bitchfaces already.”
“Well then,” Dean started, eyes narrowing even further. “Talk.”
The girl rolled her eyes, but did as told regardless. “There's somebody I know who will have the ashes we need.”
Sam, of course, couldn't hide his curiosity especially when the bait was now hanging there. “Who?” came the inevitable question.
“Another Trickster, like Gabriel was,” Loki replied, tucking her hands into her jeans. “Crow.”
Gabriel sucked in a deep breath at the name, eyes widening just a little. Crow? She really couldn't mean the same Crow that he was thinking about now, could she? He looked towards the Trickster, staring at her and tried to ignore the hesitation in his own voice. “Jack Crow?”
“The one and the same.” Loki let out a sigh, shuffling her feet for a moment and shook her head. “I've sent a message to him already, so we're going to be heading there first thing tomorrow.”
“All of us?” Sam questioned again, looking between everyone with a concerned look on his face.
“You and Dean, mostly,” the girl admitted, shrugging helplessly. “It'll help if you two tag along.”
“Why?” Dean instantly questioned, his voice coming out in a harsh snap. Gabriel wasn't all that surprised to hear that from Dean, actually-something would have been wrong if the hunter's honed instincts weren't kicking in at this time.
“It's hard to explain,” Loki answered, for once looking apologetic as she said that. “But I'd appreciate it if you're agreeable. I won't let anything happen to either of you.”
Gabriel watched Dean consider the Trickster's words carefully, glancing between her and Gabriel as he pondered over his decision. Sam was looking at his brother as well, willing to stick with whatever it was that Dean had decided. Castiel remained silent, his blue eyes glued to Dean's every movement until Gabriel caught him doing that, and then the angel transferred his intense gaze to the archangel, and Gabriel had to inch back a little at the look, unsettled by the way Castiel was staring at him. He felt a little like he was being pried open, a possibility that could be all too true considering the Grace currently shared between them; if the angel wished to, he could use that connection to gain access to Gabriel's deepest thoughts and feelings.
The fact that Gabriel hadn't thought of that until now worried him, considering that Castiel had been working with Crowley until now. Was he really losing his guard so quickly? The thought was seriously unsettling, and the archangel quickly banished it from his mind, turning his attention back to the situation as Dean seemed to have arrived at a decision.
“Alright, fine,” he started, looking at the Trickster with a frown. “So just where is this guy of yours?”
A wry smile crossed Loki's lips at that, and the Trickster replied, her answer coming out in a distinct sing-song voice. “Where everybody’s from and nobody goes, that’s where you’re gonna find Jack’s crows.”
← seventh act | ninth act →
“That went pretty well, all things considered,” Loki remarked gaily, the moment they were back at Gabriel's hotel room, and it was hard for Dean not to see the bright grin slapped onto the girl's face. He did have to agree, it really was one hell of a lucky break that they had managed to get a good number of the pagan gods on their side; there was even a whole bunch of them he hadn't even heard about in his life. All in all, the girl had estimated there were about a hundred or so of the gods pledging their power to them-and considering their circumstances, that was quite a lot.
A lot of hands to help them, and a lot of hands to betray them. Call Dean a skeptic, but he wasn't inclined to believe all of this so quickly. It was only a matter of time before something else-something wholly not-good-would happen, so Dean couldn't see why it should stop now.
Sam, ever the too-trusting idiot, despite his big brain, smiled back in turn and rubbed his giant hands together. “Okay. So, uh...”
“What do we do now, Loki?” Gabriel spoke up, cutting through Sam. Dean saw the archangel's eyebrows knitting together in a frown, looking more contemplative and worried now after the bout of happiness he saw on the other's face back in the meeting earlier. Maybe he was thinking along the same lines as Dean was-after all, if it was anybody it would be Gabriel who knew best how the pagans worked. If Dean was already suspicious, it stood to reason that Gabriel might have thought the same thing. They were both waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop.
Loki raised her own eyebrows at Gabriel's face, blinking as she glanced between both Gabriel and Dean for several moments before her expression settled back down. “Well, now I'll bring you guys back to shiny America, so that you can work on finding out more about Purgatory and figure out what's going on,” she replied, “I'll liaise with Orpheus and the others to decide our next course of action. Once there's something, I'll head over to inform you guys.”
Well, that didn't sound too bad. At least if the pagans tried anything, Dean knew they'd be ready. He crossed his arms and nodded, acknowledging the response. “Sounds like a decent plan. I'll be glad to be back on my side of the globe.”
“We should return to Bobby's,” Cas intoned from beside him, “He would appreciate this accomplishment.”
Sam snorted at the angel's words. “Appreciate it, or call us idjits for pulling this moronic stunt.”
“Idjits.”
Dean rolled his eyes as his brother's mouthed out an 'I told you' at Cas while Gabriel looked between snorting in amusement and bursting out in laughter. Either way, neither of those actions would amuse the old hunter, now scowling before them and looking very unimpressed with the story they had just told him.
“Idjits,” Bobby said again for emphasis, eyes flickering between all four as Dean watched the elder's nostril's flare. “Couldn't you have at least called when you were there?”
“We weren't even in the country, Bobby,” Sam replied with a sigh, brushing one hand down his hair in a gesture of exasperation. “We really had no idea we would be brought out so far.”
“Yeah, Bobby,” Dean added, knowing that he had better say something as well, before the man could smack him for anything. He darted his eyes right towards Gabriel, glaring daggers at the archangel as he added on. “Nobody told us we'd be going halfway across the freakin' world.”
