Storytelling
Her tears coated her face and she tried to wipe them away – but she couldn't. Confused, she craned her neck and realized her wrists and ankles were bound. She was strapped to a small cot in a dark room coated with iron.
She was in the Watchers' Council Panic Room, fashioned similarly to Bobby Singers' and located in the bowels of the Council building.
Irked that she was being held captive, she jerked her bounds and thrust up and down in her bed like a wild cat. A throat cleared and she looked up in surprise. He stood in the corner with an emotionless expression, but it was clear he was fighting to appear so. Even if she had not seen him in this form weeks ago, she would have known his name regardless. His grace, warped but still true, glimmered under the skin of his vessel.
"Gabriel," she said, her voice merely a croak after lack of use.
Emotion shone in his eyes but he quickly locked it away.
"You remember." It was a statement, not a question. Accusatory, almost.
She swallowed heavily and moistened her tongue. "Yes. I remember…The memories are swirling in my mind like a hurricane. I am both Dawn Summers and…Lailah." The name sounded strange departing from her human lips.
Gabriel looked down at the floor. "When you left Father forbid your name. We could only refer to you as 'the Key'."
Quiet, she studied him. "Are you here to do His will? Are you here to capture me…or even kill me?"
His head jerked up and pain flashed in his eyes. "No!" Gabriel vehemently denied. "I want nothing to do with his plans – or anyone's plans for that matter."
Ah. So Gabriel had decided to distance himself from both Michael and Lucifer. Interesting.
"Then why have you come?"
Sighing, he cautiously approached her. "Castiel found me and begged for my help in dealing with you. He was afraid of what you may become and Buffy wanted to keep you here."
"How…?"
He answered her unfinished question. "That night at the lake Castiel was saved from the holy fire by those humans of his, the one-eyed one and his girlfriend and her mother, and then he rescued Dean, Faith, and Sam." He let out a humorless laugh. "But he feared claiming you and the slayer from Lucifer on his own, so the Red Witch was called. Her and that tweed guy were on call, apparently."
"Willow," she whispered. The Watchers' Council had been on alert when Dawn and the others went to find Lucifer so she supposed she shouldn't be surprised that they stepped in.
Gabriel nodded. "She used a great deal of magic to steal you both away. I hear Lucifer was very angry but apparently confident that you would return to him, after that the spell broke down Father's memory spell. They're all fine now though, in case you were wondering," he added, almost mockingly.
Biting her lip, she reminded herself simultaneously thank Willow and yell at her. "She could have gotten killed, going up against him."
Her youngest archangel, one who was most like a son to her, gave her a frank assessment. "Would you have cared if she had died?" he asked calmly, as if asking if she preferred Pepsi Max or Coke Zero.
"Oh course!" she responded heatedly.
"Really?" he asked, surprise evident on his face.
"Gabriel, just how do you think of me?" she asked in a hurt voice as she watched him struggle to find words.
"Lail…Dawn…you joined him. You fought againstus." Eyes shining with pain, he took one step backwards. "I…Willow is human. You hate humans. How can you love her?" he asked in bafflement.
She paused and mulled over his words. He was right. As Lailah she held no love towards humans, although she did pity the fact that they were no better than pawns in a game. But now…although she understood to the core who she was and the successes and failures in her long life, she was different from how she used to be. The love she felt for Buffy and her friends had not become diminished by her recent knowledge. She was still Dawn, in a way.
"Gabriel, I still love Willow, as I love all the humans I know." She glanced down at her body. "I amhuman now. Dawn Summers." She gave him a loving look. "I love you as well. I never stopped."
He tentatively touched the softness of her bare arm and spoke softly. "You betrayed us." Gabriel sighed and looked away. "Father betrayed you." Another sigh. "I hate all of it." His words were soft, anguished, and they made her wonder what her archangel had gone through since she was expelled from this world.
She closed her eyes tightly and swept through her mind for an old memory of the very beginning, when she, Adanal, Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, and Gabriel were a happy family. She transferred that memory to him through their touch and his eyes lit up.
"That was a good moment," he said with a soft smile as he closed his eyes.
"It was," she agreed.
