Hammer of the Gods
The Impala pulled up to the 'Elysian Fields' motel in the middle of an epic downpour. It hadn't exactly been their intention to head the way they had, but they'd found themselves driving along the road and pulled over for the night, better to sleep than end up in a ditch due to lack of visibility. Dean, Sam, and Michelle quickly got out of the Impala and ran to the door, their bags in their hands, Michelle holding her coat over her head as a makeshift umbrella.
They stopped short as they entered the building to see that it was a very nice looking motel, decorated very modern, almost upscale.
"Nice digs for once," Dean commented as Sam nodded.
They walked over to a man at the main desk and quickly got to getting a room.
Michelle frowned as she watched the man type their information in rather quickly. He was a tall man, thin, with black hair and a red blazer. She just couldn't shake it but something was off about him though. It wasn't like with Leah where she just knew she was some sort of creature, but it was enough to give her pause.
"Busy night?" Dean asked, watching the man type as well.
"Any port in the storm I guess," the man shrugged.
"Oh."
The man slid them a slip of paper, "If you could just fill this out please."
"Yeah," Dean took up a pen and filled out the paper.
"Sir," the deskman called, getting Dean to look up, "I think you've got a little shaving nick there…" he gestured to Dean's neck.
Michelle looked over, her frown deepening, Dean hadn't shaved recently…and he hadn't been bleeding when they first arrived.
The man quickly pulled out a tissue and handed it to Dean, who dabbed his wound, frowning as well when he saw it, not sure how he'd gotten it either. The deskman held up a key, "Your key."
"Oh thanks," Dean said slowly, taking it, "Hey you wouldn't happen to have a coffee shop would you?"
"Buffet," he gestured to his right, "All you can eat," the trio glanced over in that direction as he man leaned forward, whispering, "Best pie in the tri-state area."
Dean smirked, very pleased to hear that, "You don't say."
~8~
Dean was standing at the buffet desert table, staring at two slices of pie on two different plates, undecided as to which one to take. He glanced back at the table to see Sam sitting there, fiddling with his phone, and over to the dinner buffet where Michelle was getting a small helping of seconds. He was glad, he'd noticed recently she hadn't been eating as much as she normally did. In fact, she seemed really lost in thought most of the time. If they weren't hunting, she could be found with her nose buried in one of her archaic religion books, her journal open, frowning and scratching things out. She'd seemed like she was struggling to come to terms with something, he'd seen her look like she was about to speak, tell them something, but then stop herself.
He shook his head, she'd come to them in time. She'd promised to tell him her secrets at some point. He sighed, looking back at the pies.
"Heaven, right?" a small man with glasses said beside him, grinning at the buffet.
"Trust me pal, better," he replied, picking up one of the plates. He turned to head to the table, stopping to pluck a berry off another pie and continued on…only to stop short when he passed a woman in a red top and black skirt, "How you doing?" he smirked at her.
"No," she said, sounding utterly disinterested.
"What…"
"No."
"Look, lady, I'm just…"
"I understand…and no."
Dean just nodded, unsure what to say to her, and walked off, back to the table. He sat down across from Sam, "Sam, unpucker man, eat something."
"We should hit the road Dean," Sam said suddenly.
"In this storm?" Dean scoffed, "It's…"
"It's biblical," Sam cut in, looking at his brother, worried, "Exactly. It's friggin Noah's ark out there and we're eating pie."
"How many hours of sleep you get this week?" Dean sighed, "What three? Four?" Sam rolled his eyes, "Bobby's got his feelers out, ok? We have talked with every hoodoo man and woman in 12 states."
"Well, I'm not giving up."
"Nobody's giving up. Not you, not Michelle, not me. Especially me," Sam looked down, "We're gonna find a way to beat the devil, ok? Soon…" he glanced over at Michelle for some reason, "I can feel it. And we'll find Cas. But you are no good to me burnt out."
Sam shook his head, "Yeah…"
"You want me to tell Michelle?" Dean asked, playing his last card to snap his brother out of his funk.
He had a feeling that Sam's mood had something to do with how slightly more closed off Michelle had become. He'd seen his brother shooting concerned glances at his girlfriend whenever they'd come back from a hunt and she'd go straight to her books. He really wanted to know what she was looking up, if she had any ideas, because really, her ideas seemed to work much better than theirs. He didn't doubt it had something to do with her dad being military, he'd been in it far longer than their father had. She'd probably been raised to think things out, make sure she knew everything before running in guns blazing…though she did tend to do that as well. But with something as important as this, he felt like she'd want to look at every angle first.
"Get her to knock some sense into you?"
Sam's head snapped up. He quickly looked over to see Michelle finishing up at the buffet, "No!"
"Then don't worry her by making yourself sick over this," Dean rolled his eyes at his brother.
"Ok," Sam nodded, taking a breath. He didn't want to worry Michelle with his doubts and fears, she seemed so tense lately, so focused, he didn't want to distract her, he could just tell whatever had taken so much of her focus must be really important.
"Come on, we have actually got the night off for once," Dean continued, smiling now, "Let's try to enjoy it."
"Don't say things like that," Michelle said, joining them, sitting down beside Sam with a smile, "You'll jinx us."
Dean just shrugged and dug into his pie, smirking slightly when Michelle nudged her plate between her and Sam and handed him a fork, his brother taking it with a smile and digging in.
~8~
They headed through the halls that night, back to their room, only to see a couple kissing heatedly outside the room next to theirs. Dean grinned and pointed at them as Sam unlocked their room.
"What are you, twelve?" Michelle laughed.
Dean shrugged, "I'm young at heart," he let out a low whistle as they entered to room to see a very nice room, decorated in brown furniture with red sheets on the beds, "Wow, look at this, we're like the Rockefellers," he put his bag on one of the beds and walked over to the pillow, picking up something, "Chocolates!" Sam looked around suspiciously, before turning to his brother, who was looking at him and Michelle excitedly, "You want yours?"
"Knock yourself out," Sam shrugged.
Dean quickly snatched up the treat before his brother could change his mind and caught sight of a pamphlet on the bedside table, "Whoa!" he picked it up, holding it up for them to see, "Casa Erotica 13 on demand!" Sam scoffed, "What?"
"Isn't this place, kinda, in the middle of nowhere?" Sam shook his head at his brother.
