Chapter Twenty-Three

Sorry I took so long. Vacation and then family in town and then boss went on vacation so I had to help cover her job. I am so tired!

"Loki?" asked Xander. "Thor's brother?"

The Trickster rolled his eyes. "Ha-ha. Like I've never heard that one before."

"What are you doing here?" growled Dean.

"You know him?" asked Buffy.

"Oh, we know him," said Dean, pulling his pistol out and aiming it at the Trickster. "So, give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you."

The Trickster scoffed. "Wow, hell really must have scrambled your brains, Dean. That won't kill me, idiot."

"Nope," smirked Dean. "But it'll hurt like hell."

Buffy glanced over to see Castiel staring at the Trickster in confusion. It was almost as though the angel was trying to sort out a puzzle.

"Plus, I can probably just beat you to death," Dean went on.

"Ah, yes," nodded the Trickster, stepping closer to the brothers. "The brand new super powers."

Sam frowned. "How do you know about that?"

"Please," shrugged the Trickster. "I got friends in low places. But it doesn't matter." He leveled a hard gaze at Dean. "You're not strong enough to take me on."

"Wanna bet?" growled Dean, getting in his face.

"Alright, guys, zip it up," Buffy told them, stepping up to them and pushing them apart. She looked at Dean. "What is he? Good guy or bad?"

"Considering the last time we saw him he killed me over a hundred times, I'm going with bad," Dean gritted out, still glaring at the Trickster.

Buffy frowned. "Literally?"

"Oh, yeah," said Dean.

"Hey, I brought you back, didn't I?" said the Trickster.

"Screw you," spat Dean.

Buffy turned to Sam with an exasperated sigh. "Help me out here, Sam."

"He's a trickster," Sam explained. "It's kind of like a demigod. They screw with people and then kill 'em."

"Hey, I don't kill everyone," the Trickster complained.

"Oh, you kill enough," growled Dean.

"So, what are you doing here?" asked Sam.

The Trickster shrugged. "Helping you."

Dean stared at him. "Come again?"

"Your little prophet pal sent me a message," said the Trickster, looking like he really didn't want to be there at all. "Said you'd need my help."

"And just why would Chuck think we need a trickster?" asked Sam.

"This being is not a Trickster," said Castiel.

Sam and Dean looked over at Castiel with frowns. "What?"

Buffy stared at Castiel, who was frowning over at the Trickster with what she thought was recognition.

"What?" said the Trickster. "Not a trickster? Have you met me?"

"Actually, yes," said Castiel.

"Wait, what?" said Sam.

"Are you saying you know him?" Dean asked Castiel.

"Yes, I believe I do," said Castiel.

"What's he talking about?" Dean asked the Trickster.

The Trickster rolled his eyes and then glared over at Castiel. "You know, you always were so subtle, Castiel. Thanks for that."

"So, you do know him?" asked Sam.

"Oh, we go…way back," smirked the Trickster.

Sam frowned. "What are you?"

"I'll give ya a hint," said the Trickster. "What's black and white and heavenly being all over?"

Dean's eyes widened. "Angel? You're an angel?"

The Trickster raised his hand. "Uh, excuse me, archangel."

"Archangel?" asked Dean.

"Gabriel," said Castiel, glaring at him. "His name is Gabriel."

"Well, nice to see you again, too, bro," said the Trickster-turned-Gabriel.

"I believed you dead," said Castiel. "I mourned for you. We all did."

"Oh, boo-hoo," said Gabriel. "Get over it. You would've done the same thing if you were me."

"Alright, alright," said Dean. "Stow your crap, guys." He looked over at Gabriel. "How exactly does an archangel become a trickster?"

"My own private witness protection," said Gabriel. "Skipped out of heaven, had a face transplant, carved out my own little corner of the world."

"And you're here 'cause Chuck sent you?" asked Sam.

"Yep," said Gabriel. "Here to help, I guess. What we hunting?"

"Your brother," Dean shot at him.

Gabriel frowned dramatically. "Which brother?"

"Lucifer," said Castiel.

"Oh, that brother," said Gabriel, shrugging. "Well, you know me. Let's light this candle!"

Sam frowned. "Meaning?"

"Your celebrity death match…" Gabriel led on.

Sam and Dean just stared at him.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "You guys are lucky you have your looks." He gestured at Dean. "Dean starring as Michael. Sam starring as Lucifer. Your celebrity death match!"

"You want us to say yes to those sons of bitches?" said Sam.

"Hells yeah," said Gabriel.

