We almost didn't put this story up here on FFN, K and I, because lately it seems like FFN is sort of going downhill. No one really checks in here. Both of us prefer to think that it's simply that FFN is phasing out and NOT that either of our stories suck, lol. But, either way, we have this for you
This takes place for Supernatural at the end of Season 5, right after Gabriel's death but before Sam's swan dive, and at the end of season 5 for Criminal Minds as well, after Hayley's death and after Reid is off his cane. (Sorry folks!)
Please forgive, I'm not the best at writing fight scenes!
Sam cursed as he looked around the warehouse at the four angels that hadn't been there moments ago. Why did it always have to happen like this? He kept his body loose and ready to move and could feel his brother doing the same beside him. The two had been here on a simple vampire hunt, one that they'd literally stumbled across on their travels back from Elysian Fields. They'd been heading towards Bobby's house to talk and plan out the last of what they needed to do, now that they had a plan. Now that Gabriel had given them a last form of hope. Sam ignored the pang that spread through him at the thought of what had happened to the snarky archangel who had at times both pissed him off and amused him. Who had screwed with them time and time again and then, in the end when it really mattered, had made the ultimate sacrifice to save them.
They'd just finished taking out the small nest here in this warehouse when the angels had suddenly appeared. The weight of the angel blade in Sam's hand felt a little too comfortable for his tastes. Even after all this time, even after everything the angels had done, killing them still felt so very wrong. Sacrilegious. He knew that none of them had any qualms about hurting him—they wouldn't kill Lucifer's meat suit, not before he served his purpose—but it still bothered him in many ways to hurt them.
Dean didn't have any such problem. He'd never held the kind of faith that Sam did. He smirked at the angels around them. "We expect this kind of cliché from demons. But, angels in a dirty old warehouse? At least show some originality."
"You will come with us, Dean Winchester." The lead angel said. He stepped away from the others and Sam had to admit, the man cut an imposing figure. Tall, maybe even an inch or two taller than Sam, with a severe face that was all sharp lines. He looked like just a bit more than their average angel. The air around him crackled with what Sam was coming to recognize was the feel of an angel's power. Being able to actively feel it like that never boded well for them.
Arching an eyebrow, Dean shook his head. "Yeah, I don't think so."
"You assume you have a choice."
That was all the warning they got before the angels were moving.
Fighting against beings such as these was never easy. Sam moved quickly, pushing back all thoughts but those of the fight, knowing that he had to keep on his toes. He clashed blades with the angel that appeared in front of him and tried not to regret anything he was about to do. If he let himself regret, he might hesitate, and they couldn't afford hesitation. Not when they were obviously here to take Dean and they weren't going to be playing any of the usual games. Whoever this angel was that was in charge of these others, he'd learned enough about Winchesters to not give them a chance to try and come up with anything. He was just all out attacking. They weren't leaving any chances for the boys to even attempt to draw a banishing sigil.
There was a cry and a flash of light behind Sam and he knew they were down one angel. Way to go, Dean!
The angel fighting Sam got in a good shot and his blade sliced against Sam's arm. The pain cut hot and swift, but the move left him open and Sam didn't let himself hesitate in taking it. His own blade dropped under the angel's guard and then up, right into his chest. He closed his eyes against the blinding light before yanking the blade out and spinning away.
There were two angels left and both of them were going right for Dean. All they'd need to do would be to touch him and they could transport him away. If they did that, Sam wouldn't have any idea where to look or how to find him. He wouldn't be able to stop them from using any means necessary to convince Dean of the 'Yes' they wanted him to say. That wasn't something that Sam could let happen.
"Hey!" He shouted out loudly. The head angel, the tall one, spun at Sam's shout, only to be met with the slash of an angel blade. He deflected it quickly, as Sam had known he would, but he also stumbled back a bit, away from Dean, which was what Sam had been aiming for. It left his brother to fight the other angel while Sam kept this one back. Something told him this one was more dangerous than the others.
The angel sneered at him. "Get out of my way, Abomination."
"Yeah, fat chance." Sam shifted down into a defensive posture and braced himself between his brother and this angel. "You're not taking my brother."
"I'm going to enjoy this."