"So?"
"So what's a four star hotel doing on a no star highway?" Michelle finished, she'd been thinking the same thing.
Sam nodded.
Dean just shrugged, about to reply, when sounds from the couple next door filtered through the walls. Dean laughed, hearing that the couple sounded very happy, Sam just rolled his eyes. There was a thump on the wall following it that had Michelle frowning. She took a step towards the wall, when there was another thump and the wall actually started to crack. Their eyes widened as they quickly ran out of the room and into the next one, only to see it was empty, the lights off.
"Hello?" Dean called as they stepped in.
Michelle looked over at the bed, the only messy thing in the room, the sheets still rumpled. She nodded at the boys and they all split up.
"Hello?!" Sam called as he took the bathroom area, Dean looked around the bed, while Michelle took a small area by the couch. She looked up as Sam came back in, shaking his head. They looked over at Dean who had knelt down and picked up something, the woman's engagement ring. Sam's eyes widened as they stared at it.
~8~
"The room next to ours," Dean was saying as they stood before the front desk once more, "The couple that are uh…joined at the lips, maybe you seen 'em?"
"Mr. and Mrs. Logan," the man nodded, "The honeymooners?" they nodded as well. He tapped the key pad quickly, "They checked out," he looked up to see them staring at him in disbelief, "Is something the matter?"
"They checked out?" Michelle raised an eyebrow.
"Mhmm," he glanced at the computer, "Just now."
"Really?" Sam nearly scoffed, "Sorta seemed like they were um, in the middle of something."
"Yeah," Dean agreed as the man shrugged, "It's kinda weird for honeymooners to uh check out without this," he held up the engagement ring.
"Oh dear!" the man's eyes widened, "I'll just put that right in the lost and found," he reached out and took it from Dean, "Don't you worry. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Uh, no, no we're good," Dean said.
"Super, fantastic," the man grinned.
They just nodded and walked off, "Creepy," Sam and Michelle said at the same time.
"Broke the needle," Dean agreed. They stopped and glanced back at the front desk, "Alright well, I'll scope out the joint and you two keep an eye on Norman Bates over here. I mean one night off, is that too much to ask?" he mumbled to himself as he stalked off, leaving them to watch.
~8~
Sam and Michelle sat in the lounge area of the front part of the motel, keeping an eye on the desk man while carrying on a light sort of conversation, not that either were really paying attention to what they were talking about.
"Hey," Michelle whispered as the man turned and left the desk.
Sam looked over before nodding. They both got up and followed him down a hall, then around a corner…only to stop short, seeing it was a dead end with a vending machine and change maker, but no desk man.
Michelle frowned before suddenly reaching out and slapping the air. Sam looked back at her, the sudden movement distracting him. She blinked, confused, "A bug?" she asked. She'd felt something tickle her and just reacted, perhaps a fly had flown past her or something.
Sam nodded and then looked around the hall, still confused as to where the man had gone before flinching. He reached up and touched the back of his neck where there was blood on his fingers. Michelle reached out and took his hand, glancing at the blood before having him lean over so she could check the cut. It was a little nick.
She pulled back, shaking her head, confused again.
Sam sighed and just entwined their fingers, tugging her back down the hall to wait for Dean. Michelle waved her hand once more, as though warding off a fly, before they turned the corner back to the lounge.
~8~
"An elephant?" Michelle asked as she, Sam, and Dean walked past the front desk, Dean recounting his adventures.
"Yeah," Dean nodded, recalling how he'd thought he'd seen an elephant in a room but, upon a second glance it was a rather tubby man.
"Like an elephant?" Sam repeated, not quite sure what to think.
"Like full on Babar."
"So what the hell…is…" Sam trailed, seeing the front lounge empty.
"Where is everybody?" Michelle asked, seeing him stunned. They quickly walked to the front door and tried it but it wouldn't open.
"Let me guess, it's locked," Dean rubbed his eyes, "So what? The roaches check in, they don't check out?"
"Think about how we got here," Michelle turned to him, "That detour on I-90," they walked back over to Dean, "The hurricane that came out of nowhere."
"You saying we were led here?" Dean frowned.
"Like rats in a maze," Sam nodded.
~8~
They'd checked the rooms on the first floor, only to find them empty and returned to the main lounge, making their way through a staff door and into the kitchen, trying to find anyone, even the creepy desk man.
Dean paused next to a pot of boiling red liquid, "Please be tomato soup…please be tomato soup…" he mumbled to himself as he lifted the ladle out of the soup, scooping up two eyes floating in the liquid as well. He quickly dropped it down as they looked away.
"It's never tomato soup," Michelle reminded him grimly.
"Motel hell."
Sam looked over, seeing a freezer door with a lock on it and quickly walked over to it as Dean stayed back, Michelle coming with him. He leaned down to look in the little window and a hand appeared, followed by the man Dean had spoken to at the buffet table.
"Help us!" the man shouted, "Get us out!"
Sam tried the door, hoping that the lock was for show, but no, it was not. He pulled out his lock picking kit and got to work.
"Hurry up!" Dean shouted.
"I'm working as fast…" Sam began, looking up, "…as I can…"
Michelle frowned and looked up as well, her eyes widening, seeing two men standing behind Dean, a short Chinese man and a tall black man.
"There's somebody behind me, isn't there?" Dean asked.
~8~
They were dragged into the grand ballroom of the motel to see a few people mingling, all wearing 'Hello, my name is:' name tags. The elephant man Dean had seen before was there as well, his tag reading Ganesh. They looked around to see an old man with white hair, an eye patch, and a fur lined jacket, Odin, the woman in red who had turned down Dean, Kali, another man, Baron Samedi.
"Something tells me this isn't a shider convention," Dean remarked.
The desk man, Mercury, wheeled in a cart with a tray on it, stopping with his hand on the lid, "Dinner is…" he pulled it off, "Served," there, beneath the lid, had been a severed head and other body parts of a man, organs on the tray.
"Ladies and gentle men," a well dressed man with black hair, Baldor, stood, gesturing to the trio as a spotlight shown down on them, "Our guests of honor have arrived."
~8~
Baldor stood up, tapping a glass of champagne with a fork, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. In all my centuries, I never thought I'd see this," all the people looked around, sitting in a U shaped table with Sam, Dean, and Michelle sitting on chairs on the open end, "This many gods under one roof."
