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Gabriel blinked. Then he blinked again. He squinted, briefly wondering if he'd gone blind.
No- that didn't make sense. Archangel's don't go blind.
He sat up and glanced down; hands, shirt, legs- he was definitely not blind. So what the hell was going on?
He pushed himself to his feet, cautiously moving forward through the dark, searching for a wall, a light, for something, only to be greeted with more open space.
He frowned, how did he get here?
"All I did on Earth was run. I'm not running anymore."
Ah, that's right. Knife fight with big brother Michael. The blade had slid through his chest, then a flash of white before the endless dark.
Which meant…
Gabriel looked around. So this was death? An endless pitch black void? Maybe he was in archangel hell- rotting in this emptiness for too long would be enough to drive anyone mad.
Then again, horrors much worse still lay fresh in his mind. Maybe this was archangel heaven instead; it was certainly peaceful, if a bit bland.
Regardless of where he was, he still had one thing to worry about.
Sam.
Had he made it back through the rift?
Sam Winchester, dead on the ground next to him, Micheal or Lucifer towering over him. The mental image left panic threatening to overtake his mind.
No, he couldn't be. The rift had been so close, he must have made it through.
If he could only find a way to make sure-
Suddenly, in the corner of his senses he could feel someone (something?) arising, joining him in the endless dark.
"Who's there?" He called, searching through his nonexistent surroundings. His only response was the crawling sensation of an approaching being, seeping through the darkness.
"I know you're there."
He heard a sneering laugh from behind him, “Well, hello there!”
Gabriel turned, eyes coming to rest on the being he had sensed moments ago.
“I think it’s far too often that I find myself staring down someone who shares my face.”
“Well, I needed to look like something, of course. The ruckus my true form causes with you angels- I don’t have the time for that!” the entity trilled. It's smile was wide, yet dripping with glaring agitation.
“I'm dead?”
“Would you look at that! You've figured it out. Congratulations.”
“So what, this is the angel afterlife?”
"I suppose you could put it that way. But what you’re experiencing isn’t exactly part of the tour. When your kind dies you come here to rest; your afterlife consists of an endless, peaceful sleep. And me, I sleep too. Unless of course, one of you wakes up.”
“Then why I am I awake?”
“Isn’t that the million dollar question! I had been wondering the same thing, but it’s all coming together now.” The entity took a moment to pin him with an accusing glance, “I can tell that you’re not from around here, not from this universe, that is . Seems that you’ve caused a bit of a glitch in the system, because, well- you're already dead. We're not used to overlap. But it’s not a problem really, I have a brand new place all carved out just for you, so what d'you say we get back to bed?"
Gabriel looked the entity over, noting the threatening undertones that laced it’s casual demeanor. He took a step back.
"I'm going to have to pass on that one."
The entity laughed, bitter and spiteful.
"You don't get to pass . You're dead, you're in my territory, I make the rules and you will sleep."
"No, not yet. Send me back."
"You need to sleep." The being’s voice had lowered to a snarl.
"Sorry, bucko." Gabriel reeled around towards the dark nothingness. "Things to do, people to see, you know how it is."
Gabriel could feel the agitation crackling, then a hand clutching the back of his head.
Agonizing pain blazed through his mind, he felt his body thud against the ground and curl in on itself.
Then, suddenly, the pain was gone. He remained curled on the floor, gasping for air as buried memories creeped in from the back of his mind.
He flinched at the clicking of footsteps circling him.
Asmodeus lowered himself, kneeling at his side.
"You've been waiting for this for so long."
Gabriel's eyes snapped open- it was still his own voice, not that of his past captor. He managed to glance up, the entity reaching out to brush away tears he didn't know were dripping down his face.
"It can finally be over. You're so close, why even try to turn back now? Let yourself rest, no one can harm you here."
"I would, really I would, but I can't. Not yet."
The entity jerked away, his anger erupting as he towered over Gabriel.
"You ungrateful brat! All you wanted was an end to your suffering, and now that I'm offering it you disobey me? You keep me awake? You have nothing but pain back there. Just sleep already, let it all fade into nothing."
Gabriel dragged himself up, forcing himself to turn away from the entity and towards the dark.
"As great as that sounds, I have a bit of unfinished business back home."
There was silence, and for a moment Gabriel thought the ordeal was over, that the entity had slithered off to attempt it's precious sleep and left him here in solitude.
The air around him shifted, pricking at Gabriel's anxious nerves.
