Castiel and Zurina never strayed very far from each other's side, not even when they were in the privacy of their favorite hiding spot. The universe was peaceful in the garden. Light emanated from everywhere, it seemed like. The luscious flora rustled musically in the breeze caused by distant wing beats. Joshua smiled fondly at the twins, as they danced cheerfully around the garden, swirling and darting about the leaves and flowers. Their childish voices occasionally would belt out little tidbits of made up songs or rhymes. Laughter filled the garden.
Joshua, unlike many of the other angels, never minded it when the fledglings didn't bother to disguise their cheerful personalities. In fact, he found it almost beautiful when they acted as such, often smiling to himself as he took in their wonder of their Father's creation.
Castiel was the first to find an odd looking pond, calling his twin to look at it with him as they watch the first creature crawl out of the sea. Even though it had been years since the two shared a cradle, the twins seemed to stay the same. Castiel was still the calm one, curious about the things he saw and heard both in Heaven and on Earth, his wings weren't used often but they were strong enough to carry him short distances. Zurina was nearly as hyperactive as Gabriel, the two occasionally pranking their brothers and sisters, but she didn't eat as many sweets as the archangel, her favorites being the different flavored orbs on a stick. Her wings were a little stronger than her twin's but that was just because she liked to hover instead of walking or fully flying.
Joshua was trimming some of the trees and making sure they had enough water when Michael appeared, greeting the gardening angel with a smile before following the sounds of Zurina's excited voice as she asked her twin what he thinks the creature will become while Castiel shrugged and gave a quiet reply. Michael smiled, when Zurina heard him coming and turned to look at him with a huge smile.
"Mikey!" She greets, flapping her wings hard to get close to him. She held her hand out, her way of greeting, and Michael gently took it and immediately felt her Grace and reaching towards his in greeting before pulling her into a hug. Zurina was the only angel to do this and she only did this with the brothers she was closest to. Castiel ran over to Michael, only flapping his wings to give him an extra little bounce when he was close enough to join their embrace
"Did you two have fun with Joshua?" Michael asked.
"Yes! We sang and danced for the pretty plants!" Zurina says excitedly.
"There were many interesting plants that I was unaware of," Castiel informed more quietly. Michael was struck, just as he was each time he visited his younger siblings, at how different the twins were from each other. At the same time they were the perfect balance of each other, in all areas be it work or play, or even something as simple as conversation. When Michael would watch them play, only one thought really occurred to him: They're so lucky; they'll always have each other.
It's unfortunate, though, that the future was not able to be seen by the angel. Otherwise their lot might have fallen very differently. It all started with the bullying.
Zurina clung to her twin's arm, scrunching her eyes shut to try to block out what their brothers and sisters were saying about them the following day. Their three older brothers that would normally protect them from their bullying siblings were all out on separate missions. She sniffled a little, but that only made their mocking and jeering grow louder. Castiel had better luck simply ignoring them as he lead his twin away. He had been trying to make it to Joshua's garden, where they had planned to help the older angel named and plant some brand new flowers, not expecting all of the bullies to be in the way. Castiel cringed when he heard another soft sob from his twin. He wrapped a wing around her, offering her silent comfort the best he knew how. The twins barely heard the flutter of wings before there was silence. Zurina barely had time to open her eyes before the two were picked up by strong arms. With one mind, the twins buried into their brother's arms.
"Welcome back, Luci!" Zurina greets, wrapping a hand around the archangel's hand on her waist, greeting him with her Grace as he did the same before she threw her arms around his neck again. Lucifer spared a gentle smile for her, but the turned a heated, angry gaze at the other angels. He issued commands to the angels, who spun and fled to obey them, not wishing to stay in the path of his glare a moment longer.
"Thank you for saving us," Castiel says, hugging his brother tighter.
"You needn't thank me, that's what I'm here for." Lucifer opened his wings, and snapped out, showcasing their powerful strength for his younger siblings, ready to take flight. "Why don't the two of you sing for me while we go to Joshua's Heaven?" Zurina had a huge smile instantly, looking to her twin. The twins knew which song to sing. Zurina started giggling as she began to sing.
"What's going on? This can't be happening! Don't tell me it's a song!"
"It's a song," Castiel voices, smiling and making Lucifer laugh.
The bullying of the twins never stopped. Every time they were bullied, Michael, Lucifer, or Gabriel would show up and save them. The twins would always stay together, never more than a wingspan from their twin. Zurina, the more passionate twin, was always more affected by the bullying than Castiel. So, when the bullies got to them while their older brothers were out, Castiel would sing their song. The one that could make the other smile. "Let me be your wings. Let me be your only love," Zurina would still be sniffling but she couldn't force her smile down as he pulled her to their feet and started slow dancing, only picking up their speed when their song did. They'd dance a skip about, their laughter growing louder as their movements grew more boisterous. When their song was done, Castiel would smile as his sister became a giggling mess once more. Most of the time it was Castiel who started their song but on the rare occasions Zurina would start it. Then they would hug with arms, wings, and Grace truly believing that they would never be torn apart from each other. No matter what happened, no matter how difficult some of their siblings got, they'd always have their twin at their back.
"Oh, geez. I'm getting busted for stuff I haven't even done yet," Dean muttered, staring after the woman, Risa, who had just attacked him. It was safe to say that the pass 24 hours have not been in his favor. First, he had to explain to Cas that humans needed sleep, which confused him because he thought Luna had already taught him these things. Secondly, Sam calls him telling him that Lucifer decided to have a little chat with Sammy about being his vessel. Third, Zachariah goes and tosses him into the future. Fourth, he gets chased by people with the Croatoan virus. Fifth, future Dean locks him away. And to top it all off, Dean is getting busted for Future Dean's mistakes.
"What?" Chuck asked, confused.
"Uh, never mind." Dean needed to find Cas. Fast. "Hey Chuck, is… Cas still here?"
"Yeah," Chuck said with a laugh. "I don't think Cas is going anywhere." Dean left to go look for Castiel, hoping the angel will be able to help him. He found him, just not the way he was expecting. Definitely wasn't expecting to hear the Angel of the Lord say orgy. Especially not when he could barely handle a 'den of iniquity' not so long ago. And he certainly wasn't expecting him to be stoned. Then his future self decided to come back and shoot one of his own and then he's arguing with himself for not listening to himself. Now Dean finds out that his future self is torturing again and Castiel finds this funny?!
"What? I like 'past you'," Cas defended. Future Dean looked annoyed but didn't say anything as he whipped out a map and showed them where Lucifer would be. It was a stupidly reckless plan! Even Cas agreed! And finding out that Lucifer is wearing Sam to the prom isn't helping either! No matter what his future self said, there was no way Dean was going to say 'yes' to Michael. Not a chance. Even with Cas' horrible story about how he became mortal didn't help. But a thought did occur to him on the ride to battle.
"Hey Cas, what about Luna and Capri? They're strong, they could probably help us fight." Sure, Dean didn't know Luna very well but he did know that he and her daughter were strong.
"They're both dead," Cas said. "She found one of her brothers, a powerful Trickster, and the two of them came back to get Capri, hearing how the angels planned to kill her daughter, but they were too late. She watched her daughter die and the angels killed Fluffy when he went to go fight them for Capri and Luna went into a comatose state where she eventually died." Dean didn't know what to say to that. "She did try though. She tried to get the three of us to return to our families." Now Dean became confused.
"What are you talking about?"
"She tried to put her own family back together, she tried to get you to go after Sam, and she tried to get me to look for my twin."
"You have a twin?" Dean asked, surprised.
"Oh, you haven't found that part out yet," Cas said with a chuckle. "Yes, I have a twin. She was my song and dance. The hyper to my calm. I tried looking for her after Luna died but couldn't find her. Apparently Luna knew where my twin was but went into a coma before she had a chance to tell me." Castiel had a sad smile on his face. "When you return to your time, promise me you'll try to convince me to look for Zurina."
"Zurina? That's your twin's name?" Cas nodded.
"I won't know it, but I'll want to apologize to her. I shouldn't have pushed her away." After seeing himself get ganked by Lucifer in his brother's body, a 'friendly' talk with with his future self, and then being brought back to his own time, Dean was fed up. Dean wasn't going to say 'yes' to Michael but he also wasn't going to leave Sam hanging this time either.