"Gods?" Sam whispered to Dean over Michelle, who was seated between the two.
"Now before we get down to brass tacks," Baldor continued, "Some ground rules, no slaughtering each other. Curb your wrath. Oh, and, um, keep your hands off the local virgins, we're trying to keep a low profile here."
"Ooh we are so, so screwed," Sam sighed, sitting back in his own seat, his hand instinctively seeking out Michelle's, rubbing circles over her skin with his thumb, trying to calm himself.
"And we all know why we're here. The Judeo-Christian Apocalypse looms over us. I know we've all had our disagreements in the past, but the time has come to put those aside and look towards the future. 'Cause if we don't, we won't have one. Now, we do have three very valuable bargaining chips. Michael and Lucifer's vessels," he gestured to Sam and Dean as the gods looked at them, "And a rather significant relation of Michael's," he nodded at Michelle, who glared back, the boys stiffening, wondering how the gods knew Michelle was Michael's shield, not even the angels had believed she was it till she proved it, "The question is, what do we do now? Anybody have any bright ideas? Speak up, this is a safe room."
An Asian man, Zao Chen, stood up and began to speak in rapid Chinese.
The boys just looked lost.
"Oh, I don't like his gong," Dean commented.
"He said, 'What do we do? We kill them,'" Michelle translated.
"Oh I REALLY don't like his gong," Dean nearly groaned.
"Kill them?" Ganesh asked, "Why? So the angels here can bring them back again?"
"I don't know what everybody's getting so worked up about," Odin leaned back in his chair, "This is just a couple of angels having a slap fight. It's no Armageddon. Everybody knows, when the world comes to an end, the great serpent Jormungandr rises up and I myself will be eaten by a big wolf," he laughed.
Zao Chen shook his head and said something, the boys looked at Michelle, "Uh, 'here we go…'" she said.
"Oh yeah?" Odin glared, "Well why is that? Because YOUR beliefs are so much more realistic? The whole world's getting carried around on the back of a giant turtle," he laughed again, "Hah, give me a break."
"'Don't mock my world turtle,'" Michelle said a moment after Zao Chen spoke.
Odin jumped up out of his seat and leaned across the table, "What are you gonna do about it?"
"'I'm gonna send you packing to Valhalla,'" Michelle nearly laughed as she translated.
Odin just pointed at him, "You watch your mouth when you're talking to me, boy."
"'Boy?" Michelle snorted, "I'm older than you.'"
Sam and Dean nodded at each other before starting to get up, Michelle following along.
"No one's ever proved that!" Odin shouted.
The trio had just turned towards the door, when suddenly a chandelier exploded above them and crashed in their way.
"Stay," Kali said, standing. They turned and looked back at her as she looked around the room, "We have to fight. The archangels, the only thing they understand is violence. This ends in blood," Sam and Dean looked at each other, "There is no other way. It's them or us."
"With all due respect, ma'am," Mercury held up a hand, "We haven't even tried talking to them," Kali just looked at him harshly as the god began gagging, reaching for his throat as blood pooled in his mouth.
"Kali," Baldor said, sing-song, as he stood.
Kali let Mercury go, "Who asked you?"
Suddenly the doors behind the brothers opened and Gabriel strode into the room, "Can't we all just get along?"
"Gab…" Sam began, but Michelle elbowed him in the ribs, cutting him off.
"Loki," Michelle greeted, sending a meaningful look to the boys, their backs to the gods so they couldn't see. Sam and Dean looked confused a moment but nodded.
"Sam…Dean…" Gabriel greeted, tense at almost having his secret outed, "Princess," he smiled at Michelle as he walked in, the doors shutting behind him, "It's always wrong place worst time with you mutton heads huh?" he smirked at Michelle, "Must be quite the job keeping them alive eh?"
Baldor stood, "Loki," he greeted as Gabriel looked up at him.
"Baldor," he nodded, walking into the center of the gods, "Good seeing you too. I guess my invitation got lost in the mail."
"Why are you here?"
"To talk about the elephant in the room," he said, Ganesh started to rise, irate, "Not you," he called as the god sat back down, "The Apocalypse. We can't stop it gang," he held up a finger, "But first things first…" he turned to the trio, "The adults need to have a little conversation. Check you later," he snapped his fingers and suddenly they were back in their motel room.
"Ok…did that…holy crap!" Dean breathed.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Sam agreed, before rounding on his brother, "By the way, next time I say 'let's keep driving,' uh, let's keep driving."
"And next time I warn you not to say things like having the night off," Michelle added, "Listen."
"Ok, yeah, next time," he grumbled, not believing there would be a next time.
"Alright, so what's our next move?" Sam asked.
"I…I, huh…I don't know," Dean admitted, "We grab those poor saps out of the freezer I guess. Bust them out. Gank a few freaks along the way if we're lucky."
"And when are you ever lucky?" Michelle said at the same time as another voice.
They looked over to see Gabriel sitting on the couch.
"Well, you know what, bite me Gabriel," Dean glared.
"Maybe later big boy," Gabriel replied.
"Well I shoulda known," Dean shook his head, "I mean this had your stink all over it from the jump."
Gabriel rose an eyebrow, "You think I'm behind this? Please," he got up, "I'm the Costner to your Huston. I'm here to save your ass."
"You want to pull us out of the fire?"
"Bingo," Gabriel smirked, "Those guys are either gonna dust you or use you as bait. Either way, you're uber-boned."
"Wow, 'cause a couple of months ago you were telling us that we need to play our roles. You were uber-boning us."
"Oh…the end is still nigh," he strolled past them, "Michael and Lucifer are gonna dance the lumbada," he spun to face them, "But not tonight. Not here."
"And why do you care?"
"I don't…care. But, uh, me and Kali, we uh, had a thing. Chick was all hands," he smirked as they made a face, "What can I say? I'm sentimental."
"Do they have a chance?" Sam asked, stepping up, "Against Satan?"
"Really Sam?" Dean rounded on him.
"You got a better idea dean?"
"It's a bad idea," Michelle said.
Gabriel nodded, "Lucifer's gonna turn them into finger paint. So let's get going while the going's good, hmm?"
"Ok, great, why don't you just zap us out of here then," Dean replied.
