Holy shit. Holy shit this hit over a thousand reviews.
Have I ever mentioned that you guys are awesome?
I knoowwwwww I took a while to get this chapter up and I'm super sorry! I was on a roll with my NaNoWriMo project and by the time I finished that November was almost over, and then this chapter just did not want to be written. It might sound a little awkward in the beginning but I think it turned out alright.
Also I started watching Agents of Shield, which despite the implied [probably future and excessive and unnecessary] romantic subplots seems good so far, but I've only seen like four episodes so I'll hold off on lasting judgement.
ALSO, for reference: there is a piece of music that goes really well with this one scene. Search '13. the crystal chamber' on youtube and pick the first option if you're interested in having background music. Wait until they both leave the room with the other angels before playing it or it won't be timed right. That is all.
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Harry Potter
Michael, to nir credit, didn't jump when Gabriel entered the room, even with the commotion the latter made with his landing.
"Back already?" Ne didn't turn around.
"I know you heard Hadriel." Gabriel cut right to the chase.
Michael frowned, and ne stood up and faced Gabriel, chair scraping against the floor. "No, I didn't. I don't usually make a habit of eavesdropping. Why?"
Gabriel ignored the perceived jab. "They've managed to take most of the enchantments off the gate - about all that's left is whatever is keeping them together, and they can't undo that one."
That made Michael stand even straighter, nir expression one of sudden understanding. "Then you came here-"
"Because you said you'd help." Gabriel kept his voice flat. "I'll assume you remember the way to the right Earth?"
Michael nodded absently - of course, ne would have immediately noticed that this was an alternate one. Nir hand flexed and Gabriel eyed it warily - ne was letting it hang a little too close to nir sword for his comfort.
"Let's go, then," Michael decided, moving over to Gabriel. "I can fly us-"
"I'll fly on my own, thank you," Gabriel retorted, not letting his sibling finish. "I've done it before."
"Yeah, and your wings are even worse than before." Michael's mouth was a flat line.
"My business, Michael, not yours." Gabriel took off before Michael could try and persuade him some more, and his wings did protest it, but he landed safely - if not very well - on the playground Hannah had taken him to before. A flutter of wings that were a bit less ragged than his own proved that Michael had followed him.
"A playground?" Michael asked, as surprised as Gabriel had been, and then ne noticed the angel who had just leaped to their feet.
"Michael!" Gamaliel was even more astonished than they had been to see Gabriel, having dropped whatever it was they were working on. Anyone who might have been watching would have been surprised that a seemingly old woman could move so fast.
"It's alright." Michael raised nir hands quickly, the same gesture Gabriel had made. "You don't have to stand, Gamaliel."
Personally, Gabriel thought that the movement was less out of respect and more out of the fact that it afforded better defense than if Gamaliel had stayed sitting.
"But-" Gamaliel's astonished eyes went to Gabriel, who had stepped out of the small furrow his landing had made in the grass. "We thought-"
"I know." Michael's tone was almost apologetic, but firm as ne stepped into the sandbox carefully. "First things first, though."
"Of course." Gamaliel quickly picked up their work again - Gabriel guessed that within it, the key to whatever mechanism made the spell work was hidden.
Gabriel stepped over the edge of the sandbox as well, careful not to smudge the lines - the circle was as fresh as the last time he'd been here.
"It may be a bit unpleasant," Gamaliel warned Michael.
"I can deal with it."
"Don't be so sure," Gabriel muttered.
The smoky ritual was indeed just as uncomfortable and disorienting as it had been the first time. Gabriel stepped out before it fully finished, nearly loosing his footing before his foot found the floor and he stepped out into the same room full of angels, although this time it looked a good deal more crowded, and they were all looking expectantly at the sudden fog.
Hannah looked up from where she was standing nearby, next to a desk manned by an angel Gabriel didn't recognize. "Oh, good - you did get Hadriel's message. They said you replied, but I wasn't-"
Then the smoke vanished and Michael walked forward, and the words died on her lips.
Gabriel was suddenly aware that virtually everyone had stopped talking at once, silence descending on the room. Michael had to have noticed it too, but ne only smiled slightly and didn't comment on it.
"Michael?" Hannah looked astonished, but her body language spoke a different story - her limbs were stiff, and her left arm was perilously close to her blade. Several of the other angels in the room seemed to agree with her, but the rest of them were either those who gaped wordlessly or those who had dropped whatever they were holding in surprise.