"Oh, well if it isn't the ghost of Christmas 'screw you'," Dean hisses out when he sees Zachariah.
"Enough," Zachariah said calmly, thinking he has won. "Dean, enough. You saw it, right? You saw what happens. You're the only person who can prove the devil wrong. Just say 'yes'."
"How do I know that this thing isn't one of your tricks? Huh? Some angel Hocus-Pocus?"
"The time for tricks is over. Give yourself to Michael. Say 'yes' and we can strike. Before Lucifer gets to Sam. Before billions die." Someone tapped Zachariah on the shoulder, making the angel turn around and allowing Dean to see who was there. Dean started smiling when he recognized a messy mop of black hair. Luna smiled in a sickly sweet way at Zachariah.
"Your voice always did grate on my nerves," she said in a calm voice before giving the angel a good right hook and knocking him to the ground. "Especially when you're being a bully." She turned to Dean, checking him for injuries.
"Okay, okay! I'm fine," Dean complained. Luna chuckled before turning her sites on the angel again and charging towards Zachariah. Dean had just enough time to notice that the motel door was still bolted shut before he was no longer in the room. He was by a street and when he turned around he couldn't keep the smile off his face at seeing the familiar angel in a trenchcoat. "That's pretty nice timing, Cas."
"We had an appointment," Cas answered, a smile on his own face. Dean, remembering what he saw, placed a hand on Castiel's shoulder.
"Don't ever change." The angel continued to smile even after Dean looked away.
"How did Zachariah find you?"
"Long story. Let's just stay away from Jehovah's Witnesses from now on, okay?" Dean takes out his phone and starts looking for a number.
"What are you doing?" Cas asked, trying to look over Dean's shoulder.
"Something I should have done in the first place." He places the phone to his ear and calls Sam. Then Dean turns to Cas after he finishes the phone call, remembering the promise. "Hey, Cas?" Cas hummed a reply, tilting his head in that familiar curious look. "It might just be Zachariah messing with us but… do you know someone named Zurina?" Cas stood up straight and stiffened, his earlier smile falling flat. "You okay, buddy?"
"Zurina is my twin. The two of us, along with three of our brothers, were very close a long time ago. Why would Zachariah bring her up?" Castiel explained, still stiff from the mention on her. Dean began walking back to the motel, still needing to return for his baby.
"Well, it wasn't really Zachariah that told me." Dean then started to explain to Cas what had happened, the possible future, Luna's, Fluffy's, and Capri's deaths, and how Luna apparently knew where Zurina was and how Future Cas wanted to look for Zurina.
"Why would human me make you promise to try to bring my twin and I together?" Castiel asked as the two entered the motel parking lot.
"I don't know. Maybe you ended up feeling bad about whatever you and Zurina went through?" Dean questioned. They saw Luna leaning on Baby, giving them a raised eyebrow.
"How do you know about his twin?" Luna asked.
"Zachariah sent him to a future where the angels left and the Croatoan Virus was everywhere," Cas shortened. Zurina had a surprised look on her face.
"Sounds horrible," she said.
"Luna, do you know where Zurina is?" Castiel asked, hope peaking through his voice. She looked to the ground, thinking about how she was going to phrase her thoughts.
"Castiel, I want you to understand, okay? And I want you to know I'm not trying to hurt you when I say this." Cas nods, wanting to hear news on his twin. Luna gulped before speaking. "The Zurina you knew, angel, is dead." Castiel's eyes widened in shock and sadness. "When you and your brothers started leaving one by one, she started the Shatter. She took your Shatter into herself before your last brother left." Cas stared at his feet at hearing this news.
"I am the reason she's completely Shattered, aren't I?"
"Castiel, honey bee-" Luna pushing off to join the boys and comfort Cas, only to keel over in pain as she held her middle. Dean and Castiel caught her before she hit the ground and she took in a ragged breath. "No worries, boys. Just a bit battered and bruised. I'll be fine."
"I can heal-"
"You can't heal this with you powers, angel," Luna states, knowing exactly what he wanted to do. "I just need some rest and then I'll be fine. And Castiel, don't ever blame yourself. She wouldn't like it."
"Where's Fluffy?" Castiel asked, trying to think of a way to easy the mother's discomfort.
"I sent him to go check on Capri before I heard the ruckus that is Zachariah," Luna explained. Cas and Dean readjusted Luna to make it easier for them to carry her to the motel room.
"Okay, who's going to explain to me what the Shatter is?" Dean spoke, breaking the moment. Luna gave a weak laugh but it was Castiel who explained the Shatter to Dean as they brought Luna inside the motel room to rest. Dean had eventually forgotten to ask her how she got into the motel room in the first place.
"The Shatter is the most natural form of dying that an angel can have," Cas explained to Dean. "When an angel feels like they are losing everything important to them, they start to Shatter. When this happens, the angels end up in pain whenever they try to fly or use their grace. If the Shatter ends up completing itself, then the angel dies. It is similar to an incurable cancer."
"Sort of," Luna butted in, confusing Castiel. "There is a way to heal the angel by bringing the elements that Shattered them together but most angels don't know about it until it's too late."
"Either way, it sounds horrible," Dean commented.
"It is," Luna and Cas said at the same time.
The Winchesters were once again going up against a witch, this with a poker and years fetish, and were currently arguing about who was going to try to go up against the man witch next. It was a funny sight, if anyone around knew the group, to watch 30 year old Dean Winchester as an old man arguing about how he is wiser because he is physically older. Bobby had finally snapped and was yelling at his boys when they said he didn't have enough years in the bank.
"What exactly am I living for, huh?" Bobby snapped. "The damn apocalypse?! Watching men die bloody while I sit in this chair, can't take a step to help 'em?!"
"Bobby…" Dean tried to interrupt, only to be quieted by Bobby continuing.
"No, no. It's the facts. I'm old…" Bobby began to calm down, sadness and despair dripping from his voice. "...and broke down… and I can't…" his voice broke as he continued. "I ain't a hunter no more. I'm useless. And if I wasn't such a coward, I'd have stuck a gun in my mouth the day I got home from the hospital."
"You're wrong, you know," a voice said from behind Dean and Sam. All three men turned to look at the woman coming towards them.
"Luna? What are you doing here?" Sam asked.
"I thought I found one of the people I was looking for but it turned out I was wrong," Luna explained, her helmet under her right arm. "But since I'm in town, I can definitely help you boys out. Starting with Bobby Singer." She turns her attention to the naturally older man, Fluffy coming up next to him and sniffing while Bobby froze, not sure what to think. "I have been around long enough to know that no one is useless, and if I had the power, I would pull you out of that chair and have you walk everywhere just like you used to. Bobby, what do you think will happen to these two knuckleheads without you? You've been more of a father to them than their own father. What about all those hunters that rely on you for information, or to get them past security? Who will hunters turn to when they're in a jam? Sure you can't hunt yourself, but you're not useless. So many people are counting on you, Bobby, and you'd be letting them all down by taking your own life. And if I have to, I will take the bullet you try to use against yourself and have it aimed at me. Understand?" Bobby nodded and looked to the ground just as Fluffy licked him, leaving a trail of slobber in it's wake and making the Winchesters chuckle at the disgusted face that he made. Dean mentally reminded himself to thank Luna and to have a private talk with Bobby later. "Now that the serious bit is over," she said, turning to Dean and pointing at his new look. "This is just hilarious."
"Shut up," Dean says with a glare, his chuckles stopping abruptly.
"Okay, okay." She places a hand up in surrender. "Alright, I don't know the exact spell for the reversal but I do know that the bases of any reversal spell requires the DNA of the caster. Meaning, someone will need to play. You two," she pointed to Dean and Bobby, "don't have the required years. That leaves Sam."
"No way!" Dean shouts. "Why don't you play?!"
"I don't know how to play poker. What I can do is even the odds and make sure Sam doesn't take the years if he loses."
"You are not taking the years-"
"Yes I am, Sam. I have more years to give than any of you will ever know." She gave them each a stern, motherly look before tossing her helmet to Sam. "Put that on and let's go!"
