Chapter 29

Then:

"They're my family, too, even if Dean's a total idiot." Gabriel's lips quirk upwards. "I can't let them get hurt, not if I can do something about it."

"It's suicide," he warns me.

"I've been there before." I smile wryly at the grimace on his face before leaning up to press a kiss to his forehead. "You don't have to look out for me all the time."

"'Course I do." He chucks my chin lightly. "I'm your big brother. Kinda my job."

"Not this time, it isn't." I give him one last squeeze before reluctantly letting go and getting out of the car. "If you're going, I'll see you at home."

"Yeah." His voice is quiet as he stares down at his clasped hands in his lap, frowning. I force myself to shut the door behind me and return to the hotel.

Now:

I manage to reach the ballroom at the same time as Dean just as Sam is saying, "I just need you to squeegee some stuff from my ribs and he'll come running." Wow, that's an awkward entrance to a conversation.

"Breaking them would be easier," Kali says, her face perfectly straight.

"Show's over," Dean says, "Sword's a fake, and Gabriel's still kicking. I hate to break it to you, sister, but you've been tricked."

Kali scowls, but before she can retort, the lights begin flickering.

"What's happening?" Baldur asks, looking up at the ceiling warily. A scream echoes from the hall, cut off by a sickening splat.

"It's him," Sam realizes and I clutch onto his sleeve.

"How?" Kali's voice is deadly.

"Does it matter? Shazam us outta here, would ya?" Dean snaps.

"We can't," Baldur answers grimly.

"Of course you can't." We all spin around to see Lucifer tilting his head in the doorway calmly. "You didn't say mother-may-I." We all take an involuntary step back as he enters the ballroom. "Sam, Dean, good to see you again." He inclines his head towards the Winchesters and then smiles at me. I try not to shudder. "Hello, Ariel."

"Hey, Luce." The nickname comes almost naturally despite my terror and something flashes across his face that, if I didn't know better, I would have classified as nostalgia and regret. I can see that the peeled, blistered parts of his face have grown larger, leaving gaping sores that won't seem to heal, and that his entire body is spattered with blood.

Baldur takes a step forward and Kali cautions, "Baldur, don't."

"You think you own the planet? What gives you the right?" Baldur lunges at Lucifer, but the Devil simply plunges his hand forward, straight through the Pagan god. A half-scream leaves my throat and I press my face into Sam's arm so that I don't have to see the gory sight. He pulls me back as Dean follows him, and we duck behind an overturned table.

"No one gives us the right. We take it," I hear Lucifer say softly. Then a crackling sound takes over the silence and I peek over the table to see Kali's arms on fire. She flings the fire at Lucifer, who doesn't look remotely singed. He tosses her to the floor with a simple flick of his wrist.

"You okay?" Sam asks Dean, who had been closest to the flames. I peer over Sam at him, but he seems to be fine, if a little startled by the sudden fire.

"Not really," Gabriel says before Dean can respond, suddenly appearing at my side. "Better late than never, right?" He grins wearily before pressing a DVD at Dean. "Guard that with your life." He moves to go around the table, but I grab his wrist.

"The hell are you doing?" I demand.

"My job, kiddo." He nudges my chin in an echo of the same gesture he had done less than ten minutes ago.

"I told you, not this time, you don't have to-" I'm cut off when he wraps his arms around me, pulling me against his chest in a fierce embrace. I melt into the warm hug, pressing my face into the material of his jacket. "Gabe?" I mumble against his shoulder and he presses a kiss to my head silently, letting his lips linger there for a long moment. It all feels far too final, and I reach for his sleeve when he pulls away, desperate to keep him there with me. Wordlessly, he strokes my hair back from my face before disappearing. My fingers close on empty air.

"Lucy, I'm home!" Gabriel's voice sounds from the other side of the table and my heart stops. He's facing Lucifer. He's distracting Lucifer to get us out. "Not this time. Guys!" Sam and Dean scramble up on his call. "Get the girls outta here." Sam takes my hand, helping me to my feet while Dean gets Kali, and they lead us to the door. I throw a glance back over Sam's arm at Gabriel, but his expression is carefully blank as he stares Lucifer down.

Finally, his eyes flick briefly to me and I scowl at him, a silent message that he had better be right behind us. His mouth quirks briefly in one direction before he returns his attention to the fallen archangel in front of him. I swallow and let Sam lead me away.

"I'm not getting in that thing," Kali protests as we reach the Impala.

