Oh my God you guys I have been waiting to write the scene at the end of this chapter for so long. SO LONG YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW. I WAS PLANNING THIS SHIT BACK IN MARCH.I have written and rewritten it and part of the next chapter so many times now it's probably as perfect as it's ever going to get.
Some of you have commented on ho Voldemort's death was kind of anticlimatic, but I mostly meant it that way. After forgetting for a moment that I meant to kill him off in that battle scene and having to go back and write it in.
ANYWAY there is so much in this chapter I'm fairly sure you guys are going to go insane after this update. And I'm also really flattered by how many of you offered alternatives to YouTube so I could watch Gravity Falls? Sheesh, guys, you're making me blush. But I have finished watching it. I did before I updated. The dangers of writing the author's note before the chapter itself.
A few of you have also guessed that the Knights are going to team up with Michael and Gabriel to beat Cain. Yeah...no. Cain was never really involved beyond resurrecting them/freeing them and then seeing back to watch what happened. As for where the Knights learned Enochian...you'll see. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Harry Potter.
The week after the Alley battle, all anyone seemed to be talking about was Voldemort's death.
Gabriel understood that he was a serious threat to wizardkind or whatever, but seriously? No one had anything better to talk about?
At the very least, no one had noticed that he had been involved in the battle. The beauty of being an archangel was the ability to smite with one hand and fiddle with reality the next. All the headlines that weren't devoted to Voldemort's demise and the arrests and trials going on were wondering pointedly about the identity of the man who had killed him.
No one was sharing. And if anyone got the idea to do so into their heads, Gabriel was going to pay them a visit.
No one even asked him if he'd done it - well, a few people did, but that was quickly shot down as most of them had been under the impression that he'd been at school at the time. Gabriel had left behind a double and everything.
Sometimes he really enjoyed the amount of power he wielded.
Of course, it came with downfalls.
Such as the Knights.
The first time it happened, Gabriel was willing to try and pretend that it was a coincidence.
Three witches and wizards dead - the Ministry thought it was the work of a maniac Death Eater trying to keep Voldemort's work alive. "Couldn't it be?"
The look Michael gave him made it clear what ne thought of that. "Fine. What."
"Killed," Michael said. "Viciously. They were a family of purebloods. Does that sound like a Death Eater to you?"
"Not really. What's your point?"
"For someone who never gave us a deadline," Michael said, "they're acting an awful lot like we've gone over one. We need to find them."
Whoa. "We need to what?"
"We can't just let them run around unimpeded." Michael threw the newspaper down. "Let more of this happen. It's on us, Gabriel."
"Like hell it is," Gabriel said automatically. "What it is is demons being demons. It's not our fault if one or both of the Knights is pouting. It might not even be them."
Michael arched one eyebrow skeptically. "Still," ne said. "I'm going to see if Castiel doesn't mind helping out."
Castiel didn't mind. Neither did Balthazar, though he complained enough to make the impression that he did, very much so. Muriel probably would have helped them, if she hadn't been busy with school and helping McGonagall, but Verchiel was perfectly willing to step up to the plate.
Of course, that did nothing to stop the next time.
The second time something off happened, it was glaringly obvious that the Knights had been responsible.
Enochian symbols scrawled in blood were a bit hard to blame on someone else.
"Great." The literal message they gave wasn't much more appealing. It was a warning - the Knights getting cocky. It was insulting and about the rudest Enochian was capable of getting. "Still think they're not looking for a fight?"
Michael's arms were crossed, and ne was staring at the wall like it had personally offended nem. The message probably had. "Obviously not anymore."
"I mean, this is straight up picking a fight."
"I'm aware."
"They left directions." Presumably to somewhere they thought it would be easiest to fight an archangel.
"I know, Gabriel." Michael snapped. "I am thinking of what to do next."
"Other than fight them?" Gabriel ducked under the rope cordoning off the crime scene. There was plenty of blood, but no sign of the bodies they'd come from. "You're the one who said we can't let stuff like this happen."
"There have been demonic omens all over the country," Michael said. "Paimon and Belial are massing an army. They cannot be our only focus right now."
"Then get someone else on that. Ask Verchiel to recruit or something. I don't know!" Gabriel threw his arms up.
