Chapter 3

The factory was old; that was obvious. The other obvious fact was that Sasha was in a sort of trap and she was howling mad. Angela could say that the angels certainly knew what to prepare for. They knew she would be kicking and screaming, maybe not literally but close enough. She looked at Sasha and spoke softly and watched the pup calm down. "Good girl."

"I thought she was going to leap out and rip what's his face's face off."

Angela looked at Dean who was looking at her like he wasn't sure if she was going to punch him or not. She crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged, "Animals are sensitive to the emotional states of things around them. They are probably better barometers than most things."

"And that sounds like bullshit to me Angie," Dean replied, still feeling nervous that Angela was acting different than usual. "Look, I know that getting a chunk taken out of ya by that kid as a werewolf did something to you. Hell on four legs you understand…"

"Not exactly a good example since I had him before that," Angela replied, sounding a little condescending but it was accentuated by the fact that she was recalling a few things. "And I've been friends with Lycan since… God knows when."

"You know what I mean Angie," Dean countered a little too angrily. "When I see you look at hell on four legs or Sasha there, they are quick to get in line to obey orders."

"It's mostly recognizing that there is a dominate personality Dean. They see me as an alpha." Angela looked back at Sasha who was looking annoyed while lying down in the middle of whatever it was that had her captive. "Besides they are sensitive to emotional states. Sasha sensed I was pissed and responded accordingly."

Dean could live with that. "I guess but that snarling and growling was not typical of a puppy. It was more… more like what you did when…"

Angela looked down. Her hands were still crossed over her chest since she was still at her boiling point though she felt remarkably calm for the situation and that was worrisome. "I know."

"Level with me Angie, how well do you know Alistair?" It was a risk but Dean was willing to take it if only to answer questions about things that were glaringly obvious but also elusive.

"We did meet," Angela replied after careful consideration, "And it was an experience that left an impression on both of us."

"What I saw, I'd say a helluva lot. Chuckles called you a torturer of demons and I know what I saw when you showed me but I get the feeling there is more to it. Otherwise you wouldn't have insisted on going solo."

Angela swallowed a bit. She remembered the memory she had allowed Dean to see when she talked to him his dreams. It was only a small part of that whole incident. She only wanted him to get a taste of what she had done and not scare him. She was being a parent in trying to shield him from the big bad things. The problem was that he knew that there were bad things out there and pretending that they didn't exist really didn't do any good.

It still hurt to hear the pain in Dean's voice whenever he mentioned her going solo. Then again the times she did really didn't pan out too good. The first time she went blind and then that business with the Grigori and she got a few licks… it was only an indication that Dean cared and put her in the same category as Sam. She nodded and said, "You said it yourself, Alistair is the black belt master of torture… down there. When we met, I was the grandmaster of it topside. You can… imagine. That and the fact that those were slayer years…"

Dean could start to see the picture. If he wanted the full one, it would involve probably forcing a truth serum into her and she would give. But he understood why the elusiveness since he was guilty of the same thing with his time in hell. "I guess there was a reason for dragging you along."

"It's not about physical, Dean. That's… your department," Angela replied feeling bad that she was putting it in that form but she wanted Dean to understand.

"What do you mean?"

Angela had pressed her tongue to her teeth more out of agitation but released it to explain, "I once told Sam that I was force tested to the extent of telepathy and my empath abilities."

"Right he told me that it was like possession and I saw you do that with Ellen."

"There is a bit more to it than that," Angela nodded, slightly. She looked at Dean's look and continued, "That memory I showed you was only part of it. You noticed what I did with Ruby before you died. You saw how scared those bikers were when we had Hibah."

"What are you saying?"

Angela sighed. She had an idea but she didn't want to cause any more pain to her bulldog. "Will you let me show you?"

Dean thought about it some. He studied her and took from it that she had something in mind that she was reluctant to do but it would make a point. It was one time but… He looked her in the eye and said, "Do it."

"Close your eyes and open them when I say."

Dean was quick to comply and did as he was told. He suddenly felt that he was in a different place than the abandoned factory. The sensations were like… He opened his eyes when he was told to and the voice was different. He found himself staring straight at Alistair who was looking at him with a smirk.

"Hello, Dean."

Dean felt his throat choke. It was very real. He knew it had to not be real but it felt like it. The heat, the pain, the agony and the taunting; the very feeling was there along with what was there. He heard barking and looked. Where Sasha should have been was one of the hellhounds and it wasn't the friendly puppy Cerebus was. He started to tremble.

