Hello, there! If your reading this now, I've already posted the prequel with the adorable baby angel or am about to. So check my profile and ignore the bad jokes ON said profile. Okay. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty Two: Mea Máxima Culpa

Why do you love them, angel? The Morningstar fell to earth because of them. You lost your favorite brother. You should hate them. After all, our wayward deity cares for them more. He abandoned you in your hour of need and you will do nothing?

It isn't my choice. Father left because he thought we would need to be protected from the truth.

Oh? And what is that truth, angel?

We were wrong.

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Sam was terrified. That was layman's terms for the things he was currently experiencing, all of which going much beyond that but as there wasn't a word to describe said amount of terror, he wasn't about to bother. Of course, it could have something to do with the fact that he was currently staring at three of the most powerful angels in all of existence and all had an unreadable look on his face. None of them had vessels and it hurt just to look at Michael but what caught his eye was the one in the middle. Now, since Gabriel had told them in a fit of grief infused temper that all of the archangels were dead except for the five of them he was hoping the third one was Ariella.

Yeah. It really wasn't.

There was nothing like being turned into a meat suit and tortured for eighty years in the Cage to get to know someone. Even without his memories, Sam most definitely remembered Lucifer. Darker than Michael but shining just as bright as he drove a sword through his gut. He could feel his heart racing as he fell weakly against the wall, unable to hold himself up in the wake of his worst nightmare. Lucifer had come for him. He was going to kill him. Right now, they were just…staring at him with identical looks of pity and he hated, hated, HATED it! What right did they have when they had done this to him to start with? Castiel was the only angel who wasn't a complete and total dick, with the sometimes exception of Gabriel on a good day. What had they done for them? Michael and Raphael had given his brother hell and Lucifer-no. He couldn't go there.

When the staring got too much for him, Sam scrambled back up and snatched the keys to the Impala on the way out the door. Hunt or not, he wasn't ready to face his demons.

Sam wasn't aware of the guilt burning right alongside pity in the archangels' ageless eyes that suddenly seemed far too ancient for their seemingly young faces. They had all done things they weren't proud of during the Apocalypse and it became all to apparent what Lucifer had done to one soul in particular. The Morningstar silently stalked forward, though his chin didn't raise as high in the air as it used to and the haughty features seemed just a bit more loose as his lips quivered horrendously. He hadn't known how much it would hurt him to see the catalyst of all that he'd done. His brothers hid from him the damage wreaked upon their souls but this human boy he'd ordered changed, mutilated and broken did no such thing. Here, they were afraid of him and always would be. For as long as it was written in the bible so it must be.

Lucifer was about to turn around when he felt eyes burning into the back of his skull. Not Castiel. The fledgling never had respected personal boundaries. He came by it honestly enough, though, if Gabriel was anything to go by. The beloved fool of Heaven who hid his secrets from the world with a laugh, a smile and a song. The fool they would need to have this whole save-the-world thing actually work. He ignored the burning, loathing looks and even the weapon as soon as it was fired at him with his usual indifference as he literally walked through the Winchester to get to his fledgling. Nobody was sitting with him or holding his hand, though it looked as if he were completely oblivious to the rest of the world. Lucifer knew better. He wasn't even in this world, or the next.

He wasn't anywhere.

Falling much more gracefully than Sam, he landed on his knees then pulled his brother into his arms so he could cradle the messenger. Golden wings flopped uselessly to the floor along with a boneless body but Lucifer cushioned the short fall. There wasn't any light in Gabriel. Only a neutral blackness, a clean slate. Castiel looked at him tiredly from where he stood in the doorway and whispered, "He has been like this for hors and the humans in the hotel are all dead. Why?"

Michael stepped past him and muttered lowly, "It isn't our story to tell."

He was right. This was a tale that could only be told by three people and they were none of them. Lucifer hadn't even been there when it happened and he, personally, had heard the story from Metatron shortly before leaving. It had been a period of isolation for the archangels that lasted…indefinitely, really. Even now there were things between them that still needed to be said but were left for a later date. He supposed he was to blame for that as well. Lucifer stroked one cold cheek and sighed at the complexity of the story. It was revenge woven into hatred and burnished with jealousy. It all revolved around Castiel.

