Disclaimer: I own nothing, unfortunately - it's my curse...I only get to borrow the boys unfortunately.
Chapter 4
"Gabe...?"
"Yeah, Sammy?" The chuckles had finally died down, and Gabriel had been about to snap things back to normal when Sam stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"Is there a way to...I don't know...mask an Archangel's power perhaps? Make them seem much weaker than they actually are? Make them seem almost human for instance?"
He had to admit, the younger Winchester was definitely the brains of the family.
"I like the way you think Sammy!"
"But won't they have felt his power by now? They'll wonder what happened, won't they? If he just suddenly disappears off their radar, I mean..." Dean asked, tearing his gaze away from Cas' smiling face.
"If we'd been anywhere private when this happened Dean-o, then yeah, that could've been an issue. Luckily we were somewhere so public that I made with the mojo almost as soon as it happened – we're completely off the grid as far as upstairs and downstairs are concerned."
"But what about before you got snap-happy? Is there a chance they picked him up then?"
"Sure, there's a chance – it's even likely. It's not a problem though," Gabriel replied with a smirk.
"How is that not a problem?" Dean demanded belligerently.
"They'll just assume I got careless for a minute, most likely – assuming they were paying enough attention to notice in the first place."
"Careless?" Sam asked curiously.
"Well sure – witness protection, remember? Wouldn't have lasted long if they could sense me, would it? They'll assume I got careless and let my cover down for a second – unlikely, after thousands of years without a blip, sure...but a whole hell of a lot more likely in their eyes than what actually happened, considering the only ones who know it's possible believe that Dad's flown the coop."
"That makes sense, I guess. So you can help Cas hide from them? Not completely though – he needs to appear the same as he was before, weakened but still on their radar. We don't want to make them suspicious," Sam said, looking hopefully at the elder Archangel.
"You believe my new strength may be useful in tomorrow's battle? I feel I must warn you, I am unsure how much control I will have by then – this power is...different than that to which I am accustomed."
"Don't worry bro, I'll get you up to speed – it's not that difficult to wield, once you know the basics and can hold it in – good job on that by the way! I remember when Dad first created us, He spent the first few years putting Heaven back together all the time...Mikey just couldn't stop blowing things up!"
Sam snorted at the image that conjured.
"Okay then kiddies – time's a-wasting! Sammy, why don't you and Dean take a seat, me and Cassie need to do some work."
"I thought we were 'outside' the timeline? Doesn't that kind of imply we have as much time as we need?" Sam asked, confused.
"Okay, so that may not have been the most accurate description I could have used...I sort of – froze – time, I guess you'd say. Everything's on hold waiting for my say-so, and let me tell you, not exactly the easiest thing in the world to do. If you want me to be any use at all tomorrow, we need to get a move on."
"Froze...? You mean, the whole planet is actually frozen right now? Dude! That's a little bit awesome..." Gabriel grinned smugly at Dean's impressed look.
"The whole planet, Heaven, Hell...the only things aware right now are us and, I'm assuming, Dad – who's going to start wondering what I'm up to pretty soon, since this isn't exactly...allowed, so can we get on with things?"
Gabriel flashed at impatient glare at Dean, hoping the others wouldn't notice the strain he was sure would soon be showing on his face. There was a very good reason his Father didn't like time being messed with – it took a great deal of energy. Time manipulation wasn't actually possible for the lower ranking Angels, it took more energy than they actually possessed to achieve even the smallest effect. Carrying it out on this scale for much longer would be pushing a little closer to Gabriel's limits than he liked being, especially with the battle coming up the following day.
"I will endeavour to learn quickly then, so that you may conserve you strength brother," Castiel said, cutting off whatever reply Dean had been about to make. "Excuse us Dean, Sam."
With that the two Archangels turned their attention away from Dean and Sam, and went to work.
"So..."
"Yeah."
"Bet you didn't see this coming when you woke up this morning, huh?"
"Not so much Sammy, no."
"You know, we might actually live through tomorrow now Dean...we might actually have a shot at this."
He looked up at Sam, and the look on his face tugged at something deep inside Dean. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he saw his brother looking that happy, that hopeful. He thinks it might have been the summer Sam turned eight, just before he found out the truth about everything.
"Yeah, Sammy...I think we just might," he replied with a grin.
When Dean had found out God existed, it hadn't really changed his life. Not in the way some people might expect such a revelation to. Perhaps that was because he'd known – living breathing Angels were kind of hard to argue with, after all. But he'd never really believed in God, and knowing he was definitely up there hadn't changed that.
This, though...this did. God had saved Cas, had given him back what he'd lost and then some. He wasn't just going to sit back and let the world end, let people like Cas – who did the right thing despite the cost – suffer. He wasn't about to step in and fix everything, but He was giving them a fighting chance, and that...that was a God Dean didn't mind believing in.
"In fact, I think we're gonna kick ass dude! Can you imagine what all those dicks will look like tomorrow, when they realise what Cas is now? When they realise that for Cas to be an Archangel means we've got God in our corner? It's gonna be sweet!"
"Hate to interrupt boys, but it's time to get back to reality!" Gabriel exclaimed, walking back to the table with Castiel beside him.
"Already?" Sam asked, confusion on his face. "That was awfully quick..."