The angel flung himself forward and Sam met him, blade for blade. He had to put all his attention, all his focus, into what he was doing and trust that Dean could handle the other angel on his own. If Sam looked away from this one for a second he knew he'd lose.
One blow sent him flying back, sliding across the ground to slam into the wall. Every bone jarred from the impact and they ached as he resolutely pushed himself up to his feet. He didn't let it keep him down. The angel smirked at him and shook his head, stalking forward. "You really are like cockroaches, aren't you? You just keep coming back." Hefting his blade, the angel's smirk grew. "Maybe we should cut off your head and see if your body keeps moving."
Sam braced himself the instant he was on his feet, hoping he wasn't about to die, when suddenly the angel jerked and the tip of an angel blade appeared from the center of his chest. Sam quickly closed his eyes as the warehouse filled with light. When he opened them again, he found the angel down with wings burned into the ground on either side of him and Dean standing over him, holding a blood angel blade. With his usual disregard, Dean bent down and actually wiped the blade off on the dead angel's jacket. Then he straightened back up and grinned at Sam. "Well, that was fun."
"Only you would think that was fun, Dean." Sam said dryly. He curled his hand over his bicep where he could feel he was still bleeding.
"Hey, you gotta have your fun somewhere in this life." Dean pointed out. Lifting a hand, he gestured towards Sam's arm. "Let's go get that cleaned up. C'mon, the first aid kit's out in the car."
The two turned to start to make their way towards the exit. They'd only gone a step when Sam heard something that sounded like crunching glass. He turned, looking back curiously, to find that Dean had stepped on something. His brother was standing still, lifting his foot to look at whatever it was he'd stepped on. Sam tipped his head a little to try and see what it was. What he saw wasn't at all what he'd expected. The ground under Dean's foot seemed to be glowing white. A very, very familiar white. His body was almost frozen in place as he watched the light slowly grow. Grace light, his mind told him.
As soon as he made the connection, he was moving, not even stopping to let himself think. The light was growing brighter and Sam shot forward as quickly as possible, grabbing a hold of his brother's arm and yanking him away. "Move!" he snapped, tugging on Dean. The light got brighter, so much brighter! "Shut your eyes!"
The two had just enough time to dart around a nearby pillar and drop down, sheltering one another with their eyes tightly shut, when the whole warehouse exploded with light. It was so bright he could still see it even with his eyes clenched shut.
The light show lasted only a moment. They didn't waste any time once it was done, though. As soon as it was clear, the two were straightening up and Dean was the one grabbing this time, hand curling around Sam's arm to yank him quickly towards the door. "We need to get outta here. That thing was a damn beacon."
They ran out of the warehouse and towards the car. Right now they needed to get the hell out of here. There was no telling how many angels had seen that or how many would come running. Sam sure as hell didn't want to be here when they started showing up. He threw himself down into the passenger's seat of the car and he hung on as Dean got in and they sped out of there.
It wasn't until they were miles down the road that either one of them felt safe enough to talk. Sam wasn't surprised when Dean spoke up first. "What the hell was that?"
Sam had already been thinking about it and he was pretty sure he knew exactly what it was. "I think that was bottled grace, like with Anna."
"Yeah, but Anna's wasn't that bright. It just kind of flowed up into her before it got bright, and I don't remember it feeling anything like that."
That was an understatement. Sam remembered how it had felt when they'd broken the bottle that Uriel had been wearing and Anna's grace had come pouring out. He remembered how bright it'd been, how he'd ducked his head away and shielded his eyes.
He also remembered another angel's light as it was released.
Thinking of that had Sam going very, very still. Holy shit.
"Sam?" Dean's voice broke into his thoughts, the worry in it clear for Sam to hear. "Sammy? What is it?"
A million thoughts were whirling through Sam's head as he considered the implications of this. Could it be true? If it was, it could change things. For good or for bad. "Do you think…?"
"What?" Dean snapped.
"Maybe it was brighter because it was stronger. Like…like an archangel."
