Gabriel followed along behind Balthazar in total silence, staring around at his new surroundings without trying to look too surprised. Castiel had joined them shortly after they'd left the shoreline, solemn and serious as ever. He kept glancing back at his brother, his brow creased with worry. It would look slightly odd if he caught Gabriel reacting to everything that he was supposed to know as if it were his first time seeing it. But after they swam out from behind a cluster of large rocks a long while later, it was impossible not to be utterly stunned at the sight that met his eyes.

Raised slightly off the sandy ocean floor was a spectacular structure. Made of up twisting turrets and grand archways, it spread up towards the surface of the water, lit up by a beautiful golden glow that seemed to resonate from within. Schools of fish swam in their tightly-knit groups through the gaps between the buildings, and in every direction were Gabriel's brothers and sisters, each with tails of every colour.

He came to a sudden stop, eyes wide and mouth partially open. Returning to Heaven with Castiel had been one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do in his long existence, on the same par with leaving in the first place. At the time he had felt a strange combination of crushing guilt and shame, with remorse and fear thrown into the mix as well. But there had also been hope and a faith he'd thought he'd never find again, finally filling in the horrible chasm he'd had inside for centuries. And seeing this, it brought all of those emotions rushing back.

But there was something different here.

There was an invisible thrum of power everywhere around this place. Gabriel could feel it all around; in the water, in the air, in the very centre of his being. It signalled a presence; one he hadn't felt for so long, he'd almost forgotten what it felt like. His loyalty to his family had kept the memory of that power stored deep in his Grace, and its loss usually came back to him when thunder filled the skies. To feel it again in a crazy, messed-up alternative dimension was an extra slap to the face, and Gabriel silently vowed to skin the responsible angel for force-feeding him this horrible false hope.

Without a word, he continued to follow in Balthazar and Castiel's wake, anger now adding to the flood of emotion he was currently experiencing. They led him straight to a door-less chamber. It was massive, lined with tall stone pillars, each carved with intricate detail. Some of the sand lining the floor had been smoothed to resemble a path while the rest lay hidden beneath a carpet of brightly coloured plants, swaying in the gentle current. Straight ahead was an ornate throne carved from the same stone as the surrounding pillars and decorated with shells.

And sat there, looking rather surly, was a being that could only be Gabriel's and everything else's Father; God Himself. The sight made Gabriel freeze, all the air shocked from his lungs. His Father's vessel was a skinny-looking man, small in stature and build. His hair was short and dark, as was His beard. Blue eyes, several shades darker than Castiel's, stared hard at the approaching mermen, a frown on His face. In His hand was a tall golden trident, the ends of which sparkled in the glow of the room. The tail stretching from His waist down was royal blue in colour, with turquoise fins. Although His appearance was that of a scrawny bookworm, the power buzzing just beneath the Vessel's surface was proof enough.

"Gabriel," His Father called quietly, beckoning him forwards. He forced himself to move towards the call, but it was difficult. He'd always mocked Castiel in his fruitless search for their Father; had long since given Him up. But seeing Him in one form or another.. It stirred the pain of His betrayal, the loneliness they'd all suffered when He left, the hope that Gabriel still had kindled but hidden deep within once more, and the archangel kept his mouth closed to avoid blurting all of this out with immense difficulty.

All he managed was a very strained, very hoarse, "Father."

His Father gave a slight sigh, before piercing Gabriel's vessel with those dark eyes, looking far deeper than the flesh of his vessel. "I have warned you many times Gabriel, of the destructive will of humanity, have I not?"

He was obviously supposed to agree, so he nodded.

"And yet not only did you expose yourself and risk revealing our entire race, but you took two of your brothers with you." He paused, and Gabriel willed the sand beneath him to swallow him up. "Explain."

But Gabriel's throat wasn't working. He couldn't form words at all, could only shake his head. Luckily, Castiel came to his rescue. "Not all of humanity is that way, Father. I am sure Gabriel thought he was acting for the best when he saved -"

"And would the human have done the same for us? Do you not recall what happened to Lucifer or Michael? I will not lose another of my children to them." Came the sharp reply, and Castiel immediately closed his mouth again. At these words, Gabriel's chest constricted even further. What had happened to his older brothers? Something told him he really did not want to find out. Instead, he hung his head and remained silent. He expected rage, the full Wrath of God, but instead all their Father had to add was, "Do not interact with humans again, Gabriel. I shall be very disappointed if I hear you have disobeyed me. You may leave."

"I'm telling you, Dean. That's what happened." Sam insisted as he walked the beach, his alternative-reality-brother by his side. While he didn't much like the idea of conversing with this strange adaptation of his older brother, he needed to talk to someone about what had happened the previous night. And Adam was definitely out. The last memory he had of Adam was the boy screaming at them through a locked door, and it was just plain creepy to talk to him like everything was normal. And as for his father.. It just wasn't going to happen.

They had all been anxious to know how Sam had managed to make it to the beach alive in that storm, but when Sam had explained it all to Dean – without letting on that he knew the archangel-come-merman – he'd responded sceptically.

"Do you really expect me to believe merpeople exist, and that one saved you last night? Come on Sam, what really happened?"

"It's the truth." Sam spoke through gritted teeth. They'd been repeating themselves ever since leaving the castle, and Sam was starting to get very sick of it.

"You got rescued by a mythical creature?"

"Yes."

There was a slight pause, and Sam had just begun to hope that Dean had started to hear the honesty in his voice and believe him.

"Fine then, don't tell me." Dean said with a roll of his eyes while Sam sighed in frustration and shook his head. "But don't think Dad's going to let it go that easily. And don't try and feed him the same crap about mermaids either."

"Merman." Sam corrected with a scowl. "And for the last time, that's -"

"-what happened." Dean spoke over Sam in a mocking impersonation, earning him a bitchface which he sniggered at. "Okay, okay, so a merman rescued you. Right."

"You don't believe me, do you?" Sam grumbled, folding his arms.

"Oh, sure I do. Mermaids are real, and they're out there now, including the one who saved you." He pointed to the sea. "Yeah, dragons too. So watch out Samantha, I hear they steal princesses." And he walked away down the beach, cackling.

Sam watched him go, glaring at his quickly disappearing back, before turning to stare at the ocean. It was calm and sapphire blue, the blinding sunlight bouncing off its glass-like surface. All he could remember from being on the ship was being catapulted into the churning waves, hitting the water with an impact so hard the air was sucked from his lungs. Then there was nothing but icy cold and water in his mouth, and he couldn't find the surface to breathe, and he was certain he was going to die. He'd blacked out anyway, and the next thing he remembered was Gabriel's face on his chest, his voice in his ears.

He felt heat colour his cheeks and scowled at himself, shaking his head to clear the memory of Gabriel's skin on his. He had to find a way out of this place, not stand around daydreaming about the archangel. And speaking of him, just how was Sam supposed to come up with a solution while he was on land, and Gabriel who knew how deep under the sea?

Until he could come up with an idea of working around this particular problem, he'd try and find a way out for both of them. At least then, if he discovered an answer, he'd just have to find Gabriel once, and they'd escape. Besides, he wasn't sure why, but a distant bell was ringing in the back of his mind. It was almost as if he'd heard someone in a similar situation to this before, but he'd never heard about an honest-to-God merman before. It was just yet another mystery to add on top of everything else.