"Would if I could," Gabriel sighed, "But Kali's got you by the short and curlies," they stared at him, confused, "It's a blood spell."
"Great," Michelle scoffed, rubbing her head.
"What's a blood spell?" Dean shook his head.
"You boys are on a leash," Gabriel told them.
"You boys?" Michelle frowned, "What about me?"
"Mercury couldn't get close enough. Your reflexes were too sharp, lifetime of training finally paid off, eh princess? You're free to leave."
"I'm not leaving them."
"And that's why Kali didn't bother to keep trying to get your blood."
"Michelle…" Sam began, seeing that she wasn't going to leave them on her own accord.
"Look Mickey…" Dean sighed.
Michelle just spun around and punched both of them across the face, not enough to knock them out, but enough to bruise them, "You going to continue your thoughts?"
They just shook their heads, stepping back, their arms dropping to protect the next most likely target of her attack.
Gabriel whistled, "I always liked you best."
Dean cleared his throat, "What does a blood spell mean for us?"
"Basically, it's like voodoo," she replied, "You can't do anything Kali doesn't want you to do. She wants you here, you're stuck here."
"Just means it's time for a little of the old black magic," Gabriel sprayed his mouth with breath spray, "Ah…"
"Ok, yeah, well, whatever," Dean rolled his eyes at the angel, "We're gonna take the hors d'oeuvres in the freezer with us."
"Forget it," Gabriel waved him off, "It's gonna be hard enough sneaking you mooks out of here."
"They call you Loki right?" Dean asked as Gabriel nodded, "And judging by the bruise on Sam's gut, they don't really know who you are?"
"Told you, I'm in witness protection," he smirked.
"Then how 'bout you do what we say, or we tell the uh 'Legion Of Doom' about your secret identity. They don't seem like a real pro-angel kinda crowd."
Gabriel started towards him, "I'll take your voices away."
"We'll write it down."
"I'll cut off your hands."
"Well then, people are gonna be asking 'why are you guys running around with no hands?'" Dean smirked, he had a whole list of ways to let the secret out.
Gabriel stared him down but Dean didn't crack, so he just sighed, "Fine."
~8~
As Gabriel dealt with Kali, the trio made their way back to the main lounge, heading for the kitchen, when they heard someone shouting, "No! No! No!"
They dashed around a corner where they could see Odin, Ganesh, and two other gods pulling the buffet man onto the front desk as he kept calling out for help. Odin put a hand on the man's neck and Dean lunged forward to help, but Sam and Michelle grabbed him, shoving him back.
"It's too late," Sam whispered.
They had to watch as Zao Chen stabbed the man in the chest.
~8~
As soon as the gods had left, they ran into the kitchen, the people in the freezer screaming for help as Sam tried to pick the lock, Michelle beside him, Dean behind him. There was a grunt and suddenly Dean was thrown back through a shelf by Zao Chen, who had blood around his mouth from his little snack.
"Keep going," Michelle shouted as she lunged at Zao Chen. The man merely shoved her to the side, into the wall beside him and strode over to Sam, spinning him around and lifting him up by his neck, strangling him.
Sam tried to squirm out of his hold, when suddenly Zao Chen froze, his face transforming into one of pain and he dropped Sam. Sam gasped, looking up, only to see Michelle standing behind the god, her arms glowing white up to her shoulders, both her hands in the god's back, much like when she'd faced War. She frowned in concentration before Zao Chen gave a scream and fell to the floor, dead.
Michelle stumbled back, her eyes wide in shock, she stared down at her hands, watching as they slowly ceased glowing.
"What the hell was that?" Dean demanded, pushing himself up.
"I…I don't know," she breathed, still staring at her hands stunned, and a little bit afraid.
~8~
The trio was once again shoved into the meeting hall, Gabriel now sitting at a chair beside Kali, looking at her.
"How long have you known?" Gabriel asked her, clearly she knew his secret.
"Long enough," she replied.
"How's the rescue going?" Dean asked as they were pushed into seats on the other side of the corner from him.
"Well, surprise, surprise," Kali began, calling to the other gods, "The Trickster has tricked us."
"Kali…don't," he warned.
"You're mine now," Kali whispered, sitting down in his lap, "And you have something I want…" she trailed her hand down his chest, pulling his angelic sword out for all to see, "An archangel's blade. From the archangel Gabriel!" she stood.
"Ok!" Gabriel shouted, throwing out his arms, "Ok. So I got wings, like Kotex. But that doesn't make me any less right about Lucifer."
"He's lying," Kali glared.
"No, he's not," Michelle stated.
Kali turned her glare on the girl, "Then he's a spy."
Michelle snorted, "Pretty crappy spy then, isn't he?"
"I'm not a spy," Gabriel stated, "I'm a runaway. I'm trying to save you," he leaned forward, "I know my brother Kali. He should scare the crap out of you. You can't beat him," he leaned back, "I've skipped ahead. Seen how this story ends."
"YOUR story," Kali stressed, "Not ours."
"Oh really?" Michelle raised an eyebrow.
"Westerners…" Kali shook her head disgustedly at Michelle, who was ignoring the warning looks she was getting from Sam and Dean, "I swear, the sheer…arrogance. You think you're the only ones on Earth? You pillage and you butcher in your god's name but you're not the only religion and he's not the only god. And now you think you can just rip the planet apart? You're wrong. There are billions of us. And we were here first!"
Michelle scoffed loudly, "Really?"
Kali turned a fierce glare at the woman, "You god is not all powerful."
Michelle nodded her head as though contemplating that, before looking up at Kali challengingly, "Who do you think created you?"
There was silence.
"What?" Kali spat.
Michelle smirked, "Where did you come from? All of you?" she looked around, "Someone made you, someone made the nothings you came out of. And yet you never thought to wonder who?" she turned back to Kali, "My God may not be the only god by your standards, but he is the supreme God. He's the one who made you, who made all the religions of the world."
Kali scoffed, "Why would he make religions to compete with his own?"
"Entertainment?" she shrugged, "Gotta get boring after a while of being the only one out there. Imagine all the interesting things you could watch as people of different religions create their own myth, worship their own gods, make wars in their gods' names. You get to see them interact, you get to see them rise and fall. I think that'd be a pretty sweet channel, like HBO. And he's going to be the one to end you as well," her expression severe as she stared down Kali, "Give me enough time, I can make some sort of connection to biblical lore through all your religions and myths, connect it to the rising of Lucifer, show you your end is coming in this Apocalypse."
