AN: glomps all the reviewers Off we go, chapter 7!


"Under no circumstances are you to come inside, you hear me?" John said sternly, taking a drag off his cigarette.

"Aw, it can't hurt if I just watch..."

"Yes, it can. You're waiting outside."

"But-"

"Chas, no."

Chas pouted a bit, but didn't argue on the subject anymore. And once they got to the building, John shoved him down to a sitting position on the outside steps.

"Stay right there," he ordered, leaving the boy there and walking inside without another word. Father Hennessy was waiting inside, and he quickly led John upstairs to the apartment.

"It's weird, John. This isn't a normal possession," Hennessy said, his voice strained. John didn't show any reaction to the man's obvious worry.

He walked in the room, and the woman was lying on the bed, her body twitching and shaking...but Hennessy was right, something was different. No sounds emitted from the woman's open mouth, and her eyes stared upward, hazed over.

"What the hell is this?" John asked Hennessy, and he shrugged.

"She's been like that the whole time. I wouldn't have thought it was a possession if I didn't feel this heavy."

John too had noticed the heavy, dark, evil feel to the room. It was worse than in a normal, out of control possession. He walked to the bed and climbed up on it, kneeling over the woman and looking her right in the eye.

"What's your deal, demon?" He asked harshly, leaning down a bit.

No reaction.

"Come on, show me what you can do," John taunted, hoping to draw it out that way. He didn't want to try and exorcise it before he knew exactly what he was dealing with.

The woman's gaze suddenly became sharper, focusing in on John. Then, a cruel smirk lit up on her face.

"Usted es un hombre estúpido, John Constantine. Usted hará esto demasiado fácil," she hissed at him, and then she suddenly dropped limp.

"What happened?" Hennessy asked as John stared at the woman in confusion.

"The demon...it just exorcised itself."

"It what!"

John stared for a few more moments, and then he quickly stood up. "Untie her, she's fine. I need to go talk to Gabriel."

"What's going on, John?"

"I'll tell you later," John replied, tearing out the door and down the stairs. He walked out the door, immediately saying, "Come on, Chas, we've got to-"

He stopped in the middle of his sentence and looked around. Chas was nowhere to be found.

"...Chas? Kid?"

God dammit, he ran off again, John thought, but then he caught sight of something on the step. Chas's hat. There was no way that kid would go anywhere without his hat.

As he picked up the hat, he caught sight of something else, something that had been hidden by the hat. A long, grayish-white feather.

A feather off a half-breed's wing. Those feathers never fell unintentionally.

John picked up the feather, his breath quickening and his fists tightening in fury. The possession upstairs had been a diversion. And now...now Chas was gone.

And John had the sneaking suspicion that he knew who was behind it.

He took off at a sprint towards the church, the hat and feather clasped in one hand tightly as he ran. The city was still dead, the streets mostly deserted, so he got few weird looks as he made his way back and shoved open the door to the church, which was still unlocked.

"Gabriel! Gabriel, you bastard, show yourself!" He yelled, his voice echoing in the cavernous room. Then he caught sight of the figure standing in front of the fire with his back to him.

"I told you to watch him, John."

John practically snarled as he jogged up to the figure, spinning him around and shoving him up against the wall.

"Where is he? Where is he, Gabriel?"

"What makes you think I had anything to do with this?" Gabriel said calmly, giving John a strange half-smile. John held the feather up half an inch from Gabriel's nose, but that didn't change the angel's expression.

"My dear John...I'm not the only half breed roaming the streets of LA tonight."

"But you are the only half breed who threatened him!"

Gabriel laughed quietly. "I warned you, John. It was a warning. And the first thing you do after I so graciously warned you is you go and leave him all alone on a street corner in LA at 3 in the morning. And you're blaming me for the fact that he's gone?"

John felt a pang of guilt. If he'd just let the kid come in and watch, this never would've happened. On that point...he had to admit Gabriel was right. But not out loud he didn't.

"Who took Chas? And what do they want with him? He's just a human! They're so fucking with the balance here..."

"I can't tell you who, John. But don't you worry...they will reveal themselves with time."

John smirked and laughed bitterly. "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?"

Gabriel simply smiled. "You humans are resilient and resourceful, despite your obvious shortcomings. I'm certain you can handle this on your own."


AN: Bwahahahaha, cliffhangers! Gotta love 'em.

Hmm...John/Chas slash. Interesting thought, might do it someday, but not in this story.