"Get in the car, princess," Dean snaps and I'm kind of glad he's being snarky at someone other than me today. I can't help but peer out the window as we drive away from the Elysian Fields, anxiety gnawing at my stomach. I keep expecting Gabriel to pop up at any second between me and Kali, probably making some comment about how awesome he is, but he doesn't show even after the hotel is out of sight.

Five full minutes later, there's still no sign of Gabriel, and I cave in to my worry.

"Is...do you think he's okay?" The drive had been silent thus far, and the Winchesters start at the sound of my voice. Sam looks over his shoulder at me, his expression pinched.

"He's always okay," he says, trying to sound reassuring for my sake, but I can hear the concern behind his voice. "How many times have we staked him before and he's turned out fine?"

That really doesn't make me feel better when I realize Sam and Dean could have killed him before without ever knowing who he truly was.

Kali huffs and mutters, "Leave me here."

Dean casts her an uneasy look in the rearview mirror as he pulls over to the side of the road. "Gabriel said-"

"I know what he said, and I say leave me here. I'm returning to India." Kali gets out as soon as the car comes to a stop and promptly vanishes, leaving behind only a faint scent of roses and smoke.

"Jeez." Dean relaxes for the first time since we left the hotel. "Talk about a stick up her ass." He glances at me when I don't offer a response and finds me staring out the back window in the direction we'd just come from. "Air, he'll be okay."

"Then why isn't he here yet?" I continue to stare at the horizon when a white light flashes across it.

"Holy crap," Sam breathes, shifting upwards, "Dean, did you see that?"

"Yeah, what the hell?" Dean moves to watch, too, and that's when I double over as my head seems to split open in blinding agony.

"Ariel!" I can faintly hear the car door slamming shut behind Sam and then the door beside me open as he crawls into the backseat with me. "Dean, she's bleeding, grab some napkins or something!"

I have no idea what he's talking about; I can't feel anything outside of the pain in my head.

"Air, come on, focus, talk to me!" Sam's dabbing at my nose gently and I wonder why my nose is bleeding. "What's happening?"

"My head," I manage to gasp out.

"Your head hurts?" I nod jerkily, but that just sends another searing jolt through my head and I crumple against Sam, my hands fisting in the material of his jacket as black spots flicker across my vision.

It's kind of like Gabriel's jacket, I note vaguely as mercifully, blackness takes over and I allow my muscles to go limp.

Warm light and kind eyes, the color of which can't be described by any earthly term. Golden wings similar to her own silver ones stretching out on either side of the fledgling beside her - her twin, her companion in life.

"You shall be Gabriel, the Messenger." Her brother bows his tiny head, accepting his name. Large hands, calloused and weathered, reach down to pick her up. "And you, little one? What shall I call you?" Fingers tickle her sides and she squeals, squirming in her Father's embrace. Gabriel laughs, too, pleased simply by his sister's joy. "How about Ariel?"

And just like that, she simply is.

"Come on, Raph, it was just a little bit of fun."

"You broke your wing."

"Spoilsport."

"Ariel, what would you recommend as a healing balm?"

"Arnica, comfrey, and turmeric."

"You're letting the novice treat me?"

"Be patient with her, Gabriel."

"Yes, Gabriel, be patient with me."

"Brat."

"This is Castiel." A fledgling with tiny black wings is placed in Ariel's arms. "He is entrusted to you, sister." Michael strokes the young angel's dark hair tenderly before moving away again. It's all pure business to him - distribute each fledgling according to Father's wishes and return to his paperwork and justice-delivering. Ariel isn't like that. She cares for all of her fledglings equally, and tries to show affection for them as often as she can.

"Hello, little one," she whispers, as if afraid any louder noise would harm the fragile creature in her arms, and brings a wing around them, letting the feathers trail across his soft cheek as she touches one of his wings with the tip of her finger. The black feathers are silky to the touch, still mostly down - it would be a long time until this fledgling would be ready to fly.

Suddenly, Castiel's eyes blink open, clear and blue and absolutely breathtaking. He giggles and grabs for Ariel's wing with tiny fingers, and her heart swells with love.

"Come on, Ariel!" Castiel runs ahead as fast as his short legs can carry him down the forest path, his small black wings fluttering excitedly.

"All right, all right, I'm coming." Ariel scoops him up when she catches up to him, cradling the fledgling close as one of her wings wraps around them both. Castiel giggles and bats at the feathers. "I swear, Samandriel and Inias aren't nearly this much trouble," she teases, referring to the other two fledglings currently in her care. They're old enough to be placed into training sessions with Anael, though, so Ariel takes it upon herself to keep Castiel entertained until he is old enough to join them.

