Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural
Authors Note: Only one more chapter after this one. Not sure if I'm going to make a Part 5 or not, we'll see.
Warnings: Violence.
Chapter 7
Somehow it was a shock to Sam to see how large Fenrir was in human form. Standing in front of Sam was a man who made him feel small, Fenrir had to be at least seven feet tall and build like a brick house. His shoulders were wide, and bare letting Sam see how muscled the other man was. Looking between Fenrir and Gabriel, Sam tried to see the resemblance, it wasn't until Sam caught Fenrir's eyes that he saw the connection. There was no mistaking those golden eyes, the exact same shade as Gabriel's. There was power there, swirling in his irises.
"It is good to see you again when not in chains, well met Samuel Winchester!"
Fenrir's voice was loud, as Sam expected from a man of his size. What Sam didn't expect was how quickly the giant moved to clasp his large hand around Sam's arm in greeting. While he should have felt intimidated, Sam couldn't help but smile at the man. It was easy to tell while Fenrir could do some severe damage he had inherited his temperament from Gabriel, joyful.
"Well met Fenrir."
Sam wanted to say more, but before he could the large man was moving on to the next human. He didn't seem to hold any kind of grudge to Dean or John, easily clasping their forearms as he had Sam. Keeping track of the large man as he made his way back to Gabriel, Sam raised an eyebrow at the god. Gabriel had warned him that Fenrir was the friendlier of his children, having gone to battle more than once and thus easily accepting those he considered comrades. Gabriel went over to Sam, easily holding his hand while Fenrir asked John details on the hunt, even going to far as to congratulate the two on capturing him previously.
"He's just excited to have something to hunt," began Gabriel, squeezing Sam's hand. "It's been hard for him to find something worthwhile to hunt since Asgard entered times of peace. Unlike Thor, who was always a bit of a loose cannon, Fenrir hasn't found someone to settle down with during our time of peace."
"That's putting it lightly, Dad."
The second the new voice appeared, Gabriel grinned brightly before letting go of Sam's hand and practically throwing himself at the newcomer. The man was also taller than Gabriel; although Sam pegged him for a bit over six feet instead of Fenrir's seven. Unlike Fenrir, the man was wirier framed, he was pale though his skin seemed slightly off. Stepping closer, Sam noticed how the arm which was wrapped around Gabriel seemed to have a shimmer to it. Blinking for a moment, Sam watched as the man let go of Gabriel. It was then that Sam caught the others' eyes, looking into the exact same shade of Gabriel's own for a second before they flashed a pale green.
"Brother!"
The exclamation came from Fenrir who broke from his conversation with Bobby to make his way over to his brother. Having assumed the man who had yet to fully let go of Gabriel was Jörmungandr, Sam wasn't surprised by the title. Sam was surprised the man glared at Fenrir for a moment before crossing his arms. The same shimmer appeared on his skin, enhanced by the silk shirt and pants the other was wearing, unlike Fenrir who was only wearing a pair of tattered jean shorts.
"Don't you 'brother' me, you were supposed to meet me before arriving. Were it not for Sleipnir I would not have known where you were."
Glancing between the two, Sam watched as Fenrir blushed, stammering while Gabriel sighed before speaking, "Fen, you were supposed to tell Jör where we were meeting, not Sleipnir." As Fenrir started to apologize, Jörmungandr watching him in much the same way Sam knew he would if Dean was in Fenrir's place, it hit Sam then. These weren't simply people Gabriel knew, these were his kids… he was reprimanding his children, Loki's children. Sam had known it before, had even spoke with Gabriel about his kids, but it was watching them interact now; Fenrir and Jörmungandr joking while having a slightly teasing tone that Sam truly realized he was not only dating a god, but he was dating Loki.
"Well I think it's about time we start this, unless you're waiting for anyone else?" asked John, a hesitant waiver to his voice. Glancing at his father, Sam noticed John must have realized the same thing he had. It was one thing to hunt monsters, even gods, but the ones they would come across are ancient ones, not ones who are so well known.
Gabriel nodded his head, glancing to his children before gesturing to the humans while he spoke to Jörmungandr. "Before we get started, Jör this is Sam's family; Ken doll is Dean, his older brother, ballcap is Bobby, his kind-of-uncle, and glares is his father." While he was introducing Jörmungandr to everyone, Gabriel made his way over to Sam, taking his hand and pulling Sam forward slightly towards Jörmungandr. "This is Sam, he's the one the demon will be most interested in."
