Chapter Text
The usual Friday "movie night" had just ended, and everyone was getting up to either close down for the night, or burn the midnight oil in the case of Dean and Cas. However, the older Winchester's phone started going off, and he quickly pulled it out to see who was calling. He frowned, seeing the "666" as the caller ID, but answered it anyway: "Crowley, it is nearly three in the god-damn morning. Someone better be dying."
"Rather appropriate that I call you at the witching hour, don't you think, Dean? And to dash your hopes: No one is currently dying, but that situation could rapidly change. May I come in?"
"Wait, are you... Outside the Bunker?" There was a heavy sigh.
"No, I'm getting ice cream at a local street fair. Yes, I'm outside!" Dean jogged out to the main door, the rest of the family trailing behind him, confused and curious. He motioned for them to wait in the War Room, then opened the door, coming face-to-face with the King of Hell. "Thank you." He stepped onto the entry balcony, but stopped Dean from closing the door. "Not yet."
"You have some friends out there?"
"I wouldn't go so far as to call them that, but there are some mutual benefits to be discussed for everyone." Crowley walked down the stairs, smiling at the others. "Moose. Feathers." He bowed politely to Lailah and Artemis. "Ladies."
"No nicknames for us?" Artemis wondered, arms folded across her chest. "I almost feel insulted." The Demon shrugged and winked at her.
"Give it time, my dear."
"Crowley, get to the point," Dean told him, standing guard at the open door.
"If you insist. I'll paint you all a picture of current events: I am ruling my kingdom with nary a whisper of Lucifer wanting his throne back, when I receive a most curious missive. It's a formal declaration from Asmodeus that he will be coming to claim what is rightfully his. So naturally, I send some of my people to find out what's going on, and none of them come back. But I do get a visitor who both demands and begs my help in hiding from Asmodeus."
"A defector?" Sam guessed.
"Just so," Crowley stated, looking pleased. "And this defector brings with him a rather... Important bargaining chip. So I told him I would put in a good word with the Winchesters, and he reluctantly agreed that this would be the safest place."
"Who is it?" Dean wanted to know. "Because if it's another Demon-"
"Actually, it's me." Dean spun around and had his Blade in one hand as Arthur Ketch stood in the door. "Believe me, I'd hoped to never need your help, Dean."
"Nope, this is not happening, Crowley. Ketch and his people have tried to kill us multiple times. That kinda puts a damper on trusting him."
"Dean, let's look at this logically, shall we?" The King of Hell retorted, smirking now. "I've tried to kill you, Mother has tried, and hell, even Cas has tried."
"Only under mind-control and the influence of the Leviathans," the Dominion shot back.
"Semantics, Lailah. My point is: The Winchesters have a habit of giving second chances to those they probably shouldn't."
"And why should we give Ketch a chance?" Sam wanted to know. The man reached back and pulled another figure through the door, causing all of them to take a step back and drop their jaws. Dean lowered his Blade, staring at the quivering, blood-covered form of the Archangel Gabriel.
"What the hell-" He got no further as Cas and Lailah were suddenly next to him, both with their weapons drawn and raised at the human.
"What have you done to him?!" the Angel demanded.
"Nothing! This was all Asmodeus' doing. I rescued him," Ketch hastily replied.
"You had better be telling the truth, or so help me you will suffer like he has," Lailah added. Gabriel was cowering, terror in his eyes. It took the Dominion a moment to realize that his mouth had been sewn shut, and that's why he could only make muffled noises. She carefully put an arm around him, nodding to Cas, and they flew the Archangel to the living room. Sam and Dean met each other's gaze and nodded, while Artemis kept her focus on Ketch.
"We'll discuss things in here while they calm Gabriel down," Dean said. He closed the door and headed back down the stairs, leaning on the edge of the War Table. "So... You better have a damn good story about how you ended up with an Archangel." Ketch nodded and sat down at the other end of the table, eyes flicking to the Huntress.
"I'm afraid we haven't been introduced. My name is-"
"I know who you are," Artemis interrupted, eyes narrowing. "Arthur Ketch, "British Men of Letters" and a lackey of Asmodeus. You're only still alive because I think Sam and Dean should get first crack at you. But mark my words: If Lailah asks me to, I will kill you."
"Oh... I see." Ketch looked back up at Dean. "I believe you wanted details?"
"Yeah, sometime tonight would be great."
"Well, as you know I was working for Asmodeus. Was being the key word. He's become.. A bit obsessed with taking over Hell, and taking out you and your brother."
"Why us?" The human blinked at him, a little confused by the question.