Gabriel raised his hands up in the universal gesture of mock-surrender. “Don't start pointing fingers at me, Deano. If it was within America I would have already asked you to drive, right?” The archangel rolled his eyes, turning his gaze towards Cas. “Seriously, bro, the amount of blame they place on me. I'm so hurt.”
Cas only returned Gabriel's words with a helpless shrug, and Dean could make out the flat tones that indicated he was actually being sarcastic. “It would be more helpful to inform them of their destination before departing, brother,” he replied, and Dean smirked at how Gabriel groaned at Cas’ answer.
“Quit your whinin',” Bobby half-snapped, now moving towards his study table where a vanilla yellow folder sat at the surface, looking relatively new. “We've got some movement while you guys were out shopping.” Picking up the file Bobby took a moment to glance through it to ensure that he had the correct one before he tossed it towards Dean. Catching the file, Dean immediately made to open it, eyes flickering down to the various reports, newspaper clippings and photos that lined the inside.
“Sandusky, Ohio,” the elder man started, his voice drawing Dean's attention away from the file. All four turned to look at the old hunter as he jabbed a finger at the folder, explaining. “Just got back from there with Rufus. You'll be interested to know what we've found.”
“Just cut to the chase, Bobby,” Dean quickly spoke, giving the file one more look before he snapped it shut and tossed it back to Bobby. The man simply gave him a look before he passed it over to Sam, and the younger Winchester instantly started pouring over all the information that the folder provided. “What's up?”
Bobby grabbed himself a bottle of whiskey and a glass, pouring out a cup before he could grant Dean an answer. “The Mother of All's reared her head up proper. Made some...” The man trailed off to a scowl, attempting to find the appropriate words before he gave up, shrugging. “Worm thing. Gave us a hell of a time.” He downed the glass in one go, grimacing at the alcohol burn he got for that. “And oh, your grandpa's dead.”
Now that was unexpected. Dean felt his eyes widen at the sudden news, shocked at the abruptness of it. Samuel was someone he wouldn’t miss-especially with all the bullshit that he had pulled out-but... yeah, it was pretty shocking. Sam looked just as surprised, his own eyes equally wide as he glanced at Dean and then back at Bobby. “You positive?” he asked, understandably uncertain.
“About as sure as seeing a bunch of bullet holes in his chest,” Bobby replied as he shook his head, pouring out another glass. “Everything was a bloody nightmare. Blasted thing kept crawling into people’s ears and controlled them like puppets. Took Rufus getting it in him before we could figure it out.”
Dean's blood turned cold at the mention of the other hunter. Rufus had it? “Is he alright?” he instantly asked, eyes already on the alert.
Bobby gave a snort in response. “Last I saw him he was alive, yeah. Sorta shaken, but having a giant worm electrocuted out of your brain would do that to ya.” He downed his drink again and settled the glass back onto the table, keeping his gaze down for a few moments before he continued on. “Thing didn't go without a fight, though. Told us a good amount of stuff.”
Sam turned his head slightly to the side, frowning in confusion. “What kind of things, Bobby?”
“Stuff about the Mother of All we've been trying to figure out,” he answered with another scowl, arms crossing over his chest. The tip of his cap was obscuring his eyes, but Dean knew very well that in spite of the scowl, Bobby was thinking very hard about this whole thing-just like them, he wanted this whole thing over and done with. He leaned back against the wall, not speaking but listening intently to what the elder hunter was saying. “For one, those worm things were an original recipe. Turns out she just made 'em out of thin air or something.”
“She created them?” Gabriel swiftly interjected here, and it was quite an abrupt change to hear the sudden edge in his voice, when all Dean had ever heard was his utter bullshitting voice. It was a change that took Dean quite by surprise, and it hit home one fact that had never really registered into his brain until now: Gabriel, for all his aggravating ways and movements, was still a friggin' archangel of the Lord. He remembered back when Castiel described archangels to him, recalled how they were 'the most fearsome wrath of Heaven'. To be honest it was hard to look at Gabriel that way, after everything that he had pulled, but right at this moment, right here, was a reminder of who the false Trickster truly was. He was Gabriel the archangel, one of Heaven's fiercest warriors, and that was what his expression was showing now.
Bobby turned his gaze towards the archangel, eying him for a moment before nodding. “Yeah. Seeing as she's the Mother of All, it's not something that seems so far-shot.”
“Like the Father to us, and Lucifer to the demons,” Cas muttered softly from Gabriel's side, turning his head away. “She is the origin of all the other things that hunters hunt down.”
Dean found himself letting out a snort. “Well, ain't that just fucking peachy.” It was pretty good and all that they finally had something to work with, but seriously? Last thing Dean wanted to hunt was yet another big bad-it was actually getting kind of fucking tiring, and Dean had to wonder if they were just that lucky or just that dumb, to constantly land themselves in these kinds of situations.
No time to think about that, though. Sam let out a sigh, rubbing his face with the palm of his free hand. “Well, if she created them, and considering what Bobby told us... it’s not a far stretch to imagine that Eve needed a host to hold those worms or whatever they are.” He turned towards the man. “Got any video to show us, Bobby?”
“The one that got me going there in the first place,” the elder man replied, lowering his gaze to the file still in Sam's hand. “The CD's in there.”
Sam nodded and glanced back down to the folder, rummaging it to take out said CD. “Alright, let's see what we've got.”
