"Hound of Hell"
Chapter 15: Testing the Waters
Warning/Disclaimer: Not mine. Except Cerberus, she's mine. Minor Character Death. Some swearing. Gabriel being Gabriel. The usual.
Cerberus stared at the ragged cracked off-white of the living room ceiling. When Loki had said 'hotel' he'd actually meant that he'd conned the building manager into letting them stay in an empty apartment for an indeterminable amount of time. By indeterminable time he really did mean indeterminable—she had been in this miserable apartment for days. The only things to entertain her were a few books with broken spines and tattered pages barely clinging to their binding, and counting the cracks in the ceiling that she was currently staring at.
She shifted slightly from her barely comfortable position on the plaid couch that had clearly seen better decades. The thing was frankly starting to irritate her, the feelings and memories associated with such a beaten down piece of furniture were faint but they were numerous and constantly having to block them out was tiring. Not to mention that the magic of her deal with the Trickster was starting to cling a bit tighter as the time allotted to her to figure out the beings identity came closer and closer to running out. The problem was, genial as the man was after that little incident outside with the couple a few days ago, she hadn't really seen him since. He had popped in and out about twice a day, as if to check and see that she was still here, but always seemed harried and in a hurry to leave again.
If he were anyone else she would say that he was trying to hedge out on their deal by avoiding her at all costs. The thing was, she mused as she spotted a series of cracks that looked somewhat like a shark, the Trickster had been infuriating and in general, a Trickster, since she had met him, but he was honest. He had been merciful—for a Trickster anyway—back at the shelter to that idiot boy, and hadn't even really gotten irritated at her for her stunt just before they'd entered this apartment building. Heck, he'd even told her about a latent ability of the line of Cerberus that she hadn't been aware of.
Turns out that telepathy wasn't just some random ability of one of her ancestors but had actually been carried down the line of descendants from the original Cerberus. That ability was one passed down through the family line from what Greek mythology would have be the childe of Echnida and Typhon. Though as someone named Hercules had never pulled any of her predecessors or her out of Hell, she somewhat doubted the validity of that tale, after all she wasn't exactly half snake or dragon either now was she? Practicing and experimenting with this new, or rather discovered, ability was also a complete bust considering the only other living creature that she knew besides probably Castiel that she could practice on would be that darn Trickster who she'd hardly seen for days.
That was okay though, she supposed, that the ancestral family line had ended with her. She would be the last Cerberus, and when she died there would be no more after her. So if she didn't figure out the ability, she wouldn't exactly have to teach anyone else how to use it. Thinking about it, her predecessor must have been pretty relieved when she had agreed to take on the role considering she was the las—the sudden appearance of the formerly missing Trickster in the room luckily startled her before she could travel too far down that lovely despair ridden memory lane.
She stared at the bedraggled and exhausted looking Trickster for a few moments, her irritation slowly draining away to be used another time. She got to her feet quickly and gently grabbed his upper arm to steer him towards the seat she had previously been occupying. He shot it a distasteful glance, and it was a credit to how exhausted he truly was that he didn't use his abilities to turn it into something more comfortable and tasteful. He settled into it with a grimace and she raised an eyebrow at his seated disgruntled look,
"You picked the place, so no complaining." She stated, causing him to look up at her with weary amusement. She gestured to the bleak apartment around her,
"Now then, I've been stuck in this pit for days now, as a Trickster one would think you could afford someplace a little bit grander." She looked down at him in sudden realization, "Unless you do have a nicer place somewhere near here and just stuck me here to avoid having whoever you've been having dealings with from knowing of my presence in the city with you…" She trailed off as irritated reluctance flashed across his face and he leaned back into the couch, one arm propping his head upright from where it rested on the armrest. He sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face wearily,
"It seems I should have picked a less intelligent companion for this adventure," he muttered to himself before looking up to address her, "Would you believe me if I told you it was for your own protection?" She glared at him, fists clenching and unclenching in anger. She swallowed back the angry retort that came unbidden to her lips and with a plea for patience to whatever deity was out there, she changed into her canine form. She took a deep breath and started to pace rapidly across the small space of the apartment, her paws leaving a clear trail across the already threadbare and worn carpeting. This lasted for a good half hour or so, with her turns slowly becoming less and less sharp with time as her anger ebbed and reason filtered back in.