"Sammy's a back warmer," Dean chuckles out, earning an ear flick from Luna and a slobbery lick from Fluffy.
"You just wish you could be one, Dean," Luna counters before walking away with Sam, who was smirking under her helmet. Sam, Fluffy, and Luna made it to the he-witch's den right as one 'customer' was finishing up. Sam took the lead, efficiently hiding her smaller form, and Fluffy took the rear.
"Hesh here is gonna live to see his granddaughter's Bar Mitzvah," the he-witch informed Sam, causing the 'customer' to turn to look at the tall hunter. "Isn't that right, Hesh?"
"Thanks again, Patrick," the older man said, turning back to the witch.
"Shalom, my friend. Shalom." The older man stood from his chair, careful not to knock into Sam or Luna, and gave a final wave to Patrick.
"That was nice of you," Sam said, cautiously, as he took a step forward.
"I'm a nice guy," Patrick said with a shrug. "What can I do you for?" Sam stepped closer to the table as Patrick began to shuffle the cards.
"Deal," Sam ordered, taking a seat and revealing Luna.
"Just a moment, Sam. It looks like you brought a friend," the he-witch said, placing the cards down and standing. Sam looked back and forth between Luna and Patrick, completely confused as to what was happening as the witch and mother hugged each other like old friends. When they parted, Fluffy nuzzled his head on the witch's hand. "Hello to you too, Fluffy. How long has it been?"
"137 years, Patrick," Luna informed easily. The two had met 300 and some years ago when Capri, who looked closer to eight years old then, tried to lose more years so that she could grow up faster. Luna wasn't too happy about that and ended up meeting with Patrick and his wife, who declined the child and made her pout.
"Ah, yes. Hekate's All Hallow's Eve party where Loki and Kali got into that argument and destroyed nearly half of the party," Patrick said, reminiscent. Luna laughed at the story. She had been invited by Aphrodite, who was trying to set Luna up with a new lover, but left the party early that year to tend to her daughter and completely missed the fight, but rumor spread like wildfire among the gods so she still heard about it. "What name are you going by this time, Muse? Saros? Elara? Astrid? Miranda?"
"Luna." He hummed in response.
"You went with something simple this time." Sam continued to stare at the two with confusion and wide eyes. "So, I'm guessing these boys are friends of your's?"
"Yes. I'm just here to even the odds and take the years should he lose," Luna informed. Patrick nodded and took a seat, dealing out the cards. "You know, she is considered the 'Forgotten Muse'," Patrick explained to Sam.
"That is only because no one is sure of who I am or where I came from," Luna countered. "Although some of my basic powers have shown themselves to others when I am near." Sam just stared at her as Patrick took a seat. The two males played, Lia having come in and the two women greeted each other with hugs and smiles before Lia went over to her lover and kissed him. Patrick suggested a break and Sam ran outside to meet with Dean while Luna and the two witches talked, Fluffy carefully resting under the table. Dean said that they've got the spell while Sam handed him the toothpick, which he took without anyone, including Luna, seeing. The female was certainly shocked when Patrick revealed that he had switched the toothpicks. Luna grabbed Sam's shoulder and managed to place a shield between the two males, keeping Patrick from hurting Sam. Fluffy gave off a low growl from his spot under the table, warning the witch to stop.
"Stop it! Patrick, stop it!" Lia stepped in and tried to stop her husband. He just continued to try to choke Sam with his powers while Luna was using all of her strength to prevent harm to the younger Winchester.
"He tried to kill us!" Patrick yelled, hating that Sam would try to cheat.
"I did it! I gave him the spell!" The moment Patrick had stopped trying to hurt Sam, Luna fell to the floor in exhaustion and Patrick looked over to his wife. While the husband and wife were talking, Sam got up and slid to Luna. He tried to see if she was okay, she looked like she was in a lot of pain and was panting. Luna knew that she had over exerted herself again and that she would pass out at any moment, she could feel her arms shake just from keeping her up.
"Sam," she whispered, knowing she didn't have a lot of time before she passed out. "I'm not going to be able to keep it even this time." When Patrick and Lia were done talking, they turned to Luna and Sam as Fluffy scooched closer to Luna to give her comfort.
"What's wrong with her?" Sam asked, turning to the witches.
"Sam, I'm fine. It's just a past scar that hasn't healed yet," Luna explained with a grunt as she tried to move into a more comfortable position. "I'll be fine. I just need rest," she whispered before falling completely to the floor, asleep. Lia went to Luna's side, putting the unconscious woman's head on her lap as the hound gently nuzzled the mother's cheek and whined. Patrick and Sam returned to their seats and began the game. They kept playing, trying to beat the other. Dean nearly died but Sam still won with four 4's after pretending the 'going-out-of-your-head' bit. Sam had to carry the still unconscious Luna back to the motel where he met up with Bobby while Dean was out to go get food. Sam had placed her on one of the beds so that she stayed comfortable, the hellhound laying on the floor next to the bed, while he told Bobby about how he won. When he was finished, he was leaving to go get a booster shot just as Dean returned with food. Dean had a talk with Bobby, repeating and agreeing with what Luna had said before and not even noticing that said woman was asleep on one of the beds.
"Now are we done feeling our feelings?" Bobby asked. "Cause I'd like to get out of this room before we both grow some lady parts."
"Yeah, we're done," Dean said getting up from his chair to help Bobby pack his truck.
"Also, don't forget the sleeping girl in there," Bobby said, following Dean. "I don't want you idjits leaving the poor girl to wake up on her own after she's helped us."
"What girl?" Dean asked.
"The one that went with Sam to the poker game." Bobby then explained what happened to her based on what Sam had told him.
"This happened before, when Zachariah sent me to the future," Dean said. "Something isn't right with her. Sam told you that she was old? Like, older than the he-witch we just went after?" Bobby nodded. "I think we're going to need to have a serious talk with her." And he and Sam did, although Bobby still had to return to his house. Luna, of course, didn't wake up until Sam and Dean were eating dinner in the motel room that night while waiting for her to wake up. She stretched on the bed, hissing when she still felt pain spasm through her back. Fluffy's head perked up and watched as Luna slowly sat up. "Good, you're awake. Hungry?" Luna looked at them, feeling that there was something that they weren't telling her. She sat up and walked over to them, passing under a devil's trap on the ceiling of the room that Fluffy was wary of and sitting at the small table with them. Dean passed her a take out box of spaghetti and a silver fork, which she easily picked up.
"Are these tests necessary?" She asked Dean, already knowing what he was going you say.
"Yes."
"Luna, you've been keeping stuff from us. You're who-knows-how-old, you have the ability to block a 500 year old witch's powers, you can appear inside a locked motel room, and according to Cas you seem to know more than you should," Sam explained, taking a nicer approach. Luna sighed and lowered her head.
"I am not the same being I used to be, and over the many years that I've been on Earth I have learned much. You saw what happened to me after I blocked Patrick. That was the most power I have used in centuries. I'm broken, boys, and my powers are affected by it," Luna explained.
"So you're a witch?" Dean asked.
"No, I'm not," she answers.
"Patrick called you a Muse, like in the Greek Mythologies?" Sam followed up. Luna made a sour looking face, trying to think of a way to describe herself to the boys.
"Sort of, but not exactly. I have met many pagan gods over the years and none of them really know me well but they have seen me influence many people, much like a Muse. They kind of just assumed and I never felt the need to correct them. And I won't tell you guy what I am or what my original name was either until I find my brothers," she explained.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
"I mean, I will willingly explain everything about me and who I am after I get my brothers together again. You see, the five of us didn't part well. My two oldest brothers had been arguing about something our father did and the youngest of the two was sent into imprisonment by the older one. The imprisoned one only recently was freed, which is why I am only now trying to get them together again. My third brother ran off because he hated the fighting between our two older brothers and my youngest brother turned his back on me when I was trying to teach him everything that I had been learning about the humans. It's been centuries since I've seen them all together and my mission is to reunite them and make them understand each other a little better so that we can sort of go back to how we were before. Or at the very least tolerate each other enough to save our home. I'm not evil, I'm just a little sister who wants to see her brothers together again." They finished their food in silence and then Luna excused herself, saying that it was about time she got back on the road. Fluffy followed her out and the brothers waited until they couldn't hear the motorbike andy more before debating between whether to trust her or not. They never really came to a decision before going to sleep.