Surprise lit up Dean's face, followed by confusion. His eyebrows furrowed down and he snuck a glance over at Sam before looking back at the road. "What? No, that doesn't make any sense. The only dead archangel we know…"
He trailed off, not quite finishing that thought, and Sam hoped that he didn't notice his flinch. The younger Winchester shifted in his seat and pushed back any thoughts of Gabriel. "You know, some texts believe there were seven archangels, not just four." He said, distracting himself with facts. "There's a bit of debate on who they are, but it's a common thought."
"You're kidding me." Dean turned to look at him and Sam gave him a look that said he was very much not kidding and the older Winchester groaned, eyes going back to the road. "Great. Just, great. You mean there's potentially three more super-powered douchebags out there instead of just the four?"
"Maybe. It would explain why that light was so much brighter than what we've seen."
"Great. And we just set one free."
That thought was sobering. The car fell silent as the brothers wondered about what they'd just inadvertently set free and what kind of affect it was going to have.
Across the country, another group of friends were also fighting for their lives.
Twenty eight year old SSA Dr. Spencer Reid leaned back against the wall and snuck a sideways glance towards the open doorway beside him. On the other side of the doorway, he saw one of his friends and teammates, SSA Derek Morgan. The tall, dark skinned man was holding his service weapon as well and the both of them were waiting and listening. The rest of their team was supposed to be coming in from the back. If all went right, their Unsub would find himself trapped, unable to run. They'd already removed the only child from the scene and now all they had to do was take down the man who was responsible for the murders of twelve different women in this town.
The local police officers stood outside the house, waiting for their signal. It'd been agreed upon that the BAU team would go in first. They wanted to catch this guy and they wanted to do it with minimal trouble. That meant, in quickly, take him down, and call in backup if needed. If they all swarmed in there was no doubt in their mind how this would end—suicide by cop.
A soft sound alerted Spencer and he heard movement not too far away. Then came the sound of the door crashing open and he and Derek were moving. They both spun around the door, guns at the ready, and found the Unsub in the middle of the room having been ready to run their way, trying to escape the others. Aaron Hotchner and Emily Prentiss had come in from the back while David Rossi and Jennifer Jareau had come in from the only side entrance. They had Ryan Allman surrounded; there was nowhere he could go.
"Ryan Allman, put your hands on your head and get down on your knees." Spencer called out as he took a step forward. He was the closest one.
Ryan lifted his hands and opened his mouth to give a response that never came. Whatever he'd been about to say, they'd never know.
All of a sudden a whistle of sound, like a distant chorus of music, caught Spencer's attention. It grew louder and louder and they all looked up just as something seemed to fill the room. Light came, the most beautiful light that Spencer had ever seen, white and hot and amazing. He couldn't look away from it. It filled the room, growing brighter and brighter until it seemed like it should be blinding him and yet he could only stare in awe. The sound of the others crying out was just a distant thing. Something in Spencer seemed to rise up at the sight of that light, and from the depths of himself, a place he hadn't even known existed, he felt like he was coming to life.
The light grew brighter and Spencer found himself speaking without thinking. "Shut your eyes!" He called out to his friends. "Shut your eyes!"
All at once the light seemed to come together and it dove right for him. Instead of being afraid, he found himself flinging his arms open and embracing it. It poured into him and he swallowed it down until it filled every inch of his being.
The humans in the room gave a cry as the light flared bright suddenly before vanishing away.
When Derek pushed up to his feet, he had to blink back the spots that appeared in his vision, temporarily blinding him. It took a second for them to fade away. When they did, he found he could only stand there and stare in shock. Their Unsub was lying on the ground and, oh God, it looked like his eyes had been burned out. His chest wasn't moving and Derek knew he was dead. He had to be dead. No one could survive that! He'd been closest when that thing hit. The other BAU members had been back far enough that they appeared to be safe, all of them drawing their arms away from their eyes and rising as well. But none of this was what held Derek's attention. All of that was secondary, processed but barely noticed. What his eyes and mind focused on was the figure kneeling in the middle of the room. The one that was slowly rising to his feet with a bearing that was taller somehow, regal, and so unlike what they were used to seeing. Spencer Reid pushed up to his feet and Derek could only gape as six large shadows rose with him. He had to be hallucinating. He had to be! Because those shadows—they looked like wings. But that was impossible! Right?
