Chapter Sixteen
Icarus
December 18, 2009
Bobby watched Crowley rush forward to Azrial's bleeding body trying to process everything that just happened.
"Should we," Dean's voice sounded ragged and Bobby turned to look at the blood-covered man. "Should we be doing something?"
Bobby's eyes shifted back to the demon who was pulling the archangel off the ground so she was leaning against his chest as his already bloody fingers searched for a pulse. Crowley looked pale, and Bobby could see the moment the demon realized the archangel was dying.
He never wanted to see that look on Crowley's face again. It was too human, and Bobby hated the feeling of sympathy that welled up in him before he promptly crushed it.
"What in Dad's name is going on here?"
Bobby spun around and leveled his gun at the new person who just appeared. He froze recognizing the shorter man with dirty blonde hair. Sam spun on the new arrival and snarled as he aimed his gun, "Oh so now you show up? You cowardly-"
"Gabriel," Castiel cut off Sam's rant his voice shaking slightly, "Azrial, she's alive-"
"Obviously."
Gabriel drawled the word with a roll of his hazel eyes. Castiel looked ready to murder his brother at the realization the other archangel had known Azrial was alive, but the current situation seemed to stop him.
"She's hasn't moved since Lucifer stabbed her, so for once-"
Castiel didn't have to say more, Gabriel's eyes fell upon the demon who was cradling the archangel to his chest while trying to stem Azrial's bleeding. Bobby watched the myriad of emotions pass over Gabriel's face, but none of them were the disgust that Lucifer and Castiel had shown at Crowley's closeness to Azrial. The archangel strode forward rolling up the sleeves of his shirt as he went, but Crowley's eyes snapped up from what he was doing and he glared at Gabriel. A bloodied hand was raised, and Gabriel stopped a look of surprise painting his face as Crowley's red eyes glared him down.
"Hey, calm down there. No need to try and incinerate me."
Bobby felt his mouth go dry at Gabriel's soft comment. Apparently, it had been a damn good thing they hadn't approached. Gabriel may be unaffected by the demon's power, but they would have been a smoldering pile of bones.
"Stay away from us."
Crowley's voice was bordering on an animalistic growl, and his grip on Azrial tightened. It looked like the demon may run with the injured archangel and Gabriel raised his hands in a show of peace.
"White Willow."
Bobby watched as Crowley went from outright hostile to surprised. His grip didn't loosen, but he was looking at Gabriel with markedly less hostility. The demon finally answered tightly, "Dalmore."
"64. I swear, I'm not out to get you. Let me help her, Crowley."
The demon hesitated only a moment more before he gave a stiff nod at the archangel's plea. Gabriel strode forward quickly, and knelt in the snow shifting Azrial so he could see the wound but not trying to pull her away from Crowley.
"Shit."
Gabriel's exhaled statement was hard to hear, but the archangel lifted his head and spoke quickly.
"You're going to have to let her go. If you don't I'll end up hurting you as I try to heal her. I doubt my sister would appreciate you getting burnt to a crisp."
"No."
Bobby couldn't believe Crowley's gall. Didn't the demon realize Azrial was dying?
"Crowley, I get it. You don't trust-"
"No. I don't. They," Crowley spat the word, and Bobby couldn't miss the cold look the demon directed at all of them, "ruined any goodwill I may have."
"It will purify you. I won't try and take her. She'd just leave anyway."
"Just do it. Your dear brother already took a solid swing. Maybe you'll actually succeed."
Gabriel was silent at Crowley's venomous reply, and Bobby hoped the archangel would rip his sister away from the demon. This was stupid, and each second they argued Azrial came closer to death.
You wouldn't be any better in his position.
The words were a whisper in his mind, and Bobby frowned pushing the thought aside. It didn't matter how he would act. Crowley was out of line, and he hoped the archangel swatted the demon aside for it.
"Alright, on your head be it."