That really shouldn't have surprised him.

Michael and Raphael were now sitting in a triangle with him still holding their only hope. Well, not their only hope but to go without him was pretty much suicide considering how much they knew about their enemy. Which, as the humans would say, was jackshit. Legion had been Gabriel and Metatron's assignment and at that time, well, he'd been a little indisposed. Smiling wistfully, he stroked the golden hair again before setting his fledgling down in the centre of the formation before the archangels closed their eyes to prepare to pierce the darkness.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Why, messenger! Why were you wrong?

Humans have never needed our protection even if they have never looked beyond what their eyes see. They have never NEEDED us the way we do our Father. He had created something perfect and independent from Him and he would not interfere. We saw fragile things, wanting and needing safety when really it was us who needed the feeling of power.

What are you saying, angel?

Angels are not perfect. We are corrupt, sometimes.

Ah, Lucifer Morningstar. It has been long since I looked upon his face. Do you know, I believe he has forgotten what Heaven looks like. Show me and I will give him your gift of love and remembrance. Maybe your dear brother will return to Heaven with the flickering light of hope this gift will bring. Show me…show me the golden gates.

I cannot.

Yes, dear one. You can. Lovely Gabriel of the Golden Wings, messenger of Heaven and earth, you of all can fulfill your brother's wish to reconcile with memories of old. Just a tiny little peek and I promise you will see Lucifer soon.

I-I cannot!

You can. And you will.

There is silence. Until-

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The archangel's efforts were broken off when their brother's eyes snapped open with a gurgling cry. Blood gushed freely from his mouth and nose as an unseen pressure cracked and broke the previously healed ribs while they were still recovering from their attempt. Lucifer dove forward in a rare display of abruptness from the normally calm angel as to trap their flailing fledgling in place. Back arching, Gabriel managed a thin whine as his eyes snapped open, showing off a roiling display of red-gold swirling in place of his normal amber. Raphael made a moaning sound in deep in his chest that almost sounded like a growl before his face hardened. Grace pounded against the wisps of shadows blocking their way to their fledgling but the going was slow.

So slow, in fact, that Dean took the opportunity to grab a sandwich.

Bobby wasn't very impressed. One, it was his food that was rapidly being consumed by the bottomless pit, and two, there was a spastic angel on his floor with the power to make a continent or two pull an Atlantis. After taking off his hat so he could run a nervous hand through his thinning hair, he absently wondered what it would have been like if they had actually managed to kill the Trickster. It would be a hell of a lot less terrifying waking up in the morning, that's for sure. Bobby was pretty sure he wasn't going to get over waking up in the middle of the night with an idjit archangel sitting on his bed sucking noisily on a Jolly Rancher. He hadn't screamed, oh, no. He had nearly shot himself in a very important place, though. The memories of that one prank made him grimace and he took the small opportunity another pained scream gave to steal the half-a-sandwich that remained.

It wasn't that he hated the archangel. On the contrary, he was only mildly annoyed with him. It would be a lot quieter without Gabriel bursting into an off key 'High School Musical' number or for some reason, grab his hands, start swaying and sing 'Kumbaya'. He had reason to believe any quiet now would drive him moderately insane. For some reason, a chorus of voices in his head murmured their empathy and one blink later, he was walking out the door muttering about finding Sam. It's time to leave when the angels working with the pain in everyone's ass started to sympathize with his stunning lack of normality. For some reason the angels, who have apparently decided to stick with him, questioned him about this 'normality' and chastised him for leaving Gabriel because 'they wanted to see'. Therefore, he got no further than his truck before turning around and marching back through his front door.

Damn angels.

Dean had taken over his sandwich and had made another one in the meantime. Which was terrible, because not only was the house silent now that Gabriel had calmed down a little, but there was no food. Fuming, he basically told the angels to fuck off and went to a local diner without a backwards glance.

