The Man Who Knew Too Little
ch 7: Jokers
Raphael and Michael faced the occupants of the Singer household with stony expressions. The seven stood at an impasse, neither side willing to be the one who started the battle, neither willing to back down. Raphael lost her patience first, lunging at Lucifer with her archangel blade drawn. Lucifer dodged to the side, pulling his own blade from Almighty Bastard-knows-where as he did so. His brother (sister now? The Morningstar wasn't quite sure) recovered quickly, launching into a flurry of strikes that the still-weakened fallen angel could barely counter. The blue-eyed angel moved backwards, unwilling to fight his younger brother. Eventually, though, Lucifer realized that operating on solely on defense would only end with his death. He didn't really feel like dying so soon after he became sane, so he ducked a particularly nasty slash and pressed forward, forcing Raphael back in the direction they had come from.
Gabriel thought he saw a flash of annoyance on the oldest archangel's face, but it was quickly covered by a mask of cold indifference. Michael drew his sword calmly, striding slowly in Gabriel's direction.
"Hello Gabriel. I had believed you dead."
"Yeah, well, things change. For example, you used to be a decent guy," Gabriel goaded, not yet drawing his weapon. Michael did not rise to the bait.
"Why are you fighting against us, Gabriel? You left Heaven because you did not wish to take a side, and yet here you are, fighting beside Lucifer."
"I'm fighting you because God's a genocidal bastard," Michael opened his mouth in shock, "You may not remember, but I do."
"Remember what?" Michael's blade had fallen to his side, fight evidently forgotten.
"Why Lucifer really fell. He didn't betray us, Mike, we betrayed him."
"Don't be ridiculous," Michael suddenly lost his composure, his young features twisting in anger, "Lucifer is a traitor. You are a traitor." Gabriel barely blocked Michael's blade. The Trickster sighed. His older brother wasn't going to listen.
Raphael felt her eye twitch as Lucifer's blade came down toward her face. The angel was both confused and irritated. Confused because her brother clearly wasn't trying very hard to defeat her, irritated because the older angel had been shooting sarcastic remarks in Raphael's direction ever since he had started fighting back.
"Geez, Raphael, is it just me or are you looking more feminine. Oh wait, you're a girl!" Lucifer grinned fiercely as he aimed a strike toward Raphael's head. Raphael growled and pushed the sword away.
"But seriously, out of all the vessels you could choose, why this one? She's adolescent, acne-infested and…five foot four. That is not a tactical advantage. I thought Michael taught you better than that." She hadn't had a choice. With her recent misfortunes, this was the only member of her bloodline left.
"You have no right to talk about our brother, traitor."
"Oh, is that so? I think I have every right. After all, this is America." The banter reminded her of training, when they were still together. Raphael sighed. There was no time for nostalgia.
"Enough of this banter. Fight me seriously." With that, the angel threw her whole being into combat, leaving no room for thoughts about how nice it would be to have her older brother back.
Michael fought, both physically and mentally. He didn't understand what was happening. God had said that Lucifer and Gabriel had betrayed him, had sided with the Winchesters to destroy him. But that was not the way the battle appeared to be going. Lucifer was mouthing off in an attempt to distract Raphael, and Gabriel's sword sang with regret.
He had said that Michael was the traitor. That wasn't true, he hadn't betrayed Lucifer. Lucifer had betrayed God, attempted to destroy everything. He had to be stopped. It was the only way. God had said so, and God was good. He had seen it in the Creator's mind….but.
Michael dimly felt a minor cut on his vessel's face as Gabriel's sword slipped past his distracted defenses.
Lucifer's battle with Raphael had drifted close to Michael's brawl with The Trickster, and the Winchester's two angelic allies moved around each other with the same fluidity that they had thousands of years ago. It was as though the two of them had never been separated. Michael felt a sudden ache for that connection with his brothers.
"Gabriel." Gabriel paused, a surprised expression on his face at the emotion in his brother's words. Michael almost winced when he realized how much confusion was in his voice. Even Raphael stopped, unsure what to make of her normally composed elder brother.
"Yeah?" Gabriel asked, his eyes glinting with equal parts suspicion and…was that hope? Michael couldn't be sure.
"You said I betrayed Lucifer. What do you mean?" He knew he should probably ask the Morningstar himself, but he couldn't. He couldn't trust Lucifer. Not yet.
"All of us did. We promised to help him. It wasn't Lucifer's plan to topple God…it was ours. He was just the face of the operation."
"Liar!" Raphael snarled, raising her sword to strike Gabriel down. In an instant, Michael was next to the smaller archangel. He grabbed the enraged woman's hand, preventing the weapon from falling.