Hadriel belonged to the latter group. "How...how did you..." Their eyes moved to Gabriel, and in surprise, he noticed that most of the room was looking at him for an answer.
Huh.
"We'll talk later," He promised. "Don't we have some gates to open?"
That startled at least some of them into motion.
"Of course," Verchiel said quickly. "I'm sure Hadriel told you we managed to get most of the enchantments off of them - it took longer than expected."
"That's fine." Gabriel reassured her. "So all that's left is whatever is keeping it shut?"
Hadriel nodded. "I...I don't quite know what the last one is. I didn't recognize the sigils, or what power Metatron used."
"Well, he did have the tablet," Gabriel muttered, more to himself. "Who knows what kind of knowledge was in there."
"God knows," Hannah amended for him.
"Sure, but I don't see Him volunteering to help." Gabriel knew the comment had made his siblings uncomfortable, so he switched the topic. "Anyway. Just the one enchantment?"
"Yes," Hadriel nodded. "Will you be able to...?"
"I don't know. That's why I brought backup." Gabriel jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Michael, who had remained strangely quiet this whole time, as he started walking towards the doorway. "We'll see what we can do."
Before the quietness of Heaven had unnerved him, but now Gabriel was grateful for the lack of questions and the chaos that undoubtedly Michael's return would bring. Already he could hear the whispering in the back of his mind that meant the news was already being spread, but he didn't concentrate on it - what use was news he already knew?
"You said we." The footsteps on the floor and told Gabriel that Michael had walked out after him, but the quiet voice still made him jump slightly.
"Don't get used to it." Gabriel kept striding along, and next to him Michael was looking around.
"It seems emptier than usual." Why did Michael have to pick now of all times to try and make small talk?
"Just because there aren't as many angels around anymore."
Surprisingly, Michael laughed quietly in response. "I've been gone too long."
"...You couldn't really help it." Gabriel had no idea why he was reassuring his sibling, and closed his mouth tightly once those words escaped. They continued to walk in silence.
The gates were tall as ever, and Michael craned nir neck up as the pair approached. "I almost didn't see where they ended and the wall began. How long's it been since they were last closed?"
Gabriel shrugged, casting his gaze over the wall. It didn't look any different, but he didn't think Hadriel would have lied. Cautiously, he put one hand on it.
The gate wasn't cold, but it wasn't really warm either, and most importantly it didn't burn Gabriel this time. The colors continued shifting under his hand, moving so quickly that it was impossible to tell where one began and the other ended, or even what color the gate was.
"What sigils was Hadriel talking about?" Michael was frowning slightly.
"I didn't see any last time until I burned myself, but..." Gabriel reached with his Grace this time, and jumped back as whatever power was keeping the gates shut struck back at him and sent a spike of pain through his wings. "Fucking-"
It had done the trick, though, and the sigils wavered over the gate for the briefest second, rippling like water and almost as transparent. Michael had jumped too at Gabriel's shout, and nir attention looked to be only partially on the already-fading symbols.
"Why do you keep doing that to yourself?" Michael asked in frustration.
"I don't see you helping." Gabriel shook out his hand, but the brief spike of pain was only temporary. "I don't think that spell is just going to let itself be undone."
Michael's gaze was contemplative as it switched to the gate. "Not even with the both of us?"
Gabriel shook his head. "I only touched it for a moment."
"What do you suggest, then?" Nir voice wasn't accusing, just an honest question.
Gabriel considered Michael's question, staring up at the gates again. "These gates open outwards, don't they?"
It took Michael a minute to get what he was implying. "You're not serious."
"Why not? Unless you've got another idea." Gabriel smirked. "There are two of us, after all."
"Yeah, two of us. Gabriel, these are..." Michael shook nir head. "What if it doesn't work?"
"What if it does?" Gabriel shot back.
Michael still seemed doubtful, but ne approached the gates anyway.
"Do you remember how this went the first time?" Ne asked, one hand resting on the left gate.
"No idea." Gabriel stretched out his hands in front of him, and then threw his weight and Grace at the right gate at the exact moment that Michael did the same to the left.
They shuddered under the combined assault. Colors twisted wildly under the sigils. Transparent blue runes flickered in and out of sight as both archangels strained against the gates, pushing all their strength and power against it.