Thankfully, as soon as Bobby was gone the archangels had their first real breakthrough. Wisps of conversation reached their ears and they froze up when they heard Gabriel refusing almost tearfully to show Legion the golden gates of Heaven. They didn't catch all of it but the screams it was punctuated by were clear as crystal. Michael didn't even wait for the others before charging on ahead through what little shadows were left, filling the shadows with cleansing fire. Legion hissed and screamed but eventually, let go. Their baby brother was bawling in the middle of a pitch-black abyss, looking much younger than he should. Lucifer promptly scooped him up and glared when Michael tried taking him away. That said, if Michael was the overprotective dad then Lucifer became the hysterical mother when one of the chicks was hurt. But never, ever say it to their faces.

Gabriel didn't really need to breath, now that Grace was being siphoned slowly back into his body but he was still hyperventilating and wailing, "I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean it! P-please!"

Lucifer was pissed. Hissing in a very feline manner, he snapped, "What did you do to him when I was gone? Throw him in the pit for a century?!"

Yeah…no. It was probably worse than that. Ignoring the attention-seeking baby of the family would probably only form mass amounts of abandonment issues in addition to mental scarring from having to basically commit fratricide. Between that and all the things he'd seen and done on earth and was apparently now reliving, his memories were probably worse than Lucifer's. Michael winced at the thought of what his brother would do when he discovered all the things he had accidentally subjected Gabriel to in his fight to kill the devil. Lucifer and that cloven beast were not the same, although once they could have been. The pagan's feast and all. He thought it best just to keep a blank face on and stay silent.

At least until Gabriel looked at Lucifer and started to wail. The words were completely incomprehensible except for one or two words, such as 'chicken' and possibly 'Obama'. However, as none of those words would make sense in this particular context since he was unlikely to cry and scream, 'OBAMA LIKES CHICKEN!', Michael put it down to faulty mental functions and went on with trying to bring his brother back to reality. By this time, all three archangels were basically pressing their wings in angelic hugs while thankfully, for Dean, smothering the earth-shattering screams. Raphael sighed a little before shoving a baby bottle of hot chocolate right into his brother's open mouth.

He shut up. Surprise, surprise.

Incredulous, Dean sputtered, "That's all you need to make him shut up? Cocoa?"

"Any form of chocolate, really. He's formed an unhealthy relationship with it that's basically gone on from before humans discovered the cocoa bean. It's like he was trying to make us miserable." Lucifer nodded coolly along with Raphael's words before adding some of his own. "I remember when he consumed an entire forest of those beans in the form of Hershey's bars."

It really wasn't that hard to believe.

By now, Gabriel had finished his drink and had now realized what it had been given to him in. Pouting in a way that definitely had repercussions for later when he didn't look like a zombie, he chucked the bottle straight at Raphael's head and managed to somehow fit the returning Sam into the path of the incoming baby bottle. It made a very satisfying bonk sound before the momentum forced his head into a wall and knocked him out. Dean muttered amusedly, "Well, this is a new one. An IFB. Gotta say, it's a hell of a lot better than the UFO." He looked at his brother and chuckled. "Oh, God. I really have to take a picture of this."

Imagine if you will. One archangel with a strange bluish mark on his forehead, an unconscious oversized hunter with his head not on, but through the wall and a babyishly pouting Trickster angel protesting his maturity. Meanwhile, the elder brothers are leaning to get a closer look at Sam while simultaneously pumping more Grace to said pouting baby. Dean snickered, then shook his head and dragged Sam out of the wall. It was one of the hidey-holes for Bobby's rifles so the worst he'd have was maybe a tiny concussion. Which didn't really matter because for the first time in history, the Winchester brothers could have someone do their hunt for them. No bandages, no antiseptic, no plaster casts and best of all, no need to waste good ammo on something that won't die. They still had to wait to hear this story, though.