"Why would we attempt to destroy God?" Was this why he felt so uneasy around his Father? He didn't want to believe He was capable of that, but He had left Michael, his most loyal follower, in the Cage for years. He hadn't attempted to fix Lucifer, either. Michael remembered looking at his little brother, right before he cast him into Hell. The angel looked so confused, so hurt. He clearly had not intended harm. He was just...lost.
Michael bit his lip, then stopped himself, remembering that he should not adopt his vessel's habits. It was beneath him. After much consideration, the protector of Heaven let go of Raphael's hand and sheathed his sword.
"We're going, Raphael."
"What? But…He commanded us to defeat them."
"There are things that we must consider first. I will tell you later." Before Raphael could protest, Michael grabbed her arm and teleported them away.
"That was…weird." Dean blinked at the place the two archangels had stood just moments before. Lucifer nodded, putting away his sword and heaving a sigh of relief. Gabriel put an arm around his brother's shoulders, and the archangel sagged into the comforting touch.
"It's good though."
"How exactly is being attacked by Teenage Mutant Ninja Angel and Stoicman a good thing?"
"Not the being attacked part. That's really bad. I more meant the 'them leaving without anyone losing something important' part. That part was good. And Michael looked like he was considering our offer, which was very very good," Gabriel paused contemplating, "Also, Teenage Mutant Ninja Angel? That's a good one. I'll have to use it."
"Yeah. I was running low on snarky comments there."
"That's because you've always been shit at insults, Lucifer." Gabriel said. Lucifer pouted, responding with a biting tone.
"No I'm not. How can I be? After all, I've had thousands of years to practice," Gabriel winced, looking guilty, and his expression softened, "oh, stop blaming yourself. God gave you amnesia, I think that gives you an excuse not to save me. Though," the archangel grinned widely, "if it means you'll do things for me, I'm fully willing to accept your guilt."
"You should really stop trying to be such an asshole, you're bad at that too." Lucifer pouted again at that, but Gabriel ignored him.
"Well, if we don't have to fight either of them, that's good enough for me." Sam leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.
"Seconded." Dean volunteered.
"You're all crazy" Bobby went inside, presumably to get a beer. Dean followed. Sam sighed and looked at the two angels, offering them a shrug.
Michael and Raphael appeared in a wooded area. Raphael hardly waited for Michael to remove his hand from her arm before yelling.
"What was that about? They weren't fighting us seriously, we could've destroyed them!"
"No. If we had done that, we most likely would have regretted it."
"What do you mean?"
"I…am not sure God has been entirely honest with us. I believe He may not be as…benevolent as He seems."
"What are you talking about?"
"He allowed two of his sons to languish in misery for years. He would destroy the world. Would force us to fight our siblings. I do not want to fight Lucifer anymore. Not if we don't have to. God doesn't care about necessity, though. He just wants bloodshed," Michael noticed Raphael's face was slowly twisting into a terrified expression. He mistook the horror for fear of her own life, "Please, sister. I promise I will keep you safe. Just…help me figure this out, "in his ranting, Michael did not notice the Presence behind him until it was too late.
"Is that really what you think? That's a pity." Michael felt a pair of hands roughly seize his head. Raphael's mouth was open, but she couldn't seem to get words out, like some invisible force was holding her still. Michael felt a swirl of panic twist through his Grace; but then it was gone, ripped out along with all of his other thoughts. He felt God sort through his mind, picking at memories and discarding them at will. Tender moments with Lucifer, friendly camaraderie with Gabriel, questions about how his opinions matched with those of his Father, all of them disappeared. The Cage followed, replaced by years of willing servitude to Him. His ideas, his emotions, disappeared, leaving him with only the deeply comforting feeling of being an extension of the Creator. That's all he was, a tool to be used by the Lord in whatever way He wanted. He was the Sword of Heaven. The Sword of Heaven. Nothing else.
Michael fell to his knees before his Lord and Master, a euphoric smile on his face. He was at peace. Finally. God put a hand on his shoulder, beckoning him to rise. He did so, his mind empty of everything but awe toward his creator. He turned, facing his sister Raphael. The other angel looked horrified, which confused Michael briefly before the emotion was swept away by His Presence. God strode forward, placing a hand on Raphael's forehead. Raphael's look of terror disappeared, but she did not appear to be as pleased to serve the Lord as Michael was. She still had a will. She was not as perfect as Michael. The Sword was not proud about this, because he had no pride. He would serve. He would be his Father's strongest weapon. He would destroy His enemies. The Winchesters. Gabriel. Lucifer.
Michael ignored the feeling of emptiness in his gut that refused to dissolve.
A/N: Can't catch a break, can you Mikey? So….just for reference. The archangel's vessels are: Lucifer-Nick, Michael-Adam, Gabriel-what'shisface (who looks eerily like Emperor Vespasian of Rome…a fact which has horrifying implications) and Raphael has a new vessel, who is the (in my headcanon) child of his previous vessel, niece of the one before that.