Castiel pauses worriedly, his tiny fingers clutching at the tip of her wing as his lip quivers. "Am I trouble?"

"Samandriel and Inias aren't nearly this sensitive, either," Ariel comments wryly as she leans down to press a kiss to his forehead. "Trouble you may be, but I love you all the same." Castiel flushes and his wings quiver with happiness. With a soft chuckle, Ariel squeezes the fledgling for a moment before setting him down when they reach their stream. Castiel runs along the pebbled bank, splashing in the shallow water, and Ariel wonders how he would react to the ocean, with its powerful waves and stormy tides and little gray fish that would soon learn to walk.

He would probably love it. Castiel's odd like that.

Castiel nearly steps on a fish. Lucifer nearly doesn't stop him. Ariel nearly has her first heart attack.

"Lucifer, please! Just apologize, Father will understand! He'll forgive you!"

"No one can make me love the humans, Ariel. Not Father, not Michael, and certainly not you."

"NO!"

"Ariel, don't look!" A bright light streaks down towards Earth, and a chasm in the ground swallows it up.

"LUCIFER!"

"Ariel, it's too late." Gabriel's voice cracks. She buries her face into his chest and sobs brokenly.

"He's our brother, Michael! I wouldn't set him free, just talk to him!"

"Father decreed that he be cast down for a reason, Ariel."

"Well, maybe Father was wrong!" Time seems to stop.

"You don't mean that."

"And if I do?" Ariel's hazel eyes narrow. "What good has following Father's orders ever done for us? He left us!"

"Hold your tongue, sister." Michael's tone is warning. "You are close to blasphemy."

"Oh, I'm so fucking sorry."

"You are out of line! Leave at once!"

"With pleasure." The door slams on her way out.

"Ariel."

She freezes in her tracks. "Raphael."

"You're going to find Lucifer."

"...yes." She turns to face him, her eyes wide and pleading. "He's our brother, Raph, and he's all alone down there. If...if I could just speak to him-"

"That is forbidden."

"I don't care." She lifts her chin defiantly.

"If you disobey, I will tell Michael and he will cast you down, just as he did Lucifer. And after Gabriel disappeared...we can't lose you, too." Raphael's tone softens. "Please, sister. Think about what you're doing."

"I am." She lets her eyes meet his. "But I have to see our brother."

"Ariel, please-"

"I'm sorry, Raphael. But I want our family to be whole again."

"You're leaving."

"Cas-"

"You are!" The tiny fledgling looks wounded. "You're leaving, just as Lucifer and Gabriel did!" Tears well up in his blue eyes.

"Castiel, no, please don't cry." Ariel kneels down in front of the young angel, placing her hands on his cheeks gently. "I'm sorry, but I have to do something very important. Something Michael won't like. And it's likely you won't see me again. But you have to be brave, little one."

Castiel sniffles, rubbing at his button-like nose. "I can't. I'm too scared."

"Well, it's not bravery if you're not a little afraid." Ariel can't help but smile sadly and Castiel throws himself into her arms, wrapping his small arms around her neck.

"Please don't go, sister," he cries into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." She kisses the top of his head. "I love you so much, baby."

He sniffs. "I know." Finally, he lets go, his eyes still damp with tears, and shyly admits, "I-I love you, too."

"I know," she teases lightly, poking his stomach. He smiles tremulously and she smooths back his messy dark hair to press one last kiss to his forehead. "Goodbye, Castiel."

"Goodbye," he repeats shakily, doing his best to keep his emotions in check. Her heart swells with both pride and sorrow for her youngest fledgling as she gets to her feet and spreads her wings to leave Heaven behind.

"Ariel."

"Hello, Gabriel. Or do you prefer 'Loki' now?" Ariel gets up, allowing the bowl of herbs used in the summoning spell to smolder into ash at her feet.

Gabriel crosses his arms, his eyes narrowed. "How did you find me?"

She smiles wryly. "I never lost you."

His expression softens slightly. "Yeah, I thought as much." He studies her critically. "You're human."

She nods shakily, the last of her composure fading. "I tried to speak with Lucifer, but before I could, Michael took my Grace and-" Her voice catches. "He ordered my execution. Raphael is on his way now."

"And what makes you think I can do anything?" Gabriel's calm tone sounds forced.

"You're still my brother, no matter what Norse trickery may state otherwise. You're the only one I trust enough for this."