"Why are you so eager to fight Belial again?" Michael demanded. "Is this some sort of-"
"Don't psychoanalyze me," Gabriel snapped. "I'm saying we're not the ones who should be dealing with whatever other demons are dragging themselves over here. They've got an army, so what. Aren't you a general?"
If anything, Michael's posture got tenser. "I wouldn't have guessed that you'd be telling me to go to Heaven for support."
Gabriel shrugged. "You're the one who said 'army'. Figure we need one to beat one."
"I don't think we need to worry that much yet." Michael uncrossed nir arms, lacing nir hands together behind nir back. "If we wait long enough, then we worry."
"That's what I-" Gabriel broke himself off. Had Michael always been this inscrutable? "Then what? I'm not gonna fight Belial if I don't know for sure that the other one's tied up."
"Don't worry about that." Michael's voice was suddenly steely. "I think it's been made clear that there's going to be a fight."
Castiel showed up again about an hour later.
"I told Sam and Dean about the threat," he said. "They're rather insistent that I bring them over to help."
"What, they don't trust us?" Gabriel scoffed.
"Tell them to piss off." Michael's delivery was completely deadpan and Gabrel legitimately choked on a lollipop. "And if you know any angels who could help, let me know."
Castiel's creased brow was the only sign that he detected anything unusual about the conversation. That, or he was worried about Gabriel, who was trying not to laugh and failing. It probably sounded like he was choking.
"...I will," Castiel replied eventually, and vanished.
Michael gave Gabriel a dry look. "If you're done?"
"I didn't expect you to dust off your sense of humor." Gabriel was practically wheezing, but if any occasion warranted loosing control of himself like that, it was this. "You really don't want their help, do you?"
"They would just get in the way." But Michael was grinning in a way that made Gabriel think ne had been trying to make a good joke.
"Oh, dear," was Aziraphale's reaction to the whole mess when Gabriel went back to the bookstore.
"Yeah. I figured you wouldn't be jumping to be on the front lines," Gabriel said, not protesting as Aziraphale poured out two cups of tea.
"It's not really my style," Aziraphale said. "I don't even have a weapon."
"I know," Gabriel said dryly. "Isn't that why Michael banished you? For loosing it?"
"I hardly lost it," Aziraphale scoffed, and then immediately looked guilty. "Er-"
"Where'd it go, then?" Gabriel didn't give him time to backtrack. He leaned forward in his seat.
"If you must know," said Aziraphale testily, "I gave it away."
Had Gabriel heard him right? "You what?"
"Gave it away," Aziraphale repeated.
"Seriously?" Gabriel said disbelievingly. "To who? The only ones other than angels around back then were-" The answer hit him. "You didn't."
"What was I supposed to do?" Aziraphale looked uncomfortable. "They weren't used to that kind of hardship, and she was expecting already-"
Gabriel cut him off by laughing. Loudly. For a minute or so without stopping. "That's the best fucking thing I've ever heard," he said when he calmed down. "You gave your sword to Adam and Eve? And then took the fall for them?" Gabriel whistled, but it was ruined by another bubble of laughter. "Lost it. I can't believe Michael believed that."
"I think I was lucky to get away with a banishment for just that," Aziraphale replied. "To be honest, Michael seemed a bit tired of the smiting and casting down routine by the time they got to me." He nudged the teacup closer. "But I doubt you came here for nostalgia, Gabriel, and you knew I wouldn't fight."
"Like I said, I figured you weren't the type." Gabriel didn't take the tea. "You've got a bookstore full of old information."
"I fail to see the point." Aziraphale had leaned forward slightly in interest.
"So you're good at finding information that might not, necessarily, be immediately evident?"
"What kind of information are you looking for?"
"Not anything you'd have here," Gabriel said. "I don't even know if it exists. But I had an idea."
Aziraphale gave him a long look. "Is this about the Knights?"
"Partially," Gabriel admitted. "The last time I fought a Knight...it was Belial that time, too."
"And?"
"She nearly cut my wing off."
Aziraphale's hand jumped to his mouth, and his eyes darted to just over Gabriel's shoulder. "Dear. Erm." His eyes moved, almost reluctantly, back to Gabriel and away from the evidence of a scar. "You're worried?"
"I know I could use a backup plan," Gabriel said evenly. "And what I'm thinking of is something I'd need someone else's help with."
"And you're asking me?"