Glowing golden eyes passed over them all. When Spencer spoke, his voice carried a weight to it, a resonance that it never had before. "We've got to get out of here, now."
That was the only warning he gave. Derek saw those shadows move up and wide and then—everything changed. One second they were standing in the middle of the Unsub's house and the next they were inside what looked to be their motel room. A quick glance at the bags by the bed showed that, yes, it was their motel room—the one that Derek and Spencer were sharing.
Spencer still stood in the middle of them. He stayed there even as everyone stumbled back away from him. Derek found himself with his back pressed against the wall and he would've been ashamed if he hadn't been confused and afraid. Him, afraid of Spencer! Only, this thing wasn't Spencer. It wasn't the Spencer they knew, was it?
He felt JJ at his side as the woman shifted closer to him. "What are you?" She demanded.
Though the gold was fading back to the usual brown, the intensity behind Spencer's eyes was new and Derek found himself shifting just a little, like he was trying to shield JJ from that stare. Hurt flashed so quickly through Spencer's eyes he almost wasn't sure he'd even seen it. Almost. A flare of regret unfurled in Derek's stomach.
"You won't believe me." Spencer said softly.
"Try us." Dave told him. He and Aaron were the only two not fully backed away from Spencer. They stood where they'd landed, almost defiantly keeping their place. "You just magically transported us from the crime scene to a motel room, Reid."
The room went quiet and Derek watched as the man he'd thought he'd known looked down and blew out a shaky breath. There were all the signs there that Derek knew in his friend; things that signaled that Spencer was upset and uncomfortable. The shifting, the twisting of his fingers, the set to his shoulders that he always got when he was bracing for rejection.
Then all those thoughts wiped away with Spencer's next words.
The young genius looked up at them and there was an ageless look that spoke of time and things they would never be able to understand. "My name is Jophiel. Jophiel—the archangel."
"My name is Jophiel. Jophiel—the archangel."
Spencer's proclamation was met with stunned silence. Not that he'd really expected anything else. How else was someone supposed to react when a person they'd been working with told them that they were really an archangel? If he hadn't flown them here, he had a feeling they'd be discreetly trying to call the men in white coats to come and take him away. But he could hear their thoughts as plain as day and they were all remembering the light, the shadow of his wings as he'd risen from the ground. They were looking at him and seeing all those subtle differences that only those who truly knew him would be able to see.
What they could see wasn't even the half of it. For the first time in more than one human life, Spencer had his grace once more. He was whole. Centuries down on this planet and he was once again whole. His wings kept stretching out behind him and he reveled in the feel of them. They ached to stretch and fly. The short flight bringing the team here hadn't been near enough. He wanted to extend them and fly and fly until he was exhausted. He wanted to reach out to the Host and rejoice in his return and feel their love flood into him. Only, that was the one thing he couldn't do. There was a reason he'd run before any of his brothers or sisters could come see just who had put on that light show. Hopefully what little he'd been able to do would be able to make it so they wouldn't be able to tell whose grace had been there.
"You're…an archangel?" Emily asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room.
Drawing a breath that was now wholly unnecessary, Spencer nodded. "Yes."
"And you expect us to believe that?" Derek demanded.
It didn't really surprise him that Derek was the skeptical one. He wasn't even all that disbelieving, Spencer could see. He was just scared and confused like the rest of them. "You doubt me?" Spencer asked him gently. "You saw, Morgan. I know you saw a shadow of my wings. I flew you all here." He spread his hands out wide to indicate the room. Then he drew his hands back in and laid one over his chest. "You saw the light before it got too bright. It's in here, now. That light, that was what makes up an angel. It's called our 'grace'."
Aaron, who had been so quiet so far, voice the next question, his voice steady and even in a way that was meant to hide his emotion and put forward a calm front while gathering facts. "That light was you?"
"Yes. My grace was…taken from me a while ago. That's how I became human. What you saw was my grace returning to me. Whoever had it must've released it somehow."
"It burned out the Unsub's eyes." Derek snapped.
Spencer grimaced at that. "I tried to warn you all to close your eyes. An angel's true form isn't meant to be perceived by humans. He didn't close his eyes, or back away. He was too close when my grace landed." Spencer felt regret for that.