Gabriel sounded resigned, but not the least bit angry at Crowley's argumentative nature. Almost like he expected it.
"He knew."
Sam hissed the words, and Bobby nodded in agreement. There was no way the other archangel hadn't known about Aziral and Crowley's agreement, if not the fact they were sleeping together. Bobby was still betting that was a recent change though, but they'd likely never know.
"There's nothing we can do about it."
His firm reply did nothing to stem Sam's anger as the younger man snarled, "Azrial wouldn't be bleeding out on the damn ground after saving us if Gabriel had nutted up and helped. This is partially his fault yet I doubt he sees it that way."
Bobby remained silent at that. Was it possible things would have gone differently? Yes. They'd likely have been shoved into one of the archangel's pocket dimensions and would never have been here. Gabriel didn't have the same trust Azrial had shown by allowing them freedom to act. Azrial had assumed that her warning would keep them away.
She'd been wrong, and as Gabriel cut her shirt away to inspect the large, still bleeding, star shaped wound Bobby felt a pang of guilt.
He tried to ignore it. God did he, but Sam's words rang with a bit of truth even if they mirrored Lucifer's teardown from earlier. Sam had stressed the 'partially' part of his statement, and Bobby knew whatever happened was on them as well.
Mostly he blamed Crowley.
If the demon hadn't been caught this never would have happened. Azrial would be fine, and Lucifer would be dead.
"Crowley saved my life. I can't believe I'm saying this, but for his sake, I hope she survives this."
Rowen's words were low, a whisper amongst the rapid conversations going on in the clearing. Castiel was speaking with Dean but his eyes kept darting back to Gabriel, and the angel looked paler than normal. Sam was glaring hatefully at Gabriel, but still responded whenever Dean asked him something. Bobby finally responded to Rowen after several moments of thought.
"He's a demon. Bastard should have been more careful."
"I don't think Crowley had a choice. He told me to run before he vanished. Something tells me Lucifer has more control over the demons than he shows."
Bobby remained silent, refusing to admit Crowley may have kept his word. His eyes moved back to the demon, and by default, he saw what Gabriel was doing.
Gabriel's hand was wrist-deep in Azrial's chest, and he kept pulling out bits of metal and tossing the bloody pieces onto the snow. Crowley's hands looked like they were slowly burning, but the demon didn't let go. Crowley's head was bowed causing his nose to brush against Azrial's head, and he could see the bastard's lips moving as Gabriel continued to pull the pieces of metal out of the wound.
"Fuck."
The hissed expletive had Bobby snapping his head to see Castiel holding his head. The angel was breathing heavily, and Dean had a hand on his shoulder giving it a gentle shake.
"Hey, man, what's wrong? Talk to me."
"We," Castiel took a shaky breath looking around the area with wide eyes, "We need to get out of here."
"What? Why?"
"Angels. Every angel in Heaven and on Earth heard Lucifer scream in anger. They also felt Azrial in the brief moments she was out of her body. Michael and Raphael are arguing about getting vessels."
Bobby swore his heart stopped. The next moment, Rowen stiffened at his side and there was a soft whistle in the air as the man snarled viciously.
"No."
That one word was enough to cause Bobby's heart to restart as he snapped noticing the change in the air.
"We need to get the Hell out of here! Rowen, for fucks sake tell me that wasn't a damn angel asking to jump you?"
"It was. Said his name was Zach-"
"Okay, fuck that. Cas, we gotta go before that feathered douche actually gets someone to say yes. I thought he was vesselless."
Dean sounded furious as Castiel took a deep breath and strode up to help Bobby with Rowen.
"Only as long as Michael kept him on a leash. Heaven just went, what's the phrase? Tits up."
"Lovely."
Dean snapped the word as they began to make their way back to the Impala, ignoring the supernaturals on the ground. If Castiel had heard, then Gabriel knew he was on the clock. Bobby shot a look back at Crowley and saw the demon hadn't bothered looking up. Bobby shook his head looking forward.
