Gabriel couldn't find Sam. He was going to destroy Castiel for those damn cloaking sigils.
Well, actually, Sam's ribs were probably the only reason Lucifer hadn't found him yet.
So, maybe he should kiss Cas for them instead.
But right now, Gabriel definitely wanted to kill him.
He needed to find Sam. To what? Apologize? For telling them the truth? Well, maybe he'd been a bit harsh about it. And maybe forcing them to quit stalling wasn't the right idea. But Michael was right, wasn't he?
But he needed to find Sam. He needed to try and fix this. Somehow. He'd heard every jagged thought in that boy's head. He needed to fix what he'd done.
But he couldn't find Sam. It had been weeks since the TV Land stunt, and he still couldn't fucking find Sam.
So, Gabriel was back to wanting to murder Castiel in the slowest, most painful way he could think of.
But then, a miracle happened.
Gabriel felt Sam. It didn't feel like how he'd normally sense him, like a tether to the human in the back of his mind. No, it felt more like a tug on his grace itself. It was so strange. Of all the years of his existence, he'd never felt anything like it. His grace seemed to pull him towards Sam like he was being summoned. But he'd been summoned before. This was different. Gabriel really wanted to understand what was causing this sensation, and why it was happening.
But he needed to talk to Sam. That took priority over anything else.
Gabriel appeared in Sam's dream without a second thought.
Blood. Blood ran through the streets of the rainy town Gabriel found himself in. The blood gathered in the gutters and ran down the buildings. And Sam stood in the middle of the street, the blood covering everything running directly from his own veins.
Jesus.
Gabriel snapped his fingers and took them to a beach.
Sam didn't turn around to face him. He just said, "Leave. Please."
"Sam, let me explain," Gabriel said.
Sam faced Gabriel and said, "Explain what? You don't have to explain. I don't want to hear another monologue about how easy I am to manipulate. I'm tired. Just let me dream in peace."
"Oh, because your dream was so cheery?" Gabriel said.
Sam snapped, "And whose fault is that?"
Gabriel swallowed at hearing his own words. Yeah. He'd been a bit harsh. "I'm sorry, kiddo," he said.
Sam laughed darkly, anger bubbling through the sound. "Oh, are you?" he said, "I love you, but you'd rather watch me be destroyed and end the whole goddamn world instead of just trying to help us. Sorry doesn't exactly cut it, Gabriel."
Gabriel flinched at his name. Sam spat it like a curse. It stung like one, too.
"Sam, I'd die for you," Gabriel said.
Sam huffed and said, "Funny. That wasn't quite the feeling I got when you threatened to keep us in TV Land unless we started the apocalypse."
"The apocalypse has already started, Sam," Gabriel said, "People are dying."
"You think I don't know that?" Sam said, words twisting into snarl.
Gabriel sighed and said, "If there was a way I could help, I would."
"Help us anyway," Sam said quickly, "Help us look through lore, find some answer that hasn't been thought of. There has to be some way to fix this."
Gabriel took a step towards Sam and said softly, "Sam, there isn't an answer. No amount of digging is going to stop this."
Sam glared at Gabriel. "What happened?" he asked, "You promised to help us not that long ago, and God, I was dumb enough to believe you. Was this your end game the whole time? Were you always just working for Heaven? Were you just getting close to me for kicks?"
"No. No, I never- I mean, I've always been an archangel, but I never meant for any of this to happen," Gabriel said. He reached for one of Sam's hands, but Sam back away quickly. Gabriel tried not to show Sam how much that small rejection stung. "I never wanted to hurt you," he said.
"Then, why didn't you tell me?" Sam shouted.
"Tell you what?" Gabriel asked.
Sam turned away for a moment, fuming. He faced Gabriel again as the sky above their quiet beach dreamscape turned dark and ominous.
Gabriel tried to pretend that the hurt he caused Sam wasn't the reason for the weather change, but it was Sam's dream, and the truth was inescapable.
"Everything," Sam snapped, "You knew I was Lucifer's vessel, you knew Lilith was the final seal, you knew I had demon blood in my veins. You knew everything, and you never told me any of it. You just let it all happen!"
Gabriel tried not to flinch, but he couldn't help it. "Sam, I-" he started.
"Save it," Sam said.
"Let me explain myself, Sam, okay?" Gabriel said.
Sam leveled a hard, angry stare at Gabriel but clenched his jaw and waited for the archangel to talk.
"Yes, I knew you and Dean were gonna start the crazy train. That's why I met you at Crawford Hall. I wanted to see how good you guys were, if you guys were prepared for the shit headed your way. That's why I did what I did at the Mystery Spot, because if you dealt with Dean's death okay maybe you wouldn't follow your destiny so fast. I tried to get you to stop with the demon blood, I tried to warn you about Ruby, but I couldn't get too involved once Cas showed up. If Heaven got wind of the fact that I was alive, they would've used me as a weapon. They would've made me torture you into saying yes to Lucifer. They would've-"
Sam cut him off. "They would've made you do what you just did to me and Dean?" he asked angrily.