While Sam busied himself with the video, Dean helped himself to a glass of Bobby's whiskey, pointedly ignoring the stern look that the elder man was giving him for that. Gabriel had already taken one himself and was currently downing it in a way that strongly suggested to Dean that the archangel was troubled over something.
Something big, he corrected himself as Gabriel finished the entire thing in one go, and was already helping himself to another without pause. Cas was sending worried glances over to the archangel, but didn't say anything else and remained beside Sam, looking at the video with him in a bid to identify Eve. Bobby was already back to hitting the books, looking up whatever he could find out about Eve, and with a jolt Dean knew that it left pretty much just him and Gabriel here.
He sure as hell didn't like it, but the archangel was helping them out at the moment-and it was a fact that they had made more progress than they had done in the last few weeks-so yeah, Dean supposed he could afford not being a dick to Gabriel for the next hour or so. Of course, that was if Gabriel would do the same as well. Dean supposed he had to try his luck, as he made his way over towards where the other was, settling down beside him. “You alright?”
“Depends on what your definition of that word is,” the archangel returned, rolling his eyes.
Dean returned the gesture. “Excuse me for trying not to be a dick.”
Gabriel snorted loudly. “Once a dick, always a dick, Dean-o. Thought you'd know that by now.”
“Yeah, well.” The man gave his drink a brief glare before downing it, and wondering when it had become a norm to be all snarky with an archangel-slash-former Trickster. “Not always.” Cas had been a dick once, yeah, but now... well, now he was kind of one again these days, but...
The archangel scrunched up his nose, the expression on his face one of clear disdain, and moved to start filling his glass back up. “Not always?” he quoted, lifting his now-filled glass and giving Dean a mildly skeptical look. “That almost sounds like a promotion to me, Dean.”
“It doesn't apply to you,” Dean instantly snapped back, glaring daggers at Gabriel; the archangel would have another thing coming if he ever thought that Dean would ever be nicer to him-bastard iced him like a million times just for the sake of tormenting Sam, and he wasn't exactly going to take something like that lying down, even though Gabriel had given up his life to stop Lucifer and helped them with the cage.
Shit, why did all the angels helping them out end up dying in the end? Their luck seriously sucked.
Gabriel made another disbelieving snort. “Stop being such a baby. So I killed you a couple of times. But that was with good intention.”
“What, to tell Sam to give up and let me go to Hell?” the man replied before he could help himself, and keeping out the bite in his voice was pretty much an impossible feat. Never mind the fact that this was all back in the past, and didn't really matter now, but it was still a fact that Gabriel had killed him. Constantly. A hundred Tuesdays, Sam had told him, and Dean didn't know how the hell his little brother could have ever managed to deal with that. He certainly wouldn't be able to. “You've got a hell of a way to show him that.”
All the archangel did in response was shrug. “I wanted Sam to see my point,” he answered, voice turning abruptly soft-an action that startled Dean as he turned towards the other with slightly wide eyes. He watched Gabriel letting out a small sigh, dropping his head lower as he added quietly. “But I guess I know better now.”
Dean quickly picked up his drink and downed the rest of the contents. “Damned right you do,” he half-spat in reply, letting out the momentary flare of anger he felt inside for what Gabriel had said. He should know better-of course the dick should know better, him and Sam were brothers, and more than that too, sometimes. Sammy was the kid he grew up taking care of, the baby brother who he'd always wanted the best for and nothing else. They were not just brothers by blood, but also brothers through sweat and tears and living and dying for each other in every sense of the word. No matter what, Sam would always be the first thing in his mind, and that would never change. He was still his little brother and he was still his family, and what family did was to have each other’s backs no matter what.
Almost as if he had read his mind the corners of Gabriel’s lips curled up quietly, the vaguely forlorn expression turning into something else entirely. “I know,” he returned, and Dean was pretty fucking certain there was something in that voice now he hadn’t heard before; something… familiar. The man frowned, not too comforted with this abrupt shift of personality. Seriously, were all the angels this bipolar? Sometimes it almost seemed to Dean that the only sane angels were the ones who had tried to murder them.
The man opened his mouth to speak up again, but there was a sudden, triumphant shout from Sam. “Found it!”
Both Dean and Gabriel instantly whipped their heads towards where the younger Winchester was, taking just a second before they both left their glasses on the table and went over to him. Beside Sam stood Castiel with a contemplative expression of his own, and looking rather lost in his own thoughts. Dean could see that he was listening though (even with the year apart, Dean still prided himself a bit on being acquainted enough with the language of Cas), and so only gave Gabriel a small nod before asking his brother. “What’ve you got, Sammy?”
Sam leaned back from his chair in response, falling away from the screen so that the other two could see what the laptop was displaying. Despite the questionable quality of the video itself, Dean could more or less make out the workings of a standard gas station from the screen. The video was paused, stuck on a single frame where the screen wavered and flickered dangerously as Dean raked his eyes across the footage, attempting to spot what Sam had found.
“Here, Dean,” his brother offered helpfully, one finger pointing towards his discovery. Dean followed the finger to look at where it pointed, the gears in his own head instantly clicking once he saw what it was that Sam had seen. Right there on the screen, right over where a girl’s face should be was instead the warped, twisted visage of something else entirely. The static around that small spot was too much for Dean to make out anything, but he was pretty willing to bet that she was the Mother of All. As far as he knew, feedback like that didn’t happen naturally on video, especially when this was from a security camera.
Bobby appeared from behind them all, peering at the screen too. “Well I’ll be damned,” he started, letting out a low whistle of appreciation. “I think we’ve found her.”