Castiel fought his way through the trick. He needed to get back to Dean and Sam. This trickster is too powerful to be an ordinary trickster. It took him a long time but Cas was finally able to get out of his illusion and start looking for Dean and Sam. Cas was a little beaten up but that didn't matter, he didn't know when he was going to get sent back again. Cas opened the door, relieved to see the Winchesters and not another hologram.
"You okay?" Dean asked after the cheers and applause quieted a bit.
"I don't have much time," Castiel warned.
"What happened?" Sam asked, worried for his friend.
"I got out."
"From where?" Dean asked.
"Listen to me. Something is not right. This thing is much more powerful than it should be," Cas explained quickly.
"What thing? The Trickster?" Dean asked.
"If it is a trickster."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, confused. Cas was suddenly thrown against the wall, surprising the boys when the angel grunted from the impact.
"Hello!" The Trickster greets as he hops into the room, causing the audience to cheer loudly. "Thank you! Thank you. Please stop." Castiel slowly stood from the floor, duct tape on his mouth and a look of recognition in his eyes at seeing the 'Trickster'. "Hi Castiel," the Trickster greeted. The angel turning his gaze to the Winchesters, begging for them to understand who the Trickster really was. With a swipe of his hand, the Trickster sent Castiel away.
"You know him?" Sam asked.
"Where did you just send him?" Dean asked.
Luna was standing in the shadows of the warehouse behind some boxes, waiting for the boys to return from whatever little fun they were being placed through, and Fluffy laying down by her feet. She had an umbrella in her hand as she waited, Chuck having warned her that she'll need it. After several more hours, she watched as the Winchester boys reappeared with the Trickster surrounded by Holy Fire. She continued to watch without anyone noticing her as the boys and the Trickster, who had just revealed himself to be the archangel Gabriel, were talking about how an archangel became a trickster. She could see from her little corner that the archangel held some interest in the younger Winchester, which made her smirk a little. When Dean asked Sam if he really blamed Gabriel for leaving his family and insulting his brothers, she watched as Gabriel became angry and snapped at them. Luna watched as the three started arguing about the apocalypse, Gabriel blaming the two Winchesters. Telling them how similar the two really are to the angels and explaining why the two are meant to be the vessels and why the angels all knew. Dean still rebelled against destiny and Luna smiled at his resilience. Gabriel continued to try to convince them, knowing only two angels that could possibly stop their brothers from fighting.
"So, boys, now what? Stare at each other for the rest of eternity?" Gabriel asked just to annoy them.
"Well, first of all, you're gonna bring Cas back from wherever you stashed him," Dean ordered.
"Oh, am I?"
"Yeah. Or we're going to dunk you in some Holy Oil and deep-fry ourselves an archangel." Luna winced at the idea. Sam didn't speak but he knew not to get in Dean's way when it comes to Cas. Gabriel had turned to look at Sam, silently asking if Dean was joking, but from the look on the taller Winchester's face, he knew Dean wasn't. Gabriel turned back to Dean and snapped his fingers, bringing Cas to stand next to Dean. "Cas, you okay?" Cas was panting from whatever he was doing previously as he glared at Gabriel.
"I'm fine," Castiel replied, angry at the archangel. Luna gave a relieved smile when she heard Cas. "Hello Gabriel."
"Hey bro," Gabriel greeted with a smile, thinking Cas was only upset with him because of the trick dimension. "How's the search for Daddy going? Let me guess. Awful." Castiel just continued to glare at Gabriel. "How's Zuri been? Fantastic, right? Always singing, dancing, smiling, and laughing? Of cou-"
"She's dead," Cas said evenly, forcing himself not to show emotions. Gabriel looked at Castiel with confusion, not understanding what he was saying. "Zurina completely Shattered. She took her Shatter and my Shatter into herself. She's dead, Gabriel." The archangel stared at the angel with wide eyes and an open mouth.
"She can't be. With you by her side-"
"She wasn't. I wasn't aware that she had both of our Shatters when I turned her away."
"You stopped singing with her?" Gabriel whispered, not believing his ears.
"She was bragging about the things she was learning on Earth."
"Zurina never brags, Castiel! You of all people know this!"
"I know I was at partial fault!" Castiel yelled back. "You were too! So were Michael and Lucifer! I'm sure of it!"
"She can't be dead!"
"She is!"
"She can't be! You and her were meant to be the pillar and cornerstone of Heaven!"
"I guess that will not happen since she's dead," Castiel growled out. Dean and Sam were staring at the interaction, gaining pieces of the story between the angels. Luna had started to cry a little at the argument between the brothers, memories surging through her mind. Dean decided that they were done.
"Okay. We're out of here," Dean announced. "Come on, Sam, Cas."
"Um… okay…" Gabriel was annoyed and upset. They weren't really going to just leave him there, are they? "Hey… Guys? So-So, what? Huh? You're just gonna… You're gonna leave me here forever?" he didn't want to be felt behind. He had to find Zurina and reunite her with Cas. Dean turned around when he was by the door, Sam and Cas not far behind.
"No," Dean answered. "We're not. 'Cause we don't screw with people the way you do. And for the record...This isn't about some prizefight between your brothers. Or some destiny that can't be stopped! This is about you being too afraid to stand up to your family and leave family that really needed you! As a wise lady once said: Family is the most important thing anyone will ever have." Gabriel stared at the older Winchester like a child that was just scolded for running out into the street. Dean turned back around and broke the glass before pulling the fire alarm. Luna took that as her cue to open her umbrella as quietly as possible, Fluffy quickly standing up, before the sprinklers started up and smiling at the fact that Dean just called her wise. "Don't say I never did anything for you." Dean opened the door and left, Sam not too far behind after he stared at the Trickster one last time. Cas was the last one, giving his brother one final look as the Holy Fire went out before following the Winchesters. Gabriel continues to stand in the sprinklers until he heard footsteps from behind him. Luna had come out of her hiding spot, having wiped her tears away so that no one would notice, with her hound following close behind.
"Hello, Gabriel," Luna greeted, giving a small smile.
"Who are you?" Gabriel asked, wary of the woman suddenly appearing and the hellhound right next to her.
"A friend," she answered vaguely, stepping closer and offering the shelter of her umbrella. "They're right, though. You do need to stand up to your family, make them see reason. I also saw the interest you had on the younger Winchester boy. There are hard times coming and Castiel will not be able to protect both at the same time. You should also try to get close to Castiel again, too. He needs an angel friend in this, especially since he can't be with his twin right now."
"And why should I listen to a demon like you?" Gabriel asked. This woman confused him. She had a Hellhound but couldn't sense any demonic aura on her at all.
"On Earth as it is in Heaven, angels and humans are more alike than many think," she said. "Plus, I'm not a demon." She handed him the umbrella and started walking away. "If you don't want to bring your brothers back together, that's fine. It just means Castiel will be the only angel to follow your Father's orders."
"Which orders?" Gabriel asked. She turned to him with a smile.
"To love the humans more than your Father. Castiel is fighting for humanity, not the angels. And, I'm sure Zurina would be doing the same." With that, she left. Gabriel tried to follow her but she had disappeared, a motorcycle sounding in the distance. He thought about what she said and when he finally came to a conclusion, he went looking for Castiel. He was going to fight for humanity. It is because of this decision that Dean nearly drove off the side of the road due to Gabriel's sudden appearance in the back seat with Cas.
"What the hell?!" Dean shouted as he parked on the side of the road. The Winchesters turned and stared at the archangel, who was sitting lazily on one side while he propped his feet in Cas' lap.
"Hello boys," Gabriel greets.
"What are you doing here?" Sam asked, more calm than his brother with an added hidden excitement in the younger brother.
"I've come to join you lunatics for the fight against the apocalypse and so I can reestablish my brotherly bond with Cassie," Gabriel explained.
"Why would you want to do that?" Cas asked, shoving his brother's legs off him and momentarily ignoring the old nickname.
"Because I already gave up on my family once, and my little sister died from the Shatter because of it. I'm not going to give up again." Gabriel was serious. He wasn't going to let the same thing happen to Cas.
