A/N: Read and Review!
Disclaimer: See previous chapter(s).
**Note**
At Camp: Sunpool, Rageheart, Shadowflicker, Owlwings, Dovefeather and Featherwing.
At the Tower: Swift-Eyes, Shadowflame, Ripplestone, Mintyflower, Storm, Silver, Hawk and Shade.
With Loki: Duskstar, Fawnstep, Lilyfire, Larkwhisper, Ravenstrike, Bladeclaw, Sparrowflight, Hawkclaw, Echosong and Crow's Cry.
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Part 6: Explanations
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Rageheart shuddered, his fur standing on end as a wave of power washed down the Clan-bond as Loki absorbed the Stone. For a moment, he got the impression of a starscape and a winged man, before he blinked his sky-blue eyes, refocusing on the mouse he had been hunting. It was nowhere to be seen, but Rageheart was too distracted by the odd vision to get upset over a missed piece of prey. They didn't need it that badly anyway...wondering what could possibly be happening with Loki and the others, Rageheart flicked his fawn-ringed tail and turned to head back into camp, feeling the need to be with his Clan-mates as he shivered under the after-shocks of the new, violet power originating from Loki's mind.
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Dovefeather looked up as Rageheart hurried into camp, feeling a sense of relief as he moved to join the huddle of cats in the center of camp. They had grouped together instinctively, Rageheart being the only tom not in camp when the aftershocks hit. The white tom settled next to Sunpool, whose mis-matched eyes had gone unfocused as she communicated with the cats at Avengers Tower-being the medicine cat meant she had just as much control over the cats telepathic bond as Duskstar, Fawnstep and Loki. Swift-Eyes was also able to use the bond to communicate more directly, which Dovefeather was jealous of at that moment. Ever since she got her Mark, she was always aware of her Clan as a presence in the back of her mind, and there would sometimes be flare-ups of awareness, though never at the level Mintyflower could sense things. She and most of the others could think to Loki and Loki think to them, but the cats couldn't quite talk to each other directly. Now the she-cat wished she could see a bit more about what was happening...
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Echosong's blue-gray fur was standing on end, her Time-bending abilities distorting the air around her; the new, golden-winged arrival had a powerful aura about him that reminded her firmly of the Doctor. Echosong was brought out of her musings by Loki striding forward, Duskstar balanced easily on his shoulder, to embrace the newcomer.
"Gabriel! I told you nothing good would come of pretending to be some version of me."
Gabriel snorted. "Eh, the fun bits of being a Trickster was definitely worth all the extra family drama and multiple deaths. Not to mention I got to eat tons of candy, deal out just deserts, that sort of thing."
"Wait, what?" Dean huffed, and Echosong couldn't help but silently agree with his confusion. Gabriel twirled the sucker between his fingers. "Deano, Samsquatch, Cassie, meet Loki. Loki, meet one of my favorite little brothers, and the Winchesters-otherwise known as the 'the never really dead' duo." Loki raised his eyebrows, turning to appraise the others again. "A pleasure to meet you."
Dean and Sam seemed even more confused by this, though 'Cas' had a look on his face that made Echosong check for a light-bulb over his head, just in case. Meanwhile, Duskstar swayed forward on Loki's shoulder and purred, "It's nice to see you again Gabriel!" The winged man shot the she-cat a smirk. "You as well, Dusk. It's been waaayyy too long since I got to stretch my wings; I would've come back earlier, but, well. Someone has to keep bringing those two chuckleheads back." The two Winchesters spluttered while Cas tilted his head in a bird-like movement, curiosity in his electric-blue eyes. "Gabriel. I did not know you were a Guardian." Gabriel shrugged. "Yeah, well, Dad doesn't really like the whole multi-Dimension thing getting out on our Earth. Complicates things."
"No. That's it. We've been through a lot these past couple of days, what with Purgatory-" Cas winced, suddenly guilty "-and Sam's-wait." Dean frowned at his ridiculously tall brother. "You seem fine. Like, not insane." Echosong blinked. 'That was rather rude,' she mused, wondering what the story was behind that statement. The she-cat felt a flicker of surprise from her Clan mates and suddenly realized she had somehow projected the thought to all of the cats with them on the rock. A quick glance at Loki, who allowed his eyes to gleam slightly purple, and Echosong realized it was a side-effect of the new Stone. The rest of the Clan were too far away to be affected, though Echosong wouldn't be surprised if all the cats got a boost in being able to use the Clan-bond once they returned home.