“That, or we’ve got a vague lead on how she looks like,” Gabriel added on, leaning closer towards the screen to eye the image himself. “It’s better than nothing, at least.”
Dean nodded as he straightened up, arms crossed as he pondered over their next course of action. Okay, so now they had some information about this Mother of All, which was great, but not exactly useful if they had any intention of hunting her down. There was also the thing about her making new monsters, and if this had been just an experiment (it felt like one to him anyway), he shuddered to think of the stuff that she would come out with in the future.
Bobby cleared his throat, glancing at Dean momentarily before speaking. “I'll send a message to the other hunters and tell 'em what to look for. They'll contact us the moment they have something.”
“Alright, Bobby,” Dean replied, nodding. Sam did likewise and Gabriel looked like he was about to say something when Cas suddenly spoke up.
“I have to go,” came Castiel's sudden words, so random and out of the blue that everybody had to pause and turn their heads around to give the angel a confused look. Cas’ head was still down, and he was shuffling his feet-what the hell?-and yeah, nothing about this was suspicious at all. Dean just barely managed to keep on his own poker face as the angel repeated himself. “I have to return. The others are calling me.”
Gabriel had a blank look on his face, and Dean could tell that his response was injected with false cheer. “Sure, go on ahead. We'll update you once we've got more information.”
Castiel nodded once before whisking off, and at the moment he was gone Gabriel sagged, shoulders relaxing as the archangel let out a small sigh. Both Dean and Sam turned towards him now, questioning looks on both of their faces.
“Gabriel, what-” Sam began, but the archangel cut him off before he could finish.
“Next time, Gigantor,” he swiftly said before any of them could get a word in edgewise. Dean looked at the expression on Gabriel's face, the grim determination that had settled on his features. It was a look that Dean himself could relate to-a look that told him about all the necessary evils that had to be done for the sake of something much more important. It had been the look on his face when he was younger, when Sammy was still young and John charged him the task of protecting his brother. A look that more or less screamed to him 'my idiot little brother is screwing something up and I need to help him'. And thinking about it, Cas was Gabriel's younger brother, wasn't he? Sure, Gabriel was a shitty one, but now seeing that look on his face...
Letting out an annoyed huff under his breath Dean nodded out his acknowledgement, green eyes staring at Gabriel's own determined hazel gaze. “You're heading off?”
Gabriel's response was in the form of a brilliant grin. “You know me too well, Dean-o.”
“Just go,” he quickly snapped back, eyes narrowing now. “Do what you need to do and bring Cas back here from whatever bullshit he's gotten himself into.”
“Will do,” Gabriel replied before he vanished with a snap of fingers.
It was easy enough to keep track of Castiel's Grace, especially when he had been exposed to it himself. It was almost like trying to find a part of himself, and the call of Castiel's Grace instantly drew him to the location where the other had zapped himself to after learning the identity of Eve.
Gabriel wasn't an idiot; he knew very well what Castiel was doing here now.
Damnit, bro, the archangel thought to himself as he reappeared at the building he had gone to the last time, although this time he could feel the difference of the atmosphere with his other non-human senses. It had been sealed off from humans, warded against angels and demons alike, with the exception of the two now inside said building. Gabriel could feel the wards trying to push him, but he remained unaffected still. He was still recovering, but he hadn't reconnected with the Host yet. He hadn't changed the properties of the vessel he was in either, so for all that the world could tell, he was a pagan god at best, a non-entity at the worst. Either way, it was helping out here in spades.
Slipping past the patrol that guarded the entrance, Gabriel slunk into the building once more, grimacing at the condensed smell of sulfur that assaulted his senses; he had never liked the smell. Still, this was no time to be all picky. Shaking his head, Gabriel composed himself and quickly went down the path he had walked through last time, trying to ignore the building stench that was now causing his eyes to water. Ungh, how could Castiel even stand this? If the smell was on the other's clothes when he dragged him out of here, Gabriel resolved to make Castiel take a bath to get rid of this horrible stink. If he got Castiel out of here.
The archangel bit down on his bottom lip to silence that last thought in his head, and made the last few turns, ears slowly picking up snatches of conversation through the doors of the room where Castiel and Crowley were currently in. The words became distinct enough for Gabriel to pick up just as Crowley was finishing his question. “-so our little beauty was last there, hmm?”
“The Winchesters were discussing that,” came Castiel's voice, his reply blank and neutral and Gabriel could all-too easily imagine the equally blank look on his face. Not for the first time, Gabriel had to admit that the term 'poker face' was something that could adequately describe the angel if he tried hard enough.
It wasn't hard to note the dry tone of Crowley's response, and Gabriel knew the demon well-enough to easily imagine the eyeroll that accompanied his one-word answer. “Obviously.”
There was a brief pause before Cas spoke up again, this time questioning. “What will you do?”
“I'll be getting Growly and his pack to sniff her out,” the demon replied simply, almost sounding thrilled to answer. “If she has been at that gas station, then it shouldn't be hard to get a scent and pick it up from there. With luck, she should be in our hands in the next few days.” There was the sound of a distinct hand clap that could only belong to Crowley, the triumph in his voice not that hard to notice. “Once we have her it’s the home run for Team Crowley and Cas. We'll finish up our partnership, gain our individual spoils and no one will be the wiser.”
The pause from Castiel then was almost tangible, along with the odd hesitancy that told so many and yet so few things to Gabriel at the same time. “And you are certain this will work?”
“Cas, Cas, Cas,” Crowley returned in a drawl, sighing loudly in exasperation. “Are you seriously getting cold feet now?”
