Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: Post 5x19 season five ending AU, starts in 5x22. The Winchesters are angry at Gabriel-for leaving them when he died-giving them a bare scrap of hope-and for just being himself, Gabriel is angry at them, and himself, and Heaven and Hell won't leave things well alone. Demons run when a good man goes to war...

To cowgyrl2001: Thank you for the fave and follow!

To Caeribormeith: First off, Thank you. I truly do appreciate your reviews as lengthy as the first one is, and I do appreciate the content (would make this private but as you are a guest reviewer this is where I must respond) You are right, I threw in OC's, but as I have not yet addressed who they truly are yet, I wish to explain. In Judeo-Christian beliefs, Archangels, while packing a lot of power, are in the bottom Triad of Angels. The top angels in Heaven are the Seraphim-my OC's-they are all legitimate angels within the believed Hierarchy, Shekinah is known as the "Bride of God" because of the belief of her powers and her being the angelic form of the Virgin Mary.

There are multiple How to Write Fanfiction tutorials all over the internet, if I wanted to read one I would, thanks for the suggestion. The point of Fanfiction is to express our ideas about our fandoms in whatever manner we please. As you said you are new to this fandom, heads up, there's some weird ones out there. Supernatural is hit and miss, some of us are ok with reviews like this (I enjoy them and hope I get more) some will rant and be pissed (you're right, the smacking comment was a little far, thank you for apologizing and retracting that)If you do continue reading this, thank you, if not, thank you for doing so earlier.

I do keep canon facts, but throw in other theological and supernatural elements in as well as this is an AU fic, Alternate Universe, we can bend the rules. I'm not perfect at writing Dean and Bobby, I will admit they're a bit rough. Gabriel is in character to an extent but he's also has no Grace within him, no powers, and is healing from the stab wound Lucifer gave him. He's a bit OOC as well, that's the point. Death, and the four Seraphim will be explained, haven't gotten there yet. Thank you again and Happy Hunting ;)

To Guest: Thank you for your review, I ask you to read above my response to Caeribormeith's review. Heads up, this is an AU-Alternate Universe-different rules. I am on this site to express my ideas and love for this any another fandoms without fear of being considered and Asshole. That was uncalled for. If readers such as yourself and Caeribormeth have a problem with AU stories and how they do not stick to canon, and in turn have issues with the author, do not read them. And if these such reviews from the two of you continue, that while full of well received criticism (don't get me wrong I like these reviews) I ask you to review other such stories that are AU and "throw away" canon facts such as mine does. There are plenty of them in the Supernatural Fanfiction Archive. Like I told Caeribormeith above, I apologize this review could not be responded to privately as you are a guest review.

Chapter Five

Xxx

Three voices were screaming...they were all Michael could hear besides the crackling of his burning wings and the air rushing past his ears.

He was Falling...he couldn't believe...refused to believe it...yet the gut wrenching pain tearing through him as his grace as flung to the four winds was enough to smack some sense into him.

Michael had felt pain before, he was a warrior for Father's sake, but this...this wasn't like anything he'd known before. His mind couldn't understand who was falling near him...couldn't understand why he was hearing three voices screaming…

Oh, wait...one of those voices was his…

Xxx

Dean swore loudly as his ears went numb, the resounding boom as a falling fireball hit the parking lot outside making the building shake, car alarms were blaring as the ringing in his ears died down and he was able to get up from where Cas had yanked him to the floor at the sound of an angel's true Voice getting closer.

Sam was already heading out the door with Gabriel when Dean managed to get to his feet, Cas was staring at the skies, the clouds beginning to dissipate as the sunrise tinted the horizon.

No one was expecting to find what they did outside.

Ash and small smoldering objects made a ring around each of three smoking craters, in the center of each was a person. Raphael was on his back, grimacing but otherwise silent, refusing to let anyone touch him when the hunters rushed forward. Lucifer wasn't much better, on his hands and knees, bowed over as he groaned softly, hissing in pain. Michael was the worst, curled on his side with his arms wrapped around his head as he screamed.

All three were in agony...Sam and Dean froze a few yards from them, staring at the appendages on the angels' backs. The wings were only partially in the human plane of existence, but what they could see wasn't good, the dim outlines of the arches and feathers were on fire, burning and disintegrating into nothing.

"Balls!"