"Why are you doing this? For me?" Gabriel tensed, the voice was different now, familiar and safe. It didn't belong in a place like this. He looked back slowly, gaze resting on the welcoming eyes of Sam Winchester.
He hesitated, unsure of himself, before snapping back to reality.
"You're not him."
Not-Sam smiled softly, stepping forward and easing a hand around Gabriel's waist.
"What do you think will happen if you come back? Do you think I'll be happy? Relieved?"
Gabriel’s eyes dropped to the ground, "You're not-"
Not-Sam raised his other hand to Gabriel's hip, grasping him and pulling him close.
He leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "Do you think I care about you?"
Gabriel stayed silent.
"You do, don't you?" Sam pulled his face away, erupting into deafening laughter.
"Oh, Gabriel. How pathetic." He brought his hand up, brushing his thumb along Gabriel's cheek. "Want to know what I really think?"
Gabriel tried to shrink away, and more desperately he tried to remember that this thing wasn't Sam. That it was all an illusion. The voice, the face, the hands- they were replicas.
Sam- no, the thing ran it's fingernails down his neck, his chest. "I despise you. Ever since you came back you've been a burden. Broken and scared, and I had to try to fix you. Because we needed you to be useful. Did you really think I cared? After everything, how could I not hate you? You just turn up in the bunker like a beat dog and what, I'm just supposed to forget? You have no idea how satisfying it was to know what Asmodeus did to you. I only wish I had been there to see it. Go to sleep, Gabriel. Don't come back, I don't want you."
Gabriel squeezed his eyes shut, grinding his teeth.
"No," he choked out.
He could feel a sudden burst anger radiating off the being pressed against him.
It forced him to the ground, slamming him against the floor. The thing shoved itself on top of him and pinned him down. Gabriel whimpered as it pulled at his hair, his wide eyes unable to look away from Sam's face. It had contorted into a look of violent rage, a look he didn't know the patient and gentle man was capable of.
"What don't you understand? You're a burden , I don't want you. No one wants you! No one except for Asmodeus. If you come back Gabriel, I'll make sure he takes you. I won't even charge him, knowing what he'll do to you is a good enough reward already."
Gabriel gasped for air beneath him, he couldn't breathe, he was drowning. But it wasn't Sam. He had to remember it wasn't Sam.
" No," he groaned, but the memory of the kindness he had always seen in Sam's eyes was slipping away, all he knew now was the hatred and fury in front of him.
"Fine. Then I'll just have to do a little convincing."
The thing held Gabriel down with his hips, using his hands to tear open his shirt. His fingernails were back on his chest, sharp, dragging down his body.
"We don't have to do this. All you have to do is give in. Sleep, Gabriel. Make me happy. Don't you want me to be happy?"
He couldn't manage a response, all he could do was try to desperately hang on to reality, gritting his teeth and waiting for the thing to give up. It would let him go eventually, all he had to do was outlast it.
"Not even going to talk to me now?" It clawed harder at his skin, leaving trails of hot blood.
Gabriel cried out, instinctively trying to push the attacker off. It slammed his arms back to the ground.
"You can't make me leave." It snarled, ripping at Gabriel's collar bone. "There's only one way to stop this."
When Gabriel didn't respond it dug deeper. It's razor sharp claws slicing at his chest. His vision blurred.
"Isn't it tempting?" Sam murmured in his ear. "The darkness, the peace. What are you fighting for? Let go. Let yourself rest, let me be happy."
Gabriel heard himself sob, felt every type of pain course through his body. He was far away, desperate for an end. Isn't that what he had always begged for when he was caged up like a beat dog?
He could no longer tell what was on top of him; Asmodeus, Sam, the thing- they had all molded into one terrifying creature, taunting him with truths as they tore him apart.
The creature gently stroked Gabriel's face, leaving smears of blood dripping down his cheek.
He was tired. He had been tired for so long.
"Come on now, Gabriel. It's okay. It can be over, don't you want it to be over? You can rest. Just let the pain fade away, no one can hurt you here."
"It's okay Gabriel, it's over- you're with me now, not him. You can rest, I won't let anyone hurt you."
"Sam-" he called out, desperate and scared.
The creature leaned forward again, face inches away.
"Just close your eyes, Gabriel. Let sleep come, let the suffering end."
He watched the mocking curl of Sam’s lips, letting his eyes droop closed for peace to claim him.