“My feet are not cold,” the angel instantly interjected, although his answer only caused Gabriel to cringe, even from the sidelines. Seriously, bro-wrong place, worst time.
Crowley, on the other hand, let out a snort in response. “Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to try.” Footsteps sounded out after those words, and Gabriel remained deathly silent as the tap of the demon’s polished leather shoes drew closer towards the door and he heard the demon’s voice getting closer and louder. “Seriously, angel, it would do you well to loosen up a little.”
The archangel could almost hear the bristle of Castiel’s invisible wings to that remark, and if that wasn’t enough the sudden sharp, icy tone of the angel’s voice was enough to demonstrate how little he took to that remark. “I cannot afford to relax against Raphael. He is-”
“-an archangel, the most fearsome wrath of Heaven, blah di blah,” Crowley smoothly interrupted, sarcasm dripping from his words once more. “I think I should know that better than you do, considering I was the one who proposed this relationship in the first place.” Now standing next to the door Gabriel could see the back of Crowley’s head past the small window, and for a brief moment he considered getting rid of the demon here and now to make all of this quick. But he wasn’t at full strength, and Gabriel didn’t want to mess up anything either-besides, he could get more information if he continued to lurk here for a while longer.
“I want to ensure that you hold up your end of the bargain,” Castiel spoke up again, to yet another disdainful snort from Crowley that was pointedly ignored as the angel continued speaking. “Considering how you easily betrayed Lucifer, somebody like me would not fall short of the list.”
Crowley sighed once more. “Relax, angel,” he replied, snapping his fingers to most likely summon something or other-probably some of his usual scotch, if Gabriel had to guess. “I’m a demon of my word. Although I can’t say the same for you, Cas.”
The silence told Gabriel everything he needed to know-Castiel was confused, and Crowley’s resulting chuckle wasn’t making things any better for him, and how his gut was currently screaming for him to flee. If anything, Gabriel was one to trust said gut feelings, since they were the reason why he had made it past his harder times while on Earth. Slipping away from his spot near the door the archangel prepared to get out of this place as soon as possible, but at the moment he turned around Gabriel found himself coming face to face with eight pairs of blood red eyes belonging to a giant, shaggy but still powerfully built hound unlike anything ever seen on the face of this world. Mainly because it couldn’t be seen in the world, at least not by everybody who lived in it. Not unless Hell had a contract on your soul.
The hellhound let out a low, warning growl and Gabriel took a few steps back, gulping as he heard the doors behind him swing open to the sound of Crowley’s golf claps and the tap of his polished shoes as the demon stepped forward. Gabriel turned back around, ignoring Castiel’s stunned expression and concentrated on the smirking demon before him, addressing him curtly. “Crowley.”
“Loki,” the demon returned, the smile on his face only stretching further. “Or should I say Gabriel? It really gave me quite the shock when I found out your true identity. I suppose you never meant to tell me the truth despite our long relationship?”
Gabriel’s only response was the small, upward curve of his lips. “Private witness protection. Nobody knew about it except me.”
“That was back then,” Crowley pointed out, idly gesturing with a hand; behind the archangel Growly the hellhound shifted, pulling back just enough for Gabriel to have space, but also close enough that it could lunge right back out and snap him into two, if Gabriel so much as attempted something under the demon’s nose. The archangel made the smart decision and stayed still, throwing a dirty look towards the King of Hell, who returned the look with another one of his smarmy smiles, speaking up again. “Things have changed a lot while you were gone, Gabriel.”
The archangel couldn’t help but snort. “I think I can see that, Crowley.” He shifted slightly, crossing his arms and arching up an eyebrow. “King of Hell, huh?”
“You’re well-informed, at least,” was all that the demon said, before turning his attention towards Castiel now, dark amusement edging in his voice. “So, Cas, what should we do?”
Both Castiel and Gabriel jerked their heads towards Crowley at the question, and the archangel felt dread gripping him tight, rendering him unable to speak as he watched the angel narrow frosty blue eyes at the other. “What do you mean?” he asked, his voice already betraying the emotions that Castiel had been attempting to hide.
Crowley gave the angel a mildly unimpressed look at the reply, although the expression soon melted into something else much more darkly gleeful as the demon rubbed his hands. “What I am saying, Cassie dear, is that our dear friend Gabriel here has overheard us and knows that you’re working with me now. Considering the shared contacts you two have, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume just who he’ll be running back to tell this development to now, hmm?”
“Crowley-” Gabriel started, but the demon waved his hand and the archangel promptly shut up at the putrid breath of the hellhound breathing dangerously close to his throat, making his hair stand on end. Castiel stiffened, eyes growing wider in alarm and Gabriel could feel the pulse of the other's Grace starting to unfurl.
The demon squinted his eyes and sighed in a gesture of false disappointment. “And here I hoped we would have been able to talk on nicer terms, Cas, considering how we're partners and all that. But I suppose it's always the same for all of you angels.” He raised his hand, fingertips rubbing each other as he prepared to snap his fingers. “Let me just make this simpler, Castiel,” he started, dark eyes glancing towards the angel. “You can do the honors for me, or I'll do it myself. Either way, I'll call it even and we can go on with our arrangement. How about that?”
