Chapter 20: The Confrontation
"MICHAEL!"
The First Born sighed. He'd been waiting for this since last night. It was why he came here to this training field. The same field that Michael had trained his younger brothers in. The same field where he taught them to fly. The same field where their family had broken apart. The field where Gabriel broke his wing, Raphael destroyed their family, and Lucifer was cast down. It seemed only fitting that he come here so Gabriel could get his revenge.
"MICHAEL YOU COWARD!"
Michael turned to face his brother, taking note of the other angels that had gathered; there were hundreds watching, confusion, fear, and curiosity rolling off them in waves. Gabriel landed, his six golden wings flaring before vanishing, drawing shocked gasps. Every angel in heaven knew who was standing before Michael even though it had been thousands of years since God's Messenger had last set foot in heaven.
"Gabriel." Michael said softly, causing whispers to break out around him.
"Michael." Gabriel retorted, his gold eyes cold as ice and his voice sharp as a knife.
The First Born wasn't surprised by Gabriel's attitude; if anything he had expected the blonde to attack without greeting him. Michael reached out with his Grace and let it brush over the younger angel only to pull back when Gabriel's own Grace lashed out at him. With a sigh Michael summoned his blade knowing that it was what it would come to.
"Why?"
Michael frowned, confused.
Gabriel let out a wave of power that had the other angels cowering. "I asked you a question you fucking bastard. At least give me the courtesy of a fucking answer dick bag."
"I would give you an answer if I had one." Michael answered honestly.
"Excuses again?"
"I never meant to hurt him like that." The raven haired angel replied. "You have no idea of the guilt my actions have caused me."
"Seems like that tends to happen a lot with you Michael." Gabriel said coldly, his words rigning. "You seem to have this bad habit of abusing the people that matter the most to you!"
There was a murmur that ran through the gathered angels. Feathers rustled together and a wave of anger flowed through the throng. Though he had been gone for a long time, Gabriel still carried the title of their Father's Messenger. When Gabriel let his emotions get the better of him his voice rang and echoed with their Father's power; something that happened when the blonde spoke truthful words. The Fourth Born's words rang clear as a crystal bell over the gathering.
"I admit that I was wrong to hit him." The First Born admitted.
"And what about me? Were you wrong to hit me as well?" Gabriel asked, before whispering something and pulling open his shirt.
Michael's breath caught in his throat and his stomach turned. Across the blonde's chest and stomach were scars. Horrible twisted scars that spoke of a brutal injury that would never fully heal. One of the scars twisted, curling upwards, tracing the archangel's neck, going up to his face and across it, over his left eye, coming to a stop near the blonde's hair. Michael knew he had hurt Gabriel the night the angel had ran but he never realized just how badly he had hurt him. He had permanently maimed his brother when he had attacked him with his Grace. Michael tore his blue eyes away from the sight., shame filling him and making his very being ache with regret.
"LOOK AT ME MICHAEL!"
Michael turned back to stare at his brother, tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry."
Gabriel shook his head. "You think I want your fucking apology? This?" The archangel asked motioning to the scaring. "I forgave you for this a long time ago. In fact I could care less what you do to me. You can beat me until I'm black, blue, and bloody and I wouldn't care and would still forgive you.
"What I can't forgive is what you did to Lucifer! He never tired to hurt you. Not once! Even with Raphael's betrayal he never raised a hand against you! You deserved to be bit and more! If he hadn't bit you would you have stopped otherwise? Or maybe you would have had to added 'rapist' to go along with your title of 'abuser'?"
The angels around them broke out into hushed whispers at the words Gabriel spit out. Michael's blue eyes slid closed. Gabriel's revenge was far worse then he thought it would be. The blonde was destroying him in more ways then one. His crimes were spoken aloud in front of their kin. All of them would know of his sins now.
"I don't know what would have happened but I'm glad it happened the way it did." The First Born said. "It's why I waited for you here. This place holds special meaning to the four of us. I thought it fitting that we would met here."