Crowley wasn't his problem, and neither were the two archangels behind him.
Still, there was a needling feeling of guilt he couldn't crush even as he focused on getting his friend and boys to the car.
Line Break
Gabriel exhaled as the last bits of metal fell from his hand. That had taken more power then he'd used in centuries, and he'd had to do it with Michael and Raphael's grace hanging on the edge of his senses. He'd heard his eldest brother's scream for answers as soon as Azrial had fallen. It was the whole damn reason he'd shown up. He'd thought Azrial had simply revealed herself but no. His little sister would never do anything so pedestrian.
"Hey, we need to get outta here before the rest of the Heaven descends on us demanding answers."
Crowley looked up for the first time since Gabriel had started, and he winced at the almost feral look on the demon's face.
"Can she be moved?"
The question was growled as Crowley flexed his fingers. Gabriel could hear the burnt skin crackling like crushed autumn leaves as the demon tried to regain feeling in his hands.
"Yes, very gingerly, but I've done what I can. From here on out, it's up to her own strength."
Gabriel hated to admit that. Hated to admit even his best wouldn't be enough in this situation, especially to a tempermental demon. A possessive, temperamental demon, if the slight growl when he shifted to close was anything to go by.
A crack behind them had Gabriel spinning around, blade out and ready to defend his fallen sister. There was nothing there though and Gabriel sighed.
"Well, like I said, we should get the hell outta here."
He started speaking as he turned back to the demon, but trailed off as he realized the spot Azrial and Crowley had been was empty except for blood on the snow.
"For Dad's sake, they couldn't have just waited?"
Even as he muttered the words, relief flooded Gabriel. From what he knew about his sister's own witness protection program, Crowley would have her back. His intentions may have been selfish, but so were Loki's. He trusted Azrial's judgement if nothing else.
Gabriel stretched out his sense, and cursed as he felt angels approaching the area. He searched out Sam next, well tuned with the human's soul with the amount of time the giant spent in his creations. They were still too close, and Gabriel made a split second decision. He appeared next to the Impala just as Sam slammed the trunk shut. The hunter jumped and went to grab his gun.
"Hey Samsquatch, no need for violence."
He tried to keep his voice easy going, and Sam narrowed his eyes. There was a twitch of his jaw that indicated he was about to get an earful, so Gabriel cut him off before he could say a word.
"Hold that thought."
Without waiting for a response Gabriel grabbed Sam's arm and placed a palm on the trunk of the Impala. It took everything he had, but he yanked both out of the current reality and into his own dimension. He made it look like the salvage yard that flashed through Sam's mind because he'd drop them there once things calmed down, so best to keep the hunters at ease.
He was so lost in his thoughts that Sam connected a solid punch to his jaw.
"Fuck!"
Gabriel stumbled back holding his jaw, appearing behind Sam to avoid another hit.
"What the hell, Samsquatch? I just saved your life!"
"It wouldn't have needed saving if you'd helped us, you coward!"
Gabriel bristled at the accusation as the driver's door to the Impala swung open,
"Sam what the hell-oh," Dean's question died as he glared at Gabriel, "I should have known."
The other doors opened, and Gabriel found his eyes drawn to the still injured man in the front seat. His soul had a slight halo around it denoting his importance to Heaven. It took several moments to realize he was looking at a damn Saint, rather than your run of the mill vessel. Gabriel moved forward to help heal the man but Sam blocked him.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?"
Sam growled the question and Gabriel bit his tongue to avoid snapping a response. Now wasn't the time for quip or jokes.
"Your friend there, he's got a punctured lung. Cassie-boy did a damn good job, but something like that is easy to miss in the heat of battle."
Sam froze, and the conflict was clear in his eyes. Castiel limped forward and grabbed Sam's shoulder.
"Let him heal Rowen."