Bobby's sudden voice next to them startled the Winchesters into action, Sam going to the Impala to get the gallons of Holy water while Dean held Cas back from moving forward, the feathers burning smelled almost identical to Holy oil, no one wanted to test if it acted the same. Gabriel was already trying to pull Lucifer to his feet, batting at the burning wings to stop the fire. It was no use, even water, Holy or not didn't quench the flames. The burning continued until there was nothing left, the wings just gone from the three archangels.

"What the hell?"

"I dunno…"

"No seriously Sam, what the friggin hell?!"

His brother just gave him a bitch face before stepping forward to help Michel to his feet, the angel was in a vessel unfamiliar to the Winchesters, but at least they weren't staring at Adam or their younger father. The brunette male was shaky on his feet, clinging to Sam for warmth as he stared blankly ahead.

It took Dean a minute to finally move, helping Cas jerk Raphael off the ground, fighting off his protests as they dragged him into the motel room. Bobby was working damage control with the few other motel guests who'd stuck their heads out to figure out what the hell was going on.

Raphael was unceremoniously dropped into a chair, Cas standing with his angel blade to the man's throat while Dean turned to help Gabriel drag Lucifer inside when the shorter man had trouble with his taller brother and still healing wounds himself. Both the Devil and Michael were dropped onto the motel beds, angel blades ready incase they did anything. While without his own, Gabriel was able to grab Michael's from his pocket to use against him, and the Winchesters had their own to hold on Lucifer.

The three archangels were compliant, all still moving sluggishly and obviously in pain. Only Lucifer seemed even somewhat coherent, able to sit on the bed without falling over.

Gabriel couldn't decide who to ask first, glancing between his three brothers continuously as pain flashed through his eyes. Bobby's return snapped them out of their shock, the older hunter surveying the room before shaking his head.

"One of ya feathered ass hats better start talkin'...and damned quick."

Michael groaned as he forced himself to sit up enough to not be completely invalid, holding and arm to his ribs in pain as he grimaced. "Lucifer how are you not in agony?"

The Morning Star rolled his eyes as he tilted his head a little, faintly reminded Dean of Cas' own quirk. "I've fallen before brother...and spent many millennia in the Cage, pain such as Falling is nothing new to me."

Michael's gaze fell for a second before he sighed, grimacing as even that hurt. "Gabriel?"

"What bro?"

"How are you here?"

"Dunno...why the hell have you and Raph Fallen?"

The silence coming from the hunters was enough to make Michael look around at them before locking gazes with the former Messenger.

"The Seraphim."

Xxx

Xx

Xxx

The Valerian Bobby used to knock out Gabriel the day before worked to knock out the other three archangels, what was worse was it shouldn't have worked, especially Michael and Lucifer. Nothing should be able to suppress them besides each other or their Father. Raphael fought them the entire way, but it soon became clear he was powerless, and his vessel not strong enough to fight off two Winchesters and two of his brothers to dump the drugged whiskey down his throat. Michael took the glass willingly, accepting the aid to sleep as his pain was too much to handle. Lucifer refused it, saying he was going to pass out anyway. Which he did luckily.

They were out within minutes, sedated and silent.

After taking a minute to just breathe, Gabriel rubbed at his face, sighing when he realized all eyes were on him.

"Guess you want an explanation then."

Xxx

Luckily Bobby's motel room was right next door, and the rooms were conjoining so they had privacy to talk without fully leaving the unconscious archangels unsupervised.

Cas posted himself in the joining doorway, leaning heavily on the door frame as his gaze stayed locked on his older brothers sleeping in the other room.

Gabriel has snagged a chair as soon as they'd entered, sitting on it backwards and resting his chin on his crossed arms on the chair back while Bobby sat in the other chair at the small table covered in research materials. The Winchesters sat on the bed, watch Gabriel run a hand through his hair before looking to the hunters.

"Ok this is going to take a long time...so what do you know about angels first? I'm not going to repeat myself or take longer over what ya'll ready know."

Sam shifted, "Like what? Angel types?"

"Sure."

"Uh...Archangels, there's you-Raphael-Michael...Lucifer's a fallen archangel."

Dean leaned back against the headboard of the bed, "There's Cas' type, warrior angels right? And cupids, Cherubs or whatever."

Gabriel nodded, waiting for them to go on patiently.

"Uh...only archangel blades can kill and archangel, and Garrison's have a commander who can be a real prick."

"Dean-"

"What?"

The former trickster managed a smirk, sitting up a bit straighter with a soft sigh, "Ok so not as much as I'd hoped...how about you Singer? Ever heard anything of the hierarchy of angels?"