Sam stayed far away from Lucifer as the archangels led the way to the sitting room. Promptly sitting down and rubbing his aching head, he glared slightly at the messenger then gave up when he only received a cheery wave. The mood didn't extend to his eyes. They were still haunted and hollow, probably remaining that way for a long time afterwards. Sam could empathize. Like there was something inside you, burning to get out yet when it did you knew everything was going to fall apart. Not just you but the people close to you. So you hide the pain and will it to go away, feign memory loss and pretend nothing ever happened. He would like to think he was succeeding when in reality, the attempt was so far from scratching the surface that it was laughable. Lucifer's presence brought back so many memories of when they were not two, but one, himself locked away in darkness and mocked for his weakness. Yet somehow in some places there was a flicker of light. Like a dying ember giving off a single glinting spark.

If that spark was gold, nobody would tell.

Sam had really never held much against Gabriel other than killing Dean repeatedly in the mystery spot. Which was pretty big but after the Cage he could maybe forgive that. Maybe. Misery likes company after all and right now, they were both pretty miserable. After they had taken a seat, Gabriel even let his smile fall. The mask was cracked, a little broken, but not enough that he would never be able to pick up the pieces. Sam could definitely relate to that. The story that came next was something even the most jaded of Hunters could bow their heads at. A tale of death, jealousy, hatred, fear and even love thrown in for good measure. A tale nobody would dare walk away from.

Gabriel started out by batting absently at a piece of dust, Mad Hatter grin still missing from his face. It started out as a whisper then grew stronger the further into it they got. "So, around the time Cain and Abel were born there was this big war between Heaven and Hell. Not that this was unusual but they were searching for something this time. The Golden Gates, the only thing standing between enemies and the pure souls of humans enjoying their eternal rest. There were angels captured by the demons in the fight to protect the souls but they would give up nothing under torture, even when their wings were torn off at the joint and they were flung into the Pit. This was one of those times Michael was an ass because he made me and my garrison fight most of the incoming army with a little backup from Raphael's soldiers. Meanwhile, his soldiers were searching for God and completely forgetting that we were all dying." Nobody envied the furious glare Raphael and Lucifer shot Michael, who slumped slightly from his anal retentive position.

"All the demons who tried for the Gate or even found it were quickly taken care of for good, since there wasn't any way we could risk word getting out in the Underground. It wasn't easy, seeing as I had a garrison of around fifty and Raphael had maybe a few more than that. Ariella was busy fighting them off from Eden and frankly, she's her own garrison so nobody bothered sticking her to a hundred warriors. Besides, there weren't as many going for the Garden than there were for the Gates. Around this time, one of our sisters, Sathael, found something interesting during one of her scouting missions. To hear her say it, he had been the best and worst thing that ever happened to her. The guy was standing around just outside the barrier but he didn't feel demonic. In fact, we didn't know what he was."

"There was something off about him but Satha wouldn't listen to our pleading to be careful. She told us she would be and that she would keep him away from Heaven's interior. Things happened fast. She had fallen in love with the thing after just three earth days. He seemed to return the feelings until one day she broke her promise to us and opened the Gates for him. Everything changed after that. As soon as they broke apart a horde of Demons poured inside, basically tearing us all to ribbons. There were thousands of them and when Michael finally got off his high-horse to help, it was nearly too late. There were only about ten of my garrison still alive and some of them would have preferred not to be. There's one angel, Aziraphael, who had a twin. He watched as the demons dragged him by his wings into the Pit, heard his screams and felt his pain as they ruined him."

"Sathael didn't get her happy ending either. The guy was no angel, no demon but this creepy mixture of the two. Turns out demons and angels can knock each other up as well as out. He raped her right in front of us and later gave Sathael birth to something better left unmentioned. She killed herself a century later. For what he did to her, there was no way we could kill him. Metatron and I were God's left hand so we dealt out the punishment. That, and I was the angel of justice while he was the only one that new a really good binding spell. So we named him Legion and we cursed him to bear the souls of the unjust. Every murderer, rapist and even a few politicians never made it to Heaven or Hell. By the time we had sentenced him, Cain was dying after having never learned the lesson we set for him. Instead of a life of misery, he became a mercenary for some weird Egyptian thing vaguely resembling an army and killed people when they gave him an itty bitty paper cut. Well, papyrus cut."