Dean.

Dean blinked and saw that he was back where they had been taken. In front of him was Angela looking sorry about what she had done. Sasha was on all fours and looking up at him anxiously. He was shaking badly until he felt waves of calm wash over him. He calmed his breathing, "Thanks for that."

"You'd be surprised at how little is needed to soothe agitation."

Dean couldn't forget that. She had done it for Sam when he was nearly freaking out because he heard the maniacal laughter of clowns. Still it was welcome and much needed. Taking a deep breath he looked at her and said, "That was… was…"

"That's pretty much a small taste. I got creative when I was bored."

"Bored?"

Angela gave a nod. She glanced off in a direction and then back at Dean. "I did get bored. The physical is one thing. After a while, pain becomes meaningless and you learn to make it white noise. The mental and the emotional… it's another thing. The creative part was using the same things, the same images over and over again in a different manner." She shrugged her shoulders and turned to look at a door she spotted with a window.

"And that's why you told them to leave me alone?"

Angela looked at Dean, "Yes. I can do both but Alistair has never gone ten rounds with my… specialty. Also because I wanted to try and clean up a mess."

"Alistair was a mess?"

"When we… parted, I had a chance to kill him but I didn't. It's one of those things I left to fester." Angela looked through the window and spotted the very being she was talking about chained up, bound in a devil's trap. She then looked at Dean and added, "Like I said, I have a laundry list that I thought was completed and now it comes to bite me in the ass. Better to fix it before it becomes a bigger problem."

Dean could agree with that assessment and he knew she was better at cleaning up a mess and fixing things. It was like her whole hunting career was that. Yet he couldn't stomach the fact that she was willing to take on this guy again, who would more likely use his words to get her to be what she was in that funeral parlor. That was pure hatred and while the explanation she gave sufficed for the moment, he wasn't entirely convinced that it was a good thing. He peered through the window with Angela and looked at the demon.

As they were doing that, they were being watched by Castiel and Uriel. Uriel muttered, "Amazing. She still has it."

"It was never lost to begin with," Castiel replied, "She chose not to use it."

"And look at what a waste that was. This could have been over long before this. What did our father ever see in choosing her?" Uriel was frustrated and annoyed that he had to be in the same room as her.

Castiel studied his charges. Dean, he was sorry for but more so for Angela. He knew that by telling them to just use her, she was risking breaking herself in order to spare Dean from the memories. It hurt and it was a sensation that he didn't like but he had his orders and if one or both could get Alistair to talk… "The Malachi is the earthbound angel. She would be of two worlds." It was basic recitation of what they both knew.

"Still an abomination who consorts with dogs…" Uriel couldn't see it.

Castiel said nothing but he looked at his brother. He never liked the fact that Uriel insisted on calling her that. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he cared about his charge and it could be said that he felt he knew better. It was troubling to think about since it was the first step to doubt. Deciding the conversation was over, he walked over towards the pair and looked through the window with them.

It would have been easy to make an entrance. He could and then make everything all right since for one, Uriel was a pushover dick and two, Cassy wouldn't have to go through with it. The downsides were that the Winchesters wouldn't be happy about it but that didn't matter and there was the fact that he had to worry about another brother that would probably make life a living hell even if he could pull off a great escape.

It had been a bitch to be stuck on the outside of a funeral parlor but there was no way to breach the interior. The angel proofing was the problem and he was sure Cat had seen it going in. She wouldn't have missed a detail like that especially if she had her mojo up and was seeing everything in the spirit world. No, she would have gone in and fight the fight and she did. Of course that came with a phone call that had him rush over like it was nothing.

The sudden feeling of rage and hatred was powerful. Gabriel had felt nothing like it before, not even when he rescued her from Alistair the last time. He normally was the joking guy who wouldn't hesitate to get serious if it was to be serious but this time… This time he felt a slight bit of fear and it bothered him greatly. Yeah he was afraid of a few things like losing her and she had her fears but it was fear of her that had him bothered.

Gabriel wasn't naïve or stupid. He knew that she was capable of great violence since he had witnessed it. That was anger though. She was angry and she let it out. That hatred though… it had the archangel think that maybe his Cat was at that point where she just snapped. Again though that would be anger. He had no idea where the hatred came from unless it was something that was buried deep and didn't make itself known until then.