Wincing, Gabriel felt the spell batter back at them, but divided between two of them it wasn't enough to make them stop, but it did take a bit out of his Grace. His hands were glowing with the amount of power he was using in one go, and one rune directly under it was practically vibrating. He could feel echoes of the movement, and with an echo of noise it shattered.
Several of them did, at the same time. With a groan and the sound of the gates sliding against the floor they opened the barest inch, sliding outwards a miniscule distance. Blue energy danced around the tiny crack, but Gabriel was grinning as he pushed. One more set of sigils snapped and vanished, the sound audible and echoing.
There was still some sort of power forming ropes in the gap that had formed between the doors. It was writhing like any live energy would, and slowly but inexorably the gates were refusing to be opened any further. One more centimeter was gained, and then in a heart-stopping moment both Gabriel and Michael slid backwards as the door closed a tiny bit, almost ruining what they'd managed to do.
Gabriel knew what they needed.
A wordless call, one that echoed through all of the time and space Heaven occupied, and it originated from Gabriel - we need your help.
Things seemed to freeze for a moment, as the last strains of the message faded through empty halls.
Then there was a flutter of wings, so many that the noise echoed through the hall like thunder, and suddenly angels were crowding around Gabriel, pushing at the gate and so many arms and hands that if you had asked Gabriel how many had answered he wouldn't have had an answer.
The blue energy crackled even more fiercely under the renewed onslaught, the gates straining against them, the sigils were quavering like water in an earthquake and fragmenting even more now that so many were working against them every angel that could reach the gates working together for one moment, and then with a sudden jerk the energy binding the gates snapped.
The double doors fell out from under Gabriel's hands and all of them staggered, but Gabriel's attention was not on his siblings but on the bluish energy that was still gathered into a cloud, because he'd suddenly realized exactly what Metatron had done with Castiel's Grace.
Metatron had obviously thought that the Grace of the stubbornest angel in Heaven would have been the perfect solution to keeping the gates shut, but even little Castiel would never have been able to stand up to that many angels at once.
His Grace was sluggish after so much of it being expended on the gates, but Gabriel managed to make a small vial. Castiel's Grace drew into it reluctantly, as if it were wary of being confined again, but soon Gabriel held a little vial of Grace.
Gabriel slipped it into the pocket of his jacket, and at that point noticed that Michael was standing in front of him.
"I guess you were right after all," Michael said. "Even though it took more than just us."
"Of course I was right." Gabriel smoothed a hand over the pocket absentmindedly.
A smile tugged at Michael's mouth. "So what now?" Ne asked. "We just ignore each other until September?" Ne was smart enough not to mention Hogwarts around the other angels.
Gabriel could sense curious eyes on the two of them, and he walked backwards as he spoke, towards the now-open gates. "Well, I don't know about you, but I've got something to deliver to Castiel."
With a cocky grin, Gabriel stepped over the edge of the entrance and let himself fall.
Not properly Fall, of course, but just the simple action that happens when gravity takes over and there's nothing under you.
His wings unfolded on instinct and it was amazing when the flight went so much smoother than Gabriel had gotten used to. Galaxies and planets and all sorts of stars went streaming by as Gabriel swooped down from Heaven, time and space moving as fluidly around him as water as the Winchester's Earth rapidly entered his view, oceans and clouds and continents turning quickly as the planet moved through space.
But not as quickly as Gabriel moved.
Both of the Winchesters jumped to their feet when Gabriel landed in one of the many rooms of their Bunker - Castiel, who was sitting at the end of the long table, simply cocked his head.
"What are you doing here?" Dean demanded.
"Rude." The effects of using so much Grace in one go were beginning to catch up with Gabriel, so he slid a chair out and flopped into it. "And here I was going to do something nice for you guys."
"Sorry?" Even though Sam claimed to trust Gabriel, he still looked skeptical. "Doing something nice for us? What?"
Gabriel thumped the jar down on the table.
He slumped further in his seat - damn, he hadn't realized how much energy reopening the gates had taken - as every eye went to the jar and the glowing substance it held. Castiel had stiffened, staring at it in incredulity.
"Is that-" Sam began.
"Castiel's? Why yes. How'd you guess?" Gabriel finished for Sam, noticing that Castiel had switched to looking at him in surprise.
"How?" He asked, almost breathless, eyes refocusing on the jar.
"Well, I found what Metatron used it for. Getting this was sort of an unexpected side effect." Gabriel waved one hand airily.
"Side effect of what?" Dean asked brusquely.