"Last I checked, an angel isn't a wolf," Odin snorted.
"No," Michelle agreed, "But Lucifer is synonymous with a serpent, isn't he?" Odin stopped laughing, "And he has risen," he blinked, clearly that notion had escaped him, "And if you really want to stretch it, off the top of my head, one could see Lucifer as a wolf in sheep's clothing, spreading dissent amongst the angels, or even, shall we say…a lone wolf?"
Odin leaned back in his chair, his face pale. Never before had he thought to think of his death in such human terms, so metaphorically…
Sam and Dean on the other hand, looked mildly impressed with how easily she'd put a god in his place, all the while destroying their myth and beliefs. Who knew if she was right or not, but it was a possibility.
"If anyone gets to end this world…" Kali said, glaring at Michelle, "It's me," she turned to Gabriel, holding up his sword, "I'm sorry," she said to him, before she stabbed him. A white light appeared from Gabriel's eyes and mouth before he slumped on the chair, dead.
Before anyone could blink, Kali was against the wall behind her, Michelle's knife at her throat. The other gods moved to attack, but Michelle pressed her knife firmer against the woman's throat, "Move and I'll kill her."
Kali smirked smugly, "How?"
Michelle glared at her, "I just killed Zao Chen with my bare hands, his body is still lying, rotting, on the floor of the kitchen if you don't believe me. You don't think I can take you too?"
Kali's smirk fell and Michelle was pleased to see just a trace of fear enter Kali's eyes before she reached out and grabbed Michelle's arm, her hand encased in fire as she burned her.
"I've been to Hell twice," Michelle warned her, "You're gonna have to do better than that bitch," the boys watched in shock as Michelle's arm started to glow white, healing her even as Kali continued to burn her, "You want to try me?"
Kali quickly dropped her arm. Michelle glared at her once more before shoving her back, into the wall and walking back over to Sam and Dean.
"This is crazy," Mercury commented, his eyes wide and trained on Michelle. The rest of the gods eyed her warily, the news that she had killed one of them without any weapons put them on edge.
"I've just proved that they can die," Kali called order again, "We can kill Lucifer."
Dean stood up quickly, seeing Michelle about to open her mouth, "Alright you primitive screw heads, listen up."
"Are you out of your mind?" Sam hissed, his head snapping up to look at his brother.
"I'm out of options," Dean whispered back, before turning to the gods, walking around the table towards Kali, he glanced back, seeing Michelle watching him closely, her body tense, just waiting for any god to make a move. He smirked inwardly, it made him feel safer with what he was about to do, "Now on any other given day, I'd be doing my damndest to kill you, you filthy murdering chumps. But uh, hey, desperate times…" he walked over to stand beside Gabriel, across from the woman who killed him, "So even though I'd love nothing better than to slit your throats, you dicks…" he turned to the liquor stock against the wall and grabbed a bottle, "I'm gonna help you," he poured a drink as Sam looked on, stunned, "I'm gonna help you ice the devil," he turned to face them, "And then we can all get back to ganking each other like normal. You want Lucifer? Well, dude's not in the yellow pages. But me, Sam, and Michelle…we can get him here."
"How?" Kali eyed him suspiciously.
Dean just smirked, "First you let those main courses go. Then we talk. We can either take on the devil together or you lame ass bitches can eat me," he hesitated a moment, realizing something, "Literally…" the gods started to smirk but then Dean continued, "But then again…you so much as show me your pointy teeth and I guarantee Michelle won't like it too much," he smirked as the gods glanced at the girl and looked away.
~8~
Michelle and Sam were standing before Kali and Baldor in the meeting hall, discussing. The other gods had gone to mingle in the halls while Dean let the prisoners go.
"So you're going to summon Lucifer?" Kali eyed them, being sure to keep close to Baldor and out of reach of Michelle. A few other gods had gone to look at Zao Chen and reported back that his heart had just stopped beating, almost looking as though it'd been squeezed till it stopped. Now that they all knew for certain that the girl had done it, they were even more wary around her.
"Sort of," Sam explained, "I just need you to squeegee some stuff from my ribs and they'll come running."
"Breaking them would be easier," Kali remarked.
"Breaking your neck would be more amusing," Michelle countered, "But we don't always get what we want, do we?"
"Show's over," Dean called, storming in, "Sword's a fake. And Gabriel…" he looked over at Kali, "He's still kicking. I hate to break it to you sister, but you've been tricked."
Michelle rolled her eyes, "Thanks Dean, way to ruin the escape," the boys looked over at her to see her holding up three vials of blood, one for each brother and Gabriel, that she'd taken off Kali when she'd had her against the wall.
"You knew?" Dean demanded slightly, he'd been freaked to see Gabriel alive again.
"How many times now?" she asked him, "Only an ANGEL can KILL an ANGEL. Not even a god can do that. And besides, he didn't die normally so…"
"There's a normal for killing an angel?" Sam asked, still a bit stunned.
"Brighter light from the eyes, sort of a flash of light beforehand, and charred outline of angel wings on the ground…none of which happened," Michelle reminded them. She stepped back as Kali made a grab for the vials, "No, no, no touch," she shook her head at Kali before tossing them over her shoulder, shattering them against the back corner, effectively breaking Kali's spell.
Kali just looked stunned, whether it was from Michelle getting the jump on her or the fact that she'd been tricked by the 'lowly Trickster' they didn't know.
Suddenly Michelle spun around, "He's here!" she gasped.
And then the screaming started.
They looked up as the lights began to flicker.
"What's happening?" Baldor demanded.
There were more screams and cries from the hallway, getting louder, drawing nearer.
"It's him," Sam replied grimly, just knowing Lucifer was slaughtering the gods beyond the door.
"How?" Kali gaped.
"What's it matter?" Dean glared at her, "Just shazam us out of here would you?"
"We can't," Baldor replied as he started to walk forward, Lucifer walking in through the doors opening for him, blood splattered all over him.
"Of course you can't," Lucifer agreed as the trio backed up, "You didn't say Mother May I. Sam, Dean, Michelle," he greeted the trio as the doors closed behind him, "Good to see you again."
Baldor slowly advanced.