"Besides from these two and Cas?" Bobby shook his head, leaning back in his chair, "Nothin' 'sides Seraphim angels have six wings."

Sam's eyes narrowed a tad, "Thought archangels had six wings."

"We do, that's 'cause we're the first, good ole Dad had a thing for feathers and as we were the oldest we got the best toys. Now moving on...The hierarchy in Heaven isn't just Archangels-Angels-Cupids, it's made up of three spheres...each sphere a triad. Archangels and Angels like Castiel are in the lowest sphere, cupids being cherubs are just lower level Angels like Cassie here. Doers versus fighters. The lowest sphere is made up of angels who directly interact with mankind and Earth. There's also the Principalities, they are the ones who bestow Dad's gifts on people...like Joseph-son of Jacob and that tie-dye coat, his dreams were a gift given by a principality to do Dad's will, or Michelangelo's painting in the Sistine Chapel-came from some artistically inclined Principalities.

"The Archangels were created first, then the Angels who as time went on were gifted with a task, power, destiny...whatever, the Principalities were slightly more gifted, ensuring the big plan was followed by inserting the right plot twists when needed. Most Garrison leaders were Principalities. Now during all this, Dad created Earth and Eden and established rules for everything...including how to react to his latest toy, you humans. And as you guys grew in intelligence-ok well not really-"

"Gabriel."

Gabriel turned at Castiel's voice, rolling his eyes at the warning in Cas' tone. "Anyway, as you guys realized more about Father through everything he did thousands of years ago in what you know as Biblical times, the worshiping and religion shifted, and also shifted things in Heaven along with it. The other ranks of Heaven, the two high spheres were...ah how to put this...prayed into existence from human perception, adapting angels that were once one rank and promoting them into something else. To humans, Archangels were and are the top, we manifest so you can see us, and enact Dad's will on Earth, whether in peace or in war. Angels do this as well alongside us just not as extreme, cherubs carry messages or make sure certain people get together."

Clearing his throat, Gabriel continued when his slight pause wasn't met with questions, "The second sphere is the angelic or celestial essence of the Dominions, the Virtues, and the Powers. The Dominions are the angelic essence of what and who angels are, loyal to their Garrison, obedient to orders, faithful to our Father...etc. It's so rare for them to manifest for humans they're not truly seen as angels other than knowledge based in Christian beliefs. The Virtues are the very embodiment of the heavenly traits that oppose the Seven Deadly Sins, they were created to balance out the other side of Pandora's box. The deadly versions of the virtues are know all Fallen angels and work with Lucifer. You know these angels as Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Patience, Kindness, and Humility. The opposites of Lust, Gluttony, Avarice, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride. The Powers come into play only vaguely as they are on the border between divine intervention and free will, they help manage Earth with the Principalities by pushing human rulers in the right direction, like inserting the idea in someone's head they should run for president. But it's debatable how much they actually do...

"The lower two in the highest sphere are the Cherubim who only take care of the Garden of Eden and that stupid tree, Joshua is considered a Cherubim, and the Ophanim or thrones...they are the symbols of Dad's justice and authority, humans perceive them as wheels within wheels with hundreds of eyes...no idea how that came about. They and the Cherubim are the embodiment of Dad's might and divine being. They do absolutely nothing when it comes to humans and could care less about Earth, bunch of ass kissers if you ask me."

The silence that hung in the air was almost as tangible as the tension, the hunters taking in the information, Gabriel wanted to smirk at how Sam's hand kept twitching as if to grab paper and a pen to take notes, the former archangel almost wished he could snap a notebook up for the Winchester to use.

Dean spoke first, arms crossed across his chest, "What about the ones Michael mentioned?"

"Oh those guys," Gabriel winced, the memories were painful and his eyes dropped as he explained, "The Seraphim are the highest ranking in the human perception of celestial intent because of their place in Heaven. The Seraphim's sole purpose is to praise Dad at all times and care for the throne, they are angels with six wings to show their seniority for the longest time, but they don't hold any authority, it's the Archangels in charge . They don't interfere in anything and I mean it, they've sat idle long before Dad left the building and ignored what was happening from the very beginning."

Gabriel's voice lost it's slightly upbeat tone he'd had, like he'd been eager to tell about Heaven, now he just sounded like he was forcing the words out because he had to, "But like all three spheres, in the war where Luci got kicked out of the house and dropped into the Cage, they suffered losses when the fighting got so intense. There were originally seven true Seraphim angels, going to have to ask Mikey how many are left, I ran before they got caught in the crossfire, seven Seraphim, and seven archangels, sort of Lucifer was number eight."