Jörmungandr looked at Sam for a moment, but made no effort to shake his hand. Not knowing how he was supposed to act, Sam remained silent while Jörmungandr seemed to weigh if he was worth knowing or not. After a minute and the sound of Gabriel clearing his throat, Jörmungandr ran his eyes over those who were standing on the porch before speaking.
"If you haven't guessed I am Jörmungandr, if you don't believe you can pronounce my name I respond to Jör." Looking at Gabriel, Jörmungandr bit at his bottom lip in much the same way Sam had seen Gabriel do before speaking. "Fenrir didn't tell me, is Thor going to be arriving as well?"
At the question Gabriel shook his head. "No, I figured Midgard could do without you two fighting. Besides, last I heard Odin had him working on a project."
"So, there's no one else coming?" asked John, his voice still having the strained edge that Sam wasn't used to hearing from the normally over-confidant man.
"No, we wont need anyone else, we should get this show on the road." Turning, Gabriel whose hand was still in Sam's, moved off the porch toward where they had agreed they would set up the ritual. Following behind the god, Sam couldn't help but squeeze the smaller mans hand. Once this was finished he would have to sit down with the two demigods and try to get to know them, until then they had a demon to trap. Once they were at the clearing, Gabriel turned to face Sam, leaning up until Sam met him in a soft kiss before letting go of his hand.
Sam watched as Gabriel made his way to the middle of the area. With a snap of his fingers his clothing changed from the jeans and t-shirt he had been wearing into a pair of what Sam believed to be herm pants, losing the shirt. Glancing at Jörmungandr, Sam absently noticed not one of the pagans were wearing shoes, glancing back at Dean, Sam gestured with his eyes what had caught his attention. Shrugging, Dean tightened the grip of his machete Gabriel had told them would now kill demons. They had all been gifted with at least one weapon, a blade of some kind that would do the job.
"Smell that?" asked Jörmungandr, his head tilted towards his brother, having mostly ignored the humans since he arrived. Instead of answering verbally, Fenrir nodded his head before crouching slightly. One second there was a large man standing beside him, the next Fenrir had changed his form to the wolf Sam had seen previously. A sudden clap had Sam turning his attention back to Gabriel whose body was glowing, a second later there were flames surrounding him before spreading out on the ground. The fire singed everything before it, only stopping a few feet from where Fenrir was standing, his tongue resting out the side of his mouth.
Gabriel raised his arms to the sky as the flames died out, his eyes closed before he opened them and looked at John. Sam was accustomed to Gabriel's golden eyes, and while it was a unique colour he never would have assumed them to be supernatural in nature. Now he understood why his children had that same shade. Looking into Gabriel's eyes, into Loki's eyes while he was using his power was like gazing into molten gold. There was power swirling in that gaze, power Sam had never seen matched on anything he had hunted before.
"Remind me never to piss off your boyfriend." The mummer came from beside him, and Sam had to snort slightly at Deans words. Sam wasn't the only one who heard though, as Jörmungandr now had the shadow of a smile on his face which hadn't been there before. Fenrir moved his large body to the other side of their team, close to Bobby and John. As John started to recite the ritual to summon Azazel, having laid out the needed materials, Jörmungandr spoke again, his voice amused.
"You should know better than to aggravate one of the only gods who thinks nothing of pulling his just deserts on anyone he chooses. Even the other Tricksters hesitate before playing their tricks on the gods of Asgard… my father does it for fun." The shadow of a smile Sam had seen earlier on Jörmungandr's face turned into a full smirk while he looked at Dean. "If he thinks nothing of pranking gods, just what do you think he's going to do to the humans who hurt his son? Fenrir has forgiven you, but you better believe the rest of us haven't. Now if you don't mind…"
Trailing off at the end of his sentence, Jörmungandr transformed in much the same was Fenrir had. It looked painless, flued, one minute there was a man standing there and the next he was a huge snake. When he had read up on Loki, Sam had researched his children and their abilities; while huge Jörmungandr didn't look like he could circle the world. Jörmungandr was easily sixty feet in length, his scales a pale green, his underbelly a smooth gold. When Sam had read Chamber of Secrets -hidden from his brother so he couldn't be teased about it- Sam had pictured an almost exact image of Jörmungandr in this form.
Sam didn't have much time to observe Jörmungandr as John finished the ritual. For a moment there was nothing, only the bright streams of power coming from Gabriel. The silence was broken as Jörmungandr and Fenrir moved in unison; Fenrir to snap his large jaws at a small woman who had shown up beside Bobby. The woman for her part put up her hands in a symbol of peace before taking a step back. Jörmungandr gave no warning; his tail wrapped around Sam, tugging him closer while his head dove at the middle-aged man who had appeared close to Sam. The second Jörmungandr's teeth contacted the man, neatly taking off his arm which had been raised to protect his head, the man started to scream and collapsed on the ground his body spasming while blood poured both from the wound.