"We do that, the world will end!" said Sam.

"Yeah?" said Gabriel. "And…whose fault is that? Who popped Lucifer out of the box? Hm?"

"That was an accident," Dean shot back. "We were tricked."

"Doesn't matter," shrugged Gabriel. "You started it. So, let's get it over with!"

Dean just shook his head at him. "You're gonna sit back and let the world burn? You've been playing trickster a little too long. What did Daddy say when you ran off and joined the pagans?"

"Daddy doesn't say anything about anything," said Gabriel.

"Then what happened?" asked Sam. "Why'd you ditch?"

"Do you blame him?" Dean told Sam. "His brothers are heavyweight douche-nozzles." He looked at Castiel. "No offense."

"Shut your cake hole," growled Gabriel. "You don't know anything about my family. I love my Father, my brothers. Love them. But watching them turn on each other? Tear at each other's throats? I couldn't bear it! Okay? So, I left. And now, it's happening all over again."

"Then help us stop it," said Sam.

"It can't be stopped," said Gabriel.

"You really wanna see the end of the world?" asked Dean.

"I want it to be over!" shouted Gabriel. "I have to sit back and watch my own brothers kill each other, thanks to you two! Heaven, hell—I don't care who wins! I just want it to be over!"

"It doesn't have to be like that," said Sam. "There has to be some way to—to pull the plug."

Gabriel laughed bitterly. "You do not know my family! What you guys call the apocalypse, I used to call Sunday dinner. That's why there's no stopping this, because this isn't about a war. It's about two brothers that loved each other and betrayed each other—"

"Okay, you know what?" Buffy burst out suddenly. She stared hard at Gabriel as they all looked over at her in surprise. "I don't really care what kind of family issues you have. Whining about your poor little family isn't doing a bit of good. Now, you helping us or what?"

Dean smirked over at Gabriel. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

Gabriel stared back at them. "There's no way to stop it."

"Well, you know what, we got a pretty unbeatable team here," said Dean. "Add an archangel to the list and our chances go up even more."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "The only way out is to play your roles."

"Well, then, we better invent a new out damn fast," said Dean. "'Cause I'm not letting either of those dick-bags win."

Gabriel sighed exasperatedly and glanced down at the floor for a moment. He frowned a little in thought.

"What?" asked Sam.

Gabriel looked up at them hesitantly. "I may have a Plan C."

"We have a Plan C?" asked Dean.

"Well, since you two absolutely refuse to go with Plan A, Plan B is killing Lucifer," said Gabriel, pacing in front of them. "Problem is, we've got zero shot at killing Lucifer. So, Plan C…" he faced them, "we trap him."

"Trap him?" asked Buffy. "Trap the devil?"

Gabriel nodded, looking back at Sam and Dean. "The cage you sprung Lucifer from? It's still down there. And maybe—just maybe—you can shove his ass back in."

"Oh, yeah, just grab Satan and shove him down the rabbit hole," nodded Dean. "That'll be real easy."

"No, it won't," said Gabriel. "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?"

"Details," chuckled Sam. "That sounds more like headlines."

"Hey, you wanted a back-up plan," Gabriel shot at them. "This is what we got."

"Okay, okay," said Dean. "So, we just chant some spell and shove him in?"

"Well, you'll need the key first," said Gabriel.

"What key?" asked Sam.

"They key to the cage," explained Gabriel. "Actually, it's keys, plural. Four keys. Well, four rings…from the Horsemen."

"Horsemen?" asked Bobby. "As in, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?"

"You know any other Four Horsemen?" said Gabriel.

"Okay, so…we need to track 'em down and snatch the rings," said Dean.

"Oh, yeah, no problem," scoffed Sam. "We'll just hunt down War, Famine, Pestilence and Death."

Dean shrugged with a smirk. "Just another day at the office. Besides, it's only Plan C. We still got Plan B."

"Which is…" said Buffy.

"The Colt," said Dean. "That falls through, we shove him in the cage."

"Okay…" said Xander. "So…this Crowley dude. We heading his way?"

"First thing in the morning," said Dean. He looked over at Castiel and Gabriel. "You guys coming with? We could use all the angelic assistance we can get."

"Of course," nodded Castiel.

"Nope," said Gabriel.

Sam frowned. "What happened to helping us?"

"I am," said Gabriel. "Chuck sent me here for a reason. I can hunt down the Horsemen rings as you hunt down the Colt. I'll be in touch."

With that, Gabriel was gone.