"I thought you said there was no way to stop it?" Dean growled out.
"As far as I know, there isn't. But Zurina might of found a way. She was the one who really wanted to try to get our brothers to understand," Gabriel explained. Gabriel turned to Castiel. "You said she was learning things about the Earth, right?"
"Yes, Father took her from Heaven a few years after Michael placed Lucifer into the cage," Cas said, not understanding how his twin could help.
"Great! She might have notes that could help us find a way to save everyone! Did she ever tell you what part of the world she was in while learning?"
"No," Cas states. Gabriel quieted down while he thought.
"Well, That's definitely going to make it harder but not impossible." Gabriel disappeared in search for any possible signs that Zurina had been there at any point while Dean started driving again. Gabriel did find an old wooden cabin in the woods but it was completely empty, it looked like it had be for centuries. The archangel searched the whole cabin but found nothing but the very very faint sense of Zurina's Grace. He returned to the Impala with a pout on his face. "Nothing! I found a cabin but there was nothing in there." Gabriel grew frustrated. "She had to have left something!"
"Why do you say that?" Sam asked, still turned to look as Dean started to drive.
"Because if she is really dead, then she should have left something for Cas so that he can save Heaven," Gabriel explained.
"Why does Cas have to be the one to save Heaven?"
"Because he and Zurina are supposed to be Heaven's salvation."
"Well, since she's dead and didn't leave any notes, then that's a bust," Dean piped up from the front.
"Maybe…" Gabriel began to think about places that Zurina liked base off of her favorite places in Heaven, thinking he might be able to find some notes there. "Maybe she met someone and they, or their descendants have the notes," he mumbled in a low whisper, making it impossible for anyone to hear him. Once his face started hurting from staying in a thinking position for so long, Gabriel decided to leave the thought on the back burner for now and start bugging the Winchester boys. "So where are we heading? Are we there yet?"
Gabriel found that hunting with the Winchester boys was… interesting. Although, the majority of the time the archangel was invisible when he followed them and just 'popped in' when Castiel did. It made it easier to prank Dean while invisible, like the time he turned the Impala neon pink. And protect Sam, like with the vampire nest the other day; not that Gabriel would ever admit that to the giant's face. Sometimes Gabriel, when he isn't looking for traces of Zurina among the humans or pranking Dean, likes to pop in on Sam when Dean was out. Like now. Dean was out a rogue werewolf while Sam was back at the motel looking for any possible leads to ganking Lucifer, although if Gabriel actually looked at the screen he would've notice that he hadn't scrolled in over half an hour and that his mind was flooded with thoughts of the archangel that was watching over him without his knowledge. Gabriel hopped onto Sam's bed, which the researcher was currently sitting on with his computer on his lap, while making himself visible and startling Sam.
"Dammit, Gabriel! Stop doing that," Sam scolded, giving the archangel one of his bitch faces.
"Come on, Samsquatch," Gabriel cooed, sitting on his elbows to look at Sam while he pops a lollipop in his mouth. "You know you missed me." Sam just glared at him while the trickster internally rejoiced in glee when he poked at Sam's mind to reveal that the archangel was right. Sam did miss him.
"Whatever," Sam muttered, returning his gaze to the computer on his lap. However, Sam couldn't really focus and decided to give up for a little bit to ask a question that's been bugging him since Gabriel joined their little suicide group a week ago. "What changed your mind?" Gabriel looked over to him and pulled the sweet out of his mouth, making a popping noise.
"You're going to have to be a bit more specific, Sam-I-Am," Gabriel said, sticking the sweet orb on a stick back into his mouth.
"What changed your mind about joining us?" Gabriel made a sour face at the question.
"A woman," Gabriel answered. Sam gave him a skeptical look, pushing his jealousy away for a later time.
"A woman?" Sam asked, making sure he heard right. Gabriel nodded and explained his encounter with the odd female after the brothers had left him in the warehouse.
"I never got her name, either. And she seemed to disappear quickly, like an angel or demon, but…"
"She didn't show any signs that she was either and she seemed to know more than she should," Sam finished, causing Gabriel to nod. "Did she have a Hellhound with her?" The archangel nodded. "The woman you met was Luna. She's a friend. Sort of. She's been around for a long time apparently and she's powerful, she was able to keep a 500 year old witch from strangling me. And Cas says she's a really good fighter too." Sam tried to remember all the things he's learned about her. "She seems more human than anything else but the witch we went up against awhile back called her a Muse. The 'Forgotten Muse' or something? And she changes her name often enough so that no one really knows her name." Gabriel gave a look of thought. This Luna chick was really weird but he did remember hearing stories about the 'Forgotten Muse' and how she just roams the Earth with her daughter and Hellhound.
"'Forgotten Muse'... I remember hearing stories about her. Always trying to spread inspiration, hope, happiness, and all that other good-y stuff," Gabriel said, recalling the stories. Dean then entered the motel covered in dirt.
"What happened to you?" Sam asked, trying to hold back a chuckle and failing.
"Hey Dean-o!" Gabriel greets before turning his focus back onto Sam.
"Shut up," Dean gruffs out. "What is he doing here?" Dean gestured towards Gabriel laying on Sam's bed.
"Well, it turns out Luna was the one to convince Gabriel to join us," Sam informed before Dean left to shower. When the older Winchester returned, Sam relaying what Gabriel had told him.
"That doesn't make any sense, why would she care about whether the trickster joins us or not when she has her our family to worry about?" Dean asked.
"Good question," Sam says, trying to think of a way to answer that. "And I think I know who might be able to answer that."
"Who?" Dean asks, pulling a chair over to sit.
"Cas knew her before we did. Maybe he knows something about why she convinced Gabriel to join us," Sam suggested. Gabriel agreed that it was worth a shot and Dean shrugged before praying to Castiel in the most polite way possible.
"Hey Cas! We've got some questions about your friend so get your feathery ass down here."
Okay, maybe not necessarily polite but it still got the job done.
With a flutter of wings Cas was standing next to Dean. The angel greeted them, Dean being the first one he greeted, and they began to fill Cas in on what they've learned and started asking him questions about Luna only to find that he doesn't know either. A thought then occurred to Gabriel.
"Hey, Samoose! Didn't you say that Luna's been around for a long time?" Sam nodded at Gabriel's question. "Maybe she met Zurina at some point and knows if she left any notes behind. I mean, she does seem to know a lot about angels and what's happened to Heaven. Maybe Zuri was the one to tell her?"
"I can confirm that she did know Zurina," Cas interjected. "Luna was the one to tell us that Zurina was Shattered after Dean returned from the future."
"That's right," Dean added. "Future Cas also said that Luna found one of her brothers and that he was a powerful trickster. Maybe you reminded her of her brother or something?"
"It's possible," Cas stated but they were interrupted from any further conversation due to Sam's phone going off. The moose of a man grabbed his phone from the nightstand and read the text. His eyes widened before he tossed the device to Dean and started packing. The squirrel had the same reaction as his younger brother and the two were halfway done packing, even tossing things in the air for the other one to catch to making packing faster, when the angels in the room were finally able to ask what was going on.
"Chuck just sent a text saying he's in trouble," Sam quickly explained, finishing his bag.
"Who's Chuck?" Gabriel asked, frowning at feeling out of the loop.
"That's right, you haven't met him yet," Sam said, swinging his bag over his shoulder and tossing a phone charger to his brother. "Chuck is the prophet who's been writing our life story," Sam quickly explained. "I can explain the whole story on the way if you want."
"Hells yeah! Let's go!" With a snap of his fingers, Gabriel and Sam were in the backseat of the Impala with Sam's bag in the trunk. Sam watched from behind the driver's seat, with Gabriel's head in his lap, as Dean returned the motel key and raced over to the Impala to place his bag with Sam's while Cas got into the front passenger seat. As soon as Dean was in his seat, he turned the ignition and tore out of the parking lot while Sam started retelling the events of how they met Chuck, Cas adding in a few details here and there. They were at the Pineview Hotel by noon the next day. Dean quickly parked the car, noticing several other black '67 Chevrolet Impalas parked as well and stopping for a moment.