He blinked open his warm amber eyes. "Do you have access to your powers now?" His voice was thoughtful, but also slightly fearful.
"I'm not sure," she replied slowly. "The knowledge is there but Lucifer was right – this body is a prison for my essence. I cannot access my true powers, just faint shadows of what I once was."
Gabriel had recoiled when she mentioned his brother. "I suppose you will want to return to your husband now?" he asked in a harsh voice, certain that she would betray all of them again.
She didn't give him the satisfaction. "Gabriel, I loveLucifer. He is my mate for eternity. However…"
"However?" he asked in a voice that was hesitantly hopeful.
Shaking her head, she answered him in a tight voice. "However, I don't know if I know him as well as I once did. Viewing his actions through the lens of my humanity, I am appalled. Yet he is still my love. We are still bound. I don't want him dead."
She bit her quivering lip because she felt like she was betraying Lucifer with just her words. Even though she knewhe had turned darker – darker than the day they were expelled, darker than their days during the war – she still couldn't help but yearn to go to him right now, regardless of all his actions.
Sitting down on her cot and holding her right hand, Gabriel nodded. "I don't want him dead either. Or Michael. But the prophecy states that Lucifer will take his vessel, Sam Winchester, and Michael will take his, Dean Winchester."
Gabriel let out a sarcastic laugh at the blatant comparison between his brothers and the Winchesters. "As it was in Heaven, so it must be on Earth."
"And humanity will get trampled in the process either way," she added sadly.
Gabriel turned to her then with a trusting look, one she recognized from the first day he was created and clung to her as she taught him about his Father and his new life. "Is there anything we can do?"
Her dam of emotion finally broke under the weight of his faithful, almost innocent stare that took her back to a time long ago. She knew what fate ordained and she knew it would kill her if Lucifer died, yet she also did not want him to wipe out humanity anymore. "I don't know," she answered truthfully before the tears began falling.
After releasing her, she and Gabriel walked through the Council building later that day. Their footsteps echoed through the seemingly empty building and most of the rooms were dark.
"Where is everyone?"
He shrugged carelessly. "They called together some sort of war council meeting to discuss the apocalypse." Although Gabriel did not hate humans – perhaps he even loved them – it appeared that he did not consider their actions particularly noteworthy.
"Already? That was rather quick," she commented.
He threw her a slight smirk, one that looked so much better on his face than the sadness she had seen earlier. "You were unconscious for almost two weeks."
"Oh my g—" But she cut herself off because suddenly that her old expression – Dawn's old expression – just didn't seem right now that she knew god was her brother.
As if sensing her sudden discomfort with the g-word, Gabriel's smirk grew.
"Yeah, yeah, yuck it up at the immortal-turned-human," she told him with a wry smile.
"You know," he began mischievously, "this could be fun. I could see your life as an excellent reality TV series."
She stopped and pinned him with a dark look. "Gabriel, don't you even dare. I heard all about your channel surfing experiment with the boys. Don't you even think about it." She smacked him on the arm and continued walking as he snickered softly. The light moment between them felt good, really good, and she hoped she could repair her relationship with the archangel.
The Council conference room was the largest room in this converted mansion. It was sized to accommodate creatures of varying sizes, since they did have some demonic allies and occasionally tried to use diplomacy to dispel wars against demonic tribes. She wasn't quite sure what her friends would think of her now so she walked in as bravely as she could and hoped for the best.
Buffy immediately was at her side and hugging her. She gasped under her strength but hugged her back as fiercely as she could. Her sister smelled of warm vanilla, of home. She was surprised by the swell of love she felt at her touch.
When they had finished she grinned in amusement. "Wow, you must have really thought I was dying, huh?"
Buffy cuffed her softly. "Don't make jokes, she warned in a serious, yet light, voice as she wrapped her arm around her and led her sister to the table.
"Well Dawn, I daresay it is fortunate you survived. We are just beginning on meeting on the apocalypse, please join us," Giles informed her with a kind smile at the head of the table.
She nodded numbly, trying to just take it all in, as her eyes roved around the room.