"You should control your son, Loki. Wouldn't want him to start a war he can't possibly win." The voice was nasally, coming from the only person who had appeared inside the burnt area Gabriel was standing in. Looking around, Sam flexed his grip on the knife Gabriel had charmed for him, the two demons who had come forward weren't the only ones. It seemed Gabriel's estimate was right, there had to be close to twenty people outside the small group. With his body still wrapped in Jörmungandr's tail, Sam didn't have much room to maneuver, but he could prepare for an oncoming attack.
"No, I think Jörmungandr expressed exactly what I wanted him to. It's always fun to watch demons under his venom. Now, I believe you have a summoning to get to."
With a nod to John's directly, Gabriel snapped his fingers and brought a throne-like chair into existence. Lounging on the chair with one leg thrown over the side, his head propped up with his hand, Gabriel looked every bit the pagan god people had worshiped. Sam could imagine people coming to him with gifts and sacrifices, how Gabriel would pick which offerings he would listen to and who he would turn away.
"What the Hell do you want with my son?"
The gruff voice of John Winchester carried over with no problem, causing Azazel to visibly startle slightly before smirking.
"What you think you can trap me here and I'll just spill the beans? Your son has been chosen to become a member of my army. Him and my other chosen will decide who lead, and I bet with his training Sammy-boy here will come out on top. You should be proud, not every parent gets to see their child become a king."
While it wasn't anything new, and hadn't given it all away it seemed Azazel had said enough to make John attempt to growl.
"You're not laying one hand on him. Why would you even want to promote a human in the first place? Aren't demons all about doing whatever they want?"
Azazel seemed to gain some of his confidence back, although Gabriel could feel the slight push the other was using against the barrier, trying to see if there were any faults. If he could get out without harming Sam, Azazel would take the chance and run with it.
"There's an order to this kind of thing John, I have my orders to fulfill and I plan on doing so. So, what? Are we just going to stand here and glare at each other forever? Your pagan friend may be able to poison the lesser ranks, but I bet that venom won't work on me."
Whatever confidence Azazel showed faltered when John brought out the colt. His glaze turning into a glare while he eyed the metal. "Well, well, well, aren't we resourceful, just where did you manage to get that?" While his tone was casual, it was easy for everyone to tell Azazel was nervous.
"An old friend had it hidden away, now how about we actually end this?"
With that everything seemed to happen at once. John fired the first shot at Azazel who moved out of the way; however, the sound of the discharge seemed to be a war cry for the demons who had been circling the area. As a group they attacked; and all Sam could do was react. With Jörmungandr's tail wrapped around him, Sam couldn't move as he wanted, but he was able to fight back with his upper body. He had tried to remove Jörmungandr's tail, but it wouldn't budge. For his part Jörmungandr was lunging at one demon after another, infecting them with his venom and seemingly unharmed by their own blows to his reptilian form.
Hearing a grunt a few feet from him, Sam looked as Dean was fighting off two demons, his machete slicing into the demons and letting off golden sparks. His own knife had been doing the same, glowing a golden light whenever it contacted demon flesh. Blocking another attack with his knife, Sam caught a glimpse of Bobby swinging a katana with enough force to decapitate one of the demons, its corpse not so much as twitching as it collapsed in a pile. Bobby didn't waste a moment before slicing into the next demon, his glaze focused as he moved.
John wasn't moving to fight back, unlike the others he had chosen against having one of the blades conjured by Gabriel and instead stuck with his gun. From the shots he had heard during the battle, Sam guessed John was down to three or four bullets. Fenrir was protecting him, his large jaws chomping into demon after demon while he clawed at their vessels, placing himself between John and the incoming attacks. Slicing the throat of another demon who came in too close, Sam barely noticed as the body fell to the ground in a lifeless heap.
Gabriel had stolen his attention.
At some point he must have missed an exchange as Azazel was now battling Gabriel inside of the trapped area. Unlike the other demons who came forward with their physical strength, Azazel was jabbing at Gabriel with a long spear, the tip of which was covered in vines. Focusing on the plant, Sam noticed it was mistletoe. Sam could feel his heart skip a beat at the realization. While he knew Gabriel was harder to kill than most, he had read enough legends to know if there was one thing that could kill the god it would be what Azazel was holding.