"Wait," Sam sat up straighter, gaze flicking to Castiel as the angel shifted at his post, not looking to any of them but the length of their friendship had taught the Winchesters he was tense and not happy. "Eight Archangels? Who are the rest?"

"Two of our sisters, dead, and then there was Uriel and Zadkiel. Besides Luce, we each have a day of the week to protect, children born on our day are automatically under our "watch" and technically have a higher chance of getting our protection if asked."

Dean jumped to his feet, "Uriel?! That bastard?! How the hell was he an archangel?"

"I said 'was' Deano, he got demoted in the war, especially after Zadkiel disappeared and then turned up dead. There weren't enough archangels left in heaven to maintain a council of seven and with his being tied to a few of the Fallen angels, Raph clipped his wings and knocked his rank down a few pegs. Once I took off, it was just Mikey and Raph left in Heaven to maintain order, ranks and garrisons got all fucked to hell, and humans stopped truly recognizing the ranks in heaven they'd helped to establish. I doubt very many people know of the hierarchy anymore, I don't even think some devout monks or nuns know about it."

"So why would the Seraphim step in now? Why bother with the prize fight between Michael and Lucifer this time when they didn't before?" Sam's tone was curious enough Gabriel wanted to answer, but tight enough that the archangel couldn't keep his own voice from sounding tense.

"Who knows...maybe because Daddy dearest was part of things last time, maybe because they got as sick of the fighting as I did, maybe because they just felt like it now that Dad isn't talking. They technically have nothing to do know with no one on the throne. But not only did they interfere...they forced my brothers to Fall...that's not easy to do, especially to Archangels, and Mikey is Dad's Golden Boy. It took half of Heaven and then some to get Lucifer to Fall. And that was in the peak of a battle where they were still pushing others over the edge at the same time."

"Means they had help."

Castiel turned at Sam's words, eyes locking on Gabriel's as they had a nonverbal conversation that would have been creep if it weren't a pair of angels, albeit powerless.

The trench coated angel shifted on his feet to stave off any stiffness forming in his legs, "If the Seraphim had help in causing our brothers to Fall, then it is right to assume that Lucifer had aid in entering Heaven, once an Angel has Fallen they cannot return to the Host without permission."

"Ya'll feathered ass hats keep sayin' fallen, what's that even mean exactly, Cas is cut off from Heaven, but ya said ya were jus' in hidin' Gabriel."

The messenger shrugged, "I left Heaven but still had ties to the Host and through faith as St. Gabriel, I still had my grace up until I got stabbed by my darling brother in the next room, however the hell I came back kept my grace from coming back with me. Cas is cut off from Heaven because of Michael and Raphael, basically they built a dam between him and Heaven, it's not permanent technically, if something breaks the dam, he's back to normal, Cas isn't Fallen in the sense Lucifer and his followers are, and now Michael and Raphael. You saw them when they hit the ground...their wings burned up, they're gone for good. Their grace was ripped out of them as they Fell from Heaven. There's nothing angelic about them. Heck even Lucifer in the Cage still had some of his grace when he Fell the first time, corrupted as it was there was still a smidgeon of a chance that he could repent and Dad would let him out...now they're no better than humans...this is Fallen to the point of no return."

"So we have three archangels-"

"Four."

Dean rolled his eyes at Gabriel's interruption, but nodded, "Four archangels who are completely human...and three of them want to kill us."

"Only two…"

Sam shifted as everyone looked to him to go on, "Lucifer said he would never hurt or lie to me, even if that means not hurting others around me, I don't think he'll try and kill us."

"See, that's why I like you Sam."

Lucifer standing in the doorway next to Cas who had his blade against his chest just smirked as everyone jumped up. "And to answer you Gabriel, there's only four Seraphim left, though I think one was originally a Principality with a bit too much juice all things considered."

Gabriel nodded then winced, hand going to his wound as he dropped back to his chair in pain, he shouldn't have jumped up, shouldn't be moving a whole lot at all.

"He's fine Cas, if he wanted to hurt us he'd have grabbed one of the weapons Dumb and Dumber left in their room."

Both Sam and Dean shifted a bit as Bobby glared at them for their stupidity. Castiel only let Lucifer by to sit on the couch when the Devil proved he was unarmed, plus the fact that he was deathly pale and shaking may have added to things.

"Which ones are still alive?"