The Scoobies were all present: Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow, Faith and even Andrew. Hunters were present as well: the Winchesters, of course, but also Ellen, Jo, and Bobby. Castiel and Gabriel were of course present, but there were several individuals that she was surprised, but glad, to see.
After the Los Angeles apocalypse that the Council had assisted Angel Investigations with, neither team saw the other very often. However, today Angel, Spike, Wesley, and Gunn were sitting around the table. Dawn smiled brightly at them and gave them a little wave.
After being immersed in ancient memories for so long, she was surprised by the happiness she felt at seeing so many people she loved from this lifetime in one room.
"Glad to see you up an' at 'em, Niblet," Spike smiled.
"Yeah and you look good too," Andrew chimed. "I thought after making out with Lucifer you'd be looking a'la Dark Willow."
Her lips pursed at his insensitivity and her heart squeezed painfully – even though she was internally wrestling with what was wrong and what was right, she missed her Lucifer greatly. Therefore, she was pleased to see Xander smack the younger watch over the head. Gabriel, for his part, gave the young man a dirty look and snapped his fingers. A box appeared in front of Andrew, gift wrapped.
"Oooh, a present!" Andrew exclaimed happily.
"Andrew, I don't think you should…" she started to warn, but then stopped when Gabriel winked at her.
"Where did that come from?" Giles questioned thoughtfully as Andrew ripped open the paper.
"ZO MY GOD!" Andrew shouted enthusiastically. "This is one of the rarest Star Wars toys ever made, the 1980 Rocket Firing Boba Fett that was yanked off the shelves by the company, Kenner, because of the poor safety construction! In fact, they deny even ever making one but, wow, I knew they did! And here it is in its original packaging!"
Everyone stared at Andrew with varying emotions – from envious, like Xander, to 'that's retarded' like Dean, to amused, like Ellen. Of course, then there was Castiel whose head was tilted to the sigh as he struggled to understand the meaning of Andrew's rambling.
Then the box burst into flames and Andrew let out a high-pitch scream. "NOOOOO!"
Gabriel snickered and the focus of the room turned to him.
"Y-you! I-I knew you were a bad angel-slash-trickster god!" Andrew stated with an accusing finger as most of the room outright laughed or at least released a small snort of amusement.
Shrugging, Gabriel caught her eye and winked. "Hey, that'll teach you some tact. Especially when it concerns Dawn." With that final sentence he gave the watcher a formidable look.
Andrew sniffled. "So…you were just teaching me a lesson? That wasn't the realRocket Firing Boba Fett in his original packaging?"
"Oh no, it sure was. Actually, it was the last one in existence," Gabriel grinned devilishly.
Andrew started crying, Giles said "Oh Lord" as he cleaned his glasses, and Dean shot Gabriel a dirty look.
"Way to make the geek cry, Gabriel. You're such a dick."
"Takes one to know one, Deanie," Gabriel shot back.
Dean started to retort but Buffy spoke up first. "Guys! Geez. Can we please stop screwing around for a minute? I want to figure out what the devil's next steps are and why he's hell-bent on making my little sister his bride, okay?"
Silence reigned. She noticed that Castiel kept sneaking glances at her but he refrained from saying something.
"Well, the Colt didn't work," Sam began. "Not to mention, I'm going to kill Crowley for screwing with us."
"So now we need a new way to kill Satan. Ideas?" Buffy asked.
Dawn and Gabriel shared a long look. They knew what could kill Lucifer…but neither of them truly wanted that, no matter what chaos he brought into this world. When an angel died, they didn't go to heaven or to hell. They died, just as her father had on her home planet. They were gone forever from the world and there would be no way of bringing them back.
"Actually, I think we first need to hear about Dawn and the freaky fetish the devil has for her," Dean pointed out across the table from her.
Flanked by Willow and Buffy, she leaned back in her chair. "I…I don't know if I want to talk about it just yet." Holy flying cupcakes she didn't want to talk about it, none of it! If they knew what sins she had committed they would be 'ganking' her in no time.
Buffy grasped her hand. "It's okay, Dawn. You're safe now," she said in a soft voice. "What happened out there?"