Just who exactly was he dealing with that she, Cerberus would be in danger? Her teeth and claws in this form could harm and kill demons and seriously wound the common angel; anything else was mince-meat...Unless this didn't have to do with her lack of offensive and defensive capabilities but instead with who she was. Well, she thought, the only beings who would have an issue with her right now would be the demons and some other Greek or Roman pagan God, namely Zeus. The big lightening thrower wasn't exactly fond of oath breakers and she had certainly done that when she left her guarding post, it wouldn't matter to him if the demons had broken it first either, both were punishable in his eyes. Considering the plight of Prometheus she really didn't want to know what he would have in store for her.
From what she'd seen of Loki's aura though, or rather the flashes in between what she was supposed to see, he was more than capable of taking out Zeus with barely any effort. That meant that both her seeing his interactions with Zeus and his destroying of Zeus when, not if, he tried to punish her would reveal his true identity. Which of course was the whole purpose of this whole deal but she doubted he thought she would actually figure it out within the week. Which she wouldn't unless she…yes that was it. She stopped pacing mid-step and spun to face Loki, changing back into her human form as she did so. She stalked over to him proudly and grinned as she addressed the expectant Trickster,
"I would sure love to see how Zeus is doing now-a-days, I don't think I've seen the crazy bastard since just before I started my contract with Hell, and it's been centuries I'm sure the two of us have plenty to catch up on—my breaking my contract with Hell being a prime topic of conversation I would think." She stated smugly.
Loki groaned and his head dropped down into his hands and those appendages then slid up to grip at his hair in frustration. He let out a few choice Latin curses before looking back up her with steel in his eyes,
"No." He stated firmly after a few seconds, and stood quickly from the couch and moved swiftly towards the door. She stopped him though, rather forcibly by standing solidly in front of him. She let her human façade drop, bringing her ears, tail, and most importantly, her sharp teeth into play. She growled loudly at him, making him pause for a moment as he hadn't actually seen this in-between form of hers before. He glared down at her, but was merciful enough not to throw her out of the way, instead gripping her shoulders and turning the two of them until she stood on the side of the room with the couch, and he nearer to the door. He looked down at her and put a small amount of pressure downwards on her shoulders as if to cement her to the floor,
"I said no, Cerberus, you will remain here." He commanded and she felt some of his grace—more powerful than any Angel she'd ever met—reinforce his words. She had the inkling that if she were anyone else, except maybe the Winchesters, she would be remaining in that exact spot until he returned.
As it was he was already gone by the time she had shook off the lasting effects of the command. She stood there for another second, second-guessing whether or not this was actually a good plan, before following after the Trickster. She shifted into her dog form and picked up his scent just outside their room, following it down to the lobby, ignoring the strange looks she garnered from passing humans. She paused a bit as she exited the building and found the trail still existed. Was he so tired that he didn't want to use his abilities to transport himself, or did he really think himself so commanding and all-powerful that he thought she wouldn't follow him?
Indignation arose in her at the mere thought of the latter and she set off at a brisk trot. He may be travelling on foot but he was certainly enhancing his speed, there was no way he could have gotten this far in such a short period of time. The bastard had probably cloaked himself too, meaning he could travel at inhuman speeds, she though had to make due with a fast dog run that caused several humans to shout in anger as she brushed quickly past them. A good 40 minutes of running later, and she was grateful for being a supernatural being, but she was certainly starting to feel the strain. Just as she was about to give up and rest for a bit, the trail brought her to the front of a large office building. She followed the scent inside and evaded all attempts to capture the "stray dog" that had wandered into the building.
She stopped dead as she reached the reception desk by the elevator and did a double-take at the ginger-haired man sitting there. She was definitely second-guessing her plan as she looked at his aura with its flaming reds and oranges intermixed with silver that identified him as Apollo. She had meant what she had said though, she really should resolve this business with Zeus sooner rather than later, and she couldn't let Loki think he could just push her around and have a tame little side kick. Sort of like that show that Elizabeth had always watched about the man with the blue box whose companions refused to stay put somewhere just for their own safety. With that in mind, she smirked slightly at Apollo and noticing that there were no humans in this area, likely dissuaded from entering this area by the small ring of runes carved into the floor and ceiling of the hall she had felt the power of as she had dashed into the hall. she changed into her human form and bowed in greeting.