"Cas, this is-"
"I know," Castiel whispered to Sam and turned his gaze toward Gabriel, "I'm trusting you, Gabriel. Step a toe out of line and even if it kills me, I'll kill you."
"You're giving me the warm and fuzzies, Castiel." Gabriel deadpanned as he moved toward the human who was in the front seat.
The Saint stiffened, and Gabriel couldn't blame him. He'd had a harrowing few hours, and somehow he doubted the man was used to keeping up with the Winchesters like his brother and Singer.
"Hey, I'm gonna heal you."
Best to be upfront with the skittish human, right?
"Who are you?"
The question was rasped out, and Gabriel frowned. It seemed it may be more than one rib puncturing the left lung. Damn, he needed to start this yesterday.
"They call me Gabriel, Heaven's best medic."
He injected a bit of flair into his voice, but the human frowned and countered, "I thought," he took a staggering breath, "that was Rapheal?"
"What? No! What lies have they told you all?"
Gabriel couldn't stop the offended tone from creeping into his voice. Rapheal? Really? He'd have to go back and fix some of those damn scriptures. He shook his head and frowned at the human.
"That isn't the point right now. Your lung is punctured. You've gotta let me heal ya or you're gonna bleed out."
He said it frankly, and watched his words click with the man who finally gave a shaky nod. Gabriel placed his hand on the man's left side focusing grace into his lungs. One rib was crushed, and Gabriel couldn't fault Castiel's inability to heal it. His brother was running low on grace and something like this would take a decent amount to fuse the bone back together. The other was simply cracked, and Gabriel healed that one first. The man took a shuddering breath, clearly relishing the ease he got air to his lungs.
"This is gonna suck. You ready?"
"Just do it."
The exhaled response had Gabriel shooting his grace into the human's body, coiling it around the crushed rib as he focused on fusing the pieces back together. He ignored the scream of pain and focused on his task. He hadn't done this much healing in millenia, and he was starting to feel tired. If Azrial hadn't been in such bad shape this may not be as taxing, but after having to rip not only metal but pieces of Lucifer's grace from his sister's chest Gabriel was exhausted.
As soon as the bone was back in one piece Gabriel yanked his grace back and stumbled away from the human. He breathed deeply trying to catch his breath as he watched the others rush forward to check on their friend. A strange emptiness filled his chest as he watched them crowd the Saint, but Gabriel pushed it aside. He was just tired. After some rest he'd be good as new.
"Rowen, you okay?"
Singer's gruff voice was met with a weak nod and smirk, "Better than ever. At least I look better than that hound."
Dean snorted and grinned, but Sam took the chance to turn his attention back to Gabriel.
"This doesn't change that you're a coward."
The hissed words made Gabriel scowl, and he couldn't help his retort.
"Is that so? I didn't have to come, Samsquatch. You're just lucky one of the few people I give a damn about was there."
"You mean the sister you told us was dead? You should have said there was another chance. You made it seem like there was no hope, and you were wrong."
Sam's words were venomous, and Gabriel was feeding into the taller man's anger. Sam had a way of getting under his skin. Not always in a bad way, but right now he wanted to toss the brat back into TV land.
"I warned you idiots that this was inevitable. Nothing is going to stop Luci and Mike from duking it out. Now, maybe you understand."
The resignation in his voice was clear for everyone to hear. Gabriel ran a hand through his hair and gave a tired laugh.
"It's Sunday dinner all over again, 'cep Azrial was off her game and couldn't help keep the food on the table."
There was several seconds of silence before Castial spoke, "You weren't there either, Gabriel. You used to help. What happened to you? How have you lost so much faith?"
Despite the quiet tone of the question there was heavy accusation in Castiel's voice. Gabriel laughed, bitterness creeping into his voice.
"You're right. I used to help. We used to have a Father. Michael used to listen to us. Then Lucifer went too far. His flock left Haven at his command, and others went with him. There's no hope left, Cassie-boy. Just accept it."