"Baldor, don't!" Kali called.
"You think you own the planet," Baldor glared at Lucifer, storming over at him, "What gives you the right?!"
Not even fazed at the hostility, Lucifer shoved his arm through Baldor, holding him close as he spoke, "No one gives us the right. We take it."
He pulled his arm out and shoved Baldor to the floor, his arm covered in the god's blood. The room started to shake as Kali glared at Lucifer. Suddenly her arms caught fire and she sent a blast at him. Sam, Dean, and Michelle ran back, jumping over one of the fallen tables and using it as a shield as fire streamed over them. They glanced up to see Lucifer unharmed, Kali walking towards him, about to punch him, when he hit her first, sending her to the ground.
"You ok?" Sam asked, looking at Dean and Michelle.
"Yeah…" Dean answered as Michelle nodded.
"Not really," another voice said, they looked over to see Gabriel now laying low, crouched beside Michelle at the end of the table, "Better late than never huh?" he reached out, across Michelle, and shoved a DVD into Dean's chest, "Guard this with your life."
He moved to get up, when Michelle grabbed his arm, "Gabriel don't!"
He hesitated, crouching down again, and smiled softly at her, more care in his eyes than they'd ever seen before from an angel other than Castiel. He reached out and pushed a strand of hair behind her ears, cupping her cheek, "You know I'm not around for the final showdown. And if I gotta go, it's gonna be on my terms. Sound familiar princess?"
He kissed her forehead quickly, giving her a wink, before he scrambled around the table just as Lucifer was about to stomp on Kali. They looked up to see Lucifer thrown back through the doors by Gabriel. He stood up to see his brother standing before Kali with his blade, "Lucy, I'm home," he called, smirking at Lucifer. Lucifer strode in but Gabriel just held up his blade and stepped up, "Not this time," Lucifer held up his hands in surrender as Gabriel stepped back and helped Kali up, "Guys! Get her out of here!"
Sam, Dean, and Michelle raced around the table and over to Gabriel's side, where he walked them towards the door, pressing against the wall, his eyes on Lucifer, who turned to watch them go. As soon as they were by the door they ran out, Dean leading Kali, Sam pulling Michelle, who didn't look like she wanted to leave them alone.
~8~
They were speeding down the highway, Sam and Dean in the front with Kali and Michelle in the back. Michelle was currently chewing them out for leaving Gabriel there to face Lucifer.
"I still can't believe you two did that!" she was shouting, "After everything he did to help get you out of there and you left him."
"We had to," Dean remarked, "It's his brother, let him deal with it."
"You don't understand," she shook her head fiercely, "We left him there to face a brother that he thinks has turned into a monst…AHH!"
'…here…'
Suddenly Michelle was doubled over in the backseat, her hands clutching her stomach, her eyes shut tight.
'…amateur hocus pocus…'
"Michelle!" Sam shouted, turning in his seat to check on her.
"…don't forget you learned all your tricks from me…"
"What's going on?" Dean glanced back, trying to find a place to pull off to the side, "What's wrong?"
"…little brother…"
And suddenly there was a shooting pain in her stomach and she felt like a piece of her heart had just...died. The agony lasted only moments but it felt like ages before she pulled back a little, tears streaming down her face.
"Michelle," Sam said, she looked up for a moment before looking down, stunned, "What's wrong?"
She let out a shaky breath as she held up her left hand to reveal Gabriel's sword had appeared in it, "Gabriel's dead."
~8~
They'd dropped off Kali somewhere Michelle didn't know. She hadn't paid attention, choosing instead to look at the sword in her hands as the brothers talked outside the Impala. She looked up when she heard the door open and Sam poke his head through.
"Hey, uh, you mind coming out for a minute?" he asked.
She sighed, getting out and walking past the brothers a few feet. She stopped and turned around, "Light it up."
They looked at each other a moment before Dean threw his lighter down, revealing a circle of holy oil with her in the middle.
"How'd you know?" Dean asked.
"I know you two," she replied simply. "You've both had suspicions about me lately. Questions about what you don't know about me, about my family, about my powers, about how I know so much about angels and all. Did you think I didn't notice you trying to snoop around my house when I gave you the tour?" they both looked away, embarrassed she'd caught them, "I didn't tell Sam to stay in my house just to keep him safe."
"You wanted him to snoop around?" Dean frowned.
"No one wants to be snooped," she rolled her eyes, "But I knew you were both dying to know more, that was an opportunity. There wasn't anything there that pointed to this though," she gestured at the flames, "Was there?"
"About that," Sam nodded to the circle, "Can you come out?"
"You want to know if I'm an angel," it wasn't a question but they nodded anyway, "I'm not."
"Then step past it," Dean replied.
"I can't."
"But you just said you weren't an angel!" Sam exclaimed. He was feeling very betrayed right now. The girl he loved, the girl he thought he knew, was now a stranger to him.
"I'm not."
"Explain," Dean demanded.
"I'm not supposed to exist," she told them, defeat in her voice. It sounded like she was stating a fact she had long ago come to accept. She swallowed, "It should have been impossible. Angels aren't supposed to have kids."
The boys' eyes widened almost comically, or what would have been comically if the situation hadn't been so serious.
"You're the child of an angel?" Sam asked.
She nodded.
"Which one?" Dean frowned.
She looked away, "You already know," they stared at her, confused, "When I first started hunting with you, you were looking up names and…"
"Lucifer!" Dean yelled, stumbling back, staring at her in horror.
"NO!" she shouted, "I'm named after my father Dean," when he still didn't seem to understand she turned to Sam, "Who is like God, Sam?"
Sam's mouth dropped open, "Michael," he breathed.
She nodded.
"But…how is that possible," Sam shook his head.
"I thought angels were junkless," Dean added.
Michelle rubbed her head, "It's a long story…"
"We've got time."
"There was a rebellion in Heaven about 25 years ago, just before God disappeared. I don't know what it was all about, but the angels knew that, to succeed, they needed to get rid of God's top soldier, Michael. They bound him in divine chains and hurled him from Heaven. He Fell, but not in the traditional sense.
"He still had his Grace," she explained when she saw their questioning gazes, "He Fell to Earth and landed in my human father," she held up a hand, seeing the question about to come, "There are some genetic anomalies on Earth, maybe 3 or 4 in the entire world, that an angel can use as a vessel without permission."
