Embracing Your Birthright

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own the Winchesters or their world, or I'd make Dean my love slave. I only own Kyra.

Rating: K+ for slight language and flashbacks of painful memories

Characters: Dean, Sam, Gabriel, Castiel, Kyra Singer (OC)

Description: Kyra meets Gabriel for the first time, and is shocked at the revelations he gives her about herself. Not only that, but she is given a choice that will change everything...

A/N: This story pretty much jumps the rails from 5.08 "Changing Channels" after Dean and Sam trap Gabriel in the holy fire and he explains their part of the Apocalypse, but before they have him bring Castiel back. I have a lot more in this world (aka this line with Kyra), but my muse wants to be difficult and not let me finish them. Also, this is my first time actually publishing my work, so review please! Enjoy!

I pulled up to the warehouse and saw the car just where Castiel said it would be…Sam and Dean had been missing for days, and Cas had disappeared in the search for them. Last I had heard, they had been on the tail of the Trickster before they disappeared. My instincts screamed at me that the angels were behind all of it, and I was ready for the fight, even if I had no chance of winning.

As soon as I parked my car beside the Impala, I jumped out and started grabbing the things I would need out of the trunk…Molotov cocktails made with holy oil and the archangel's blade…I wish I had more to defend myself with, but most of the arsenal in my trunk was useless against angels.

Creeping to the door, I took a deep breath to steady myself…I had no idea what I would find, but I knew I wouldn't stop until either I found the boys or I died trying. The cocktails were in the pack on my back, and the blade was clenched firmly in my hand. I was as ready as I would ever be, even though I felt woefully unprepared for whatever was behind that door.

With one last deep breath, I kicked in the door and was briefly stunned by what I saw…Sam and Dean were standing near a ring of holy fire, their attention on me at the sound of my entrance, and there was an angel that I'd never seen before trapped inside. Unlike Sam and Dean, I could see his true face behind the exterior of his vessel, and I felt a chill as the features lit up in a smile as his eyes turned toward me.

"Finally!" the angel exclaimed, his full attention on me. "Now the party really is complete."

I kept my eyes glued on him as I walked over to Sam and Dean, wary and unsettled at his greeting. They kept shooting glances between themselves while stealing looks at me and the angel, but said nothing until I stood at Sam's side.

"Kyra, this is the Trickster…aka Gabriel," Dean informed me. My eyes widened at the information, but it suddenly made perfect sense to me…of course he was Gabriel…I could tell by his true face that he was an archangel…the only question was why he had been posing as a lowly Trickster.

"Don't bother with introductions, boys," Gabriel cut in before anything else could be said. His eyes were on me again, and something in the softening of his expression made me shudder inwardly. "It's good to see you again, Sarah…it's been such a long time."

"You don't know me," I growled, my anger rising to just below the surface. How dare he pretend that he knows me!

"Sweetheart, I've been watching over you since you were born," he said softly. "What else could I do? I couldn't just leave you alone…after all, out of all my descendants, you're my favorite."

Time seemed to stop and my blood turned to ice at his words…no…there was no way in hell that I was descended from a fucking archangel! Even as I mentally protested, certain things started popping up in my head…my built-in lie detector…my ability to see things about people and objects just by touching them…the sight I possessed that allowed me to see the true faces of all the non-humans I came across, regardless of what species they were…

"Say what?" Sam's incredulous voice jumped in. I couldn't look at him, but I could feel the shock and disbelief radiating from him. Gabriel's attention was solely on me, and I could feel so many emotions radiating from him that it honestly scared me, the least reason being that angels were made to obey, not to feel.

"I think you can explain part of it to them…I know you know about the nephalim, at least," Gabriel said softly. The term made me bristle, but he was right…I had studied enough religious lore to know everything a human could possibly learn about the nephalim.

"What's a nephalim?" Dean asked. I finally tore my gaze away from the archangel and turned my attention to the Winchesters…their expressions were confused and wary. I took a deep breath to steady myself.

"It's part of the lore that was left out of the King James version of the Bible," I started to explain, my shaking voice betraying how unnerved I really was at that point. "Some of the Host of Heaven looked down at Earth, and when they saw how beautiful the human women were, they became lustful…the offspring of those desires were the nephalim…imagine a creature with the soul of a human and the power of an angel…they nearly tore the planet apart, but God decreed that they be hunted down and destroyed, so they were."

"Of course, it wasn't just a one-day operation," Gabriel chimed in, making all of us face him again. "It took years to hunt them all down…but what nobody else knew was that one of them lived long enough to father a child…the angel blood was diluted enough for the second generation to stay under the radar, and the hunt finally ended."

His tone had turned surprisingly sad, his expression seemingly lost in the memory of that time. After a moment, he seemed to mentally shake himself and looked at me again, a small, sad smile on his face.

"I was no different than my brothers…I gave in to temptation…and I protected my son as long as I could…and now, a thousand generations later, here you are."

Silence reigned for several moments as his words sank in; I was vaguely aware of the emotions from Sam and Dean, but I was lost in thought. If he really had been watching over me this whole time…

"Why did you let them die?" I asked, the pain and fury I felt turning my voice into a hoarse whisper. The pain that crossed his face only fed my fury.

"Honey, I tried to stop it…I really did…with your brother, with your children, with your husband…"

"You're lying," I hissed dangerously, fighting the tears that were filling my eyes at the memories that his words dragged to the surface. He slowly raised his hands in a placating gesture, but I was beyond caring.

"I can show you…I know you may not want to see, but I think you deserve the truth. Just remember, it's only an instant replay; you'll be less than a ghost in the background." With that, he snapped his fingers, and the warehouse immediately disappeared, replaced by a location I could never forget.