I found myself standing in the middle of a roaring interstate.

As cars and trucks rumbled past, they did not acknowledge my presence. They sped by, narrowly missing the spot where I stood. I quickly made my way to the through the traffic to the sidewalk.

I could have been anywhere on Earth, since I hadn't exactly aimed anywhere in particular.
I walked along the side of the highway for quite some time, until I eventually reached what appeared to be a city. The sidewalks were dense with people now, so I turned into a wide grassy area and stopped.

I should call Heaven, and ask the angel who sent me what I was mean to do. Surely she would know. She wouldn't have just sent me down blind, right?

Naomi.

I waited for a response.

Silence.

Naomi, please. I need you to tell me what to do.

Nothing. I tried again.

Uriel. Respond.

He didn't answer.

Uriel? Balthazar?

Brothers, please.

Can no one hear me?

I was answered only by silence. Either my brothers were ignoring me on purpose, or Heaven couldn't hear my cries for help. In effect, I was stranded. I sat down on a bench at the side of the walkway.

I was completely lost. And there would be no help from my brothers. For all I know, they sent me here only to be rid of me.

I must have sat on that park bench for hours, listening to the futile turning of the gears in my mind. Then again, Earth time passed so painfully slowly, it had probably been minutes. In any case, it was pointless. I still had no idea how I was going to sneak into Hell.

As my last drops of patience ran out, I turned my attention away from the problem at hand. I was getting a headache, which shouldn't have been possible considering my lack of a physical head.

My eyes landed on a man across the grassy yard. I didn't recognize the man's form, but there was something incredibly familiar about him. The glint I saw in his mischievous golden-brown eyes. His soul.

He sauntered casually up to a food cart parked on the street. The vendor did not acknowledge him. Strange behavior, for a human. I watched as the man reached across the small cart and fished through a bowl of brightly colored candies.

If the vendor could see him, she would have stopped him, right?

I suddenly noticed that what I was seeing was not his true soul. It seemed human upon first glance, but as I watched I could tell that it was something else. It was muted, carefully concealed from outside observers.

Softly, I probed at the mysterious person. My grace pushed at the shroud covering his true form. Hopefully, he didn't notice.

After a bit of effort, I could see through the disguise. A shadowy, glowing form materialized behind the man. Three pairs of golden wings.

In less than a second I was standing in front of my brother.

"Cassie?" he said. He was interrupted as my fist collided with his jaw.

I didn't have time to remind myself that punching an archangel was an idiotic idea.

"Dammit," I muttered, shaking the pain out of my hand.

Gabriel stood unaffected, his eyes shining with disbelief. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"What am I doing here?" I repeated incredulously. He gently pushed me out of reach as I swung at him uselessly. "I thought you were dead, you son of a bitch!"

"Okay, okay, okay!" my older brother almost laughed. He had the nerve to be laughing right now. After all this time, Gabriel was still a dick.

"Cassie, calm down," the dick continued. "We need to talk. About a lot. This isn't the best place, though."

He snapped his fingers and suddenly the world was spinning. If it was possible for an angel to feel dizzy and nauseous, that is how I felt. Which it wasn't, generally.

Being flown by another angel's grace was by no means a fun sensation. It hadn't happened since I was a fledgling and had learned to fly on my own. In fact, it had probably been Gabriel then, too. We now stood in a small, dim motel room.

I stared at him, eyes wide.

"Are you done attacking me now?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't at the moment. I only stared at him.

Finally I said, "You're not dead?"

"I'm not."

Alive. Gabriel was alive. Gabriel was alive for the past how many millenia? And Heaven hadn't heard from him once. I hadn't heard from my brother once, and here he was.

"Now, if you're not gonna punch me again, it's good to see you, little bro." Gabriel stepped forward and pulled me into a hug. I didn't reciprocate the gesture.

"Your form has changed," I said. "And you're concealing your grace. I could barely see your wings."

"Yeah, well. Witness protection."

"From whom? Who's after you who won't see through that? I did."

"It's not my only form of protection," he replied. "Speaking of which, if we see any pagan gods, my name's Loki and I don't know you."

"You're ridiculous."

"Of course, I'm the trickster. I'm nothing if not ridiculous."

As I contemplated punching him again, he said "So, you never answered my question, little bro. Why are you on Earth? You're on surveillance, aren't you? Shouldn't you be up in Heaven? You know, surveilling?"

I sighed. "I have a mission."

"Man," he said disappointedly. "I was hoping you had finally gotten the sense to leave that place."

"I will never leave our family, Gabriel. Unlike you, I am loyal to Heaven."

"Yeah, I know, I know. So, what's the mission, then?"

I hesitated.

"What, is it a secret?" Gabriel asked with heightened intrigue. "Come on, I'm your big brother! You can tell me!"

Naomi hadn't said it was a secret, technically. And, seeing as how I was utterly lost, telling Gabriel couldn't do much harm, could it?

I sighed. "I'm going to Hell." I said simply.

"Jeez. What did you do this time?"

"For the mission. I have to rescue a damned soul."

The archangel scoffed. "That's crazy! If you think I'm coming with you on this suicide run-"

"I don't," I cut him off. "This is my responsibility, not yours. I'm going alone."

"Screw you. I'm coming."

After millennia, he was still the same.

"But I don't even know what I'm doing," I protested.

"Let me see." Before I could answer he snatched the file from my hand.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Dean Winchester?" he asked, and I could have sworn I heard a note of recognition in his voice.

"Yes. You know him?"

"No, no," Gabriel said unconvincingly. "Just sounds familiar, is all."

How important was this human his name was known by an archangel? And a reclusive one at that.

"So, this is the mission," he said flipping through the pages of the file. He scrutinized it closely, that annoying half-smile never leaving his lips. "Hm, I see," he murmured to himself. Finally, he looked up at me. "I can figure it out."

"You can?"

"Eh," he hummed uncertainly. "I think so. Like, seventy percent sure. I at least know where to start."

Well, that was further than I had gotten. Hesitantly, I agreed.

"Alright," Gabriel said. "Let's go."

As he was about to snap his fingers a thought entered my mind. "Wait," I said.

"What?"

"How did you know I was assigned to surveillance?"

He smiled. "You think because I left I haven't been checking up on my little bro?"

"Yes," I said bitterly. "That's pretty much exactly what I thought."

As I turned to him, I was surprised to see an expression of dismal thoughtfulness cross his face. It was jarring. He opened his mouth and I hoped to my father he wasn't about to apologize. After all of this time, he didn't get to be sorry just yet. I didn't want his apology.

But his help, I had to admit, I probably needed.

"Let's go," I said, cutting him off. He nodded, put a hand on my shoulder, and snapped his fingers, and as the world stopped spinning we were shrouded in darkness.