"Greetings Apollo, Great Light-Bringer and Musician of Olympus." She intoned respectfully. He nodded slightly in acknowledgement of the flattery before putting down the lyre he had been strumming thoughtfully and turning his attention to his fathers' guest. Upon recognizing her he frowned in apprehension,
"You do realize Cerberus, that my father will not be pleased to see you and that this visit cannot end well." He murmured as he leaned forward slightly over the desk, attention piqued for what was probably the first time in centuries. Cerberus nodded slightly at him and her lips twitched up in a cocky grin that she certainly didn't feel,
"Ah yes, but you see Apollo, I've got my business partner up there in a meeting with dear old Zeus without me. It's really quite rude of him." She said confidently. His eyebrows rose up to greet the tips of his fiery hair in disbelief, "A Hound of Hell is business partners with the Trickster Loki? Forgive me if I do not readily believe you." She crossed her arms in irritation and let out a frustrated huff of air,
"Fine," she said and gestured to the elevator, "Take me up there, worst comes to worst Loki doesn't recognize me and then I can meet with Zeus once they're done." Apollo shrugged in defeat,
"Your funeral." He stated before rising from his chair and walking over to the elevator, he pressed the button and keyed in a code before gesturing for her to climb aboard, He gave her one last concerned glance before the elevator doors shut and the car began its slow ascent to the office above. As she watched the floor numbers tick by, Cerberus really hoped that she was prepared for this, and that Loki wouldn't just throw her to the dogs because she disobeyed him.
The elevator reached the top of the building and the doors dinged open once the car had steadied itself. She walked out into the spacious office only to see a smirking Loki looking at her from his seat on top of a shiny polished wood desk in the extravagant office with a nervous looking Zeus behind him.
"Hello Cerberus, I see you didn't listen when I asked you to stay put, now did you?" He asked dangerously. Cerberus shifted and glanced to the equally nervous Zeus seated in the desk chair behind Loki. Who was this Trickster that even Zeus was afraid of him? She flickered her sight over and stared fully at both auras, Zeus's made her squint, but Loki was letting more of his true aura shine through than she had ever seen before—and it was older than Zeus's.
She felt a chill race down her back, and took in the serious and deadly disposition of what could only be an Archangel sitting so casually in front of her. Michael was up in Heaven though, and if Lucifer had escaped she was pretty sure she would know, rather everyone would know. That only left,
"Good to finally meet you, Gabriel." She greeted a tad shakily and the confining bonds of the deal lifted from her in what was a brilliant show of light to her aura-focused eyes. Zeus's aura spiked in grudging but true fear, and she realized he hadn't know who exactly the Trickster, erm Archangel was. Gabriel aura flared slightly in approval and he slid an angel blade, curiously enough not his archangel blade, from his coat pocket and quickly stabbed it through Zeus's neck, causing him to choke quickly on his own blood and from his severed airway and die. She shivered in fear and looked up at the Archangel whose aura was now fully masked again as he wiped the blood off of the blade and stuck it back into the pocket of his coat. He looked up at her and the serious façade shattered as he grinned,
"Congratulations Cerberus, you passed. Now if you had stayed in that dump of an apartment a single day longer I would probably have ditched you at the end of the week, surprised you stayed your hand that long to be honest. You seem the irritable type honestly. But following me though, well that took guts, in which case," and here he bowed theatrically and offered a hand, "I'd like to offer you the position of associate and tag-along to the Trickster Loki." He proposed regally.
She stared at him in disbelief a thousand different emotions washing over her; relief that she wasn't about to die, anger at him for lying and testing her, and hope. Hope that if she went with him, she'd have a better life than she had as a human, or even as Cerberus up until this point, and maybe even a friend. She grinned and tentatively took his hand,
"I guess I can give the job a trial run, Gabe." She said and smirked slightly at his disgruntled expression over the nickname. He smiled though and just before they whirled off to destinations unknown he replied,
"That name dearie does not escape your lips while in public, and it's not a job, it's an adventure." He looked at her mischievously,
"Now let's go to Comic Con, I could use a break." With that the collar around her neck activated in a swirling show of what she now knew was some of the most powerful grace known on both Heaven and Earth. She didn't even manage the shocked 'What?' and 'Where?!' that she wanted to ask before they were whisked away.
AN:/ Yes my dear readers the lovely duo is going to Comic Con, don't worry though that's not the whole chapter. I figured there should be something a little fun because I'm going to be digging deeper into their budding friendship in the next few chapters as well as deeper into Gabriel's character. Hope you liked it, let me know? Have a wonderful rest of the evening. -Robin