He runs a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. "You can't just expect me to drop the life I've made for myself and-"

"You think I'd ask that of you?" Ariel's lips quirk despite the hurt in her eyes. "What kind of sister do you take me for? No, just...just end it before Raphael gets here." She holds out her archangel's blade, handle-first.

Gabriel stares at the blade before pushing it down. "Don't be stupid."

"It's this or Raphael. You'd be granting me mercy." She pushes the blade forward insistently. "Please, Gabriel." He takes the blade before throwing it aside and, in the same movement, pulling Ariel into a fierce embrace.

"You can't ask me for that," he murmurs into her hair, his voice thick with emotion. She shudders against him, finally allowing herself to break down and cry into his shoulder. He presses a kiss to the top of her head before pulling back. "You're not going to die today, Ariel, I can promise that."

"But I can't run from Raphael forever," she tells him weakly.

"You clearly haven't tried dimension-hopping."

Her eyes widen. "Father said that was forbidden!"

Gabriel raises his eyebrows at her. "You essentially flipped Michael the bird and now you're getting cold feet about breaking the rules?" She flushes, embarrassed. "You can start over there, have a human life. I can wipe your memories and make a fake-you for Raphael to smite here. You'll be safe."

Ariel nods, tears brimming in her eyes again. "Thank you. Thank you." She clasps his hand in both of hers gratefully.

"Close your eyes." She does so as Gabriel presses two fingers to her forehead. She crumples like a rag doll, unconscious, and he catches her, pressing a kiss to her hair as tears stream down his cheeks. "Goodbye, Ariel," he murmurs as the limp body vanishes from his arms.

I jolt upright and immediately, warm hands are resting on my shoulders. The room is dark and I can't make out whose face it is.

"Air?" That's Sam's voice. I grip his hand weakly.

"I'm okay," I rasp and the edge of a glass is pressed to my lips. I gulp down the water inside.

"What happened?"

"I think I remembered." My head is killing me, crammed to the largest capacity with all the memories it can hold.

"Remembered what? Being an archangel?"

"Everything." I shake my head, but it just makes my headache worse. "Is Gabriel okay?" Sam falters, his hands retracting slightly from my shoulders, and my heart stops. "He...he made it out, didn't he?"

Sam swallows and my frozen heart now sinks in dread. "I'm sorry, Ariel."

A newly-recalled memory - Gabriel clutching me tightly as I sob into his shoulder, terrified about my impending death - flashes across my mind's eye. My eyes burn sharply at the corners as an odd rushing sound starts to fill my ears, drowning out all other noise. "No. No, no, no, he's not, he can't be-"

"I'm sorry." Sam draws me against his chest and I press my face into his shirt as the tears start to fall. "I'm so sorry." I don't want to hear it; all the apologies in the world won't change anything now. My brother is dead.

I make my way inside the old church, glad that I had convinced Sam and Dean not to come with me. I feel like this is something I have to do alone. I look around and see no one - unsurprising, since the church is technically abandoned. The stained glass windows are either broken or dirty, and the entire place is covered in dust. Still, a church is a church, and it only amplifies my chances of being heard by the person I want to reach.

I kneel down in one of the pews, not caring if my clothes get dusty, and bow my head, folding my hands together. I had never been particularly religious in the other universe, so this is a new experience for me.

"Um...our Father, who art not at home currently, hallowed be Thy name and all that mess of jargon," I murmur awkwardly and my voice, quiet as it is, echoes around the church. "I know it's been a long time since I last spoke to You. And I'm sorry, but I've screwed up a lot between then and now. But if You're out there...if You're listening at all..." I pause, swallowing back the lump in my throat. "He was protecting me, Father. He didn't deserve to die. You brought Castiel back before. I know You have the power to bring Gabriel back, too." My eyes sting and I feel the tears trickle down my cheeks. "I won't ask anything else of You if You grant me this. Please."

No answer comes, not that I expect one.

"Is this my punishment?" I ask weakly, looking up at one of the few intact stained glass windows above my head. It's a depiction of the archangel Gabriel visiting the Virgin Mary, and I can't bear to look at it anymore. I scramble to my feet and leave the church to find Sam and Dean.

"I don't see why we have to watch something called Casa Erotica 13," I point out as Dean inserts the DVD into Sam's laptop. Even Sam looks a little disturbed at the thought of his beloved laptop being desecrated like this. We're on the side of a highway just outside Muncie, Indiana, the laptop perched on top of the Impala.

"Gabriel told me to guard this with my life," Dean reminds me, "We'd better find out why." He presses the "play" option and Windows Media Player starts up.