Dawn glanced at Sam. "I assume Sam repeated our interaction with," she swallowed heavily, "Lucifer?"
Sam nodded. "I told them everything."
"And what I want to know is if Satan was lying or not. Demons love to lie," Dean stated in a voice that said 'please tell us he was lying'.
"Um." She shook her head. "The day was kind of fuzzy…what did you tell them, Sam?"
Sam shared a look with Dean and Faith. "Well, first you commanded the hellhounds. Later Lucifer said he made them for you as pets. He called you Lailah, said you were his wife. Said his dad – God – put a spell on you and that his ritual was supposed to fix you...and he also said you were responsible for bringing the flesh and blood demons into this world."
She shrank against the intensity of the stares of seventeen individuals. She could never tell them the true story of Creation, that her brother Adanal and she were refugees from another world and he crafted this one as he desired. But what could she tell them to sate their curiosity?
"Dawn, it would be best if you shared all information with us," Castiel spoke. "Perhaps you know, from your past, a way to kill the devil."
Hearing one of her angels wish for a method to end the life of his brother made her suddenly angry. She expected nothing better from the humans in the room, simply because they do not know, but one of her very own?
"Castiel," she snapped. The angel's eyes widened in surprise at the tone of her voice. "He may be the 'devil' but he is still your brother."
Tensions engulfed the room as everyone stared at her in shock, save Gabriel. He was frowning gloomily as he glanced from her to Castiel.
Castiel tried to speak but she cut him off with a wave of her hand. "You all want to know if I remember? I do. I lived with God and all the angels since the beginning of Creation. Our family was full of happiness and each day was a blessing. I remember listening to Gabriel's first joke" – the archangel smiled wistfully – "and even remember seeing you, Castiel, the day you, Uriel, and the others of your age saw the world for the first time."
Castiel appeared surprised that she remembered him. Silly angel. He was so young when she was expelled from Heaven that he didn't realize she counted each and every angel, regardless of age, as her family and knew their names by heart.
"So yeah," she added in a more melancholy tone. "I remember. I remember the pain of my family being ripped apart. But what I don't want to ever see or feel is the death of my family, ever again."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean, ever insistent and take charge, uttered in alarm. "Are you saying that you used to be an angelbefore you became the Key and then a human? Like Anna?"
Anna. Yes…Dawn remembered hearing the story of Anna Milton, formerly – and currently thanks to the Winchesters – the angel Anael. With her new memories as Lailah she could remember the unique curiosity that Anael displayed when it came to earth and the lives of Adam and Lilith and Adam and Eve. Idly, she wondered if Anael had found happiness during her time on earth.
"Ah, you all know that I am the Key?" Dawn asked the room, watching them nod in response. Not that she was surprised, it was evident they had been discussing much while she slept. "But no, I wasn't an angel. I've always been the Key."
"So…God created you?" Willow asked in awe. The powerful witch was closely tied to the elements and nature so she had a strong respect Gaia, the goddess of the earth, as well as other goddesses.
"No," Dawn shook her head. "My origins are a mystery."
"But don't you know?" Wesley, ever the seeker of knowledge, asked.
Annoyed by the barrage of questions and desiring to hear no more on this topic, she gave him a hard look. "Iknow and God himself knows. No other being will ever be privy to it." Her clear, cold voice cut off further questioning on that topic and everyone went silent – some even appeared afraid of her.
Which wasn't what she had wanted. "I'm sorry," she apologized with a sigh. "But there are certain things I am forbidden to tell. However..." She caught the eye of every friend around the table. "I will tell you about my past so you can understand."
So she told them of what she had dreamt after Lucifer's ritual, from the beginning days with God and the archangels to when He cast her down along with her husband. She did, of course, leave out Adanal's name, the fact that he was her brother, and that they were from another planet. After the story of Creation and the Fall, however, Dawn couldn't bring herself to continue.
"So what happened when you went on the highway to hell?" Dean inquired, almost grinning to himself at his use of yet another rock and roll song title.
She looked at her sister. Buffy was unusually quiet and subconsciously had shifted herself away from Dawn. If she told them the next part she feared that they may hate her forever.