"You better be in touch!" Dean called out.

Gabriel suddenly appeared right in front of Dean, who jumped back away from him a little. He shoved his finger into Dean's face. "Don't make me smite you, Dean." And he was gone again.

Dean looked nervously over at the others. "You think he'd really do that?"

"I'm more concerned with how he found us," said Sam.

"What do you mean?" asked Willow, who had walked into the room somewhere in the middle of the whole conversation.

"Well, with the sigils Cas carved into our ribs," explained Sam with a gesture at Dean, "no angels can find us."

"He found us through Buffy," said Castiel. "I will need to hide all of you." He turned to Buffy. "May I?"

Buffy glanced at the Winchesters, who nodded at her. She looked back at Castiel. "Okay."

Castile reached forward, placing the tips of his fingers over her heart. A searing burn spread through her whole torso.

Buffy groaned in pain as she doubled over. "Oh, wow! Oh, yeah, that hurt."

As Castiel turned to all the others in the room to do the same, Dean turned to him.

"Wait, now how is Gabriel gonna find us?" asked Dean. "For that matter, how are you?"

"I will allow Gabriel to sense my location," Castiel told them as he applied the Enochian sigils to Tara's ribs.

"You can control that?" asked Sam.

"Of course," said Castiel. "The angels haven't dragged me away yet, have they?"

Dean stared at him in surprise and then looked at Sam. "Was that sarcasm?"

"Yeah, I think you're rubbing off on him," smirked Sam.

"And I will call you to determine your location when I must leave," Castiel went on as though nothing had happened, now applying the sigils to Giles.

"You have a cell phone?" asked Dean in surprise.

Castiel finished applying the last of the sigils to Dawn and then turned to Dean, reaching into the pocket of his trench coat and pulling out a cell phone. He glanced over at it and frowned as he examined it. "The problem is, it won't turn on."

Dean walked over and took it from him, flipping it open and playing with it for a moment. He looked up at Castiel. "The battery's dead, Cas. How long have you had it?"

"A week," Castiel told him.

Dean smiled and chuckled a little. "See, Cas, a cell phone battery only lasts for maybe two days before it needs to be charged."

Castiel took the phone back and held it in his hand for a moment before it suddenly switched on.

Dean frowned down at the small display on the front of the phone, which showed a full battery. "Well, that's a neat trick. You gotta teach me that."

Castiel frowned in confusion. "You are not an angel. You would be unable to do so."

Dean rolled his eyes. "I know, Cas. It was a joke."

Castiel stared down at the cell phone in puzzlement.

"Just when you think he's getting a little more human…" Dean muttered to Sam.

********************************************SPN/BT VS************************************************ ************

Willow stepped into the dining room, where Tara sat at the table doing some homework from her Sociology class. Dean, Sam, Buffy, Bobby and Giles had left that morning after breakfast to head over to Crowley's with Castiel. Willow had opted for staying behind with the others. After all, two Slayers, two hunters and a Watcher could surely handle one little demon.

"Hey," said Willow.

Tara looked up at her. "Hi."

"Still doing homework?" asked Willow. "Even with the world ending?"

"Well, with Buffy, Dean and Sam's track records of saving the world, I don't wanna fall behind," said Tara, looking back down at her textbook.

Willow stood there for a moment, unsure of how to go on. Tara steadfastly refused to look at her, making a point to focus on the work in front of her. Willow stared in hurt at Tara, but really, she was more upset at herself. It was her own fault that Tara was giving her the cold shoulder. Her greed for power—because there was no getting around it. She had been greedy with the magicks. She had been greedy, selfish and arrogant. And it was that arrogance that she could do no wrong that had pushed Tara away.

Willow took a step closer. "I don't wanna end up like Sam."

Tara looked up at her, frowning slowly. "What?"

Willow rang her hands in front of her. "I don't wanna end up like Sam. He didn't know what was happening to him until it was too late. And by the time he realized what road he was being dragged down, he was already down it. He had no idea the power he was messing with…just like me."

Tara's face softened as Willow stepped closer.

"I'm messing with stuff so far beyond me," said Willow. "You have no idea the rush when you're connected to something that powerful. When you can control and harness magicks like that. It's intoxicating."

Willow sat down next to Tara. "But I'm not in control. I try to deny it, but…the power feels so strong. I can't do it myself." She frowned at Tara. "I need help."

Tara reached over and pulled Willow into an embrace. "It'll be okay." She gave Willow a kiss on the head. "We're gonna help you through this."