"And thus, Legion was created, nicknamed Cain and trapped in a void between time and space. He hates me and Metatron enough to break free of his prison, obviously. Then again, maybe giving him all that soul power was a really bad idea after all. Hey, that actually felt pretty good to get off of my chest. Wait-why is everyone staring at me? I don't like i-hmph!

Group hug. Great. Raphael wasn't exactly happy either, since he, too, was on the receiving end of three of Lucifer's wings gladly crushing the shit out of them. Michael was looking a little like a lost puppy which was odd, since he often had the 'are you kidding me' head tilt or the 'don't speak to me, infidel' look. He didn't join in on the love fest for his own probably guilty emotions and it was pretty clear Lucifer was debating socking him in the jaw. The temptation was obvious. The choices were, too. Permanent bodily harm after a Boa Constrictor bear hug or wallow in this shit for another century or so. Rolling his eyes, Gabriel nonchalantly punched his brother in the arm before pulling him into the mess of limbs and wings. Dear God, it's getting warm in here.

Muffled through Lucifer's wings but not entirely silenced, Sam asked, "What about the baby?"

…here we go again. Fighting free of the massive feathered appendages, he ended up having to pluck a few flight feathers before being able to squirm away in one piece. Raphael? Not so lucky. Affectionate/protective Lucifer was absolutely terrifying and not even Michael tried to contest his strength against the stubborn, loving asshat. Which doesn't exactly come back to the spawn of Legion but we're getting to that. "Alright, so Legion raped Sathael and got her pregnant. Nine long years later, both Rafe and I were scarred for eternal life at the kid's birth since technically he's the only doctor in Heaven. A do-it- yourself process in it's finest. Seriously, man! It was our little sister. It was absolutely horrifying to watch. Anywho, three-quarters of angel blood and only one of demon meant we had to give him a choice. Heaven or Hell. Guess which one he chose. You'd actually know him quite well."

Sam pondered this for a moment then stopped as yellow eyes flashed in his mind. "The Yellow-Eyed-"

"Azazel. His name was Azazel. Azrael was his twin sister but she remained in Heaven to replace Samael as the angel of death. She's scary good at what she does so when it's your time, don't try to skip out on her. She keeps an especially close eye on Hunters."

Dean gawked. "Wait, wait, wait. So the archangel who sees the fucking future didn't look ahead and see how screwed that bastard would make our lives? Dude, that's messed up. Or didn't you give a shit?"

"He was family."

That was all he had to say. Family was everything, what made you strong enough to live at all. To lose a part of it is like ripping stitches out of your own heart, or maybe barbed wire, just so you can finally feel numb again. Just because family can make some stupid decisions didn't mean they weren't still as important as a limb. Azazel had expected to die for his choice but Gabriel had closed his eyes and turned the other way. Yeah, he'd known what his little nephew was destined for before the little rugrats were an inkling in their great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-God-knows-how-many-times-great grandparent's eyes. He'd been angry about it but in the end nothing else mattered but the tiny baby with sharp yellow eyes he'd held at birth. God, he was such a softy.

Dean seemed to understand as he glanced quickly at Sam and remembered all the things his little boy had done to break his heart. Not to mention his bones. All the times he took a blow for Sam, every drop of blood shed in return for something he'd done practically on instinct and would continue to do until death do they part. All of his most grievous faults. All of his compassion. Every. Last. Moment.

Breaking the silence, Gabriel muttered, "Well, let's get this over with. I'll need Metatron, soil from the tomb of Abel, my own blood, a star and a sandwich. Samantha, go make me a sandwich!"

Okay. So it wasn't the best ice breaker in the world but it got everyone moving, even as Dean questioned just how they were going to get a star out of the sky. Gabriel rolled his eyes. As if he would ask a human to fly through the atmosphere and grab a star that would no doubt kill them if somehow they got past the whole 'vacuum of space' thing. Yeah, no. That was all Lucifer. Morningstar, get it? Michael let to collect Metatron and because frankly, his grace was showing. All the strain had his concentration shot to hell and he could no longer stand on earth without a) incinerating it, b) blinding everyone for a good ten million mile radius in a blast that would be seen from twenty miles underground, or c) simply blowing the hole planet to kingdom come. Abel's grave dirt was actually really easy to find, as well.