He contemplated as he watched through the window that he found to the factory. It was a risk since his brothers could possibly find him and that was if he let them find him. He had a few tricks for staying hidden and it was how he had been able to watch her all these years without her knowing. He knew the intricacies of the bond they had in the guardian-charge relationship and was able to mask his presence from her unless he wanted her to know he was there.

Cat, what happened? Why are you so angry?

Gabriel didn't expect an answer. He knew she was in that in between stage in certain uses of her powers. The few times she had been able to use her mind to talk, it could be chalked up to adrenaline, act of desperation or heat of the moment.

I'm just tired mio fratello.

Gabriel paused in his musings when he heard it. He blinked in amazement. Tired enough to give up?

It feels like it… and I was caught… again. He caught me Gabe and I snapped.

Gabriel took in a breath like he was trying to control his temper. He watched as she talked with Dean. I know. I felt it.

I… hate him. I hate Alistair.

Gabriel closed his eyes after watching Castiel walk towards the pair. It was as he thought and it pained him. It looked like it pained Castiel too but his little brother didn't know it just yet. He looked around not sure what to do and most of his ideas were more of a physical kind. He looked back and sighed. I know and I'm… I'm sorry Cat.

Don't be. It wasn't your fault. It was mine… and it has to be made right. You should go… before Chuckles and Cas sense you. I'll be all right. It all works out.

Gabriel couldn't help but scoff at that. Don't be a martyr Cat.

Because martyrs are only venerated when they are long dead and useless. I know. Now go.

Gabriel didn't have to look but he knew that he was pushing it. He growled in frustration as he left his Cat alone. She wasn't alone technically since Castiel was there and she had Dean though he had no idea why she liked him so much like a little puppy or something. Yet it pained him and he worked to keep her from feeling it. He didn't want her to know since she would insist on finding out what was wrong. Man he was fucked with this.

The cabin was very isolated and out in one of the harshest places known to man but it was very homey. Well that was how Cat had described it when he first brought her to it when he showed her the inspiration he claimed was her. He walked past the cabin and towards what he sought and the icy snow crunched under his feet.

He had given her a bunch and finally answered her question. He looked at the green bush with the white buds. There were a few that were late but they would bloom just as beautiful or even more so. It made him wish that he waited. They were perfect, innocent and had no idea of what the world was like.

Gabriel stroked the buds gently and took in the silky smoothness. They looked so delicate but he had seen them survive frosts that would have killed ordinary plants. They were like his Cat. She was beautiful and fair and it looked like the weight of the world could crush her and nearly had but she stood firm. She got back up.

Now she was being faced with that weight again and in his position he couldn't do much. Castiel was in a better position to help her and yet… Gabriel turned away from the bush and kicked at the snow angrily, sending a chunk of it flying. He made an angry yell of frustration and kicked the snow again.

"I'm so glad that you go elsewhere when you want to blow off steam. Hibah would ask questions."

Gabriel turned around and looked to see Wosret standing there. She was dressed like she was a hunter and figured that she had picked up a few things from Cat. He replied, "She asks questions anyway when she's not in school." He turned back and continued to kick the snow chunks that had formed.

Wosret studied the archangel. He had left so abruptly she guessed, and it appeared correctly, that it had something to do with a person near and dear to the both of them. She left him alone but it seemed that... "You can hardly blame curiosity that became natural under proper guidance."

Gabriel snorted as he stopped what he was doing. "Why are you here Wosret? You know I have no place there."

Wosret felt her lip quiver. There were times that she just wanted to hurt him because he was as he said he was, an ass, but she also knew that there were things, burdens, that he carried that were buried deep. They only revealed themselves when certain events struck deep. She looked at the angel she loved and replied, "Something has happened."

"Shit happens every day."

"Not to the warrior princess you know as the Malachi." Wosret had a firm posture and wasn't afraid to get into confrontation with him.

"You don't know what you're talking about. Go back to Karnak princess and be oblivious to everything."

It was unexpected for Gabriel as he was grabbed from behind and flung. He landed in the snow and made an interesting track as he slid along the ground. He looked up to see Wosret advancing towards him. She stopped and pointed at him indignantly, "Don't you dare presume to tell me what I know and don't know."