"I figured as much." Gabriel said. "I also had a feeling that you knew I'd come looking for a fight. Believe me when I say that I will take my pound of flesh from your ass, make no mistake but you will swear on your Grace to fight me. To actually fight me and not play."
Two angels pulled their blades out and move to protect Michael. Gabriel's power made another appearance and threw them both backwards and into the crowd of angels, scattering them a bit. His golden wings appeared once more and the power that rolled off him made even Michael cringe. It felt different then his normal warm and comforting Grace, this felt more malice driven.
Gabriel was far more powerful then Michael could remember him being. Taking a closer look he could see the green swirling his Gabriel's eyes and realized that not only was the Fourth Born wielding his Grace but also his Pagan magic. For him to wield both with no regard to the merging of the two powers, Gabriel was more then serious and the fight would be not only deadly but devastating. It made Michael glad that they weren't on earth where innocent people could get hurt.
"If the rest of you value your wings you'll stay put or I swear to our Father that I will rip them off you and throw you to Earth myself!" Gabriel spat, watching his younger siblings shift nervously before settling and letting out a muttered agreement to his terms. "This fight is between Michael and myself. If you feel the need to step in then I won't be responsible for my actions against you nor the injuries that you will receive."
Gabriel's blades appeared in his hands and Michael readied himself. Having faced Gabriel once before he was now fairly confident that he could easily hold his younger brother back. He had trained the three younger archangels personally. Lucifer, Raphael, and Gabriel all learned from him. It was only after he had made sure they were fully trained that he had let them fight each other. As it was Lucifer was the only one the youngest archangel could never truly beat in a fight.
One of the other angels stepped out on the field with a freshly plucked feather. The angel stood between the two of them and dropped the feather and ran. Blue eyes and gold trimmed with green watched the cream colored feather slowly float to the ground. It hit the ground and gold eyes met blue and they both charged.
Michael swung low, hoping to catch Gabriel in the leg to slow him down but his blow never connected. Michael felt something hard catch him in the stomach and everything seemed to slow down before speeding up again and he was flung backwards tumbling head over heels until he can to a stop face down in the dirt. Pulling himself up from the hole his body made he looked up at Gabriel in shock. What had happened? Had his younger brother really just done that?
"I'm impressed Gabriel." Michael said, standing and wiping the blood from his lip. "You're faster then the last time we fought."
"Last time I was recovering from my rape at the hands of a demon and fighting off his spell of subjugation." Gabriel said. "You were holding back and so was I. I didn't want to kill you then Michael but that was what I was ordered to do. Now? Now I find that killing you seems like a good idea, brother or not. I'm not in a merciful mood."
Michael readied himself again and swallowed hard. He had known that Gabriel was going to challenge him and that he most likely would come out on top but to hear Gabriel say that he was going to kill him sent a shock of pain through him. Gripping his blades tightly Michael decided that even if Gabriel was going to kill him, at least he wasn't going to go down without a fight. He deserved being torn apart by both Gabriel and Lucifer for what he did and he was going to make sure that his younger brother got his revenge and more.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Lucifer stirred and clutched tighter at the warmth that he was clinging to. The warmth that he was holding onto didn't feel like what he remembered. It was warm but not as warm as it should have been. Without meaning to Lucifer let out a groan as he struggled to open his eyes. His whole body felt stiff, much like he had been in a fight and hit with a bad spell. He stretched carefully and a set of warm hands ran down his bare back, feeling carefully before falling away. Now he was confused. That didn't feel like Gabriel's hands.
Lucifer eyes flew open at that thought only to slam shut at the bright light that assaulted him. The warm body moved away from him and there was a sound of some blinds shutting before the room became darker. Risking a second look Lucifer was greeted by the soft smile and bright green eyes of his vessel. He let out another groan and began to push himself into a sitting position, surprised when Sam helped steady him. A quick movement fixed the pillows and Lucifer found himself resting against the head board of the bed.