Gabriel grinned. "Who comes to visit you that you're gonna tell?"
"Er, Gabriel-"
"What? Did you find something?"
"Well, yes..."
"Let me see."
"Hold on, just - look at this bit."
"That?"
"No, here."
"...Oh."
"Are you sure-"
"It's still a sound plan."
"I don't think-"
"Look, you're here, aren't you? Backup. You can cut it off if something goes wrong."
"Well...I suppose...if you're certain you want to do this."
"Even if it goes wrong, it's not that much of a loss for me, isn't it?"
"You don't know that, Gabriel."
"It'll be fine."
"If you say so."
The third time something happened, it was impossible to ignore.
A bloody invitation, with a date, time, and location was just that kind of message.
"They're getting cocky." This time all they had was a memory of the scene. Michael had wiped it from the wall once they'd both gotten a good look at it, in case some idiot got it into their head to go see what the deal was.
"They were already cocky," Gabriel said. "They're Knights of Hell."
"They're making it so they set up everything." Michael's face was drawn into tight, angry lines. "They're not giving us a chance to have it on our own terms."
Gabriel wondered if it would be possible to discreetly sit down. He swung himself up onto the table, ignoring the way the vessel protested.
Ow. Gabriel squashed the reflex. He was fine. This was fine. Gabriel let his legs hang off the side. "They were never going to let us set the terms."
"We can't let them do this."
"If you've got any ideas, don't keep them to yourself." Gabriel answered. "We both know what's gonna happen if neither of us show for this."
"We're not ready," Michael said.
"Speak for yourself."
"Not us. There are demons gathering, and we need to prepare for them, too." Michael's fingers drummed on the table.
"So get Castiel to team up with someone and take care of that."
Michael shot him an annoyed look. "It's not that easy."
"Why not? You're assuming you have to do it yourself."
"You're the one who said I was the General."
Gabriel scoffed. "You are. Doesn't mean you can't make someone else do it."
"Not necessarily."
"Why not?"
Michael hesitated. "If I do, what then? Just go and agree to the Knight's demands?"
"More like an invitation," Gabriel said, "but yeah. You still outrank Paimon, whatever the situation."
Michael gave him a long look, worry lurking in nir eyes. "Are you sure you're ready for a fight?"
"Trust me, Michael." Gabriel's hand curled around the vial in his pocket. "I've got a plan."
Admittedly, his plan was shit.
But it wasn't like Gabriel was going to tell anyone that.
The place was big, and empty. It had probably fallen out of use years ago. Wooden beams kept the roof up and Gabriel eyed them, looking for anything he could use as an advantage.
Rain rattled on the corrugated steel roof. There was thunder in the distance. It was a suitably ominous setup. Gabriel wondered if the weather had been rigged up on purpose.
"What a surprise." He sensed Belial arrive before she spoke. When he turned, a smug grin was seated on her face.
"Because I showed?" Gabriel didn't move forward. His blade was already in his hand. Belial had one, too. No doubt it was stolen, but Gabriel didn't want to think of how.
"You did ignore our last few messages." Belial replied. "I hardly thought you'd be eager to meet again."
"Right." Gabriel moved in a slow circle. Belial mirrored his movements, unwilling to let the distance between them close. "Because you're so scary."
"Don't tell me you've forgotten." She sounded delighted.
"Forgotten? No." Gabriel didn't pause. "Learned a few tricks? You could say that."
"Really," Belial drawled. "Is that supposed to intimidate me? I think you've lost your touch."
"I doubt it."
Belial smirked. "You don't even want to fight me," she said. "Is this stalling? Because it's not going to work. I can see right through you."
"That so." Gabriel didn't see where Belial's point was.
"Oh, yes." The blade twirled and switched sides, constantly moving in Belial's hands. "It was on your mind last time," she said. "I could tell. You were distracted."
"By what?" Gabriel retorted, but his heart had sunk.
"Me." Belial's grin was viciously happy. "You don't really want to attack a fallen sibling, do you?"
Gabriel didn't reply at first.
"It's hardly my fault you sided with Lucifer." It was a shitty retort, but the first thing that leaped to Gabriel's mind.
"And I heard you turned him down," Belial shot back. "A shame."
"What, that I'm not rotting downstairs with you?" Gabriel bit out. "Spare me. Like becoming a demon was the greatest thing that ever happened to you."