Gabriel stopped, staring at Sam in shock. He was right. Gabriel had tortured Sam. Gabriel had done exactly what Heaven would've wanted him to do. He'd done exactly what Michael wanted. He dropped his gaze to his shaking hands. What had he done?
"Sam, I'm so sorry," Gabriel said, "Michael talked to me, and he made sense. I thought I was doing the right thing."
Sam shook his head in frustrated disbelief. "I don't care how many times you apologize, Gabriel. I can't forgive you for this one. I won't," he said.
"I'll help," Gabriel said quickly, "I'll help with the apocalypse. I swear I will. I don't know how, but I'll try everything."
Sam's lip quivered for a fraction of a second before he averted his gaze. "I'm not falling for it this time," he said.
"I'm not lying," Gabriel said, grabbing Sam's arms, hoping he'd feel his sincerity, "I'll help. I'll search for a way out. I promise."
Sam shook Gabriel off and said, "I can't trust you anymore."
"Sam, please," Gabriel said, well aware of the crack in his voice.
Sam turned away from the archangel.
"I will do anything and everything to keep you safe. I will fight Lucifer himself for you. No one will ever hurt you again, especially me. I love you, kiddo," Gabriel said.
Sam turned back towards Gabriel quickly. He walked over to the shorter man and cupped Gabriel's face in his hands. A few tears escaped Sam's eyes.
Gabriel could feel Sam's heart breaking. He could feel it in his grace. Sam's thoughts weren't coherent enough to understand, but Gabriel could feel the jagged edges of the pain in Sam's head.
Sam pressed a shaky kiss to Gabriel's lips.
He pulled away before Gabriel had a chance to respond in kind.
"I love you," Sam said evenly, "But I can't handle the lies. I don't know whose side you're on, and I just can't deal with that, not when the world's at stake. We're done. Whatever we had between us is over. If I ever see you again in real life, in my dreams, whatever, I will find a way to kill you. And I won't stop until you breathe your last breath."
Gabriel inhaled sharply as Sam's words sunk in. "Sam," he tried.
"Get out of my head, Gabriel," Sam snapped, "I'm giving you a chance to leave without me coming after you. I suggest you take it."
Gabriel reached towards Sam, but Sam wouldn't let his hand find purchase.
"Now, Trickster," Sam said, voice sharp.
Gabriel left. He returned to his own consciousness and collapsed to the floor of his temporary apartment. His chest felt like it'd been ripped open. He ached. Sam. Gabriel's thoughts snarled and ripped around him. He deserved this. He'd done something unspeakable to Sam, and he deserved the Winchester's wrath for it. But it hurt. It hurt so, so much. And Gabriel knew that Sam would be the only salve for this kind of hurt.
And if that didn't make everything worse.
Gabriel had to do something. He had to. But what? Rewind time so that Gabriel actually helped the Winchesters instead of sticking them in Dr. Sexy M.D.? That was certainly an option, but it wouldn't erase Gabriel's memory of what had just happened.
But he couldn't leave things like this. There had to be something he could do.
Gabriel got back to his feet. He could do something. He could help.
For the first time in several millennia, Gabriel went back to Heaven.
He took a step into the white halls between the humans' heavens and knew he would tear this whole place down if it meant saving Sam.
Right away, an angel stood before him. "G-Gabriel?" the angel stammered.
"Zachariah," Gabriel said evenly.
"Michael requests your presence immediately," Zachariah said, careful to avoid eye contact.
"My brother is not why I'm here," Gabriel said, "Now, it's been lovely to see you, but I must be on my way."
"Michael has ordered me to take you to him by force if necessary," Zachariah said.
Gabriel laughed and took a step towards Zachariah, invading the angel's personal space. "Michael thinks you can force me to do anything? I may have been gone a while, but I am still an archangel, Zach. I would just love to see you try."
Zachariah visibly paled.
Gabriel said, "Just tell him that you couldn't find me, and that you got word that the Winchesters are in Tulsa, Oklahoma."
Zachariah gave Gabriel a confused look. "Are they in Tulsa?" he asked.
"Who knows? But at least this way Michael will have some time to cool down before you get back," Gabriel said.
Quickly, Gabriel flew to his intended destination. The garden.
"Joshua," Gabriel called, walking through Eden's tropical trees.
A quiet angel calmly walked out from a dense grove of trees. "Gabriel," he said with pleasant surprise, "I haven't seen you here in quite some time."
Gabriel gave Joshua a small smile. "I'd love to catch up, but I have something rather important to talk to you about," he said.
Joshua folded his hands across his chest and nodded for Gabriel to proceed.
"I know you used to talk to our Father," Gabriel said.