"You know, a 'thank you' wouldn't go wrong," Gabriel said dryly instead of answering. "I mean it's not like I just brought Castiel's Grace back or anything."
"Yeah, I get it, you're doing all this crap for us."
"Dean-" Castiel began.
"Shut up." Dean leaned forward. "What the hell do you want? Don't think I've fucking forgotten the last time you showed up-"
"Funny, I thought I kind of saved your asses that time." Gabriel let his head rest against one arm, watching Dean with narrowed eyes.
"Yeah, and what about everything else?" Dean demanded. "You think just one thing is gonna make me change my mind-"
"I just got back from prying open the fucking gates of Heaven and getting his Grace back for him so I do not have the best temper right now, Dean, so shut up before I decide to toss your ungrateful ass back in the fire," Gabriel interrupted, voice flat.
Dean stopped, looking taken aback. He glanced at Sam, who was staring at Gabriel. "You what?"
"Opened Heaven again, and you're welcome, again." Gabriel gave Sam a flat look. "Do you have hearing problems or something?"
Castiel interrupted as he reached for the jar hesitantly, but paused before actually taking it. "You found this when you opened Heaven?"
"Metatron used it to chain the gates shut." Gabriel shrugged. "Guess he thought it would stand up to anyone who tried to undo the spell, but he didn't count on me. Go on, it's yours. Take it."
Castiel stayed where he was for a moment, debating internally if his expression was anything to go by, and then pulled the lid off the jar.
Sam and Dean pushed themselves away from the table at the same time as the white energy practically hurled itself at Castiel, attracted like iron to a magnet and Castiel's chair was pushed back slightly by the force with which it rejoined with him, and Gabriel watched it settle and calm with a half-smile.
Castiel took a deep breath as the glow faded, and his eyes had fallen shut. He already looked much better than he had when Gabriel had arrived.
"Thank you." His voice was quiet, but Gabriel could sense the underlying happiness - plus, Castiel's wings were stretching luxuriously and practically filling the bunker.
"No problem." Gabriel pillowed his head on his arms, because who could be bothered to sit up straight? Not him.
"Are you okay?" Gabriel couldn't see Sam from this position, but the hunter actually sounded a little bit worried. How flattering.
"Nah. I just used up a lot of energy." Gabriel raised one hand as far as it would go and waved it dismissively. "Gotta recharge for a bit."
"You...opened Heaven." The magnitude seemed to be sinking in for the three of them. "On your own?" Dean asked, clearly disbelieving.
"I never said on my own, if you bothered to listen," Gabriel muttered to the table, but they overheard anyway.
"Is this about Michael?" Sam asked.
"Is this about what?"
"What?" Both Dean and Castiel spoke at the same time, voices fading slightly and indicating that they'd turned towards Sam.
"Michael?" Castiel's gravelly voice was just as incredulous as Dean's had been moments before.
Sam sounded hurried. "I mean, I just - Gabriel was saying before-"
Gabriel groaned. "Don't you pin this on me. I'm too tired to deal with this shit right now."
"Pin this on you?" Dean's tone had become accusatory. "What the hell does he - what d'you mean, 'about Michael'?" His attention switched to Sam.
"Dean, it's nothing, Gabriel just-"
"Gabriel just what? When were you having this little chat?"
"I summoned him to ask for his help! You were a demon, Dean!"
"Oh, I was a demon! I didn't notice!"
"If no one shuts up in the next twenty seconds," Gabriel said, "I'm putting you both back in Broward County."
That shut them up, but the silence that followed was a little too accusatory for Gabriel's liking. Dean broke it soon enough.
"When you say Michael-"
"No." Gabriel cut him off.
"I was just-"
"No."
"You're not-"
Gabriel held up one finger. "I'm going to say it slowly so you can process it this time." He let the word drag itself out of his mouth. "Nnnnnoooooooo."
Dean snorted. "Screw you too."
Gabriel switched to his middle finger.
"Alright, enough." Sam huffed, and Gabriel was sure that if he bothered to look the younger Winchester would have broken out one of his bitchfaces. "Gabriel, just - you can stay until you're good, I guess."
"Your generosity is awe-inspiring." Gabriel informed the spine of the book sitting next to his face.
There was a shuffle and the scrape of chairs on wood that told Gabriel that the two brothers had left, but Castiel was still there - he didn't need to be looking to see that.
"Are you really alright?" Castiel asked, and Gabriel snorted.
