Heed the Final Call
The next time they came for him, he was just outside of the Elysian Fields Motel. The rain from earlier had died down and instead a cold wind had picked up on intensity. Gabriel was just sort of standing there, torn between doing the right thing and leaving, and ending up doing nothing again. A faint echo in his mind kept repeating that Kali had been ready to kill him.
"You seem desperate."
He froze at the sound of the Valkyrie's voice, then he slowly turned around, arms raised to his sides. "They're probably talking about summoning my crazy-ass brother right now. They wouldn't listen to me!"
He practically shouted at her, but his voice seemed hoarse. The Valkyrie was almost invisible against the dark night sky, but in the split second when he took an angry step forward, he could see her sisters shift around him, ready to attack.
He dropped his arms and lowered his head; defeat pooling up inside him like water in a leaky ship. "I tried, okay?"
The Valkyrie smiled. She knew it was a lie.
"You have yet to face your brother," she said and it didn't sound like a threat, more like a reminder. Gabriel thought he could hear the faint sound of a ticking clock and shivered.
For a split second, the Valkyrie changed – she grew in size, her hair went brown and messy and she wore that smile that would forever remind Gabriel of days long gone, when Sam Winchester had still had a reason to be happy. Then she switched back, and Gabriel almost vomited onto the concrete of the parking lot.
The Valkyrie was still smiling.
"Are you prepared to see him go too?" The temperature dropped suddenly, and everything seemed too sharp and too bright in the angel's eyes. "Another casualty of your brothers' pointless fight?"
She leaned forward, whispered into his ear and her hair brushed against his face like branches covered in ice and snow.
"This is where you choose. You cannot run forever."
Gabriel shivered. He tried to take a step back, but he couldn't move. "That's not how I do things," he replied in a strangled voice.
The Valkyrie shook her head. "No decision can be postponed forever, Loki."
The words hurt less than expected, and suddenly Gabriel began to wonder if he had known that all along. Hadn't he tried to help the Winchesters, to make them see that their fate was inevitable? Hadn't he tried to contribute to this fight with as little effort as possible?
"I can't kill my brother," he said.
"You won't," answered the Valkyrie, and it made Gabriel's stomach sink. He had feared that it would end this way.
It got constantly colder, and the dim light from the motel didn't reach Gabriel.
"Then why do you want me to try?" His anger was still there, but it flickered and was close to dying like a flame in the middle of a storm. He wanted to turn away, but he couldn't look away from the hauntingly beautiful face in front of him, constantly shifting and changing. The Valkyrie's smile seemed patronising now. "You were the one who said that every warrior had someone worth fighting for. Now tell me: do you?"
"Not fair," Gabriel muttered.
"We are not fair," the Valkyrie answered.
Gabriel straightened his back. For someone who claimed to bring justice to the universe, this was hard to accept – there were forces that were above puny concepts of fairness and equality. But at least he was left with a choice.
Had their magic affected him now? A cold wind brushed past his face, and suddenly everything seemed painfully clear. He had always been selfish to a certain extent, and there were people he could not bear living without. After everything he had lost, he would not see Sam Winchester go.
"Fine," he said and crossed his arms. "The bitchy snowman wins. Just don't expect me to be grateful for the enlightenment or anything."
He tried to read the Valkyrie's answer in her face, but she was already gone. From the motel, voices could be heard.
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! Cookies for everyone! Ah, and there will be one more chapter.
Disclaimer: Supernatural isn't mine, and the title as well as the chapter titles are taken from the song 'Valkyries Will Guide Us Home' by Blind Guardian. You should totally check out their stuff!