"That's where you're wrong, bastard."
Gabriel turned to Dean, still covered in blood and dirt. The man stood tall and narrowed his eyes as he continued.
"As long as we have a choice there's still hope. Your sister had a choice, and she chose to help us. Obviously Azrial didn't think it was hopeless."
Gabriel remained silent. He didn't have a rebuttal to that and this fight was pointless. It was just a rehash of their argument from the warehouse in a different location.
"Where is Azrial? Were you able to heal her?"
Rowen's voice broke the heavy silence and Gabriel actually felt thankful for the change of subject despite how morbid it was.
"I did what I could."
The exorcist frowned at the emotionless reply and Singer growled, "The hell you mean by that?"
Gabriel huffed and looked away. "I mean, it's up to her now. The damage Lucifer did? That ain't something I've seen in a long time. There were only two times in history I've ever dealt with that level of damage to an angel."
Gabriel hoped the admission would make them drop the subject, but Castiel quickly jumped in, fury dripping off his voice.
"And where's Crowley?"
Gabriel raised an eyebrow at the hostility, wondering what the demon had done to earn his brother's ire.
"He took Azrial to safety. Honestly, it was the smart move. I'm sure Heaven is out for all of us, and my fine ass has every intention of hiding out in a pocket dimension until everyone upstairs forgets about me again."
"You let him take her?"
The demand was shouted, and Gabriel tilted his head in confusion at his brother's disbelief.
"I didn't exactly let him," Gabriel joked with a roll of his eyes, "He just Persephone'd her and I had to save your dumbasses."
At the lack of response beyond disbelieving stares Gabriel asked, "Why? What does it matter? Those two are thick as thieves, and any safe house they went to would be warded to the gills. She's safer with Crowley."
"Demons can't be trusted."
Dean snapped the comment and Castiel nodded in agreement. Gabriel gave a sharp laugh and grinned at Dean.
"Oh really? Then tell me, who can be trusted? Angels?" He looked at Castiel who frowned as he continued, "Dear old Dad? Hell, Sam and Dean, you were on the outs there for a while due to lies!"
Gabriel snorted and added as an afterthought, "What's the saying that ended up in that dusty old book? He without sin cast the first stone? No one in this clearing has that right. Not even me."
"She laid with him, doesn't that-"
Gabriel cut off Castiel's anger and asked, "Whoa, whoa there. They actually shacked up?" at Castiel's nod, Gabriel gave a low whistle. "Well damn, good on her! Seems she got the chance to live a little after all."
"How can you say that? It's blasphemous."
Castiel sounded personally offended and Gabriel couldn't help but laugh at the prudish set of Castiel's face.
"Oh brother, haven't you learned? Dad doesn't care. If he didn't care about me fucking my way through most of the pagans, he ain't gonna care about Azrial shacking up with Crowley."
The subject seemed to die, and Gabriel almost felt bad for destroying the last remnants of Haven's hold on Castiel. Almost. He was better off without some of the built in prejudices Michael carried.
"What about Death? Did we stop the binding?"
Singer's question made Gabriel blink in confusion. "You don't already know?"
"If I knew why the hell would I be askin?"
"Fair. Well, Death is a punctual being, and Lucifer missed his time slot. The old man is free, and likely roaming about."
"Will that cause problems?"
Sam's question made Gabriel snort.
"No. The old man is a stickler for the rules. Lucifer won't be able to try and bind him again for," Gabriel narrowed his eyes at the stars in thought, "Twenty or so years. Despite all the blood on the snow, this turned out halfway decently. Azrial's life is in Death's hands now."
When no one responded, Gabriel clapped his hands causing the dimension to melt around them. The cold air hit the group and he tilted his head.
"Well, see you on the flip side."
Before anyone could stop him Gabriel fled the area intent on getting underground once more. He'd come out again to check on Azrial if she woke up. After that, it was the waiting game until this ended.