"Dean!" Sam calls, getting his brother's attention. "Come on." The four start running towards the hotel, seeing Chuck pacing outside the front. "Chuck! There you are." The prophet turned around, surprised to see the Winchesters and their angels following behind them.
"Guy?" Chuck asked, confused. "And angels?"
"What's going on?" Dean asked, trying to get right to where they fight the bad guy.
"Uh… nothing." Chuck became more confused when they told him about the text that he supposedly sent saying that he was in trouble. He was trying to defend himself, looking in his pockets for his phone to show them, when he realized what happened and was about to voice his thoughts when Capri came racing out of the hotel.
"Uncle Chuck! Look what I got!" She cheers as the child runs over to show Chuck the bag of candy in her hands. Gabriel, seeing the demon part of her, took out his angel blade and was ready to gank the child when Castiel stopped him. Capri saw this and smiled when she saw Cas. "Castiel!" She then ran over to him to hug the angel, giving him enough time to return the hug before she pulled away. "I'm so glad you're not dead!" She then noticed the Winchesters. "Mr. Dean! Mr. Sam! Look what I got for helping Ms. Becky!" She showed them the bag of candy as well. She was about to greet Gabriel, wanting to find out who he was, when a shout made her rush to hide behind Cas.
"CAPRI MICAH MINETT!" Capri squeaked at her mother's fearsome shout and the use of her full name. Castiel's eyes widen and he flinches, not expecting the usually calm and patient Luna to be in one of her rare angered moods. Cas pulled Capri to hide behind Gabriel, knowing not to get close to the furious mother, even Chuck moved slightly away. Gabe just looked back and forth between his brother and the woman who just stomped out of the hotel with the Hellhound on her heels. When she was near the group, Luna tossed Chuck's phone back at him and glared at her daughter, her foot tapping with impatience. "Capri," Luna growled out. The child looked down and walked over to her mother, knowing full well that her mother would only get more mad if she refused to come willingly. She handed the bag to her mother, who handed it to Chuck. "No candy for two weeks," Luna informed, slowly calming down.
"Oh come on! Don't you think that's a bit harsh?!" Gabriel protested. Luna glared at the archangel, mentally telling him to keep his cakehole shut, before turning to her daughter and giving her a look. Capri turned to Chuck with a sad look.
"I'm sorry for stealing your phone, Uncle Chuck," Capri said, looking at the ground. Chuck bent down and placed the candy to the side to hug the child.
"All is forgiven, Capri. Was it Becky who asked for my phone?" She nodded as he picked her and the candy up.
"Ms. Becky said she needed to contact a friend and that you had their number in your phone," Capri explained. Chuck turned to Sam.
"Sam, can you show her the message?" Chuck asked. The younger Winchester nodded and pulled out the phone to show Capri the message that Becky had sent him. The young girl instantly became confused.
"Why would Ms. Becky say it's a life or death situation? It's not, we're all safe," Capri asked, turning to her mother.
"Because, darling," Luna said, taking Capri from Chuck as her anger simmered down. "Becky just really wanted the boys to see what was going on." They heard a squeal from the hotel front as Becky came hopping down the stairs.
"Sam! You made it!" Sam, Dean, and Chuck all gave their individual annoyance looks, even though Chuck still kind of liked her. The two angels both looked confused and Luna and Capri both looked very irritated while they heard a grumble coming from Fluffy.
"Ms. Becky, I do not appreciate you lying about your reasoning for wanting Uncle Chuck's phone," Capri said with a pout.
"Oh, come on." Becky bounced over. "They're gonna wanna see this." Luna swiftly positioned Capri onto her hip and grabbed Becky's arm, careful not to make it too painful for the fangirl. The two women stared directly into each other's eyes, Luna's eyes were hidden from the angels and the Winchesters as the violet hues of her eyes became more pronounced and Fluffy's growl became louder.
"I do not care for your lies towards my daughter," Luna growled out. "Should you lie to my daughter again, we will have issues, correct?" Becky gulped and nodded her head. Luna released the poor girl and turned back to her friends with a bright smile and her eyes returning to normal. "Since you boys are all here, why don't you all come take a peek around?" With that, she turned around to head back inside with her daughter and Fluffy. Gabriel and Castiel could hear the mother and daughter whispering to each other as they walked away.
"Who is the angel next to Castiel, mommy?" Capri asked.
"That's Gabriel," Luna answered, not looking back at the boys.
"The mailman from Heaven?"
"Yes, darling," Luna said with a chuckle.
"He's shorter than I thought he would be." This made Luna laugh, Cas smirk, and Gabe pout.
"She's scary," Becky said in a hushed tone so only the boys, Chuck, and angels could hear.
"What you got was nothing compared to what she can do at full capacity," Chuck warned. "You do not want to mess with anyone close to her."
"Seriously?" Gabriel asked, to which Chuck nodded.
"Think: Angelic Atomic Bomb." This made everyone in the group wince.
"I'd rather not think about that," Dean said, already having the apocalypse on their shoulders and not needing the thought of an angry immortal mother. Chuck did a quick introduction so that Becky and the angels were introduced to each other before a large man in a yellow shirt stepped onto the porch and informed Chuck it was showtime. The prophet apologised to the four before walking inside. They all followed Chuck into the hotel and were surprised by what they saw. There were references from their past everywhere. The first Supernatural convention.
"Just think, if Chucky ever continues the series then there could be versions of Cassie and me walking around too," Gabriel joked after Becky clarified what they were seeing for them.
"No one calls me that any more," Cas said to his brother.
"Well, looks like I am now," Gabriel group started looking around the convention and eventually made it to the conference room where Chuck was called to the front with a roar of applause. Sam tapped Dean's shoulder and pointed to the side of the room near the front where Luna and Capri were sitting next to each other on the floor to watch Chuck. The group made their way to sit next to the mother and daughter duo to see how Chuck was doing. The prophet was nervous on stage and grabbed one of the water bottles to drink from it as an attempt to calm his nerves.
"Mommy, is he turning that water into wine?" Capri whispered to her mother, making the older woman laugh because it was true. The smell of fermented grapes was faint but there nonetheless. Chuck then began to answer his readers' questions and announcing that he was going to start publishing more books again. The mother and daughter duo turned their eyes to the Winchester boys when they felt an alarming amount of negative emotions next to them. Chuck was in trouble. After the panel Dean and Sam took Chuck off to the side to talk about the books, with Becky following them in secret, while the angels stayed with Luna to talk about Zurina.
"You knew Zuri, right?" Gabriel asked Luna.
"Why?" Luna asked cautiously as she handed her daughter, who was sitting on a nearby chair, a soda.
"We are trying to find any notes that she might have to stop the apocalypse. Any sort of writing she did could help," Cas informed. Luna sat back into her chair and began to think about anything that could help the boys. She was about to answer when a scream was heard, causing the two angels to get up and follow the noise.
"No! Guys- Wait-" They didn't hear her as they ran. "Don't move," Luna orders her daughter before going after them. The angels met up with the Winchesters and they started talking to the girl, having other cosplayers follow up behind them. Once they realized it was just an actress the four began to walk away and Becky started to gush about the LARPing. Luna just shakes her head at what was going on and walked with the boys back down the stairs to watching the LARPing while explaining what LARPing was to Cas. After Sam and Dean left for the bar Capri ran over to her mother and hugged her tightly. "What's wrong, darling?" Luna asked, hugging her daughter back.
"Evil," the girl whispered, confusing her mother and the angels by her side.
"What's evil, sweety?" Luna kneeled down so that she was eye level with the child.
"I do not sense an evil presence," Castiel informed, Gabriel nodding in agreement.
"It must have only appeared for a split moment," Luna clarified, causing Capri to nod. "She's a little more sensitive to this because of both angel and demon blood in her. Capri, darling, can you show me where you sensed it?" Before Capri could answer, they heard a guy shouting.
"For the last time, I'm not making this up, okay? She- She's upstairs. A real, live, dead ghost!" Dean and Sam make it over to the guy before the angels and mother duo. They tried to talk to the guy but he ended up leaving.
"What do you think?" Sam asked.
"I don't think that guy's a good enough actor to be acting," Dean answered.
"Then let's get some answers and have ourselves a good ol' fashion salt 'n' burn," Gabriel answered.
