"Where did you run off to?" Gabriel asked as Castiel appeared next to the bed.

"I was curious, I went to the Winchesters to see how things were progressing. They are with a Magi." Castiel said. "She was telling them about the Angelic Wars, specifically Kemuel's Rebellion."

Castiel watched as a closed look came over Gabriel's face. He felt the Archangel draw his grace tightly into himself.

"Sam believes that talking about unpleasant feelings can make them easier to deal with." Castiel said.

Gabriel let his Trickster mask slide over his features but Castiel now understood that it was a mask. "Cassie! Offering to have a chick flick moment? What would your little Deano say about that?"

"Our father spared Kemuel for you." Castiel said softly. "It's why Father was surprised that you would bend your knee to keep him from telling me that I was the one that released Dagon from Purgatory. It's why rumors in Heaven spoke of your irreverence. It was not necessary for you to spare me knowledge of my mistake, Gabriel."

"It's my mistake Castiel. If I had let Michael kill him, we wouldn't be in this mess now." Gabriel said. "But I couldn't let him go. Michael, Raphael, Lucifer; they all warned me but I wouldn't listen. Kemuel and I were created together, we were as close as Michael and Lucifer. In the end I had to cast him down. And even knowing that he would not give up his rebellion, I couldn't kill him.

Look where it's brought us Castiel, right back to the beginning. That's on me."

"Sam what do you mean he was trying to keep you from making the same mistake? Gabriel vanished after Lucifer was imprisoned. No one knows what happened to him." Delores said. "Only that he is alive.

"The midget skipped out of heaven and went into witness protection." Dean said. "If you know he vanished what is all this about?" Invoking the Archangels?" Dean swept his hand around the room to indicate the pillars.

"Rituals have power of their own. Even without the participation of individuals." Delores said. "But you know where Gabriel is?"

"He's dead. We crossed paths with him a few times and the last time he died." Sam said. "Lucifer killed him."

"Are you sure of that?" Delores asked. "I don't know of any prophecy about Gabriel's death at the hands of Lucifer, but there is a prophecy that Gabriel will signal the start of the Battle of Megiddo. It would be kind of hard for him to do that if he is dead."

"Wait Gabriel signals the start of the Apocalypse?" Dean asked. "I guess you Magi have a lot of information you're sitting on huh?"

Delores looked at the hunters. "Come with me." She led them to another door and opened it. A small room was revealed. Two computers sat on desks and a server hummed in the background.

"My library." She said proudly. "I've been entering information on these servers for 20 years. There's only so much cleaning you can do, so this is my hobby."

Sam looked at Delores. "You're just one surprise after another aren't you."

"Glad I can keep you young men guessing." Delores said sitting in front of one of the computers. Opening a window she typed 'Gabriel" into the query box and gestured at the screen. "Every bit of information we have on the Archangel Gabriel. As you can see he disappeared soon after the crucifixion, Around the time of Lucifer's imprisonment. Then nothing until the The Battle of Megiddo when he sounds his horn to signal the charge against the forces of Lucifer."

"Is it just information on angels in here or do you have information on other supernatural creatures?" Sam asked.

Delores gestured at the chair next to her. "See for yourself. Just type master list in the query box."

Sam opened a window on the computer. He was amazed at the size of the list. Hundreds of supernatural creatures were listed in addition to a section on Cryptids.

Dean let out a whistle. "Man this is a hunter's dream! Physical description, abilities, how to kill them."

Delores typed Hunter into the query box. "Hunters were once allied with the Magi. We gathered information and the hunters destroyed creatures that deserved to be destroyed. Then there came a parting of the ways known as the Inquisition. Some hunters began working for the church and The Magi lost a lot of good people to the superstitions of the day.

Now we may choose to work with a hunter here or there but that's it. I'm one of the few who chose to work with a hunter and ended up marrying him. It how I met Samuel and Deanna."

"Speaking of which, I met Samuel and he didn't trust other hunters." Dean said.

"Randall and Samuel didn't meet as hunters, they met during the Korean war. I suppose dodging bullets together goes a long way toward building trust." Delores said. "And since I trusted Samuel and Deanna, I'm extending that trust to you. You have access to quite a lot of information here hopefully it will help you against Dagon. I will ask for something in return, however.

You say you've come across Gabriel a few times, I'll ask you to fill in the blanks."

Sam went back to the Query Page and typed in 'Loki' then he opened another window and typed in 'Trickster'. "There. The blanks are filled in. Gabriel's personal Witness Protection Program. He passed himself of as the Norse God of Mischief and when Paganism went downhill, he became The Trickster."

"He hid in plain sight, clever." Delores said. "So you boys do a little research and I'll start supper. I hope you like pot roast."

Dagon noticed two things when he pulled up to the house. First there were two cars there that didn't belong. Second, one of the two cars belonged to the Winchesters. That was an unpleasant surprise.

Dagon planned to kill the Winchesters yes, but Dagon planned to set the terms of that meeting and these were not it. The demon weighed his options. He could go in and face them but the dwelling was unfamiliar to him other than it's location. Dagon had no way of knowing what awaited inside.

He could draw the Winchesters out of the house but there was no guarantee that he could subdue them both at once. There was a final option.

Dagon was not the only fallen. His followers had been cast down. Calling them would cause clearly recognizable demon signs. Signs that could draw more hunters to the area. Hunters could be handled.

The risk was that Heaven would recognize the signs. His former siblings would not be so easily handled. Michael would take any opportunity to finish what he had started on the battlefield eons ago.

Dagon felt a bit of nostalgia remembering how close he was with the messenger at one point. From fledglings he and Gabriel had grown together and matured under the guidance of heaven and the watchful eyes of Michael, Lucifer and Raphael.

Then came the day when Father had given them their purpose. Gabriel to be the messenger and Kemuel as he had been known to guard the Leviathan. Father had intended Kemuel to keep them subdued and protect the Earth, instead Kemuel came to know them and then to admire them. When father decreed that they be locked away Kemuel had defended the beasts and been sentenced to death for it. Father was quick to let Kemuel know that Gabriel had begged for his life.

Kemuel sighed, there were fleeting moments when he regretted his choice. Gone before the thought even began to form. A betrayal Gabriel had called it. And then he had cast Kemuel into Purgatory.

Gabriel would recognize that the demon sign was his, Dagon was willing to risk Gabriel finding out. After all Gabriel would listen to him and if Dagon was lucky, be swayed by his words.