JJ's eyes suddenly went wide. "Those officers back there…"
"I wiped their memories as I left." Spencer said softly. He saw their surprised looks and shrugged just a little, shifting uncomfortably. "They'll think that they went to Ryan's house without us."
"You…wiped their memories." Dave said. This seemed to be the thing that finally was pushing 'too much' for him.
If only they knew. They didn't have a clue about the things that he could do. Spencer said nothing, knowing there was really nothing he could say that would make this okay. Nothing that would make it right. The room went quiet as his friends processed what he was saying. Their minds logically wanted to deny this whole thing. Yet, at the same time, they couldn't deny what they'd seen. They had seen the light of his grace before it'd gotten too blinding. They'd seen the shadows of his wings. They'd been flown from one place to the next. All of those things made it impossible to outright deny this. However, none of that made it easy to accept.
Emily was the one to finally speak up. Only, the question she asked wasn't what he'd expected. He'd thought they'd push about who he was or what he could do, or about angels in general. He hadn't expected her soft "What now?"
"What do you mean?" He asked.
She shifted away from the wall, actually taking a step towards him. "I mean you're apparently an archangel, so what now? You just—I can't believe I'm saying this—fly back to Heaven?"
A pang arrowed through Spencer's grace and he quickly shook his head. Go back to Heaven? No, no. He couldn't go back. Not now. Maybe not for a long time. "No, I won't be going back." The words were whisper soft and echoed with a pain that the others seemed to be able to hear. None of them could see the way his wings drooped a little and curled protectively around him. "One of my brothers ripped out my grace and forced me to Fall. Home is the last place I want to go right now." A shudder ran through him and he fought to shove back the memory of Falling. That had been a pain unlike anything he'd ever experienced. He didn't want to think about it, didn't want to feel it, so he pushed it down as far as he could and tried to focus instead on the here and now. He let his eyes drift over his friends, this human family that he'd made for himself, who still meant so much to him. "I'd like to stay, if you feel like you can still trust me to have me around."
"You want to stay with us?" JJ asked. She sounded surprised by it.
Spencer nodded. "Just because I remember who I am doesn't mean I've forgotten who I became here. Really, who I am isn't all that different. Spencer Reid is who I would've been had I been born human. It's my personality, my traits, in a human body. I'm still the same. Just, more." He flushed a little and twisted his fingers together. "You guys are still my family. I still care."
That seemed to stun them all the more. Yet, at the same time, it also seemed to ease some of the tension in the room. Spencer could tell that they weren't totally okay with this, and there would doubtless be countless questions for the next little while, but he could also see the way they all softened at his words and he knew that they weren't going to turn him away. They weren't going to make him leave. He had claimed them as family and that was exactly what they were. They were his human family and they would care for him just the same as they always did.
"You're always welcome with us, Reid." Aaron said, speaking for the group of them. The others all nodded their agreement.
"But you've got a lot of explaining to do." Dave added.
A warm smile curved Spencer's lips and his wings drew back up a little. "Of course. I'll tell you anything I can."
His grace glowed happily inside of him and he knew it showed a little in his vessel when he saw the slight bit of awe in everyone's faces. He was out of practice containing himself inside of a vessel. That was something he was going to have to get used to, quickly. So long as his family would have him, he planned on staying, and that meant keeping himself hidden from the rest of the angels, no matter how much that thought hurt. He could do it. He would do it. This was his home, now, and he wasn't ready to give it up. Not yet. Maybe not for many years to come.
This'll be a series. Up next will be Spencer/Jophiel's POV through season 6 for CM. A collection of episodes, rewritten to show how things might've gone with an archangel on their team (Plus some extra, important things, and a few surprise appearances!) After that, in the third story, we'll bring the two worlds together again and let our boys all meet. If you have any requests for pairings, speak now! For now, it'll be Sam/Gabriel and Dean/Cas, as per usual. If you'd like to see more, see anyone with anyone else, or see anyone added to those duos, or even make a trio, please let me know! This series is going to be my 'just for fun' series and I'm going to enjoy writing this randomly