"A lot of what they were saying is true, if that'll help," Luna said.
"What do you mean?" Cas asked.
"Capri here was friends with Ms. Gore's son. This place really was an orphanage. The only thing that doesn't seem right is the part where Ms. Gore killed the boys, she was perfectly in the right state of mind last time we saw her," Luna recalled.
"Wait, so you were actually here when this was an orphanage?" Dean asked, getting a nod from the mother.
"Supposedly they were all killed up in the attic." With that, they started heading for the stairs. Luna stayed behind to tell Chuck, keeping Capri by her side while they checked the they returned, Sam was pacing, phone to his ear and Becky flirting with him from a distance.
"Awesome," Chuck grumbles, standing next to Becky with Luna on his other side.
"I told you not to go for her," Luna quietly scolds, keeping an eye on Capri as she tried to climb onto Gabriel's back. "You're going to end up having another Mary incident."
"I loved Mary," Chuck shoots back.
"You just loved her because she wasn't as innocent as everyone thought she was," Luna scolds, turning to give Chuck a glare. There was a crash in Capri's direction, making Luna run in her daughter's direction and Chuck, Sam, Dean, and Becky stare at the scene before them. Gabriel was laying on the ground, flat on his stomach, with a fruity alcoholic drink covering his head that had fallen when he knocked over the table and Capri was sitting on his back like she was riding a horse while her face was frozen in shock, not having expected the fall. Castiel was standing next to them, his arms reaching out like he had tried to prevent them from falling but failed, and a panicked look on his face. Fluffy was laying on the floor near them, trying to get his tail free after Gabriel tripped over it. Suddenly Capri started giggling and asking to do it again as she mother picked her up off of the archangel and to the side to sit on Fluffy's back so the mother could help the trickster clean up, of course she was trying to hold back an amused smile the whole time. Everyone went back to doing their own thing, Sam telling Dean that they didn't know where she or the children was buried. They end up following two LARP players with a map that they found and the brothers left the angels to watch the others while they torch Ms. Gore only to find out that Ms. Gore was the one to keep the three malicious ghost children in line. Sam told Chuck to stall when he went up on stage again while Dean and the angels gathered everyone into the conference room, including Luna and Capri even though the two protested.
"I can help," Capri complained.
"I really don't mind Capri being safe back here but me? Really? I-" Luna was cut off by Cas placing a hand on her shoulder.
"We understand that you want to help but who will watch Capri? Chuck is distracting others, Fluffy won't let you out of his sight if there is known danger, and you do not trust Becky," Cas reason. Luna pursed her lips and locked eyes with Castiel defiantly but ended up sighing in defeat, knowing he was right.
"Alright. But you four better be careful," she warned. Cas gave a curt nod before she went into the room with Capri and Fluffy. The four ended splitting up after salting the door. Cas and Dean went to go look for the three terrors while Gabe and Sam flew back to the cemetery. While all of this was going on, Chuck was struggling to keep everyone entertained long enough for Dean and Sam to finish the salt and burn. In the back, a man stood up and started walking towards one of the doors.
"Uh.. Excuse me! Y-you really can't leave!" The man just gave Chuck a look that said 'Stop Me', giving Luna enough time to get up and move over to the man and grab his arm while Fluffy stayed with Capri.
"Sir, please return to your seat," Luna said as pleasantly as she could force out. The man just tried to brush her off and reach for the door. Luna's grip tightened and her violet hue began to show in her eyes again. "Sit down." Luna fell to the floor with a gasp, not expecting the man to shove her off. Capri ran to her mother's side to make sure she was okay while Fluffy barked and raced towards the man.
"Don't open that door!" Chuck called from the stage, grabbing the nearest iron item he could find and starting to run as the man opened the door, removing the salt line. He was about to step through the door when one of the ghost boys appeared in front of him, brandishing a knife and making the audience of the room gasp. The man was tackled by the invisible hound as the ghost began to step through the doorway just as Chuck caught up and swung, making the child ghost disappear, and quickly shut the door. "I said no one leaves, dammit! Now, somebody salt this door!" Chuck walked over to Luna to help her up while a few of the fans began to re-salt the doors. "Are you alright, Lurina?"
"I'm fine," she answers, rising to her feet and noticing Becky in the distance as she stares at Chuck. "Looks like you got your girl's attention," Luna whispered. "Be careful not to make the same mistake twice," she warned before bringing Capri to sit with her against one of the walls and calling for Fluffy to leave the man alone. Luna started humming a soft tune, a lullaby really, to Capri as the child slowly fell asleep and the hellhound curled up next to them. They waited there until Sam finally opened the doors and said that it was safe to come out. Dean talked to some of the people that came to the convention while Becky took Sam off to the side to 'break up'. Luna, with a sleeping Capri on her back, was off looking for Cas and Gabe with Fluffy following right next to her and easily found them standing on the patio of the hotel.
"Hello Luna."
"Hey-o girly."
"Hello angels," Luna greeted. "I came over to answer your question from before, about any notes from Zurina." Gabriel instantly became excited, hoping it was good news, while Castiel placed his full attention on the mother. "There aren't any that Zurina wrote. She didn't want to taking any notes because she was planning to teach you two and Michael and Lucifer herself." Gabe groaned and Cas stared at the group.
"And now we're back to square one," Gabriel growled out, annoyed.
"I'm sorry, angels," she said, finding the ground more interesting.
"It's not your fault, Luna," Castiel reassured, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, a weak smile on her face but she didn't reply to his comment.
"Lurina!" Luna turned at the sound and found Chuck in the distance, beckoning them over.
"Who's Lurina?" Gabe asked. Luna looked back at the angels and winked with a smirk before racing over to the prophet, careful of Capri on her back. Castiel and Gabriel followed her to where Sam was talking with Becky about the colt.
"There was this one scene where Bella gives the Colt to a demon named Crowley," Becky informed. Luna stiffened at the name, her smile from before vanishing quickly.
"Crowley?" Luna gritted out through her teeth, working on trying to keep her breathing even. Becky jumped at the mother's tone and the angels, prophet, and hunter gaped at her in fear. "He's still alive?"
"Y-yes?" Becky stuttered out.
"Tell us everything," Luna ordered after taking a deep breath to calm herself. Becky quickly nodded before speaking. Back at the Impala, Dean was waiting for his brother and angels after just finishing up with a conversation with the two who helped them burn Ms. Gore's body. He started thinking about how maybe he sure be happy about were he is in life, then started to think about how happy those two seemed, then same sex relationship, which ended up turning into thoughts about Cas, which then started making him confused. Eventually, during his musings, Sam and the Angels finally arrived and told Dean about the colt.
"I seriously don't think it's going to work," Gabriel countered.
"Do you have a better idea?" Dean complained.
"Come on guys. Don't start this up again," Sam says, exasperated, as they entered the Impala.
Meanwhile, Luna had woken up Capri, who was now sitting on her mother's bike with a helmet on, and was now helping her daughter put on her backpack, which had the young girl's clothes in it. When she was done, Luna marched her way over to Chuck and Becky.
"Crowley?! Really?!" Luna growled out. "You do realize that I'm going to smite the crap out of him when I see that demonic asshole, right?"
"Why are you so mad?" Becky asked, hiding behind Chuck.
"Because Crowley was one of the few close demons that my mate had before he disappeared and I'm going to get all the information I can on where my husband is," Luna growled out. She placed her focus on Chuck before speaking. "I'm taking Capri to Missouri's so that you can have the house to yourself. Then I'm going to hunt that demon down." Without waiting for a reply, the mother took off towards her bike, carefully climbing on so she wouldn't accidentally kick Capri before revving it up and tearing out of the parking lot with the Hellhound racing beside her.
