Hi guys! Sorry to leave you with a cliffhanger, but it's an important segway in the story. Please hit that review button and tell me what you think! Thanks so much and enjoy! (disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters).
As expected, Sam's blissful slumber didn't last long. Within 15 minutes of dozing off, Dean barreled out of the shed with Bobby and Mom on his toes, armed with a somewhat questionable and extremely risky plan.
"Wait a minute, Dean, you're talking about getting all of these people to the rift?" Sam reiterated for the seventh time since he'd heard his brother's idea.
Dean was fiddling with the engine of an old school bus that Other Bobby had come across, trying to get the broken down vehicle to somehow run again. He sighed deeply, resting his elbows on the hood. "You gotta better idea?" He asked, green eyes flicking up to face his brother.
Sam shook his head in disbelief. "No, but, look," he thrust his phone towards Dean, showing the timer that Sam had set since Lucifer arrived. He was locked away in warded cuffs, but that still did little to quell the fears of everyone in sight. He'd given the boys a rough estimate of how long his grace would keep the portal open, and, assuming he wasn't lying (which was a grand testament in Sam's book), they'd only have 36 hours to get back to the real word. His phone had been ticking ever since, and they were now down to one hour. "How are we even going to get everybody there in time? It's like, a 30 minute drive, assuming this thing even runs!"
Dean pursed his lips, reaching for a gear in the engine. "Like I said, when you think of a better idea, tell me. Why don't you ask your new best friend for inspiration?" He grumbled, the last part so low that Sam wasn't even sure he heard right.
Sam frowned, eyes narrowing. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked sharply, taken by surprise at Dean's comment.
Dean closed the hood of the bus with a loud bang, facing his brother with folded arms. "It means that I think you let this guy get into your head way too quickly." He said gruffly, face drawn tight with lines of exhaustion.
Sam shook his head in frustration, eyeing Dean angrily. "Gabriel didn't do anything! Neither of us did, it just happened!" He exclaimed.
"Yeah, well maybe you were too quick to let it happen." Dean snapped, "He's an angel, Sam, and no matter what you think, we can't trust him."
"But we can trust Cas." Sam retorted fiercely.
"We know Cas!" He fumed, "All we know about Gabriel is that he screwed us over in the past and you wanna make him hero of the year?"
Sam took a deep breath, trying not to say something he would regret. He doesn't know, he kept thinking to himself, go easy on him, he's just worried about you. He doesn't know. "I know this is… unexpected, weird, even for us," Sam started, keeping his voice calm, "but I wouldn't be ok with this if I didn't think Gabriel really wanted to help."
Dean looked at him for a moment with an emotion in his eyes that Sam couldn't read. For a second, it looked like he was going to agree with Sam, but he shut his mouth as soon as he opened it. "We leave in 5 minutes." He said roughly, walking away to meet up with Bobby.
Sam closed his eyes and sighed, upset firmly planted in his chest. He knew Dean wasn't anywhere near accepting of this. He didn't think it would be, but having Dean's simple approval on the grace bond mattered a lot to Sam. He was bound to Gabriel for life, they'd die together, this wasn't something that just went away. And if Dean thought he could undo this, nothing good would come of it. A small part of Sam wondered if it was possible that Dean was jealous. It sounded stupid, and Sam knew it probably wasn't true at all, but he couldn't deny that he himself had felt that way when they first met Cas. Obviously he adored the angel now, who'd become part of their family after years of keeping up with their antics, saving their lives. His quirky innocence and endearing traits were just part of what made him so important to them. But Sam knew that no matter how much Dean denied it, he and Cas did share a 'profound bond' as the angel had put it. And at first, it bothered Sam. He'd been embarrassed at himself for weeks, ashamed that he was feeling like a petulant little kid who'd gotten the attention shifted from them to a new baby. The jealousy faded over time, especially after Sam saw how much Cas cared about him as well, not just Dean.
But this was different. With Gabriel, it wasn't just a profound bond. It was his soul that was bound to the angel. The very core of what made Sam Sam was permanently intertwined with the former trickster. There was no getting around this, despite the brother's consistency at cheating death.
"You ready to head out, Samshine?" A voice came from behind, startling him out of his thoughts.