Gabriel quickly turned his gaze towards Castiel, clenching his jaw at how the lesser angel was studiously avoiding his gaze. “Are you really going to let me die again, bro? After everything?” Castiel the naïve but hopeful little angel, Castiel who was nothing but curious and saw the good in everything. Castiel, who had once followed Gabriel all over Heaven like a little duckling, and who Gabriel had taken under his wing. Castiel, who he had hurt in the end because of his own selfish decisions to flee from Michael and Lucifer's spat, and hid on Earth for so long until the Winchesters dragged him back to reality and had it shoved into his face. He knew he had hurt the other, yes, but-
“Think of Sam and Dean, bro,” Gabriel continued, gesturing at him with his hands. “If I'm gone they're going to put two and two together, and you wouldn't want them finding out about this.” He flinched slightly at the hellhound moving ever closer to his throat, its giant nose almost brushing against the skin of his neck. “Is this how you want things to go, Cas? To let them know that you're working with Crowley, and that you're lying to them? To Dean?”
Castiel stiffened once again, his jaw clenching up, and Gabriel knew he was hitting the angel in his weak spot. It was low of him, he knew, but seeing things how things were already he could only recall Loki's words to him. He needed to stop Castiel, before it was all too late. Before whatever it was that had frightened Loki came to pass. “Dean won't be happy when he knows what you've done, Cas. But it’s still not too late. This still can be fixed.” It had to be, or else Loki wouldn't even have cornered him for this.
Crowley, of course, played the voice of the devil, eyes rolling before he spoke. “Think of your war, Castiel. Will you let a moment of stupid sentimentality ruin everything? You're up against an archangel, angel, don't forget. You're going to need all the juice you need to pit yourself against him. You can't afford to lose, remember?”
“There are other ways, bro,” Gabriel quickly countered, sending a brief glare towards an amused Crowley. “We don't have to do this. You don't need to do this. Remember what you and the bozos fought for.” He took a step forward, steeling himself against the dangerous growl that came from behind him as he moved. “You can choose, Castiel. It's never too late to choose.”
“Countless lives to one, Cassie,” the demon returned, smirking. “I suggest you choose wisely.”
The silence that followed was harsh and tense and stretched on for what seemed to be hours, as if the world itself was waiting for Castiel to make his decision. Gabriel swallowed down the lump in his throat as Growly's nose brushed against the back of his neck, the hellhound's putrid breath rolling off his skin. Crowley only watched quietly, but it was hard to ignore the sure look on his face, to see the confidence and certainty that the King of Hell had that Castiel would choose what he wanted the angel to choose.
Gabriel clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes at Cas, biting his lip. C'mon, bro. Please make the right decision.
“Tick tock, angel,” Crowley started after a while, hands tucking into the pockets of his pants. “Time's running. Make a decision, or else I will.” He raised his hand as he said that, fingers already set in a gesture to snap. The hellhound shifted behind him, another low growl sounding behind him and Gabriel prepared to jump away, to flee and defend himself as much as he could-he had already spent a good deal of his energy just coming here, he wasn't certain if he could get out of this properly. Still, he had to try. The Winchesters needed to know, if Castiel was going to stick with Crowley. They had to know.
The archangel held his breath as Castiel finally raised his head, blue eyes turning to glance at him with an unspoken apology written in them. He raised his hand, Grace pulsing and shifting under his fingertips as Castiel sucked in a deep breath and lowered his head. “I apologize, brother.”
Gabriel couldn't find it within himself to say anything, too shocked and stunned to reply as he stayed rooted to his spot, watching blankly as Castiel lifted his hand higher, fingers starting to curl into the gesture of a snap. So this was it. In the end, he was going to be betrayed by yet another one of his brothers-another from his family. Elysian Fields flashed past his mind once more, to the vivid memory of Lucifer's expression as the devil cleaved through him with his own blade and how similar it looked to Castiel's expression now, as the angel prepared to end him.
“No one makes us choose anything, Cas,” he spoke, voice nearly a whisper even in the silence of the room, and Gabriel closed his eyes, preparing himself for his painful end. With the way he was now, there was no chance of him surviving whatever it was that Castiel threw at him. If this was how he was going to go, then so be it; he was tired enough from all the stuff that Lucifer and Michael had already done, and to see a replay of it with another two of his brothers... Gabriel really didn't have the heart to see it again. If Castiel was intent on keeping this up and continued to put himself against Raphael, then he'd be better off dead. At least he didn't have to see it all happen again.
Eyes still closed, Gabriel waited and braced himself for the moment of intense pain, that split second of white-hot intensity before everything faded to darkness again. He heard Castiel shift and the archangel clenched his jaw, bracing himself tighter-
“No.”
That had been Castiel's voice.
Gabriel instantly snapped his eyes wide open, stunned into silence by what the angel had just said. Castiel was facing Crowley now with his eyes narrowed, the hand directed at the archangel earlier now turned towards the demon, and if anything the pulse of Grace from before was only growing stronger and more powerful, thrumming with holy energy.
Crowley spent a good minute or two staring at Castiel, as if the angel had grown a second head on something in his vessel, before he remembered to blink. “I'm sorry, Cas, but did I hear that right?” He twisted his head to the side, cupping his ear. “You said 'no'?”
“I said 'no',” the angel confirmed, his own gaze never wavering as he kept his hand towards the demon. Distracted by the danger that his master was currently facing, Growly the hellhound barely paid attention to Gabriel as the archangel slipped away from the direct line of being a hellhound's chew toy, and closer towards the relative safety of Cas. He didn't enter either person's field of vision, of course, not wanting to disturb anything without risking blowing things up.