"It was better than staying in Heaven," Belial spat. "Tell me, what happened after we left? Hm? Problem solved, back to normal?"
"That's none of your business."
"No, then." She was smugly victorious about it. "How that must have burned."
"More than Hell?" Gabriel scoffed. "Or were you down below with Lucifer? I hear he likes the cold better."
"So rude," Belial said, "when speaking of family."
"You haven't been an angel in a long time," Gabriel said. "I doubt it counts. Isn't that why you all changed your names?"
"Like names matter that much," Belial sneered. "You're avoiding the point. Stalling. I doubt I'm the first of your own family you've killed-"
"That's enough!" Gabriel's voice was sharp, his true one bleeding into it. The building rattled around them, shaking dust from the rafters. "Don't you dare call me a killer when you're the one painting blood on walls to get my attention." How dare she accuse him of that.
"It worked." Belial's grin was just as sharp. "You're here."
"I'm as much a fan of games as the next person," Gabriel said. "But not here. Not now."
"You're just scared-"
"Stop pretending, Sachiel." Belial flinched at her dead name, and Gabriel took an undue amount of pleasure from it. "You talk about family, but you haven't counted yourself as one of my siblings since you fell. You're just trying to get me to hesitate." Like last time, but their nonexistent kinship hadn't been his reason then. Gabriel raised his blade. "It's not going to work."
Belial's eyes were narrow. "You don't care." It sounded like she'd just realized it.
"Neither do you."
Both of them were right, and both of them knew it.
"So what now?" Belial sneered. "You use your tricks to kill me? Because it's not going to work-"
She lunged forward, blade thrust out, and the illusion sparked and died around it.
"Well," said Gabriel from behind her, "that one just did."
Gabriel struck for the heart, but Belial had already turned around. Angelic steel met angelic steel with a clang. The building shivered.
Belial didn't waste any time. She reared back, slashing at Gabriel. He was already moving, letting the other double dissipate. He went for her back again. Belial ducked and moved fast. She put herself at the other end of the warehouse.
"That's cheating," she snarled.
"I'm fighting you," Gabriel said. "Can't cheat if there aren't rules."
She vanished, but Gabriel was faster. By the time her blade came down where he'd been standing he was somewhere else.
"Stand still!"
"You first." Gabriel blocked a strike that would have cut into his neck. Belial was nearly as strong as he was. Close enough to make it difficult to press back with enough force. What had she been doing while presumed dead?
"You're dead either way." Up close, it was more threatening. Belial's face was twisted with hate. "You're just dragging out."
"So you say." Gabriel darted away. Belial stumbled. He'd moved too fast for her to follow. Gabriel swept her legs out from under her.
Belial managed to land a glancing blow on one leg. Gabriel shot away. Grace bled through the wound, sun-bright. Gabriel fixed the vessel with a thought. He couldn't let Belial see.
There was still blood on her blade. Belial was on her feet in a second. She was grinning again. She opened her mouth to speak and Gabriel darted past. His blade flashed, opening a cut on her arm. Gabriel tucked his wings in so quickly he skidded as he landed.
Belial swore. "Fuck you." It was bleeding, but she didn't bother healing the vessel.
Her blood looked almost black against the silver of his blade. He'd cut a deep gash. Deeper than the one she'd given him.
Hopefully the rest of the fight would be the same.
Gabriel didn't want to have to use his backup.
Gabriel turned away from one hit and came back around. Belial barely avoided the blade at her neck. She leaned back so far she might have lost her balance. If she were human. Belial swung back at him in a second. She was spitting mad. Gabriel blocked the blow. Their blades locked in place. Arms trembled with the force.
Gabriel pushed. Desperation lent him a temporary advantage. Belial's blade was forced down. They were face-to-face. Belial's snarl was a threat; bared teeth and nothing else.
Gabriel flung out a hand. His Grace went where he directed it - towards Belial. She went skidding across the floor. Her feet were knocked out from under her. Dust rose in clouds. Her scream of frustration raised even more.
"Still confident?" Gabriel taunted. He was better than the last time they'd met. Obviously, Belial wasn't.
"You wish," she spat. Belial's eyes flicked black.