"Cassie's a quick-study, Sammy-boy. So, can everyone remember where they were when I pressed pause?" Gabriel had manoeuvred himself and Castiel back to the side of the table, facing each other. "Okay, here goes nothing!"
With a quick, if slightly strained, grin, Gabriel raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
The noise of the club hit them like a wall of sound, and Sam and Dean both winced slightly.
"Is it working? Can they sense him?" Dean asked quickly, as Gabriel and Cas sat back in their seats.
"Dean-o, I can't even sense him and I'm sat right next to him. My baby-bro is a natural!" Gabriel exclaimed, beaming.
"Wait, what do you mean, Cas is a natural? I thought you were going to be hiding him?" Sam asked.
"Once Gabriel explained the basic differences between the powers of an Angel and an Archangel, I was able to adapt my previous method of staying 'off-radar', as Dean put it, without the need for further assistance."
"That's brilliant Cas!" Sam replied with a grin. *Gabe...?*
*Sammy?*
*Is that normal? I mean, I know nothing about this whole situation is normal, but should it have been that easy? You made it sound more complicated than that earlier...*
*I...it is more complicated than that Sammy, it should be. We'll talk about it later, kay? Don't want them getting curious, they got enough to worry about for tomorrow. What he's doing is working, that's all that matters for right now.*
*Fair enough.*
"So, who's up for celebrating?" Gabe snapped his fingers without waiting for a response, and four champagne flutes appeared on the table. He grabbed one, and waited for the others to do the same. "To kicking ass and not getting killed!"
That was a toast they could all get on board with, and the champagne quickly disappeared. Gabriel snapped his fingers again and the champagne glasses turned into shot glasses filled with a pale green liquid, which they quickly downed.
Sam glanced towards the stage and noticed that the announcer was stepping up to the microphone again.
"A real treat for us all now, ladies and gents! The brothers Winchester have already dazzled us individually tonight, so maybe you'd like to show your appreciation as the four of them come back to the stage to sing together? Gabriel, Castiel, Sam and Dean everyone!"
The crowd began cheering loudly, and Sam and Dean spun around to glare at Gabriel, who was already on his feet and in the middle of pulling Castiel up too.
"Dude? Seriously! Why are we singing again?" Dean exclaimed.
"Groups get a free round of drinks Dean-o!" Gabriel grinned.
"You've been providing free drinks all night, Gabe!" Sam pointed out.
"Clearly I haven't provided enough if you're being this logical. Drink this..." Gabriel snapped up another shot glass, this one filled with a bright pink drink, and passed it to the younger hunter, pulling him up out of his chair at the same time, "and then get your cute ass on stage Sammy!"
With that Gabriel headed towards the stage, pulling Castiel with him, who in turn had managed to snag Dean's arm, tugging the hunter out of his chair and forcing him to follow or be dragged to the stage.
"Cute..." Sam's voice trailed off in vague shock. "I need a drink."
He quickly downed the shot and followed the others up onto the stage. As he walked he mused on the fact that the drink had tasted like nothing quite so much as cotton candy – he wondered briefly if Gabriel had invented the drink himself, or if he just had some kind of super-sense for finding whatever contained the most sugar within a ten mile radius.
Once all four of them were centre stage with microphones in hand, the music started up. Gabriel snapped his fingers again, and the lyrics were split, the various lines assigned to one or other of them.
Gabe/Cas: This one goes out to the man who mines for miracles,
This one goes out to the ones in need,
Sam/Dean: This one goes out to the sinner and the cynical,
This ain't about no apology!
Gabe/Cas: This road was paved by the hopeless and the hungry,
This road was paved by the winds of change,
Sam/Dean: Walking beside the guilty and the innocent,
How will you raise your hand when they call your name?
Yeah, yeah, yeah...
All: We weren't born to follow!
Come on and get up off your knees.
When life is a bitter pill to swallow
You gotta hold on to what you believe!
Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow,
And that your saints and sinners bleed,
We weren't born to follow,
You gotta stand up for what you believe!
Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah...
Gabe/Cas: This one's about anyone who does it differently,
This one's about the one who curses and spits,
Sam/Dean: This ain't about our livin' in a fantasy,
This ain't about givin' up or givin' in!
Yeah, yeah, yeah...
All: We weren't born to follow!
Come on and get up off your knees.
When life is a bitter pill to swallow
You gotta hold on to what you believe!
Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow,
And that your saints and sinners bleed,
We weren't born to follow,
You gotta stand up for what you believe!
Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah...
Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah...
We weren't born to follow!
Come on and get up off your knees.
When life is a bitter pill to swallow
You gotta hold on to what you believe!
Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow,
And that your saints and sinners bleed,
We weren't born to follow,
You gotta stand up for what you believe!
Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah...
Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh oh!
We weren't born to follow, oh yeah!
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah)
We weren't born to follow, oh yeah!
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah)
The song ended with the four of them grinning widely at one another, and Gabriel couldn't help but think how perfect the songs picked for them tonight had been.
He'd been expecting fairly appropriate songs, but when they all had to come from one artist, well, it was asking a lot to find four songs that fit such unusual circumstances so well. If he didn't know better, he'd think the writer was a prophet, but that wasn't possible. Perhaps a psychic though? *That could work,* he thought with a smirk. He'd have to have a look through the rest of his songs at some point, see if there weren't any more that backed up that idea.