Sam huffed, grabbing his backpack and his gun. "Will you stop with the nicknames?" He asked, eyebrow raised at the absurd things the archangel had taken to calling him.
Gabriel smirked, his golden eyes mischievous. "Never." He protested, looking up at the bus. "Looks like your big bro thought it was a good idea to let Lucifer drive." He said casually, gesturing to the driver's seat.
Sam balked momentarily, seeing that the ex-archangel was indeed behind the wheel. He was acting blase about the entire situation since he arrived, but Sam knew it was only a matter of time before the facade faded and the real motive came out. That was what he did, after all. Charm people by telling them what they wanted to hear, the naive souls unaware of the vile, endless darkness that lurked beneath the mask. All Sam could do was pray that their plan worked- that they could seal Lucifer and Michael behind without having to put up a fight. Mom had convinced Cas, Dean, and Other Bobby to agree to leaving the archangels stranded, abandoning the idea of having Sam and Gabriel finish them off for good. Sam knew he should've been relieved at the news, but a small part of him kept thinking about what dean had said earlier. 'Since when do things just stay put?'. It made the young hunters stomach churn. He didn't even know what Gabriel felt about the situation, his grace had been unusually quiet and Sam hadn't bothered to try and get a vibe from him. He had a feeling that Gabriel was nervous, though- the archangel kept discreetly looking to the sky, as if he was expecting his brother to burst in on them at any moment.
"He can't get far, not with his grace being as depleted as it is." Gabriel muttered, bringing Sam back to the present. The archangel was unsure who he was trying to reassure more- Sam or himself.
"Your grace is depleted." Sam pointed out, voice raising over the roar of the bus as it's engine finally kicked into life.
Gabriel shrugged sheepishly. "What can I say? I like livin' on the edge." He joked, earning a scoff from Sam.
"That's an understatement," Sam said half amused, "you barely made it away from Asmodeus and now you're here, ready to fight an army of weird, Michael-loyal angels."
Gabriel climbed up into the Jeep that they would drive to the rift, guarding the bus full of passengers, "'ready' is a strong word," he said nonchalantly, "more like 'wing-it'."
Dean made his way over to the driver's seat with Bobby, shotgun resting on his knee as he took the wheel. The archangel noticed Sam tense at his older brothers presence, but decided not to mention anything. It would have been easy to read Sam's mind to find out what happened between the two, but he remembered his promise of never invading his thoughts again and quickly dismissed that idea.
"Sam, give us a time check, son." Other Bobby said gruffly, adjusting his hat as Dean shifted the Jeep into drive.
Sam glanced at his phone and swallowed nervously, trying not to let his apprehension show. "32 minutes and 41 seconds," he read. Truthfully, he didn't even need to look at his phone to know. He'd been obsessively glancing at his timer the entire day, and had the countdown burned into his brain.
"Hell, then, let's go! Drive, boy!" Other Bobby exclaimed, slapping dean on the back as he hit the gas, driving through the barely marked path in the woods.
As they approached the rift, trees flying by like tall, withered guards, Sam felt the familiar thrumming in his chest. Panicking, he tried to think clearly. Maybe he was just imagining things- the lack of sleep must be getting to me, he thought. But then it kept thrumming, vibrating through his chest until he could no longer deny it. Something was coming.
"Sam." Gabriel warned, looking at the hunter nervously, clearly feeling what he was feeling.
Sam opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the Jeep getting put in park, the bus stopping a few feet behind them, Dean's loud voice barking directions to the refugees. "Ok, everybody, let's move! Single file, let's go!" He ordered, watching as the people filed out of the bus and marched through the rift, the crackling yellow portal swallowing them into thin air.
"Dean," Sam called, climbing out of the Jeep and running over to him, "something's wrong."
Dean frowned at him, hands unconsciously tightening around his gun. "What?" He asked in concern, casting a glance around the forest.
"Sam!" Gabriel called again, the thrumming beginning to get louder and louder. It grate on his soul like nails on a chalkboard would to someone's ears, unbearably uncomfortable.
"Who is it?" Sam breathed, helping Gabriel off the tall Jeep. His stomach dropped as he saw the dread in those honey colored eyes.
"Michael." Gabriel whispered, as if he was afraid to speak the name out loud. As if saying the very word would make him arrive quicker.