"Sam?"
"You're safe. It's okay. You took the tea last night for your wing remember?" Sam gently reminded him. "Gabe wanted to make sure you'd sleep through the night so he also cast a spell to help you sleep. You were really tense."
Lucifer frowned and tried to get his thoughts in order. He was at Gabriel's house resting and then Michael had stopped by. They fought and Michael hit him. Michael hurt him and he ran to Gabriel. They must think him a coward for running from Michael.
"You ran to save your life Lucifer. It was your fight or flight instincts kicking in. You were already injured so you came to us where you knew it would be safe." The hunter said watching the confusion flicker over the Devil's face. "You said we might think you were a coward out loud. We don't think you were a coward. If anything I think Gabe was glad that you trusted us enough to come to us when you needed help. That says a lot about how much you trust us."
"Thank you Sam. For helping me." Lucifer said softly.
"You're welcome. I didn't realize you liked to cuddle." The hunter said with a chuckle.
Lucifer flushed, realizing that the warm body he had been cuddling was his vessel and not Garbiel like he had thought. "Please don't tell anyone."
"I won't. Yet somehow I get the feeling that you were the one on the bottom." Sam said watching as the flush completely took over the Devil's face. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."
"Gabriel is...very persuasive. I never saw a need to be the 'top' because he approached me. Angelic law is that the offering party is the dominate partner."
Sam gave Lucifer an odd look. "You never switched places?"
"A couple times but Gabby said he liked the sounds I made too much." Lucifer suddenly turned away from the human. "Sorry. You probably don't want to hear about Gabby and me."
"I don't mind." A pile of clothes was placed next to the Morningstar. "Here. Gabe got these for you. He wanted you dressed and comfortable. Dean is downstairs with Cas and Bobby left to go meet Adam for a hunt. It's just us."
Lucifer nodded and began pulling on the clothes, a pair of faded jeans and a black v-neck sweater. Once dressed he a pair of boots were passed to him as well. The blonde wasn't surprised to find that everything was not only in his size but his style as well. Leave it to Gabriel to remember his likes even after all this time. As soon as he was dressed Sam led him downstairs to the kitchen where he was passed a plateful of something by Dean along with a cup of coffee.
"What is this?" Lucifer asked looking at the mix of green stuff, eggs, what looked like sausage, tomatoes, and cheese.
"Ask Cas. He insisted I make it." Dean said. "It's not half bad. Trust me."
"I do trust you." Lucifer said, missing the look of shock that passed over the eldest Winchester's face as he took his seat and began eating.
Castiel sat across from him and looked him over with careful eyes. "How are you feeling? Any pain in your wing?"
"No. I'm fine Castiel." Lucifer said. "Thank you. Gabriel said you put up the wards to protect us last night."
The dark haired angel nodded. "You are important to Gabriel and that makes you important to us. Even without your apology it is clear that you are a different person from when we last met. I m glad I was able to help you in some way."
Lucifer suddenly tiled his head and gave Castiel a good once over. "I remember you now. You were the fledgling that tried to fly before he was ready and fell. You were the one I caught! I knew I recognized you before."
Castiel looked uncomfortable. "In my defense Gabriel made flying look wonderful and Raphael didn't care about watching us too closely."
Lucifer chuckled and glanced around. "And where is Gabby?"
The room went quiet and Lucifer felt his blood run cold. They didn't need to tell him because he already knew. Gabriel wasn't here. After what had happened last night there was no doubt in his mind that Gabriel had broken the promise he had made. His Baby Brother had returned to heaven. Lucifer pushed the plate away and went to leave but found the he couldn't leave the house. He looked down at Castiel, knowing that the younger angel had been the ones to cast the runes.
"Castiel please. I need to get to Gabriel." Lucifer said. "I don't want them fighting because of me again. It shouldn't happen."