"Hey, I'm hungry. How 'bout we take an intermission?" Gabriel asked suddenly .
"I really don't think that's necessary," Giles stated in an authoritative tone.
Gabriel snapped his fingers and a hot cup of Twinings Earl Grey, several scones, and bangers and mash, suddenly appeared in front of the Director of the Watcher's Council. Likewise, the favorite foods and drinks of everyone in the room appeared in front of their seat. "Dig in!" the archangel-turned-trickster declared cheerfully as he dipped a spoon into his three-foot sundae.
"Dawg, this is ballin'!" Faith declared. "This pie tastes just like Diana used to make!" Faith never discussed her deceased watcher very often but they all knew that her name was Diana.
"Mmm, lemme taste," Dean murmured as he eyed Faith's pie next to him.
"No way!" she laughed. "You got more pie than you can handle, bub." But then Dean licked off some coconut cream from her upper lip and suddenly Faith stopped complaining.
"How did you make this?" Willow asked Gabriel as she chewed thoughtfully on some moo goo gai pan. "The laws of magic make it incredibly hard to create something out of nothing, especially food."
Gabriel snorted in amusement and pointed to himself. "Helloooo, trickster?" He shrugged. "Mmmkay, and archangel. Point is, Red, I can do whatever I want."
Then he looked to Dawn and winked. She mouthed 'thank you' and began chewing on a slice of her favorite comfort food – pizza with anchovies. She really loved her crazy little angel.
They continued eating for almost an hour, thanks to Gabriel whipping up more delicious dishes and, likely, doing some sort of magic to make them forget about asking her questions for the time being. It amused her, in a way, at how he was taking care of her – talk about a role reversal.
Honestly, she was quite surprised that he had forgiven her so easily for her transgressions. Something told her that Gabriel had been lonely for a very long time if he was willing to overlook her sins against their family
"Angel," Giles murmured to the souled vampire – and yes, it was very amusing when both Castiel and Gabriel looked – "I just got a call from Security. They said that Illyria and Lorne are at the gate and she's causing a fuss."
"Oh, dammit," Angel swore. "Tell them to just let her through. She's harmless, mostly."
Giles nodded and proceeded to give directions on his phone.
…Illyria…this was a moment when memories from both aspects of her soul were meshing together.
"Angel," Dawn said hastily. "Um, does Illyria have to come?"
Buffy's first boyfriend gazed at her in confusion. "You haven't met her before?"
"No," she shook her head, wondering what would have happened if they had met.
"She's fine Dawn, she's not as bad as people say," Angel reassured her.
"Yes, especially in comparison to her first few days and weeks," Wesley agreed. "Many times she has proved helpful in the fight against evil."
"Illyria…the Old One?" Castiel suddenly spoke up. Throughout the entire dinner he had just observed them all, seeing as he did not need to eat. "You have aligned yourself with such a dark creature?"
"She ain't that bad mate. Not quite as powerful as she once was, locked up in her human shell. Plus, she's pretty housebroken," Spike said comfortingly.
"I am not housebroken, vampire," an even and low female voice interrupted them. Lorne, the green-skinned red-eyed singing demon she had met once before, entered the room with a fairly tall and very blue woman at his side. Her eyes glowed blue, her skin was tinted with it, and her hair was streaked with it. She wore an interesting leather-like body suit that clung to her like a second skin.
"Don't fret, pet. I was just explaining to angel-boy here that you're on our side," Spike explained.
Illyria's head tilted to the side as she blinked at Spike in confusion. "But Angel is aware of my work. We have a long-established partnership going on five years."
Spike let out a snort of laughter. "No, luv, I meant the real angels in the room – Castiel and, over there, Gabriel."
Castiel stood to his feet with a suspicious look on his face while Gabriel looked like a giddy teenage boy as he eyed Illyria's tight outfit. "I am Castiel, an Angel of the Lord. These vampires have vouched for you." He frowned, like he realized that would be an absurd reason to trust someone in a normal circumstance. "But I remember you and your kind as a plague on this world. I must be told whether you intend to help or hinder our cause."