"Yeah, Cas. I'm fine."
"You don't look fine." Gabriel knew what Castiel was referring to - his wings, however they'd recovered in the small amount of time since the gates had opened, still looked like shit. The burns from Metatron's little present were still there as well, but Gabriel just mustered up a grin, even though he doubted Castiel could see it with Gabriel's head half-hidden by his arms.
"Eh, I will be. It's no biggie."
Castiel still didn't leave. "...Thank you."
"You said that already."
"I thought-" Castiel paused. "When you talked to me last time," He began slowly, "And it was just a trick. That...was really you."
"Yep." Gabriel sighed. "Sorry about that, by the way. I hope you kicked Metatron's ass."
"He is in the dungeons now."
"I heard. Near Gadreel's old spot, Hannah said." Gabriel frowned. "You mentioned Gadreel, too." His implied question hung between them.
"Gadreel broke out when the rest of us fell," Castiel explained after a short pause. "He pretended to be Ezekiel for some time, to try and gain Dean's trust, but when that failed he turned to Metatron."
"'Course he did," Gabriel muttered. "What after that? I haven't heard anything from him."
"I believe Gadreel grew...disillusioned with Metatron's plan." Castiel was visibly hesitant - Gabriel's head was still facing the table, though, so he was mostly guessing based on his brother's tone. "He...turned to me more recently, and, ah...I believe, in the end, he redeemed himself."
That made Gabriel twist so he could look at Castiel properly. "Redeemed himself?" It came out more surprised than he had intended.
"In the end." Castiel repeated.
"What the hell did he do?" Gabriel was bewildered. How had Gadreel managed to convince Castiel so thoroughly that he was on the latter's side?
Castiel met Gabriel's gaze evenly. "He died for us."
Oh.
"That would do it," Gabriel said once the pause in the conversation had begun to drag on uncomfortably long. He let his head rest back on his arms, staring at the table.
"Gabriel," Castiel began, and then stopped. He was quiet for a while - Gabriel didn't look up - and then spoke again. "Where were you?"
Gabriel decided to try for confusion. "What do you mean?"
"When you - when we thought you died - that was years ago. Where have you been?"
Gabriel sighed, dragging his head up again. "You're asking why I didn't come back and intervene sooner."
"Yes." Castiel admitted.
"I couldn't." Gabriel was honest with him, and what reason did he have to try and keep secrets from Castiel? "For a while I couldn't do much of anything, much less come and help you guys out, and to be honest I wasn't exactly itching to see what might be the matter after I heard about the Leviathan."
Castiel stiffened at the reminder, but kept going. "Then why come here now? How?"
"I solved the problem." Gabriel felt a twinge of regret. "I admit, coming back here wasn't my first move-"
"Why not?" Castiel interrupted him boldly.
Honesty was proving to be the least tempting path open to Gabriel at the moment. "...I don't have a good reason. I had things I was already doing, and-" Gabriel blew out a frustrated breath. "I didn't really think about what was going on here until Metatron got me involved."
Well, that was a lie, but it was better than admitting he'd been avoiding going back because he knew his siblings would look to him for a leader. That much had been true, when he'd spoken to Castiel mentally - he was a runner, and didn't want to be a leader any more than Castiel did.
"I see." Castiel was honest, but Gabriel didn't get the feeling that his brother liked his answer. "What about now?"
"Do I plan on staying?" Gabriel rephrased for him. "I do have other things to do, you know."
"What other things?" Castiel pressed.
"Things," Gabriel said evasively. "Don't worry, I'll keep an ear out for you guys. Dad knows you could use them help."
Castiel didn't deny it. "So you're leaving?"
"Not now, obviously." Gabriel's wings twitched as if in response and he noticed Castiel's eyes dart to them for the briefest moment. "You done interrogating me?"
"I didn't realize-" Castiel looked almost embarrassed.
"I was joking." Gabriel hurried to reassure him. "You - I don't mind being asked questions."
"I shouldn't have pried." The words were almost lost in the scrape of wood on wood as Castiel stood up abruptly. "I think I'd like to talk to Dean - there are...I should see if he's alright."
Gabriel didn't try and stop him leaving the room, but he sort of wished he had.
I was going to make this chapter a bit longer, but I had no idea what I was going to do so here's where it ends. Anyway, I think that's enough excitement for one chapter - maybe too much. Enjoy!
Please read and review!