Sam's eyes widened, and without thinking, he stood up on the hood of the Jeep, towering over all the refugees. "Everyone run, now!" He shouted, causing the people to look up in fear, "Hurry, go!" He yelled again, and the line moved faster, people started sprinting instead of marching into the rift. He felt like some desperate shepherd, trying to herd his flock of sheep away from an oncoming storm.
"Dude, what the hell is going on?" Dean demanded, trying to read Sam's expression as he jumped down from the car.
Sam opened his mouth to answer, but he only got a syllable out before a loud bang shook the earth, dirt and smoke flying out in all directions. They instinctively hit the ground, hands covering their heads. Before Sam closed his eyes, he flicked his gaze over to the rift, and felt a small sense of relief as he watched the last person successfully cross over.
He felt a warm weight on top of him, and he looked in surprise to see that Gabriel had shielded him with his body, chest pressed against Sam's back in an attempt to block some of the debris. It was instinctive, something the angel didn't even have to think about.
The dust cloud began to fade when the sound dissipated, and they cautiously lifted their heads, looking up to see the familiar shadow of wings. This time he could feel Gabriel's grace, but it wasn't buzzing with fear. It was angry. A strong, deep, powerful shroud of anger that had a different feel to it. Sam couldn't describe sensations as colors, but if he could, this one would be red.
Dean got to his feet shakily, not missing a beat as Gabriel helped Sam up. Cas looked at them worriedly, drawing his angel blade from his coat. "We must leave. Now." He said direly.
"Really, bro?" They all turned to see Lucifer walking up to Michael, arms crossed, "You shouldn't try to play the hero, you don't wear it well."
They watched from the side as Michael smirked bitterly, tilting his head at the remark. "You really want to do this again, Lou?"
Lucifer glanced at them with an unreadable glint in his eye, gaze lingering for barely a fraction of a second before he looked back at Michael. His ever present smugness was stronger than ever, and he gave the archangel a mocking smile. "Yeah." He sighed briefly, before shoving Michael with that incomprehensible force that all the angels seemed to have.
"Quickly, while they're distracted," Cas hissed, gesturing to the portal. Dean looked at the two brawling brothers one last time before turning to the rift, grabbing his gun and preparing to leave. Sam started walking after him, when he realized that Gabriel was still at the forefront of the clearing, staring at Lucifer and Michael with wide eyes.
"Gabriel, what are you doing, c'mon!" He spoke telepathically, not wanting to alert the others of their escape.
He got no response, and with a startling realization, noticed that he couldn't detect Gabriel's grace, either. The lack of connection left an emptiness in his chest, and Sam suddenly felt like his lungs were robbed of air.
Heart threatening to beat out of his chest, Sam ran over and roughly grabbed Gabriel by his jacket, dragging him towards the rift. This got his attention, and he turned to Sam with what could only be described as horror in his eyes. His grace suddenly came back with full force, and Sam barely suppressed a gasp at how frantic it was, like troubled water rippling in a storm. It in turn knocked his soul off kilter, the feeling of upset and disturbance rumbling through his very core like a ruthless earthquake. He inhaled sharply, clutching at his chest in an attempt to quell the awful sensation. The quaking of Gabriel's grace was beginning to make him dizzy, and his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. He opened his mouth to scream? Shout? Ask Gabriel what was going on? But before he could utter a word, he felt Dean's strong hand take his arm in an iron grip, and he tightened his hold on Gabriel as they fell through the rift. The brief feeling of falling made his stomach flip, but as soon as it started, it ended.
They tumbled to the ground of the bunker, panting heavily as the rift closed behind them. Dean was saying something, the chatter of everyone was echoing through the bunker, and Cas was asking a multitude of questions that Sam couldn't understand. He didn't register anything around them except for Gabriel's golden eyes, staring at him desperately with a haunted expression.
"He's going to come back." Gabriel breathed his thought, echoing into Sam's mind with a hollow sense of terror, "I saw what he wants to do, Sammy… He's going to come back."
Sam felt his stomach drop in panic, unable to form words. His soul was still shaking with the aftershocks of Gabriel's grace, and the dizziness he'd been experiencing was only getting worse. The last thing he remembered was grasping Gabriel's hand, before his world faded to black.