Castiel looked away. "If I could I would do as you asked but Gabriel had me take down the spell this morning only to to seal us in. Neither you nor I can get out until he comes back."
Lucifer nodded and sat back down, feeling quite numb. Gabriel was doing this for him. Had gone back to heaven and was facing down Michael because of what had happened. Without even thinking about it he did the only thing he could do.
Father, if you are listening, I'm not praying for myself. Not this time. As someone who has killed someone they loved very much, please, I'm begging you, don't let either Gabriel or Michael make my mistake. Don't let them kill each other because of me. Amen.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Gabriel stared down at Michael, blood dripping from his blade. The First Born was covered in blood and cuts and his left arm was shattered and hung limply at his side. God's Warrior was on his knees before God's Messenger, his head hung in defeat. The angels that had gathered to watch were in shock. The power that Gabriel displayed was awe inspiring. Gabriel reached down and picked up Michael's fallen blade. Gabriel threw the blade and it embedded in the ground between the angel's spread knees.
"Pick it up Michael." Gabriel spat.
"I...can't..." The First Born panted out, the last blow to his chest must have done more damage then he thought since he was having a hard time breathing.
"I said pick it up!"
"I can't!" Michael snapped, breaking into a harsh round of coughing and sending blood spraying.
Gabriel wiped at the blood that was running into his eyes. "Do you want to die on your knees then Michael? You want me to end your life like the coward you really are?"
"Say what you want Gabriel. You've won. I can't fight you anymore. I don't have the strength." The First Born said. "I guess I die like a coward today."
Gold eyes appraised the kneeling angel. "Looks like you wouldn't be able to stand properly anyway. Your ankle is broken and your lung is collapsed. You're bleeding internally."
Michael let out a chuckle despite the severity of the situation. "Is that what that pinched feeling in my chest is? I thought it was the broken ribs poking something."
"Yeah. They poked a hole in your lung." Gabriel said shaking his head. "Looks like you finally found that sense of humor that Lucifer claimed our Dad forgot to give you."
"I don't know why. I'm dying but...I haven't felt his happy in years." The eldest angel admitted. "I guess that means I'm ready."
"For?"
Michael looked up and into those gold eyes. "I'm ready for it to be over. To die at your hands, Little One, will be both and honor and a privilege. I'm proud of the archangel you've become. Heaven will find it's place once more in Lucifer's hands and earth will find it's place in yours. I can be happy knowing that my little brothers will take care of things."
Gabriel's expression turned cold. "You're ready to die at my hands?"
Michael nodded. "I am. I've made my peace. It doesn't matter if I'm forgiven or not. May I make one request though?"
"You may."
"Be happy. Grant your family life eternal if you want. Have children. Live your life for me nd make sure Lucifer..." Michael's voice cracked and tears flowed down his face. "Make sure Lucifer finds someone who deserves him and loves him and treats him like the angel he is. It's all I ask."
Using his good arm he pulled his archangel blade from the ground and held it, hilt first, out to Gabriel. The Fourth Born took up the blade nd held it tight in his hand. Michael gave him a smile and titled his head back and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath Gabriel steeled himself and put his full strength behind his blow.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Lucifer and Castiel both jumped when they felt the spell come down. They stood, as did Sam and Dean, and the front door opened and closed quietly. There were dragging footsteps and Gabriel appeared in the doorway to the living room. His clothes were ripped and his shirt was hanging open revealing the scars that he had received from Michael, and he was covered in blood and some still healing wounds. His bloodied archangel blade slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor. Gabriel stumbled forward without a word but his exhaustion was clear.
Sam and Lucifer met the blonde halfway and they both wrapped themselves around him and held him close, feeling his body shake. Dean and Castiel were quick to join the embrace. Gabriel somehow managed to grab all of them and something in him broke. A single strangled sob came from him before he collapsed in the loving embrace of his family.
