Author's Note: I usually post the first three chapters of a new story before I go into a once or twice a week publication routine. These first few chapters are going to stick pretty close to the episodes. I don't want to go totally AU right away. Glad you made it to Chapter 2!

Chapter 2

Dean

Gabriel's plan for revenge is the dumbest I've heard in a long time, because it reminds me of an overdone movie plot. Anyone with half a brain could predict his every move down to his systematic method of killing off the pagan family one by one, working his way up to papa. I just want it over with—but Loki's a lot tougher than I thought he'd be—even in his hologram form. He kicked my ass while not even being here to do it. I shake my head at Sam as the Loki-hologram vanishes.

"He went after Gabriel," I pant before my brother can ask what happened. "He wasn't ever here. It was a trick."

His face—Gabriel's face—no Loki's face that Gabriel's been wearing for fuck knows how long. Either way, his face threw me off. I thought it was Gabriel, the Trickster, playing another game and pretending to be another stupid character. I mean the dude even has a shotgun case full of freakin' lollipops. When Gabriel took on Loki's persona, he did a damn good job. I wonder if anything we know about Gabriel was ever him or just him pretending to be Loki.

One thing I'm glad he didn't fake is that stupid accent Loki's got going on. He talks like that dude from the Princess Bride. Hello, my name is…

I stumble out of Loki's private chamber with Sam, in search of Gabriel and Loki. The sound of fighting down the hall draws our attention, and Sam and I skitter in that direction, halting to a stop. Around the corner are Loki—and Gabriel. Loki in the same pin-striped suit his hologram from earlier had on, Gabriel in his leather jacket and jeans, getting the crap kicked out of him.

Dammit.

Loki screams at Gabriel. "You think that I deserve to die for your spinelessness! You think that my sons deserve to die!" With each shout, he kicks Gabriel in the ribs, the gut. I hear bones cracking.

"Oh, I should draw this out," Loki growls, "but you aren't worth the time it'd take, so I'm going to do you a favor and kill you fast. But I won't do it with you still wearing my face. You don't deserve that face. Take it off."

He slams Gabriel to the floor with double fists. "Take it off or I'll rip it off!"

Gabriel grunts and groans, spitting out blood. He glares at Loki as the god pounds on him, barely able to bring his hands up to shield. He needs help, but… I spot one of those stupid wooden swords Gabriel had brought in. It's just out of reach.

"Take it off now!" Loki roars, dragging Gabriel up by his throat and clawing at his face. Gabriel howls, grabbing at Loki's hands. "Take it off!" the god continues to snarl.

Gabriel gasps, pushing Loki back, scrambling away, a wildness in his eyes that takes me back to when Ketch had first brought him to the bunker and we'd mentioned needing an archangel's grace. Is he going crazy again?

He reaches up with shaky hands, fingers scrubbing at his hairline, before his hands cover his face completely. A heartbeat later, he pulls his hands away and—holy shit. A new face emerges, young with dark bronze skin and greenish eyes. A mane of dark brown hair girlier than Sam's spills over his shoulders and down his back like a commercial for shampoo.

"There you are," Loki purrs, then raises his fists again for another hit.

I take that moment of distraction and reach that final inch for Gabriel's wooden sword. I grab it and roll it across the floor in his direction. Gabriel must have heard the noise of the wood scraping the floor, because he whips around, snatching up the sword and, with a sudden burst of strength, rushes Loki. The archangel slams Loki into the wall, his grip iron as he presses the wooden sword to Loki's abdomen.

Loki's laugh sounds breathy. "Of course. Of course, you need someone to swoop in and save your pitiful ass."

The guy sure is talking a lot of smack with a sword pressed to his gut.

"Shut up," Gabriel growls.

"Face it, old friend, you are a joke. A failure. You live for pleasure. You stand for nothing, and in the end? That is exactly what you'll die for."

"You first." Gabriel stabs the sword into Loki's middle, jerking it up to disembowel him. He holds the wooden blade steady, staring into Loki's dying eyes, before ripping the sword out. He steps away, letting Loki's body fall to the floor. He stares at it for a moment, before turning back to me and Sam, looking at us in that foreign body. This guy's leaner, shorter than—than the other Gabriel we know, but the bruises and bleeding cuts that had been on our version of Gabriel mar this new guy too.

The new guy shudders, turning back to stare at Loki again and drops the blood-soaked wooden sword. He rubs at his face and stands over the body, unmoving.

Sam moves toward the new Gabriel, and I watch as my little brother touches the angel on the shoulder. The angel staggers, dropping to his knees and giving a full-on retch. Angels can puke? Nothing comes up, but not for lack of trying. Sam rubs his back as I come over.

I'm not good at comfort stuff. I really just want to get out of here. I wonder if we can leave Loki's body here. I don't feel like getting rid of another pagan god and we're leaving this place anyway, with or without Gabriel. He… we need him, yeah, but… Sam's right. We can't have him being our prisoner. If he doesn't honor his word, then we just have to find another way.

I stare down at the new man still trying to get control of his stomach, and put a hand on his other shoulder. Loki seemed like a grade A asshole, but once upon a time, he'd helped Gabriel, and Gabriel obviously still cares about the guy—not enough to leave his guts intact, but enough to be upset over it after.

"You want us to bury him or something?" I can't believe I ask that, but if it might make the angel feel better…

"N-no…" Gabriel's new voice is deeper than his other. He looks up at me after a minute, his face flushed, eyes still wild. "No. Let's just… Let's just go."

"Yeah, let's get you out of here," Sam says. "We'll go back to the room and get showers and then…"

"Then, we head back to your place, I guess," Gabriel says, "so we can talk about your other-world Michael and how you want to do this."

I blink. I don't think I heard him right. Did he say…

"Y-you're actually going to help us?" Sam sounds stunned.

"No tricks or games?" I ask.

Sam and I blink at each other before looking back at this new man, still on his knees, still shaking, but slowly pulling himself together. Gabriel runs his hands through his long hair, fingers getting caught. He stops, staring at the dark curls, then runs his fingers over his face. He rises to his feet, finding a mirror against one of the walls and staring at his reflection a moment before laughing, the sound broken and small.

"Are you o—" Sam starts to ask, but stops as Gabriel whirls around.

"A deal's a deal, and besides…between you and me," Gabriel gestures, the trickster's mannerisms transferring over to this new body, "tricks are for kids." He smiles lightly. "I'm going with you. Yay, Team Save World—Free Will—whatever you're calling yourselves."

I stare at him, Sam does. This guy is not okay.

Gabriel tucks his trembling hands in his jacket pockets. "It stinks in here guys. Let's go." He turns, walking down the hall, probably heading for the elevator. He doesn't look back to see if we're following.

I feel Sam's eyes on me.

"This is a good thing, right?" he asks.

I open my mouth and close it. We need an archangel. We came here for Gabriel and we got him, but…

I don't know. It just doesn't feel like a win.

I kick Loki's body, staring into his dead eyes—the face of Gabriel, the cocky, chicken-shit of an archangel. A trickster who'd worn a false face that finally came off, but we don't know anything about his new face. It might not be better, might not be worse, but one thing's for certain. The big gun we bought to take home is broken and I don't know if we can fix it.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please review!