"Yes, I speak with him," Joshua said, "Quite regularly, in fact."
"You don't have to pretend with me, I know he's gone," Gabriel said, "I just need to know if there's something I can do to stop what's going on with Lucifer and Michael. I know it's His plan, but I know there's something we're missing."
Joshua smiled gently. "Gabriel, God is not gone," he said, "He is on Earth."
"I would've felt him," Gabriel said quickly.
Joshua shook his head. "Don't underestimate Him. Hiding on Earth is much easier than it looks. You should know that yourself."
"Fine. Dad's downstairs. But did he ever mention to you any way this whole mess can be averted?" Gabriel asked.
Joshua closed his eyes and said, "Your Father has a message for you."
Gabriel froze.
"He says that there is a way," Joshua said, "He says your brother can be contained again. The cage is still intact."
"How do I reopen the cage?" Gabriel asked.
Joshua shook his head and said, "You do not open it. You have another task. You must help the Winchesters find the key. He says you are The Messenger, and if you do not perform your duty and guide them, the world will be lost to your brothers' war."
"There's a key?" Gabriel asked, confused as all hell.
Joshua looked at Gabriel like he knew much more than he was telling, "There are keys. Four of them, one was granted to each Horseman."
"The rings," Gabriel breathed, "Holy shit."
Joshua said, "Your Father requests that you keep the blasphemy to a minimum while actually in Heaven. Also, He wants you to know that He is proud of you and approves of the lengths you have gone to for Sam Winchester."
Gabriel gave a sideways glance to Joshua and said, "You made that last part up."
Joshua grinned widely and vanished.
Gabriel shook his head but secretly felt warmed by the idea that Dad was out there and that He might be proud of him.
Suddenly, Joshua returned with Sam and Dean in tow. It was now Gabriel's turn to pull a disappearing act. Eden shifted into a different garden, a small glass domed garden. The one in Cleveland?
How the heck did Sam and Dean wind up in Heaven? Why hadn't Gabriel felt Sam? He felt him now, clear as day. What was going on?
Evidently, it was interrogate-Joshua-about-God day in the garden. Dean and Sam were hoping for God's help.
Gabriel tried desperately not to look at Sam, not to think about the last things Sam had said to him. Quickly, Joshua ushered the brothers back to life without giving them much in the way of answers, and honestly, the things he'd said to them just left Gabriel with more questions.
Gabriel made himself visible. "Joshua," he said softly.
Joshua sighed and turned to Gabriel. "You have a lot of questions today," he said.
"Well, I only had one until you talked to the boys. Why'd you tell them that God put them on the plane? That was me. I mean, I didn't save Cas' ass or get the guys through the pearly gates, but the plane was definitely me," Gabriel said.
Joshua smiled and asked, "Have you ever managed to transport two people onto a moving plane miles above the earth and somehow have them land unharmed in two magically empty seats while outrunning Lucifer?"
"Well, I mean, it was just the once, but-"
"It worked, because God helped you. He wanted you to help the Winchesters, and he knew you couldn't manage that all on your own."
"Okay," Gabriel said, trying to swallow that information, "Well, why didn't you tell them about the rings being the keys to the cage? You told me just fine."
Joshua said, "Gabriel, why does your grace now let you connect to Sam? This is part of your Father's plan. You are meant to give them the information, not me. You are meant to help the Winchesters, so God gave you a way to find Sam despite the defenses Castiel gave him. This is your part to play."
"Dad wants me to go against the apocalypse and help the Winchesters while giving me a way to connect only to Sam? Wouldn't it be more useful for me to be able to find both of the Winchesters?" Gabriel asked.
Joshua chuckled. "If you had a way to sense Dean, would you ever even use it?" he asked, "My opinion is that your Father linked your grace to Sam's soul, because he knows how you feel about each other, and like I said, God approves of the lengths you've gone for Sam. But I can't honestly tell you. Your Father works in mysterious ways."
Gabriel sighed and said, "That's great and all, but Sam wants absolutely nothing to do with me."
Joshua smiled. "But you'll help them anyway," he said, "Now, go before it's too late. Time flies much faster on Earth. The apocalypse won't stop itself."
Joshua was right; Gabriel had a job to do. He raced out of Heaven, blowing through the garrison of angels Michael had sent for him, and followed the pull of his grace to where Sam was.
But something else caught his radar, and Gabriel skittered to a stop outside of a small hotel. Rain was crashing down on the asphalt. The storm wasn't natural. There was a lot of supernatural power coming from that building. Gabriel snapped his fingers and cleared the skies over the hotel, drying himself off in the process. What was going on in there? Why was Sam in there with so many supernatural creatures? Gabriel could feel them, knew some of them just by the power they were emitting. Odin, Ganesha, Mercury.
Kali.
Shit.
Gabriel walked in through the front doors of the Elysian Fields hotel without a moment's hesitation.