HAPPY NEW YEAR!
"What in the hell?" shouted Bobby when he heard the crash. He sent Dean to check on it, as they hadn't heard from Sam in quite some time.
"Bobby...you aren't going to believe this..." said Dean from the panic room.
"What is it you idjit?"
"There's an angel in your panic room," said Dean, still in shock.
"There's a what?!"
Loki, as it turned out, heard the crash the same time Bobby did. And Dean's answer to what had landed in Bobby's panic room. He snorted.
'It figures that his safe zone would be Bobby's panic room,' thought Loki. He had mostly come to a truce with Bobby and Dean, partly because he was able to drink holy water without flinching and hadn't used his tricks on them since he arrived.
The fact he hadn't really reacted to Bobby shooting at him didn't hurt either.
Loki came down in time to find Dean trying to remove the 'angel' from the panic room, only to discover how heavy the wings were.
"You might as well move him onto the bed. It'll be easier to get him up those stairs once he wakes up...and considering he just came out of hell he could probably use a break."
Dean flinched at that reminder, but managed to move the unconscious angel onto the bed. He got a good look at the guy's face, and he looked very familiar.
"So Loki, who is he?" asked Dean once they closed the door.
"He's a cambion who was lucky enough to inherit the wings of his dad's race. Most don't, or the angels kill them off before they even get a chance to find out."
"Why do I feel like I should know him? And aren't half-angels called Nephilim?" asked Dean.
"It's Harry. Apparently he got a makeover thanks to the grace he's been carrying around. And cambion is the proper term for half-breeds of higher or lower beings," shrugged Loki.
"What grace?" demanded Dean.
"See those chains around his neck? I'm fairly sure he spent his time in hell picking them up. Not all demons were once human you know, and Lucy has been recruiting other angels. Their grace had to go somewhere, and I doubt that the angels retrieved them all," said Loki.
Dean took another look at the odd chains around the cambion's neck. Now that he was looking for it, he could see little glass things at the end.
"So what would breaking the glass do?" asked Dean.
"Whoever breaks the glass get's the power inside...unless the original owner is nearby and is still worthy of it. There's a reason demons would gladly kill for it. In his case the chances of him not receiving the power boost are next to nill, considering he got them out of hell."
"How do you know this stuff anyway?" asked Bobby.
"You'll find out when the idiot wakes up," said Loki with a shrug.
Which he did, only after Dean had a rather unpleasant visit from Zachariah. Though Dean refused to say what happened during that trip.
What happened during Dean's trip to the future...
He woke up at Bobby's and found the picture. He was quite upset about what happened to the Impala, but no where near as angry as when his alternate future self nailed him in the back of the head with the butt of his gun.
It took little convincing to prove he was the same Dean as the one sitting there, but there was something...off...about his future self.
It took him a minute to figure out what it was.
This Dean didn't have a single scrap of Monkey's technology on him. And Dean always carried something with that brand.
"So tell me, how quickly did word spread about the virus among hunters?" asked Dean.
Future Dean gave him an odd look.
"After the first major city, wide spread panic set in. Nearly five thousand hunters were dead before anyone knew what was going on. By the time the symptoms became known, it was too late for most."
Dean gave his so-called future self a look.
"Alright Einstein, who broke the last seal?" asked Dean.
"Sam did."
"Son of a bitch... I'm in the wrong future!" swore Dean.
"What?" asked his future self.
"Sam never broke Lilith's seal. Monkey did."
"Who's Monkey?" asked his 'future' self.
"I am. As for you, Dean Winchester, you are at the tail-end of a reset from the original one hundred thirty-four cycles ago," said the angel who was asleep in Bobby's panic room. At least last he checked anyway. His wings were gone though.
"Who are you?" demanded future-Dean.
"Name's Harry. If you want to know what I'm talking about, find Castiel. He might be willing to talk at this juncture, and once you get killed this world resets back to square one anyway," said Harry.
"What?!"
"Dean, tell this idiot what I told you over a year ago," said Harry.