"Dear diary, being a high-powered business president is super-fun, but sooo exhausting. Sometimes, I just need to relax. I need Casa Erotica," a sultry blonde reads aloud as she writes in a pink book.

"Kill me now," I groan, trying not to watch the screen. Suddenly, the hotel room's door bursts open and my jaw drops as Gabriel saunters in, silver tray in hand and fake mustache firmly in place. "What the actual fuck?" Sam and Dean look just as bewildered.

"I've got the kielbasa you ordered."

"Ooh, Polish?"

"Hungarian." I try not to gag as Gabriel starts making out with the woman shamelessly.

"The hell's going on?" Dean demands.

Gabriel suddenly breaks the kiss and turns to the camera. "Boys, Ariel. You're probably wondering what the hell is going on." Our eyebrows collectively shoot up. "Well, if you're watching this...I'm dead." He doesn't look bothered by it, but my throat still tightens with emotion. "Oh, please, stop sobbing! It's embarrassing for all of us!"

I can't help a weak laugh and Sam's hand rests on my shoulder gently.

"Unfortunately, with me gone, you have zero chance of killing Lucifer. Sorry." Gabriel shrugs. "But you can trap him. That cage you sprang him from? It's still down there. And maybe, just maybe, you can shove his ass back in. And here's the thing Lucifer himself doesn't know: the key? It's out there. Well...I say key, I mean keys. Plural. Four keys. And they're not really keys so much as rings...the rings of the Horsemen."

My heart stops and I can see Sam and Dean exchanging looks.

"Find the keys, stick 'em together, and you can trick Lucifer back into his time-out corner. Oh, and avoid the God-squad along the way. Can't say I'm bettin' on you boys, but hey, I've been wrong before. Another thing. Ariel, you might've noticed you've got your memories back." Gabriel's eyes seem to meet mine through the screen. "Well, I kinda had something to do with that. See, when I died, I made sure that anything I did to you got erased. So your whole life back in that other world's gone poof by now and your memories are fully intact. And, uh...check your pocket."

He winks and something small drops into my pocket. I reach into my pocket and my fingers brush against something warm and sharp, so I pull it out. It's a small glowing crystal on a piece of black cord, and I can feel it practically pulsing because of its proximity to me.

"Oh my God," Sam breathes, "Is that...?"

"Yeah, that's your Grace," Gabriel confirms from the DVD, "What did you think Michael and I were doing in Heaven, discussing knitting patterns? Nah, I kept him distracted while I grabbed your Grace. Figured now was as good a time as any to give it back to you." I look up from the crystal in my palm just in time to receive a smile from him. "Love you, sweetheart."

My grasp on the crystal tightens as I swallow back a sob and Sam's hand tightens on my shoulder.

"And Dean, you were right. I was too scared to stand up to my family, but not anymore. So this is me standing up." Gabriel grins. "And this is me lying down." He turns and begins making out with the neglected woman from the porn movie again, and realizing where this is going, Sam shuts off the DVD quickly, grimacing. I'm relieved; there are some things about my brother I never want to see.

"That's your Grace," Dean repeats, staring at the glowing crystal.

"I guess." My voice is hoarse and I tighten my grip on the black cord holding the crystal in place.

"So what're you waiting for? Angel up."

"Dean." Sam holds up a hand to stop him before kneeling down in front of me. Damn it, he's still almost at eye-level with me. "Air, you don't have to do this. You know that, right?"

"Wait, what?" Sam glowers at Dean, who looks incredulous.

"No, I know I have to," I say quietly, "I just...can I have a little time to think it over?"

"Yes," Sam answers before Dean gets a chance to.

"Dude," Dean protests, but Sam glares at him until he grudgingly nods. "Yeah, yeah. Take your time."

"Thanks." I slip the cord around my neck and the crystal rests at the hollow of my throat. It's warm and comforting, as if it's meant to be in contact with me, and we quietly pack up the laptop and get back into the Impala.

Neither Winchester says a word to me, so I lean against the window of the car and close my eyes. All I can see is Gabriel's face, and tears trickle down from beneath my closed eyelids.

Okay, I guess I should make this announcement because a lot of people have asked me about it.

Sam/Ariel is NOT going to happen. I made it clear that Adam/Ariel was the ship of this story (and romance isn't even the point of this story, for that matter), and I made it very clear that Sam sees Ariel as a little sister. He's ten years older than her, guys. Really?

With that said...-dodges rotten fruit for killing Gabriel-

Leave reviews!