A heavy force threw itself at Gabriel. It was so abrupt that he had to struggle to stay standing under it. Belial got to her feet slowly. She looked like she was enjoying watching Gabriel wrestle against her power.
It had to be that. There was no one else there. But this was more than Gabriel had expected from one Knight.
He wrangled his way out from under it, throwing his Grace back at Belial. The building was shuddering, creaking and groaning around it and neither of the two of them were willing to back down.
Gabriel sent his Grace spiking upwards. The beam that came crashing down missed Belial by a fraction of an inch.
It was enough.
Her concentration faltered. Gabriel rushed forwards.
He left doubles littered in his wake. All of them rushed forward. Belial struck out indiscriminately. Illusions shattered and what remained of the power went back to Gabriel.
It wasn't enough.
"No more of them?" Belial snapped out. "Shame. I enjoyed killing them."
"They're not alive," Gabriel retorted. He lunged away from a nasty thrust and countered with one of his own. He nearly got her. Belial was unfortunately almost as fast as him. "Shows what you know."
"Getting tired?" Belial's grin was feral. "Should't have wasted your energy."
He shouldn't have. It had been too many of them at once.
And one mistake could be deadly.
Gabriel shot forward. He could make this shot. The blade nicked Belial's arm again.
He only realized he'd left himself open when he saw the grin on her face.
Gabriel twisted away, tried to reverse, but she was fast.
She missed his heart. The force of the blow took the blade down, and deeper.
Fuck.
Gabriel staggered. He barely managed to parry her next strike. Belial's smile was wide, eyes wild.
"Come on," she crooned, and Gabriel winced. His free hand clutched his side. Wrong hand. If he could get to his pocket- "You knew this was going to happen."
"Fat chance," he choked out. His Grace was bleeding through the wound. The light cast a haunting shadow. Belial's eyes were invisible save for where they glittered in it.
Gabriel mustered up what he could and shoved. His Grace burned. Every fiber of him protested the movement. He staggered again. So did Belial, shoved backwards and off her guard long enough for Gabriel to switch hands.
"You don't know when to give up," she sneered.
"Bad habit." Gabriel's left hand was slick with blood. It felt like the blade was going to slide away. He hooked a finger around the guard. His other arm was pressed against the gash. Grace scorched the sleeve of his jacket. Fuck, it hurt, but all he needed was three seconds-
Belial rushed him and Gabriel had to parry again. His arm vibrated from the shock force of two blades meeting. He had to fight to stay standing. Belial was glaring at him.
Stay like that. He needed her to look anywhere but down. Gabriel groped for his pocket. His blood-slick hand - and arm - made it difficult. So did his torn jacket. I didn't drop it, there's no way I dropped it, please.
"You're dead." Belial spat into his face. "I'm going to finish what I started."
Gabriel's hand closed around the vial.
"Have fun with that," he said, and threw it to the ground between them.
The explosion of magic tossed both of them back like rag dolls.
Gabriel locked a groan behind his teeth when he hit the ground. Pain lanced through his torso. He dragged himself to his feet. Where did she go?
There.
Belial was on her side. Gabriel had thrown up a hasty shield. He'd known what was coming.
She had not.
The force of something compacted and contained inside a vial that was far, far too small had flung her across the warehouse. It had nearly leveled the building. Dust was everywhere. Beams had fallen. Support pillars had collapsed. Anything wooden too close to the epicenter was gone.
Gabriel's wings managed to take him closer. He didn't think his legs could. Belial pushed herself up, made to turn, and Gabriel's blade slid between her ribs.
Her scream rattled the building even more thoroughly. Then, she was silent.
Gabriel's arm felt loose and unsteady when he pulled the blade out. His whole body felt like that. He retreated a few steps.
He'd done it.
Hopefully it was worth what his backup plan had demanded. Gabriel's arm was pressed against the still-bleeding gash in his torso. His shirt had been nearly cut in half, he noticed with a detached sort of lack of interest. There was a weird feeling near his hip that meant blood was probably seeping into his pants.
That was about when his legs gave out.
Gabriel's knees hit the ground with a thud. His angel blade clattered against the concrete, and then the rest of his body followed.
*chanting* NOT SORRY NOT SORRY NOT SORRY NOT SORRY
IT WAS FOR THE PLOT, GUYS. THE PLOT.
READ AND REVIEW? DO IT FOR GABRIEL GUYS