"The Colt can't kill Lucifer. It was made to kill demons, not former arch-angels. Believe me, we checked after Harry mentioned that," said Dean.
"And if what I recall is correct, this happens in almost every reset. Zachariah shows up, drops your ass into a future where Sam says yes, then shows up at the end to drop you back where Castiel saves you from being forced to repeat it," said Harry bluntly.
The second Dean came back with a wasted Castiel...who took one look at the hand-cuffed Dean and asked which year he was from.
"Why can't Cas see you?" Dean asked Harry.
"I was already dead this time line. Or I was waiting for the world to go back to start. Either way, there's something you need to say to snap him out of his high."
"What's that?" asked Dean.
Harry told him, and Dean blinked.
"This isn't like that time where you had me piss of Uriel because it was funny and distracting, is it?"
"Nah, just something all Angels would recognize. So say it already!"
"Fine! Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?" asked Dean in Enoch.
Dean would have laughed outright at the look on Castiel's face, if he had a camera anyway. Harry helpfully took a picture of it though. Castiel really looked like he had been slapped silly by a fish.
"What the hell is going on? Cas, explain!" said Future Dean.
Dean looked at Harry. Harry materialized properly so Cas could see him.
"Look Dean, the fact is that this world has gone through the whole apocalypse thing several times now, only it was set back to the night your mother died each time by either Fate or God. Apparently there was either a glitch that ended the world, like your brother accepting Lucifer's demands to be his vessel, or because some prophecy was never completed. In any case, this world is going back to the drawing board when you face Lucifer, and I'm here to insure that idiot Zachariah doesn't drop your past self in the wrong scenario."
"Who the hell are you anyway?"
"Call me the angel Kibeth. In any event we might as well let this play out," said Harry.
Harry followed Dean obsessively for two days before Zachariah showed up to force him back to the present. Though he did get a great picture of the angel cringing from the kick to the balls Harry gave him as payback for all the crap he had put Dean through.
Harry woke up an hour after Dean came back to his own reality and called Sam in.
"Ugh...I am so bitch-slapping Sam for falling for Ruby's tricks...and for the possible head trauma he caused," said Harry.
"And here I was wondering what your reaction to that would be. Welcome back squirt," said Loki smugly.
"Hello Dad."
"Excuse me, did you just say dad?" asked Dean, having come downstairs to check on him.
Harry rolled his eyes.
"I'll wait till Sam gets here so I can get my revenge for that conk to the head he gave me before I explain a damn thing. But first, how the hell do I retract these things?" asked Harry to Loki.
"Try a partial transformation to your animal form," suggested Loki.
To be honest he had never had that issue come up.
Harry concentrated on his animal form, and Dean blinked when he realized that where the angel had been was now a four-winged unicorn with a golden coat.
If I get stuck like this I am ramming this horn up your ass Loki!
"Come on, lighten up!" said Loki, wisely backing away.
"Is he...a horse?"
"A bi-winged alicorn to be exact. No idea why, but from what we've been able to guess he inherited his mother's animal form and his father's angel wings, though there's one less pair on him than on his dad."
My theory is that I have to break the Grace Vials before I get any more wings added, said Harry.
"Well...maybe just the one," admitted Loki. It wasn't that far a stretch, to be honest.
Bobby was giving Harry the strangest looks because apparently, he did get stuck in his animagus form.
"Why is there a winged horse with a horn in my house?" he asked finally.
Because a certain idjit suggested this method to retract my wings, said Harry flatly.
"This is just wrong..." muttered Dean.
"Tell me about it," said Bobby.
Harry finally asked Why are you in a wheelchair anyway Bobby? Last I checked you could walk just fine!
"Stabbed myself to get a demon out. This idjit pissed off the angels so they won't help, and Castiel is too weak to do it!" said Bobby.
Harry blinked.
Dad, in my bag there is a small leather pouch with wooden coins. Could you go get it for me? Harry asked.
"Sure, but why would you need that?" asked Loki.
You'll find out after I give one to Bobby, said Harry.
Loki brought up the bag, and then found the pouch Harry asked for.