Of course, it would be a long shot before that method would even work. “You can stop lurking around, Gabriel, I can see you,” Crowley called out with a roll of his eyes, before returning his gaze back to Castiel, shaking his head. “Really, angel, are you going to just stop now after everything you've done? After all that you've accomplished? Are you really going to let that soft head of yours get the best of you?” The demon arched up an eyebrow, crossing his arms across his chest. “It’s the life of one against many, Cas. Even I have no wish to see the end of the world hanging over our heads yet again.”
“We,” Castiel started without pause, eyes darting towards Gabriel for a moment before going back to Crowley. “We have stopped it from happening once, and we will do so again if it is necessary.” There was a moment's pause, and then he added on for good measure. “The deal is off, Crowley. I will no longer aid you in locating Purgatory. The next time we meet, we will be enemies.”
The demon's only response was to sigh, shaking his head once more. “Suit yourself, angel,” he replied, shrugging. “It's your loss.” And saying that, Crowley swiftly lifted up his hand and snapped his fingers loudly.
Not even thinking twice, Gabriel was already throwing himself out, shouting out the angel's name. “Cas, get away!”
Castiel just barely managed to avoid being chomped into two when Growly lunged, a giant blur of black and red rushing at an inhuman speed. The angel stumbled as he landed, barely managing to regain his balance as he whirled around with his blade now in hand. Gabriel himself didn't have the power to draw out his sword yet (or do anything else for that matter besides transporting himself at best, and even that required massive amounts of effort), and so was forced to remain dodging attacks by the hellhound as he looked at the blade that Castiel was holding now, feeling vaguely uncertain as he shifted his gaze back to the other. “Is that going to work?”
“We’ll find out now, I assume,” the angel managed to reply before going onto the offensive, dashing forward as Growly attempted to attack again, slashing out his sword in a wide arc. There was a sharp yelp from the hellhound as holy steel met damned flesh and the beast twisted back, claws scraping against the floor as it landed roughly. Castiel stepped closer towards the canine, his blue eyes narrowing while the grip on his blade tightened. Gabriel picked himself back up, brushing himself off as he looked at the angel. “We need to get out of here.”
“This place is warded heavily,” was Castiel's steady reply, eyes still fixed on Growly as the hellhound crouched, ready to spring forward again. “We will not be able to fly until we are outside of this building.”
All Gabriel could do was to roll his eyes at the response. “Figures,” he muttered, right before jumping away again when the hellhound went back into attacking both of the angels. Castiel lunged at the same time as Growly, thrusting his sword forward in a jab to strike the beast. Growly quickly twisted away, avoiding the jab before it could land and immediately lashed back out with its jaws. Castiel let out a pained cry as the hellhound's sharp canines grazed the skin of his arm, leaving a trail of scratch marks that smoked with the putrid stench of sulfur. “Castiel!” he cried out, alarm in his voice.
Castiel only growled and clutched at the injury, eyes flashing as the angel shouted back at him. “Stay back, Gabriel!” he went before sidestepping the swipe of Growly's giant paw, the hellhound's sharp claws flashing under the lights. The angel countered with another jab, hitting home this time round, as the blade plunged through said paw. Growly howled loudly, the power of its cry causing the lights of the room to flicker and burst. Gabriel winced and raised an arm to defend himself from the resulting shower of sparks that rained down on him, while Castiel took his chances and threw another jab at the hellhound. Growly saw the attack coming before it hit and swiped its injured paw, claws digging into the flesh of Castiel's upper arm, the force of the attack causing him to lose his grip on his sword.
The angel swore out in Enochian as he drew back, stumbling to regain his balance. Smoke hissed from the wound as blood oozed out, dripping down his arm and staining his clothes. The sword had been flung across the room, skidding on the floor and landing in one of the far corners of the room, making it impossible to pick it up without being torn to shreds by the hellhound. Growly growled as it stalked closer now, as if having understood the situation; both Castiel and Gabriel were now forced to step back, both of them eying the hellhound cautiously and ready to bolt the moment it tried to attack again. The beast’s eyes flared, canines barred in a deep growl as Growly moved all the more closer, muscles tensing up and ready to lunge at any moment. Any second now-
“Get ‘im, Coyote!”
An impossibly fast figure rushed from the doorway in a blur, a flash of white and grey crossing his eyes for a single moment before Growly was sent flying to the wall. Coyote stood triumphant in his spot, blue eyes gleaming in an unspoken challenge as the wolf-dog waited for the hellhound to get back on its feet before lunging again, striking at the beast where it hurt most. It was easy enough to see who had the advantage in the fight, and while the two canines were occupied Loki stepped into the room, quickly making her way to where Gabriel and Castiel were, helping them up. The archangel couldn’t help but let out a snort as Loki did a swift patch up on him with her powers. “It would have been nicer if you arrived here earlier,” he pointed out, looking mildly annoyed.
Loki’s only response was to grin. “Glad to know my sense of timing is as amazing as always,” the Trickster replied, giving Gabriel a quick once over to ensure that he was fine, before she turned her attention to Castiel. “Finally made a proper choice now, have you?”
Castiel opened his mouth to respond, but the Trickster cut him short with a wave of her hand. “You don’t need to answer me-what’s more important is that you’ve made the right decision here.” Once making sure that Castiel was alright too (save the giant wound he was still sporting) Loki turned back to where the dogfight was happening, whistling to get Coyote’s attention. Responding at once, Coyote deftly avoided the lash that Growly attempted to land on him and darted out of the room, most likely already making good his escape. Once the wolf-dog was gone Loki wasted no time, snapping all of them out of the place before the hellhound could lunge at them and crunch them between its jaws. Within seconds the scenery had snapped back into the familiar front steps of Bobby’s place, and a few more moments after that the door burst open to Dean and Sam’s worried expressions.