Illyria walked up to the taller angel and stared him coolly in the eyes. "How dare you demand such things as me. I used to destroy your brethren when I ruled this earth!"
"I remember," Castiel answered darkly as the air crackled with power.
"Heya," Gabriel interjected with a charming smile as he slid in between the two. "What do ya say we just keep the past in the past? Castiel, you're now an angel cut off from Heaven trying to help save humanity. Illyria, you're now a smoking hot babe-slash-god king doing the same thing, helping humanity. Can't we all just get along?" he grinned.
Illyria looked down at her body. "Am I fire?" she asked in mild concern.
"I do not see any smoke nor infant babes near you," Castiel answered her in a perplexed voice.
Dean snickered and jerked a thumb in their direction. "Oh geez, looks like Cas just found the perfect girlfriend."
Gabriel sighed. "I was commenting on the attractiveness of your human shell," he explained with a slightly leering smile.
"Oh." Illyria looked him up and down. "There is something familiar about you, angel. What did the vampire call you?"
"Well, most god-folks around here know me as Loki but you, you babe can call me Gabriel – especially since that idiot vampire spilled the beans" the archangel glared at Spike.
Illyria's nostrils flared in response. "Gabriel?" she hissed. "You are the one who locked me in the Deeper Well and cut me off from the world!"
"Oh…yeah," Gabriel recognized. "Huh. So does that mean you're not interested in the horizontal mambo with me?" he asked flippantly.
She responded by grabbing his neck and slamming him against the wall, leaving a perfect angel-sized dent.
"Oh, that is hot," Dean whispered with a grin.
Faith subtly licked her lips. "Mmm-hmmm. Definitely gives some of the down low tinglies."
(Yup. Those two really were a good fit for each other.)
"I will melt your eyeballs and drink them like wine!" Illyria threatened, her lips curling into a sneer.
Gabriel's face turned dark and serious, a true reflection of his greater power. "Listen babe, I'm not someone you want to mess with."
Suddenly fearing what would happen if these two powerful beings came to blows, Dawn stood up. "Stop it, now! Illyria, drop him!"
Perplexed, Illyria turned around to face Dawn while still having her hand clenched around Gabriel's neck. She stared curiously at Dawn and then, as she began to recognize her spirit, the God King gasped and dropped Gabriel to the floor. Swiftly she walked around the long conference table and knelt before Dawn, her left fist against her chest.
"Great Mother, forgive me! I did not realize the angel was a pet of yours," Illyria stated in a clear voice.
"I'm not anyone's pet," Gabriel whined as he got to his feet, absent-mindedly brushing off dirt.
Meanwhile, Buffy's jaw, like everyone else's, dropped at the sight of Illyria bowing before Dawn. "Huh with the what now?"
A/N:
After so much *whoa, intense* moments in the previous chapter, I had to insert some lightness into this chapter, as well as write out the consequences to Dawn's discovery and getting all the Scoobs, AI, and Hunters on the same page. Future chapters will not be so character heavy, just so you know.
Please review!
References
*"Would you have cared if she had died?" he asked calmly, as if asking if she preferred Pepsi Max or Coke Zero.- a reference to the Pepsi Max commercials starring Richard Speight, Jr AKA the Pepsi Max guy AKA the Trickster/Gabriel! (such fun commercials, you *must* youtube them! ;)
*Rocket Firing Boba Fett: here and here
* "Helloooo trickster?"—taken from 'Changing Channels', when he says this to Dean and Sam. I just love his delivery of that line.
*On Illyria and Dawn—Illyria calling Dawn 'Mother' is an idea that stemmed from several places and (you know me) I like to give credit where credit is due: AllenPitt for saying in a review "Hm, so Illyria would recognize the Key on site, then?", then me thinking "Oh yeah, she would!" and then me thinking of the 'Mother of All' just shown in a recent SPN S6 ep (not that Dawn is that person, the idea just got my brain going on the 'mothers' of this verse) and then me remembering Joyful's story Four Square where Illyria was protective of Dawn and called her 'Mother'. So yeah, all that shifting through my head produced the Illyria-Dawn connection. Thank you, AllenPitt and Joyful!