Drop one of the coins into a beer and hand it to Bobby. I had them set so they wouldn't activate until they came into contact with alcohol.
Loki raised an eyebrow, but dropped one of the coins into the beer before handing it over.
Bobby didn't know what was going on, or why Harry (he recognized the voice) had done that, but he wasn't wasting a perfectly good beer with silly questions right now. He took a long pull at it and felt the effects almost immediately.
Realizing he could feel his legs again, Bobby tried to sit up. After a moment he was able to stand, though he was a bit wobbly at first.
"What the hell?" said Bobby in shock.
You know that old tale about beating a witch at a poker game and getting years taken off? Well I beat Patrick at poker during the yearly goblin poker tournament and he gave me seventy-five years to use whenever I want. Would have been a hundred, but I traded twenty-five in exchange for how to use that magic.
"You beat the legendary card-shark out of seventy-five years?" said Bobby, infinitely glad to be out of that damn chair for the first time in two months.
He knew I was a cambion, and wizards live a long time. The standard bet in that game during the tournament is fifty, unless they are over the age of fifty themselves.
Loki felt the need to explain.
"Cambions, particularly the rare angel breeds, tend to live longer lives than most humans. Harry here would have lived to two hundred if he hadn't ascended to mostly angel."
"Mostly angel?" asked Dean.
Seeing everyone's interest, Loki explained.
"Most cambions are only half, if that. For a human to ascend to angel status, they would have to forgo their humanity completely, but that's never happened before because either a demon kills them or the angels themselves do. They don't want any 'half breeds' up in heaven from what I heard. However, when a cambion of angel descent ascends to partial angel status, that means they have awakened the powers of their blood but haven't chosen to become an angel yet. I suppose you can call it more of a partial ascension rather than a full one," said Loki.
They heard a car slow to a stop outside. It was likely Sam.
"Dean, I got your message, what's so... Why is there a bi-winged alicorn in Bobby's house? And how is he standing?" said Sam, utterly confused.
"Right, we're almost all here. Dean, call Castiel so we can get that out of the way too, and I'll call Anna," said Loki clapping his hands.
Dean blinked, but prayed to Cas. Anna appeared on her own right around the same time he showed.
"What is so important? And why is there a winged unicorn in Mr. Singer's house?" asked Castiel. He had noticed the horse almost immediately...so it was understandable he missed Gabriel completely.
"Are we finally coming out in the open? It's about time! And Harry, why are you stuck in your animagus form?" asked Anna.
Harry snorted, drawing their attention to him. Suddenly his wings enveloped him and he was able to stand on two feet again.
"Finally! Being a horse with oversized wings in a cramped space sucks!" he said with relief as he cracked his back.
"Gabriel," said Castiel, staring at Harry with shock.
"Nope. Try five feet to the left," said Harry.
It was easy to see why Castiel made the mistake...before Harry looked like James Potter with green eyes, now he looked like Gabriel's current vessel only with auburn hair. He didn't have a scar on his head anymore though.
"I don't understand," said Castiel. From the look on Dean, Sam and Bobby's faces, neither did they.
"Long story short, Gabriel took the form of James Potter and ended up having a cambion with Lily Evans, though from what I can tell the killing curse gave Gabriel partial amnesia. Gabriel sent me into the past to find out who was the source of my angelic heritage, and sent me back when the angels got suspicious of all the activity where there shouldn't be," said Harry.
"And what does that damn Trickster have to do with this?" asked Bobby.
"Hi, I'm Gabriel!" said the insane arch angel far too cheerfully.
Castiel looked at Harry and Gabriel with both surprise and horror.
"You do know our father said that we weren't to mate with the humans," said Castiel.
"Considering it was highly likely he was the cause of me picking James Potter, I highly doubt he would care," said Gabriel.
"What?"
"Does this have anything to do with that whole reset thing Harry mentioned?" asked Dean.
"Yup," said Gabriel, accepting a chocolate frog from Harry's bag.
"I think I need a drink," said Sam.
"Me too," said Bobby.