Gabriel was on his feet instantly and retorted, "I will presume. You have no idea…"

Wosret punched the angel in the face and the sound of flesh on flesh could be heard. Gabriel put a hand up to where he had been hit. He looked at her as she said, "Don't you dare. If anything you have no idea."

Gabriel normally exhibited a degree of chivalry when it came to the female of any species. However, he didn't have a problem hitting a woman if he needed to do it. He delivered a punch and was surprised that move was blocked and countered. Few were ever able to do that and he could name one. He took the punch to the face and countered in a snarky tone, "That the best you can do?"

Wosret narrowed her eyes. She didn't want to fight him but he was making it difficult not to. "Don't test me," she warned.

"What's the matter? Scared princess?" Gabriel raised his hands in a mocking gesture.

"What's wrong with you Gabe?"

Gabriel lowered his arms and sighed. He put a hand to the sore spots on his face and rubbed them gently. "Nothing," he said.

"Bullshit," Wosret replied as she joined him. "It's about Shifa'. You always get bent out of shape when it is something serious about her."

Gabriel looked at Wosret and turned. His view included the roses and the view of the cabin. He recalled the day he brought Cat up here. It was after she figured out he had given her roses for Valentine's Day earlier this year. He could see her walking through the snow and looking at the roses. They had been in bloom then and she looked happy.

"Gabe. What's going on?"

"Do you ever get the feeling that the worst thing that has yet to come is just waiting to come out and you've caught a glimpse of it?" Gabriel was still staring at the roses and the cabin.

Wosret frowned a little as she edged closer. She wasn't sure what he was getting at but it was at the core of what had sent him off in a flap literally. "I don't know. What do you mean?"

Gabriel mused a moment and rubbed his jaw where the right cross Wosret had delivered hit. "She scared me."

"Shifa'?"

Gabriel nodded, "She scared me Ret and it is because…" He paused and shook his head as he thought about everything. "She shouldn't have to be put through this."

Wosret touched her hand to his shoulder. "Gabe, what are you talking about? Start from the beginning. What happened to Shifa'? She has never scared you before."

Gabriel looked at Wosret and saw the concern. He really had picked up some bad habits from Cat. Or was it the other way around? Slowly he began, "You know that my brothers caught a break with a demon. They caught him."

"I heard he was a big guy," Wosret allowed. She had an ear out to the things going on in the world. She had her interest in humans in general and she was also concerned with doing her part in protecting humanity from the things that went bump in the night. "I take it that you know him," she prompted.

"I know him," Gabriel admitted. He paused as he looked back at the cabin. "He's the one who set the trap and held Cat captive for a year. He did things that he's known for and…" He really couldn't say everything there. "I was worried that she was broken when I finally found her and got her out. She looked so…"

Wosret took in a sharp breath. "He was the cause of those years."

"He was drawn to what she could do and had been doing before," Gabriel corrected. "She was at a hard place then and for a long time." He kicked at the ground again, grunting in anger. "They're going to make her do it again. Not make her but make the situation to the point that there was little choice."

Wosret started to put it together. "So this demon was captured and Shifa' knows him. You're saying your brothers are going to convince her to…"

"They will ask her to do what she did best." Gabriel turned to look the goddess in the eye. "Before she stayed with you, Cat was known as a slayer, a slayer of demons. She was the first and the most feared. She… she tortured demons before killing them or exorcising them and it wasn't just making them bleed in agony with specialty weapons."

"Meaning…"

"You know her talents Ret. Cat can do things with her mind and it is scary when pushed to the point." Gabriel stopped to take a breath though it was unnecessary being an angel. He had to calm himself down. "She saw the demon again and he held her captive like he did before. Ret she was so full of hatred and rage."

"Shifa' is not like that."

"Cat is capable," Gabriel cut in quickly. "I felt that hatred and I've never felt that before. I've felt other things like anger, hurt, sorrow… happiness if fleeting… but that hatred. Ret it scared me; scared me of what they want her to do will do to her and the worst part is I can't do anything about it. She won't let me."

Wosret said nothing as she watched the angel ran a hand through his hair. He looked like he was ready to cry and it was… He was a guardian to her sister and couldn't do anything because she wouldn't let him risk his own safety. Silently she pulled the angel into a hug and looked around and sensed his burden threatening to weigh him down.

A/N: Looks like Angie and Dean might not have a choice about what the angels want and Gabe feels powerless at the moment. Angst and drama and more to come next time on Heavy Lies the Crown...