“What the-” Dean started, only to stop when he looked at Cas and saw the wound he still had. “Jesus, Cas, what the hell happened?”
Loki spoke up before either of the angels could get a word in edgewise. “Raphael happened,” the Trickster explained with a shrug, already making her way to patch up Castiel with a touch of her hand, and everybody blinked at the swift recovery of the angel. “It’s not a happy war up there, I’m afraid.”
“Son of a bitch,” Dean instantly swore, voice dipping into a snarl as he stepped closer towards Castiel. “Why didn’t you tell us you were going to tangle with Raphael, Cas?”
Gabriel watched as Castiel raised his head and looked at Dean with those big, doe-like eyes of his, mouth opening and closing as the angel attempted to say something, but nothing seemed to be able to come out from him; to be honest, Gabriel wasn't too surprised by that. Castiel had just made what was a pretty big decision, and one that had changed... well, changed a lot of things. His partnership with Crowley had been dissolved, along with one of his best chances of winning the war. How was one supposed to talk about that, let alone Castiel to Dean? The archangel knew the other well enough by now that despite all appearances, Cas was even worse at talking about his feelings than Dean himself was, and that was seriously saying something.
Somehow managing to sense the situation, Loki stepped in again, cutting in smoothly to prevent anymore awkwardness to spring up in the atmosphere. “It was an ambush. Just be thankful that I happened to be looking for Gabriel as well, or else things would have been much worse. Anyway,” she went on, raising her voice just a little higher so that nobody could interrupt. “You can all thank me for saving your butts later, but first I have news.”
Everybody instantly straightened themselves at the announcement, Gabriel going on the alert at the unspoken meanings behind Loki's words. “Did Kali and the others come to anything?” he asked.
“There's good news and there's bad news,” the Trickster answered before she paused and frowned. “Well, more like good news and slightly annoying news, but whatever. In the meeting we've found a way to take out Eve.”
Sam blinked at the news. “That's great-”
“Hold your horses there, Sam,” Loki started again, interrupting the younger Winchester. “Yeah, we've found a way, but first we need a little something before we can start hunting her down.”
Dean narrowed his eyes, natural distrust evident in his eyes, on the expression across his face as the man questioned cautiously. “And what exactly do we need?”
“Nothing from any of you,” the girl replied to the hidden question in Dean's words, smiling as she did so. “What we need are the ashes of a Phoenix.”
Both of Bobby's eyebrows instantly rose up. “No hunter's seen a Phoenix in years,” he stated, more curious then demanding.
“That's because they're pretty much near-extinct,” Loki answered simply, before glancing back to the brothers, and she let out an amused snort at the narrowed eyes coming from both of the Winchesters this time. “I haven't finished yet, so stop with the bitchfaces already.”
“Well then,” Dean started, eyes narrowing even further. “Talk.”
The girl rolled her eyes, but did as told regardless. “There's somebody I know who will have the ashes we need.”
Sam, of course, couldn't hide his curiosity especially when the bait was now hanging there. “Who?” came the inevitable question.
“Another Trickster, like Gabriel was,” Loki replied, tucking her hands into her jeans. “Crow.”
Gabriel sucked in a deep breath at the name, eyes widening just a little. Crow? She really couldn't mean the same Crow that he was thinking about now, could she? He looked towards the Trickster, staring at her and tried to ignore the hesitation in his own voice. “Jack Crow?”
“The one and the same.” Loki let out a sigh, shuffling her feet for a moment and shook her head. “I've sent a message to him already, so we're going to be heading there first thing tomorrow.”
“All of us?” Sam questioned again, looking between everyone with a concerned look on his face.
“You and Dean, mostly,” the girl admitted, shrugging helplessly. “It'll help if you two tag along.”
“Why?” Dean instantly questioned, his voice coming out in a harsh snap. Gabriel wasn't all that surprised to hear that from Dean, actually-something would have been wrong if the hunter's honed instincts weren't kicking in at this time.
“It's hard to explain,” Loki answered, for once looking apologetic as she said that. “But I'd appreciate it if you're agreeable. I won't let anything happen to either of you.”
Gabriel watched Dean consider the Trickster's words carefully, glancing between her and Gabriel as he pondered over his decision. Sam was looking at his brother as well, willing to stick with whatever it was that Dean had decided. Castiel remained silent, his blue eyes glued to Dean's every movement until Gabriel caught him doing that, and then the angel transferred his intense gaze to the archangel, and Gabriel had to inch back a little at the look, unsettled by the way Castiel was staring at him. He felt a little like he was being pried open, a possibility that could be all too true considering the Grace currently shared between them; if the angel wished to, he could use that connection to gain access to Gabriel's deepest thoughts and feelings.
The fact that Gabriel hadn't thought of that until now worried him, considering that Castiel had been working with Crowley until now. Was he really losing his guard so quickly? The thought was seriously unsettling, and the archangel quickly banished it from his mind, turning his attention back to the situation as Dean seemed to have arrived at a decision.
“Alright, fine,” he started, looking at the Trickster with a frown. “So just where is this guy of yours?”
A wry smile crossed Loki's lips at that, and the Trickster replied, her answer coming out in a distinct sing-song voice. “Where everybody’s from and nobody goes, that’s where you’re gonna find Jack’s crows.”
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