"Then why doesn't…" Sam began.
"Why doesn't Lucifer or Michael use them as vessels?" she finished, they nodded, "While they can possess them, they can't use the full extent of their powers, in fact they can barely exorcize a demon, that's how restrained they are in those vessels. That's why the bloodlines are so important. Certain bloodlines fit certain angels and allow them full use of their powers. My human father was an anomaly, and when Michael Fell into him…the trauma of the Fall and the force of his possession wasn't a great combination, it sort of resulted in amnesia. My human dad was now a vessel and Michael didn't remember being an angel. Luckily my dad was married to my mom at the time and she took care of, I guess, them both. Eventually Michael became fond of my mom and they were…intimate…"
She shook her head, "Angels aren't meant to be with humans when they're in their vessels. Even if they are, children do not result. It's supposed to be impossible. But," she shook her head, "I guess...archangels are different? More powerful? I'm not sure. All I know is that, I was conceived.
"A few weeks later a demon attacked my mom and Michael exorcized it on instinct. He remembered who he was and left. But then mom found out she was pregnant. Michael somehow knew and he came to visit my parents…in the form of John Winchester."
"He possessed dad?" Dean asked.
She nodded, "Just long enough to explain to my parents that he was, in fact, my father. He said he could sense a sliver of divine Grace within the child and knew that, somehow, I was his daughter."
"Must have been hard on your dad," Sam remarked.
"Dad was religious," she shrugged, "He was happy to be the vessel of Michael for a time even though he couldn't remember it. He promised to raise me as his own and love me like his own. Raise me into 'a daughter a soldier of God would be proud of.'"
"You don't seem too happy about that," Dean mentioned.
"It's hard when you grow up trying to impress the man you see as your father and have him reply 'your dad will be proud' like he isn't your dad," she sighed, "I knew Michael was my father, but Miles was my dad."
"So you're what?" Dean asked, "Half-human, half-angel?"
She nodded, "It's why the angels really have to listen to me. On the angelic hierarchy, seraphim were the top, but when Michael defeated Lucifer, archangels became top. The order goes God, archangels, seraphim, and the rest. A child of an archangel is defined as an archangel, everyone below an archangel has to take orders from me unless superseded by those above. It's also why the angels aren't able to hurt me. Their powers don't work on me because, technically, I'm enough like them. It's why I can't get possessed, too divine for demons to corrupt."
"That's why you went to Hell, isn't it?" Dean said suddenly.
She nodded, "I can't be broken. The demons didn't know I was the child of an angel at the time, they just thought I had a tough spirit. But now…"
"Now?"
"When I stopped the first Horseman, the demons realized who I was. Only an angel would have the power to do what I did, but the demons know I'm human. They figured it out."
"Half-angel, half-human," Sam muttered, "That explains a lot."
"What do you mean?" she frowned, now it was her turn to be confused.
He shook his head, "It's like…how you are always able to calm us down," he began, before more things came to mind, "How we always seem to heal faster and nicer when you've stitched us up. How the people we help react better when you're there…it's like you've been healing us this whole time."
She looked away.
"Have you?" Dean raised an eyebrow.
"Guilty," she smiled a bit, "I've always been able to calm people down," she frowned, "When I got out of Hell I realized I could actually heal wounds. Like when the hellhound got me…and your road rash Dean…"
"That was you!" Dean shouted, pointing at her, thinking about the light he'd seen shining out of her, "Lilith really was there. You cast her out, didn't you? You kept me alive till Sam could stop the ghost, didn't you?"
She shook her head a little, "I don't really think Lilith was there…but I was helping you. See, when I got out of Hell I noticed I was able to access more divine powers. Whenever we helped people who were on the verge of being traumatized I could help them cope, but now, just touching them almost heals them completely. There are still things out of my range, really complex things, like Bobby but…"
"What?" Sam asked.
"My powers have been getting stronger lately. Ever since Lucifer was freed. It's like how it was with Jesse. It's like…the closer the Apocalypse gets, the more Heaven's forces are rallying, the stronger my powers get. I mean, give me a few more weeks and...I just might be able to heal Bobby, like I healed Pamela and…"
"You healed Pamela?" Dean's eyes widened.
She nodded, "When she was stabbed."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Sam frowned.
"I didn't know how," she admitted, "I didn't know why it was happening, if it was a new power or my own strengthening. I mean, it's not the first time some new power sprang up that I had to learn about…" she trailed off after a moment, biting her lip, "There's something else you should know. About two months before I went to hunt with you...I had a vision."
"Of what?"
"Dean was in Hell and breaking the first seal. Then Sam was facing Lilith and breaking the last seal. And…the final battle…"
"What happens?" Dean asked seriously.
She shook her head, looking down, "I couldn't see the end of it. I don't know."
"Well, can't you talk to the angels? Get them to help? Ask Michael to lay off?"
"What part of 'I'm not supposed to exist' didn't you get?" she glared at him, "Michael would never help me."
"Why not?" Sam frowned.
"I've never seen Michael, ever," she looked down, "He's never visited me, he's never spoken to me, I've never met him. I'm an embarrassment to him. I'm a reminder of his shame."
"What do you mean?" Dean stepped forward.
"Angels are supposed to be perfect. Michael is supposed to be perfect. I'm his daughter, that means he engaged in activities angels aren't meant to do. He broke God's law by conceiving me. I'm an abomination."
"Don't you dare say that," Sam spat.
"But I am. I'm the reason Michael can face Lucifer. Michael had to experience Falling, he had to experience what it was like to make a mistake. Me. He had to know and understand his enemy to face him. So it's my fault he's after you Dean. If not for me, he'd stay in Heaven.
"Mickey…" Dean began.
"But it's ok," she took a breath, sounding as though she'd resigned herself to this a long time ago, "Because of that, I'm Michael's shield. I'm the only one with the ability to protect Michael's sword. I'm the one with the power to help you."
"Speaking of powers again," Dean shook his head, "Exactly what are we talking about here?"
