Chapter Text
When you were an archangel, subtle was not something you bothered with. What happens when you kill a monster in Purgatory? Gabriel actually knew the answer, and he was determined to use it to his advantage.
When you kill a monster in Purgatory, it dissipates. It will, eventually, reform, but it takes time. The amount of time depends on the strength of the monster, of course. The head Leviathan, if you managed to take him down, would be gone for a month. An alpha? Yeah, you’ve got a week of peace. Foot soldier types, a couple of hours at best. Of course, when there’s only a few things left alive, a couple of hours was all it would take.
Weakened or not, Gabriel had the power to take out every low and mid-level monster in Purgatory with a single bomb. It would attract the attention of the alphas and the high-level Leviathans, sure, but they weren’t stupid and usually weren’t bloodthirsty either. Coming after a pissed-off archangel would be far more likely to end up with them waiting to reform than them successful and Gabriel in the Empty.
With Purgatory empty except for the things laying low, it took Gabriel less than ten minutes to find and reach Castiel. “Hey, lil bro, what the heck are you doing here? Shouldn’t the Winchesters have gotten you back on Earth by now?”
“I’m honestly surprised. I would resist any attempt to bring me back, of course, but there haven’t been any that I’ve sensed.” Castiel tilted his head, examining Gabriel. “You’re weak.”
“Yeah, well, I was being tortured by a demon prince and had to escape all on my own, and then I get topside and hear Samandriel and Hannah planning an assault on Purgatory to rescue you? I’m not sitting on my ass recovering while my favorite lil bro’s rotting in Purgatory.” Gabriel pulled Castiel into a hug and then smacked his head. “The fuck are you doing here and why aren’t you broadcasting for help, and why would you refuse help from the Winchesters?! Thought you loved those boys.”
“I… messed everything up, worse than anyone but Lucifer has ever ruined things in Heaven. In cleaning up my mess, I ended up here in Purgatory, and it seems fitting that I remain here.” Castiel ducked his head, refusing to meet Gabriel’s eyes. “Thank you for coming for me, but I intend to stay here. Please don’t make me fight you. I belong here, not the Empty. Not oblivion.”
“Oh come on, Cassie, it can’t have been that bad. What did you do?” Gabriel kept his arms around Castiel. What was he going to do if Gabriel just flew off with him, try to stab him? It wouldn’t work, it would just make the flight that much longer and less comfortable. But there was enough time to hear Castiel out.
Castiel explained. Setting himself against Raphael, well, Gabriel would probably have done the same damn thing. More successfully, since he and Raphael were pretty evenly matched at their full power, so if he’d gone to Crowley for help he would have been able to win pretty handily. Castiel had done admirably, for not being an archangel or anywhere near Raphael’s power. “Gotta say, bro, aside from absorbing the souls from Hell, not yet hearing anything I wouldn’t’ve done if I were there. And you needed to do that because of the power levels. I’m guessing it went wrong?”
“I ended up corrupted. I killed Rachel and Balthazar, two of my most loyal friends, Gabriel. I broke the wall in Sam’s head, the one that was keeping him sane. I allowed Dean’s beloved and child to be put in danger.”
“You know, you can just say Sam, you don’t have to call him Dean’s beloved and child.”
Castiel gave him an unamused look. “I meant the woman he had been living with, and her child, who he had taken as his own while he lived there. I allowed them to be hurt, and then to appease Dean, put them in even greater danger by wiping their memories of him.”
“Okay, that was idiotic, but we do stupid shit for love sometimes. Not something that you should be stuck here for. Come on, bro, I get that you feel bad about it, but not hearing anything that means you deserve to be left here to wallow in self-pity instead of being out there with the rest of us fighting the good fight for Earth.”
Now Castiel tensed, trying to pull away. “You think that’s what I’m doing here? Wallowing in self-pity?”
“What the hell else could it be? I’m here to rescue you, if I hadn’t shown up Heaven was going to raid Purgatory and probably get more angels killed to get you out, I’ll admit I don’t know what the Winchesters are doing but it’s possible they just don’t know how to get you out without getting in here themselves? Seems more likely than them thinking you deserve to be here, don’t you think?”
Castiel rolled his eyes. “I altered Dean’s memories just before he left. He thinks I’m dead for good, and probably told Sam that. They would have no reason to come for me.”
“So you lied about being surprised.”
“I… was a bit creative with the truth,” Castiel admitted. “I am surprised Sam didn’t try to get us out when it was me and Dean here, but since Dean got out, I understand. Of course, given what I did to Sam, he probably doesn’t want me back.”
“Oh, for… this is Samshine. He wants you back, moron.” Just to be sure, Gabriel reached out. Sam sure felt unhappy, and it was about so much more than Castiel, but he was right. Sam was grieving Castiel and if he knew where Castiel was would be moving Heaven and Earth to get him back. “Come on. No more self-pity. We’re going to the Winchesters.” He didn’t give Castiel the chance to protest before he flew them both out.