Gabriel's voice was soft and desperate, muffled against his arms as he rested his head on them.

"Gazadriel-though I think he's the ex-Principate, Jehoel, Melchisedek, and Shekinah."

"Shekinah?"

Lucifer nodded as Bobby rubbed at his face in disbelief, "She's called the Bride of God."

"What?"

When neither former archangel spoke the hunter continued, "Called the Bride of God, Regina Angelium, Pistis Sophia, Queen of the Angels...there's a bunch of names, and she's in a lot of deity pantheons as well. She's the wife or queen of the main god. But here she's basically the Virgin Mary, crowned in Heaven as the mother and bride of the Lord. She's more recognized in the Torah than the Bible."

"I don't even think the Bible has her in it...right Gabriel? I don't think those prophets were ever told about her…"

"Matthew did, but it was mostly Metatron who dealt with her...I avoided her at all costs once she started being around, still sort of resented me for making her the center of the Babylonian gossip mill…"

"Wait humans can become angels?"

"Sort of Deano...more like she stepped into a position already there, just not properly filled. Since God is neither male nor female, young or old, she is the female embodiment to what humans see as God is masculine. That and Mary was a big deal so Dad spoiled her a bit once she reached Heaven. If she stepped in then she thought the essence of Dad's glory was threatened, but that doesn't explain Mel and Gazad."

Lucifer shifted, crossed his arms across his chest a bit painfully judging by his grimace, "Gazadriel is the Angel of Death Gabriel, no one was dying during the fight, no matter how many times a blade went through their grace, I don't know why he was interfering like that. As for Mel...none of us ever knew what went through his head."

"What about that other one, Je-what?"

"Jehoel," Cas' tone was grieved, eyes downcast when Dean looked to him, "He is Heaven's mediator, supposed to stop the fights between angels and preserve balance. He was meant to be the deciding hand if there was conflict as our Father once did before he stepped up, but he never came into arguments, especially not that first time."

Lucifer looked pained, and not just from Falling, "He was there Castiel, he tried to stop Michael and I, but he wasn't allowed to physically stop us from coming to blows, he couldn't do a whole lot when we refused to listen to his reason. He stopped trying like everyone else when it became clear even Father wasn't going to break up the fighting. He's also in charge of the other Seraphim, if he stepped back so did the rest."

The Messenger snorted, looking up finally, "Guess Gazad got sick of losing brothers and sisters like I did Luce."

"No one liked the dying Gabriel, it was a casualty of the fighting."

"It didn't have to be, still doesn't." The pure grief in his tone said he didn't even believe his own words, but Gabriel didn't look away when Lucifer turned to him.

"Gabriel-"

"Don't Luci...just don't...you had your chance and blew it when you not only stabbed me but got into Heaven and started another fucking war! Didn't the first one teach you it wasn't worth the violence...dammit Luci! How many do you have to kill to feel better about what Dad said! Just grow up already!"

Sam was there to catch Gabriel when he buckled, human body giving up on him finally. He hadn't been in the best of shape when Dean brought him back from the park before the storm, and now he was done...Sam helped him to the bed, tugging his shirt up to check the bandage and finding it had bled through.

Lucifer grimaced as his vessel changed the bandage on his brother, Gabriel's eyes clenched shut in pain as he gripped the sheets to remain still. "I'm sorry Gabriel."

"…*sigh*...it's ok Luce...I was gonna do it too."

Neither Winchester reacted to Gabriel's tired voice, the resignation in his tone was enough to keep them silent, but it never ceased to shock them when the true age of the angels bled through a bit. Dean met Sam's gaze, nodding in understanding before moving to go check on the other two Fallen archangels with Castiel following.

"You boys got this handled, Valerian's in the glass bottle by the sink Sam, I'm gonna go grab food and call some buddies, see what's all been going on."

With that Bobby left as Lucifer slumped over on the couch, groaning softly as a wave of pain washed over him.

"You need anything?"

Lucifer cracked open and eye to see Sam nearby, Gabriel curled up on the bed either sleeping or pretending to so he could avoid talking.

With a wince, he shook his head, "Nah...nothing's going to help this...just gotta wait it out…"

Sam nodded, before sitting in Gabriel's chair, leaning forward as he worked his jaw a second in thought.

"How'd you get into Heaven? Fallen angels can't get in without permission."

"I wasn't let in Sam."

"Then how's you do it?"

Lucifer looked up to meet his eyes, angelic ice blue meeting the hunter's worn hazel ones.

"I was dragged back in."