"Because you're a threat. And because you are... Allies of Crowley's."
"So Asmodeus thinks that if Crowley calls, we'll come running?"
"Are you saying you wouldn't?" the King of Hell wondered, raising an eyebrow. "Remember Dean, I have a few favors to cash in."
"Is this one of them?" Sam asked.
"No, this is a mutually beneficial alliance. With Asmodeus gone, I go back to Hell with one less major challenger, Arthur goes off and does whatever he does, and you get Gabriel. I imagine your two Angels will be more than happy with that arrangement."
"Speaking of Gabriel, what happened to him? He looks..." Sam bit his lip and took a breath. "He looks like he's been tortured."
"He was," Ketch admitted. "Asmodeus has apparently been injecting Gabriel's Grace into himself for years. I was only made aware of this situation a few weeks ago. When I decided to... Terminate my employment, I took Gabriel with me."
"As a bargaining chip," Dean noted. "Right?"
"Well, yes. Who wouldn't?"
"We wouldn't," Artemis shot back. "We would've saved him because good people don't let others get tortured." Ketch shrugged at the statement.
"Would that we were all that magnanimous. But Crowley didn't seem to want an Archangel hanging about, and suggested he speak to the Winchesters on my behalf. I protested, but he is correct in that this place is extremely safe, and that you would defend us." The brothers looked at the Demon, and he scoffed and shook his head.
"You're wondering why I didn't want to take advantage of an obviously broken Archangel? Where would the fun be in that? Besides, I want Asmodeus far from me, not beating down my door to get his prize back." They all leaned to look into the other room, but only Cas was visible. The Angel was standing on the far end of the room, hands in his pockets, his mouth a tight line as he looked at something none of them could see from their angle.
"So you think Asmodeus will come here?" Sam asked, hoping he was misreading the situation.
"Oh, I know that he'll come here," Crowley told him. "He'll seek out Gabriel first, and once his precious power supply is secure, he'll turn his attention to killing his traitor. After that, he'll have seemingly no more obstacles on his way to challenge me."
"But you're obviously counting on us to take his ass out the moment he steps foot here," Dean mused, wondering how they'd ever gotten to this point.
"Should be a simple task for three Nephilim, a Seraph, and a Dominion, don't you think?" Ketch did a double-take, now staring at the Winchesters, who rolled their eyes at Crowley's obvious attempt to throw chaos into the conversation.
"Wait... Nephilim? But how-"
"That is not only not important, it's none of your god-damn business, Ketch," Dean told him. "Now, we will uphold... Most of this idea. But you are not staying here."
"And why not?"
"Because I have a sneaking suspicion that your presence is going to piss off both Cas and Lailah, and I will not step in to save your ass if they take you to task for Gabriel's condition."
"But I didn't do anything to him!"
"That doesn't matter," Artemis said with a shrug. "Besides, Lailah and I have seen your type many times before: A smug, egotistical little man who runs away the moment he doesn't have the upper hand." Ketch clenched his fists and stared at her.
"I do not hide behind others. I can do my own dirty work, and have before."
"Your statement doesn't mean mine isn't true as well." She smiled sweetly at him, but both Sam and Dean saw the anger simmering just under the surface.
"Well, that settles it: Artemis and I will take Ketch to one of the chapter houses, while the rest of you prepare for our expected "guest". Crowley, I assume you'll be bugging out before the fireworks start?" The King of Hell stood and clasped his hands in front of him.
"You know me only too well, Dean. But do let me know when you've dealt with Asmodeus." He vanished a moment later, and the Nephilim all turned harsh looks on the human.
"You have anything else to help your case?" Dean wondered. Ketch sighed heavily before reaching into a pocket and placing a golden Blade on the table.
"An Archangel Blade. Though it only shows its true power when being wielded by one of them, it is more than capable of killing low-level Demons. I proved that in my escape."
"So that's Gabriel's Blade?" Sam asked.
"It would seem so. Not that he's in any shape to use it. Perhaps one of you "Nephilim" can make use of it for the time being." Dean looked at his brother, and they nodded at each other.
"Well, time to get you secured somewhere that's not here. We'll be back soon, Sam." Dean and Artemis each grabbed one of Ketch's arms, and then they were gone. Sam ran a hand through his hair and headed into the living room, hoping for some good news in all this. He saw Gabriel huddled up in a corner, Lailah sitting next to him with her hand on his shoulder. She'd managed to cut the thread keeping his mouth closed, but he was still only whimpering, if he made any sound at all. Cas turned and shrugged, adding a small head shake in answer to his friend's questioning look.
"He's... Not good."