Gabriel waved off Dean's confusion, Sam's wary realization, and Cas's guilt. "I fixed it. Figured you three idiots might as well enjoy the time you'll be in this place, since you'll get snapped back pretty soon. I'd say..." Gabriel paused thoughtfully, his wings rustling, and shot Loki a questioning glance. "Three days at most." The Trickster replied, beckoning Echosong closer-the blue-gray warrior suddenly noticed that the rest of the Clan had already gathered next to him. Fur prickling, Echosong hurried over to join the others, drawing the groups attention to the cats. Gabriel's golden eyes went wide. "Wow, how many fur-balls have you got these days anways?"
Echosong bristled slightly, but it was clear the Guardian was amused and honestly curious, rather than snooty. It was Duskstar who answered. "Twenty-four."
Gabriel let out a low whistle while Sam inched forward. "So, are you going to explain this whole thing anytime soon?" he questioned, gesturing to Loki then around at the stars. Gabriel sighed. "Try to keep up Sambo. That is Loki, the First Loki-the true one. I stumbled upon the whole multiple Dimensions thing when I left heaven, ran into this animal while he was still only a few decades old. He gave me the crash-course, and let me borrow his identity for when I went back to my own Earth-there was originally not going to be a Loki in our Norse Pantheon. We've partied a few times since then, but we were both usually pretty busy with our own stuff. Then when I died back home thanks to dear old Luci, I wake up to find a letter from Loki apologizing for not warning me that most Guardians don't really die unless they really, really want to. And I didn't want to. I was locked out from home to keep from changing the set Timeline, since we all hail from our First, and instead have been wandering around in alternate versions of your life." Gabriel shuddered. "The amount of ships I've run into...fan-girls are the scariest thing in any Dimension, hands down." Sam gave a sympathetic wince, while Dean shook his head. "That doesn't really help." Loki sighed. "You might want to sit down."
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Crow's Cry yawned and stretched, waking from his light doze as Loki finished explaining to the Winchesters and Cas, whose real name turned out to be Castiel, about Yggdrasil. They were a bit dazed, though Crow's Cry couldn't blame them. "Wait, won't we be changing our timeline by having this knowledge when we go back home?" asked Sam, concerned. Loki waved off his concerns. "I'll block the memories when you go back. You will remember everything once your official timeline has played out, no worries." Dean squirmed. "I don't like the idea of having you in my head, dude." Gabriel snorted from where he was sitting in the middle of a mountain of candy wrappers. "You couldn't stop him. *I* couldn't stop him, for Dad's sake. Just roll with it, Dean-o." The hunter scowled at the Archangel (the Clan had been getting a mental run-down on the 'Supernatural' verse while the others were getting the Yggdrasil explanation-basically, the group came from a Dimension where Heaven, Hell, angels, demons, and a crazy amount of supernatural creatures were real. Sam and Dean were hunters, people who spent their life-literally-hunting down those that hunted humans. They really had stopped their Apocalypse, and done a bunch of other extreme stuff. They had gotten zapped here just after Castiel had dumped billions of supernatural souls back into Purgatory. Loki had quietly added that serious stuff was about to go down, and this little break would be good for them, even if they didn't remember it).
Duskstar had introduced the rest of the cats at one point, mentally adding the Clan's history to Gabriel while allowing the cats a slight glimpse at some of the crazy stuff she, Loki and Gabriel had gotten up to, millennia ago. Now, the tabby tom was more than ready to get off this stupid rock and get back. Sensing this, Loki grinned slightly at Crow's Cry before stretching needlessly and deciding, "We may as well head back to Avengers Tower. No need to stay here for your three days."
The Winchester's exchanged looks. "How-" Loki snapped his fingers with a wink at Gabriel, and suddenly they were standing in the same sitting room as before, with the entire group of Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy startling at their appearance. Crow's Cry blinked when he noticed some of the Clan there as well, and moved to join Shadowflame along with Echosong, and snickering as Tony cursed his shattered mug, yet again. Loki held up his hand, freezing the large group in place, and rapidly informed the group that yes, he had the Stone, these were some accidental visitors from another Dimension that would be staying a few days, and 'do NOT touch anybody's wings without permission', as well as introducing everyone before unfreezing them and turning into a slightly frazzled looking black tom.
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TBC