"I can heal. Like I said. Sometimes dreams or visions, but I think those are more sent by angels than anything. I…can enter dreams sometimes, mostly I get pulled into them if I'm close to the person dreaming and they subconsciously want me there," Dean nodded, recalling one or two dreams he'd had where Michelle had protected him, "I can sense angels and order them to do things. I'm too much like them to be affected by most of their powers…but I'm not enough like them to kill them or teleport like them," she added, seeing Dean about to ask that, "Like you already know, I can see demons, I can't get possessed, I can purify a body of demon blood and demonic influences…recently though…I've been able to heal myself…that hellhound swipe should have killed me," Sam swallowed heavily at the memory of it, "I think I've started to sense demons too, or at least creatures, I just knew there was something off with Leah. And then there's the Horsemen, stopping them and all."
"That's it?" Dean asked, a bit breathless at having an actual list of Michelle's powers, half of which had started growing since she'd returned from Hell and the Apocalypse started. How the hell hadn't he noticed them?
"There's one more thing…but I wouldn't really say it was a power…"
"What?" Sam asked, more than a little impressed by his girlfriend.
"You know how you guys always joke that I'm like a walking Bible?" they nodded, "It's actually true…any version of the Bible that I've read since I was little has been like burned into my mind, like a photographic memory specifically designed for the Bible and even a few other religious texts. I remember every line, every book, sometimes it gets so jumbled I'm not even sure where I read it but just that I know it."
Sam and Dean were quiet a moment before looking at each other and pulling out two water bottles from their pockets, splashing them down around the oil, extinguishing the flames.
"So…I take it you trust me?" she asked hesitantly.
"Never didn't," Dean replied as Sam gave her a reassuring hug, "Just wanted answers for once."
She nodded as did Dean, "Come on," she said, taking a breath, "We should probably see what's on that DVD."
~8~
They stood before the Impala, watching Gabriel's DVD on Sam's laptop, sitting on top of it. Gabriel had entered the room of a blonde in her lingerie, dressed as a waiter with a phony mustache. He walked up to the woman and proceeded to make out with her al la Casa Erotica.
"What the hell's going on?" Sam asked as they eyed the video uncomfortably.
Gabriel suddenly turned to face them, "Sam, Dean, you're probably wondering what the hell's going on," he pulled off his fake mustache, "Well, if you're watching this…I'm dead. Oh please, stop sobbing. It's embarrassing for all of us. Without me, you've got zero shot of killing Lucifer. Sorry. But...you can trap him. The cage you sprung Lucifer from, it's still down there. And maybe, just maybe, you can shove his ass back in. Not that it'll be easy. You gotta get the cage open, trick my bro back into it, and uh, oh yeah, avoid Michael and the God squad. But hey, details right? And here's the big secret, Lucifer himself doesn't even know. But the key to the cage, it's out there. Actually it's keys, plural. 4 keys, well, 4 rings, from the Horsemen. You get them all, you got the cage. Can't say I'm betting on you boys…but if you still got Michelle, then…" he whistled, "I'd have to reconsider it, I mean, hey! I've been wrong before. And speaking of Michelle, I'm guessing she's told you her little secret, or should I say, my niece told you her secret? If you boys don't mind, I'd like to have a word with her, alone?" Sam and Dean exchanged a look before walking off a few feet away, leaving Michelle to the video.
Gabriel waited a few more moments before speaking again, making sure the boys had walked off, "I know you're planning something," he said, staring at her meaningfully, "You've got something cooking in that brain of yours and, chances are, it'll probably work out. But trust me, you especially need to face the Horsemen first," he held up a hand as though expecting her to argue, but she was silent, "You know there has to be a reason why your powers work on them, face them all and you'll figure it out," he sighed, looking down a moment before looking up at her, "I don't know what you're planning exactly but I trust you. If you're anything like your dad, I know you'll succeed," he gave her a little smile, "You can call the boys back."
He waited a moment for her to motion the boys back, "And Dean," Gabriel finished, "You were right, I was afraid to stand up to my brother. Not anymore," he stood up, "So this is me, standing up. And this is me…lying down!" he tossed his tie to the side and turned to fall down onto the bed, wrapped up in the blonde.
"Oh!" Michelle grimaced, shutting the laptop, "Didn't need to see that."
"Ah, man!" Sam agreed.
"Horsemen huh?" Dean asked, not at all perturbed by the scene they'd just witnessed, "Well we got War's, we nicked Famine's, that's two rings down. Collect all four."
"All we need are Pestilence and Death," Michelle sighed.
"Oh, is that all?" Sam rolled his eyes.
"It's a plan," Dean shrugged.
They nodded and turned to the Impala, pausing when Michelle didn't move. They looked back at her to see her staring at the closed laptop.
"You ok?" Sam asked, frowning.
She glanced up, giving just a small smile, "Can I just…take a second…my um…uncle…did just die."
They're eyes widened as they realized she really had just lost a member of her family and apparently felt it is as well. They nodded and got into the car as Michelle walked off just a bit, watching the sun finish rising.
Either way things seemed to be heading, she would lose. If Sam or Dean said yes, one of them would die, and along with them a member of her family. If they said no and somehow Michael and Lucifer fought anyway, she'd lose either her uncle or her father. She bit her lip as she gave pause to think on the research she'd been doing, if she could just find out a little bit more, cement her findings, get some reassurance…Sam and Dean, Michael, they would all be alright in the end…even Lucifer…
She took a deep breath and let it out, steeling herself for what was coming, before turning to walk back to join the brothers in the Impala.
A/N: Questions answered? I hope at least a few of them were :) Took us quite a while to get here, but, I felt like this, Gabriel's death, FEELING him die, would be the perfect place for Michelle's lies/secrets to be exposed. She definitely wouldn't have been able to hide a reaction like that. So sad :( I love Gabriel :( But I hope you loved this chapter, finally getting some answers and explanations out of her about who and what she is, who her father is and why Michael treated/reacted to her the way he did when they went back in time :) Just...keep in mind, Michelle has never seen/spoken to/met Michael before, everything she said about what he thinks of her...well, that's what she thinks he feels...but does he really? Lol, gave you one more question didn't I? :)
Just want to mention, I mean absolutely NO offense to anyone of any religion by what Michelle said about God being the supreme God and creating the other gods, I just put it in for plot. I do not believe what she said, in real life. But for the sake of the story, I have a tiny little mention to what she said, about God creating all the other religions over time, that will come up when it comes time to face Death. I'm not saying if she's right or not, in the story, but the possibility to the other gods that she might be had to shake them up.