Dean and 'Sam' had ordered drinks and burgers after salting and burning the witch ghost and were waiting on there food to arrive. Cas and Gabe were busy looking for possible ways to get rid of Lucifer. It might of just been Dean but 'Sam' seemed off. More so than usual. Really? Bacon cheese burgers? Sam never orders those, he always gets rabbit food. Then there is the celebrating and the 'I had a really awesome day, man' and the new and happy 'Sam'. Something really wasn't right. Then he started going on and on about fighting the plan as if they aren't currently trying to fight being Lucifer's and Michael's vessels. And the drinking together! Dean wasn't sure if he liked the new 'Sam' or if he should be worried. Not to mention the compliments and the normal Sam doesn't get drunk that fast. Then, when the food came, he started digging in as if he's never had it before and started complimenting the bread. Bread! Dean found it weird, especially after 'Sam' left to go get another drink at the bar and giving Dean time to really think about what was going on. Dean turned to look for Sam, finding him talking to an older woman that the giant would normally never go for.
"Scoping out the party?" A female asked, taking Sam's originally seat and making Dean jump. He turned to see who had snuck up on him and found Luna.
"No," he answered, turning back to watch Sam. "I'm keeping an eye on Sammy. There is something off about him." Luna followed Dean's eyes and watched 'Sam' leave with another woman.
"That isn't Sam," Luna said. "It's his body but not his soul."
"You can see souls?" Dean asked, jumping when Fluffy placed his head on Dean's lap.
"Yes. I have for a long time. Now hurry," She ordered. "We need a plan and he will most likely return to the motel after the intruder has finished with his extracurriculars."
"Don't say it like that," Dean whined. Nonetheless, they began working out a plan before heading to Dean's motel. They set the bed up to make it look like Dean was sleeping in it before turning all the lights off and hiding. "So, Sam said that you hate Crowley. Why is that?" Dean whispered as they waited for 'Sam'. Luna gave a sigh but gave a vague answer.
"It has to do with my husband. I'd rather not talk about it right now," she said, listening for any footsteps. After half an hour sent Fluffy out to patrol for 'Sam'. An hour later 'Sam' finally entered the room and was about to shoot the bed they had set up but he realized something was off and was in the process of turning to the real Dean, who snuck up on the kid, when Dean punched him and grabbed his collar.
"You're not Sam," Dean growled. Luna came up next to 'Sam' and Dean and took the gun away. "You're either going to start talking or I'm going to let her get her fury on."
"Dean, release the kid," Luna orders. Seeing that Dean wasn't listening, she continued. "All we'd do is hurt Sam's body if either of us or my mate's hellhound try to attack." The intruder's eyes widened, fear evident on his face. She stopped to think, gauging how much power she currently had. "Then again…" Dean watched her from the corner of his eye to see what she would say. "My husband did show me a few… tricks… to use against human souls that wouldn't effect the vessel itself. Although I would prefer not to use these tricks if possible. However, I will use it if necessary to return Sam to his original body." During her explaination, the mother brought a chair over to place their prisoner in.
"How does your husband know how to-" Luna cut Dean off with a look that said 'Don't ask'. "Right. So which is it? Sam's location or your torchered soul?" Dean tossed the kid into the chair and Luna tied him up before turning her attention back to Dean.
"It doesn't really matter whether he tells us or not. We can just call the two angels and they should be able to find him if we point them in the right direction," Luna informed. "Or they could just smite the soul from the body." The kid began to panic and begging for his life.
"Oh, my God. Please don't hurt me," the kid begged. "Please! I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!"
"Okay. Hey, pull it together champ," Dean reassured.
"We don't really want to hurt you, child," Luna interrupted. "But you have placed yourself in a position where you are unaware of the circumstances. We need to know Sam's location and correct the situation before more danger comes," Luna explained.
"In my friend's basement," the kid panicked. "His parents are out of town."
"Parents?" Dean questioned, turning his gaze to Luna for a moment before returning his gaze to the kid in his brother's body. "How old are you?"
"Seventeen," he answered. Dean was processing this when he and Luna were suddenly thrown against the wall while the demon walked over to the kid and untied him. Dean had been knocked out while Luna was dazed. The demon in the kid's friend's skin began to ask him what he wanted for a reward when the demon was suddenly tackled by Fluffy, who only sat on the demon until Luna recovered enough.
Meanwhile, Sam was a bit tied up and wasn't sure how he was going to get out of this one. Well, he did have one idea but he really didn't feel like getting made fun of today. On the other hand, he needed to get to Dean before Gary, the kid he had switched bodies with, did something reckless and stupid. After a few more attempts to try to free himself Sam gave in.
"Hey...uh… Gabe? Gabriel… I could use a little help. Some kid decided to switch bodies with me. I don't know how far Dean's gone and I'm tied up in the basement of one of the kid's friends." Sam felt awkward praying but he needed help. Sam waited for about a minute before he figured that Gabriel wasn't going to show and began struggling against his binding again.
"This is just hilarious," Gabe said, having just appeared in front of him. "How'd you manage this, Samsquatch? Well, I guess I can't really call you that right now, can I?" Gabe laughed at Sam's misfortune while Sam rolled his eyes.
"Ha ha, now get me out of here so we can save Dean." Sam was slowly regretting not calling Cas instead.
"Why? I'm sure he can take care of himself." Gabe smirks and sticks a sucker in his mouth.
"Gabe!" Sam groans out. "There is a demon on it's way to wherever Dean is and is planning to get the kid to say 'yes' to Lucifer in my body!"
"Why didn't you start with that, bucko?" With a snap of his fingers Gabriel had released Sam from his bindings and grabbed the hunter's shoulder. They flew into the motel room just as Fluffy got off the demon and Luna used her powers to pin the demon to the wall long enough for them to exorcize the demon before collapsing onto the floor, out of breath. Fluffy padded over to her and she scratched behind his ears, a smile forming on her face as she praised her 'good boy'.
"Well that was fun," the mother said sarcastically to the boys and angel. "Seriously, though, I can't keep using my powers like this. I too broken for it." Luna shifted so that she was leaning against the nearest bed. "What are you all standing around for? Go get the ingredients for the reversal spell and go make sure the girl is okay!" This startled the boys enough to get them into gear and in a matter of minutes the girl was sitting on the bed and Gabe and Dean watching to make sure the reversal went over well while Sam and Gary were switching bodies again. By this time, Luna had gained enough strength to move to sit next to Nora, the girl who was possessed by a demon, on the bed and rubbing the girl's back in comfort while Sam checked the nearby mirror to see that he had returned to his own body.
"So we good?" Dean asked, watching Sam check in the mirror.
"Yeah. We're good," Sam answered, not taking his eyes off of the mirror. "Oh, man, it's nice to be back."
"Maybe for you," Gabriel whined. "I was starting to like you being shorter."
"No you weren't," Luna countered, an amused smirk on her face.
"You're right," Gabe said with a shrug. "I like the moose the way he is." Luna only hummed, giving Gabriel a knowing look and making him squirm a little.
"Gary…" Dean said, ignoring the squabble that was sure to come. "You know what we're capable of, you've seen some of her power alone." Dean threw a thumb towards Luna. "And that was nothing compared to that fact that she can punch an angel without hurting herself. Not to mention she's a Greek Muse as far as we're aware and she has the fury of an Angelic Atomic Bomb AND a Hellhound named Fluffy following her almost constantly. He's an archangel and can smite your ass." Dean pointed at Gabriel this time. "And Sam and I have an arsenal in the trunk. If you were of voting age, you'd be dead." Gary gave a little flinch. "Because we would kill you." Gary turned to Sam, who nodded at what Dean was saying.
"Dean, stop," Luna said, seeing the fear in the boy. "Gary, he's right. If you were older and actually knew what was going on, one of us would've murdered you by now. In short, get your act together and stop messing with things that you shouldn't be or you will be on the receiving end of what we do to those who don't," Luna warned in her more motherly tone, as if she was just telling him that he was grounded instead of threatening his life.
"Are we clear?" Dean asked.
"Crystal."
"Good." Luna got up from the bed and began to walk towards the door.
"I'll leave you boys to take the kids home," Luna announced. "I've still got some tracking to get done." She opened the door and was about to walk out until she suddenly turned back around. "And you might want to check yourself, Sam, just in case. Gary did leave the bar with an older woman earlier." She walked out the door with a gaping Sam and a laughing Gabriel. Sam then turned his gaze to Gary.
"Really, man?!" Sam cries out, making Gary wince.
AlwayzHuman here! Hope you liked this chapter! Let me know what you think so far. Remember! Reviews help fuel the motivation to write!