For his part, Gabriel was fighting back valiantly. In his hand was a long spear, the tip of which glowed the same golden power of his eyes. It was beautiful to watch, if Sam wasn't so terrified for his lover. The two beings appeared to attack in coordinated steps, their movements flued while they battled. The fight seemed to last hours, though Sam doubted it was more than thirty minutes, but even with their demigod protection the humans were beginning to tire. Where Sam was blocked mostly by Jörmungandr, he knew he was luckier than the rest of his family. Still, even Sam was tired by the time it happened.
John, who had been relying on Fenrir to defend him had taken a step too close to the edge of the burnt ground. In a moment, Azazel took the chance and thrust his weapon towards the hunter. Sam was barely able to cry out when Gabriel moved. Once second, he was on the other side of the area and the next he was impaled by the spear Azazel was holding. Everything seemed to pause, even the few remaining demons -who were easily outmatched by Jörmungandr who tore into them- paused. Sam barely noticed as the large snake tore into the last of the remaining enemy, all he could see was Gabriel's face twisted in pain, his veins along his neck turning black while Azazel smirked.
"Not so strong now, are you? Even if you make it out of this, how long before the poison consumes you? The mighty Loki brought down by a plant."
Azazel's sneer was more than Sam could handle, with a cry he stretched out his hand. Sam didn't know how to control his powers, and he had only spoke about training with Gabriel to stop the headaches, but at that moment he didn't care. Pushing, Sam's power rushed to the surface, almost begging to be used. With a loud cry, Sam wrapped the power around Azazel, careful not to touch Gabriel while he pulled. It wasn't enough to harm Azazel, but it was enough to make the demon stumble back, pulling the spear from Gabriel's chest with a sickening squelch.
That's when John made his move.
With years of practice, both before and after Mary died, John didn't have to think before taking aim and firing. In the end it was anti-climatic how Azazel fell backwards. A part of Sam had been expecting a light show, but there was only a moment of that same golden light before Azazel was no more. Jörmungandr had let go of Sam once there were no demons in the area, deeming it safe for the hunter to move on his own. By the time Sam was able to make his legs move towards Gabriel, Fenrir and Jörmungandr were already surrounding him. Surprisingly it was John who was helping to support the god, his arm wrapped around Gabriel's back while applying pressure to the gaping wound.
"Fuck..." Gasped Gabriel, his hand coated in blood while his veins pulsated black. "See, this is why I always left the fighting to you stubborn people... this hurts..." Sam kneeled beside Gabriel, taking John's place and wrapping his longer arms around the man. Fenrir and Jörmungandr remained silent, although Jörmungandr changed his form back to a human-like presence.
"Hey, it's alright Gabe... we'll get you better, just have to figure out the antidote and it'll be alright." While he spoke, Sam kept his voice soft, running a hand through Gabriel's hair the way he knew the god liked.
"Can't... can't flush this out, Sammy... but I can heal it... need somewhere safe... not here..." Gabriel's voice kept trailing off while he spoke, growing weaker and causing Sam to try and silence the other with soft shushing noises.
"We can carry the humans Dad, how about the island? You always did better there." Jörmungandr asked, his voice matching Sam's in his own low tone. Instead of answering, Gabriel nodded his head, lifting his hand to snap his fingers. The second Gabriel's fingers connected he was gone, leaving Sam kneeling on the ground covered in his lovers' blood. Turning his head to look at Jörmungandr with widened eyes, Sam saw the demigods own gaze soft slightly at the look of Sam's panic.
"We need to give him a few minutes, his healing is sometimes harmful to humans. Fenrir and I can take you to his home, I'm certain that you are all welcome if you like."
Nodding his head, Sam reached out and grabbed a hold of Jörmungandr's leg, not wanting the demigod to leave without him. Bobby and John decided to remain behind, Dean hesitating for a moment before digging his hand into Fenrir's fur. "Close your eyes until we say otherwise, Dad's power can burn out human eyes if seen directly." Once again nodded his head at Jörmungandr's instruction, Sam closed his eyed tightly before Jörmungandr reached down to grasp Sam's arm firmly, a harsh chill of water washing over Sam while he was pulled against Jörmungandr's chest.
With his eyes closed tightly, Sam held his breath as Jörmungandr moved, his only thoughts and how desperately he needed to see his god.
P.S. If you want to keep up to date on my writing add me to Facebook, Tumbler or Twitter as CrowNoYami ;-) Also, if you want to see what I'm reading (I always review so you know what you're getting into) I'm on Goodreads as well, same name as always.