"That seems like an understatement, Cas. Can Lailah get through?"
"She's trying, but it's difficult. With Gabriel having been worshiped as Loki all this time, he's much more powerful than she is. And we were never designed to... Heal Archangels. Our abilities normally don't affect them at all, so I don't know if she can even reach where he is in his mind."
"He's completely retreated then?"
"Yes," the Dominion answered, sounding tired. "It's like a wall he's built to keep what's left of himself safe." Sam frowned and dropped his gaze to the floor, noting the guilty look Cas had.
"And you can't get past it?"
"Not easily. He might come out himself when he realizes he's safe here, but I don't know. All I can feel is... Fear. I've never known Gabriel to be afraid of anyone. Even with Lucifer and Michael he was always... Truthful, and usually sarcastically so."
"So he's always been like that?"
"Hence why his disappearance wasn't made into a big deal," the Angel answered with a shrug. "Neither Michael nor Raphael wanted to "waste resources" to locate him." Sam gave a derisive laugh and hung his head. Though it shouldn't have surprised him how little the Angels of Heaven cared for each other, it still baffled him at times.
"Was he close to either of you? Will knowing you're here make him feel safer?"
"He's still our older brother," Lailah told him. "And we'll do what we can to help him." She saw Gabriel glance over at her, but she wasn't sure if her words had registered with him.
"Let's get him into a room," Sam suggested, walking over and crouching in front of the Archangel. "Hey Gabriel, it's Sam Winchester. Do you remember me?" The whiskey-brown eyes stared back unblinking, but no recognition was evident.
"I don't think he does," Cas said with a heavy sigh.
"I know, I just... We need to give him time." Lailah helped the Nephilim get Gabriel standing, noting the tight set of Sam's jaw as they slowly eased their "patient" down the hallways and into one of the empty rooms. They sat him on the bed, where he proceeded to draw his knees up and wrap his arms around them. Cas came in and wrapped a blanket around his brother's shoulders, shrugging when Sam raised an eyebrow.
"Dean usually wraps blankets around me when I don't feel good. Maybe it'll help Gabriel."
"It's not a bad idea," his sister agreed. "We should also see about cleaning off all this blood." The Angel headed out to grab the necessary supplies, and Sam folded his arms and leaned against the wall. "This upsets you because you had a similar reaction after Cas broke your mental wall, yes?" Her question caught the tall man off-guard, and he stared at her. "You didn't hide that from me, and I've also seen my brother's perspective on all of that."
"... I know. And yeah, this hits a little too close to home. Do you think he's... Seeing Asmodeus like I saw Lucifer?" At the mention of the Demon's name, they both saw Gabriel tense up for a moment, eyes widening.
"I don't know." Lailah motioned Sam to come over, and gently placed one of his hands on Gabriel's head. "Focus, and tell me what you see." The Nephilim closed his eyes and concentrated, but all he could "see" was darkness, all he could hear was a static buzz, and the only emotion he could discern was mind-numbing terror. He broke the connection, staring at the Archangel.
"...Shit." Cas returned at this point, bringing a small basin of water, and a few washcloths. Lailah started gently wiping the dried blood off her older brother's face, her fist clenching every so often. "I'll go scrounge up a change of clothes," Sam told them, looking at the dirty rags Gabriel was in. Then the angelic siblings were alone, and Cas sighed heavily.
"That Demon will come for him."
"And then he'll die," the Dominion coldly retorted.
"The Princes are powerful, Lailah. We shouldn't underestimate Asmodeus, especially with him... Using Gabriel's Grace." Her eyes flicked up to meet the Angel's.
"I'm actually counting on him underestimating us. But what I want to know is how he got his hands on Gabriel in the first place. The last time anyone here saw him was when he was squaring off against Lucifer after he'd killed..." Lailah closed her eyes and shook her head. Gabriel had not been the only one to assume the mantle of a pagan god, and a number of Angels and Demons had turned away from Heaven and Hell to acquire their own worship. And Lucifer had killed nearly all of them single-handedly... Only Kali had escaped, and that was because Gabriel had seemingly sacrificed himself to stall the other Archangel. "They weren't a threat to him. Why did he feel the need to slaughter them?"
"Why does Lucifer do anything?" Cas shot back. "But they were gathering to discuss moving against him. We both know he wouldn't tolerate that."
"So all we know is that he somehow survived his run-in with Lucifer, and then ended up a prisoner of a Prince of Hell." They both looked at Gabriel, who still sat in silence. "Please brother... Help us help you. You're safe with us, I promise." But the static and fear remained, and Lailah sighed heavily as she went back to cleaning him up.