Just look under the pyramid of Giza.

As all this came together, he and Metatron had to make a plan on actually bringing Legion to them. The monster wasn't stupid for the obvious reasons and probably had a greater mind than the oversized hunter but there was one thing that could take him down. Hatred. Legion hated Gabriel with a passion because he was the one to pass judgment on his entire being and had thrown him into an abyss. Everything he was, everything he was made up of, was hatred, loathing and fear. This would be their trap.

Handing up Gabriel on a silver platter.

As plans went, it was somewhere between 'we're-all-going-to-die' and 'I'm-going-to-fucking-kill-you-if-you-pull-this-shit'. The latter was more his brothers than Sam and Dean. They were most definitely the former. Gabriel wasn't exactly thrilled about it either but it was either that or watch the world's biggest orgy gone psychotic for the rest of his days. Which, let me tell you, were a lot. Therefore it was either him or the world and obviously, they had to choose the world or God was coming back to Heaven to berate them all for being the epitome of dumbass. Nothing like the Father, his Son and the Holy Spirit to literally put the fear of God into you. It wasn't that bad though. You usually got a hug and a cookie after. Not that he was in any way bribed with sugary goodness to put his existence on the line, oh no. Of course, there was the minor fact that if the world went ka-boom there would be no more life-giving cholesterol to choose from. Gabriel plus baking equals a bad idea.

He and Metatron secluded themselves in the little bunker/army depot in Bobby's basement. They figured it was the most secure place to do it and if Gabriel went, he was damn sure going to take his brothers with him. They could torture each other into insanity during their time in Limbo. Not even wincing as he drew the blade handed to him by the big mouth of God, Gabriel began chanting lowly under his breath. As the black mist started to form Metatron began a spell of his own. It was ancient, dark and for some reason filled the air with the scent of evergreens. A holy air freshener. Nice. The mist formed into the Legion he knew and slightly feared with those yellowish-white eyes and, well, over a million teeny tiny pupils. Before he could speak, Gabriel cut him off. "Alright, so your pissed at me for the whole judgment thing. I'm pissed too. At having to do all this again but still, basically for the same reason. Bottom line is you shouldn't have killed Abel or any of the others knocking around in that swollen noggin' of yours. I also probably shouldn't have put voices into some insane guys' head yet I did so let's move on. …Goodbye, Legion."

Alright, so maybe not as much danger as he'd thought. Metatron had worked fast. Dusting off his knees, he waltzed back to the fortified door and asked, "Bridge game next week?"

The grin he got back broke at least eight laws of the Vatican.

There wasn't exactly a great hurrah going up when he went up the stairs so he went into the kitchen slowly and found something amazing. So positively unlikely to happen it was just astonishing to watch. So spectacularly mind-blowing that Albert E. himself wouldn't have been able to see this coming. An event of such magnitude there should have been fireworks and a chorus in the background singing their praises while a dozen cherubs, with clothes on, danced and flitted in the early morning up in the sky. Either that, or Hell was going to bust open and let spill a thousand demons back into this world that had never before seen the night of day. That's right!

Sam was talking. With Lucifer.

Gabriel didn't even know what they were talking about but from the way Michael and Dean were pouting it was pretty obvious. The little brothers were comparing notes. Deciding to stay out of this one was probably the best idea of his life because seconds after Raphael decided to jump in, he was swimming the Panama in the nude. Actually, he hadn't even noticed Michael coming back from Heaven. Maybe he was getting better at those soft landings. The guy had the biggest flare for dramatics Gabriel had ever seen on someone other than himself and always managed to blow up a good house or two while simultaneously making the wheat grow to ten feet high. Too bad the farmers hadn't lived to see it. All in all, the whole thing was quite impressive and Gabriel also learned something that day. Never let Michael talk to Dean.

It turns out he gave a mean swirly.

Alright! Prequel is up around now so check it out! Comment so I know if you like it. Ideas for the next chapter of Golden would be highly appreciated. I just started it and have lost track of what the hell do with it. Oh, and the title of the chapter means, 'my most grievous fault'.