Chapter 6

"I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see. I sought my God, but my God eluded me. I sought my brother and I found all three."
– Unknown

Gabriel jerked awake as something knocked against his ribs. He couldn't believe he'd nodded off again. There was no sign of Lucifer, and Castiel was just coming around, so Gabriel quickly extricated himself from his little brother before either of them had to feel awkward about 'cuddling.'

"Gabriel?" Castiel blinked blearily at him, then warily at their surroundings. "Are we both dead, or…?"

Gabriel snorted. "Unfortunately, we're still the honored guests of our dickhead brother."

Castiel's brow furrowed, and he pushed himself up onto his elbows. "But you're alive." The note of utter relief in his tone actually touched Gabriel, and he sat back down on the edge of the mattress.

"Gonna take more than a pup to kill me."

Castiel's expression darkened with remembered horror. "I thought…with the hellhound saliva…"

Gabriel couldn't contain a wince. It had been a close call. But he plastered on a cheeky grin for his younger brother. "Like I said, gonna take more than that to keep the Trickster down."

"And, Lucifer…" Castiel slowly roved his gaze around the room again. "He was…angry."

Gabriel clenched a fist. "You're talking about your little stay in the cellar? Luci's gonna have to throw me down there too if he wants to send you back, the lying prick."

Castiel looked stunned for a moment, gaze drifting to his bandaged wrists. "You...came and got me?"

"'Course I did." Sheesh, after everything, Castiel still doubted him?

"Thank you," came the murmured response.

Gabriel's shoulders slumped. "Don't thank me yet. Our little escape attempt not only revealed dear Lucifer's true colors, but made things worse. He wants you to help him find Sam Winchester, and if you refuse…"

Castiel lifted his chin defiantly, even as a flicker of fear flashed in his eyes. "I'll die first."

"I would prefer if you wouldn't." Gabriel rolled his eyes and surged to his feet. "We need to get out of here. Or at least you do. But climbing out the window ain't gonna work a second time." He began to pace the length of the room. "If only I could get these damn cuffs off."

Castiel scooted to the edge of the bed. "I…I could try to pick the lock."

Gabriel paused mid-stride to throw his brother an incredulous look.

Castiel shrugged almost self-consciously. "Dean insisted I learn. I thought it pointless…though now I see I was mistaken."

Gabriel gaped at him. "You didn't think to mention this during our last escape?" he nearly yelled, only remembering at the last moment to keep his voice down.

Castiel frowned. "You didn't say anything about getting the cuffs off then, only that we had to leave in a hurry."

Gabriel smacked a palm over his face. Okay, fine, he had dragged Castiel from bed, half-asleep, so he wouldn't throttle the kid now for not thinking more clearly at the time. But jeez, that could've saved them a world of hurt.

"You think you can pick these now?" Gabriel checked.

Castiel rolled his shoulder. "I…I can try. I wasn't very good and Dean eventually lost patience trying to teach me. I understand the general principle, though."

"Well, we have time." Sort of. Lucifer had charged Gabriel with convincing Cas to cooperate, which meant the Devil needed to at least give Gabriel a chance. The question was how long did he have before Lucifer brought out the dog leashes?

"I don't have any lock picks," Castiel spoke up.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Improvise." He strode to the balcony, which had not been re-sigiled, probably because Lucifer had no intention of using the room anymore. Gabriel didn't plan on scaling the trellis again, though, not with Cujo lurking around somewhere down there. He did pick up the rusty nail from before, and brought it back to Castiel. Then he hit the bathroom and came back out with a bobby pin he'd found in one of the drawers.

Sitting on the bed, Gabriel held out one manacled wrist expectantly. "Show me what you got."

Castiel swallowed nervously, but set his focus to the lock and began fiddling with it, forehead creased with intense concentration. Gabriel hadn't been expecting a miracle, but he had to admit that as the minutes ticked by and Castiel continued to pick and poke at the lock with no success, Gabriel was growing anxious.

"Listen," he said. "When we get out of here, there's a message you need to deliver to the Winchesters."

"Why can't you deliver it?" Castiel replied without looking up from his task.

"We might get separated. I'll make sure you get to Sam and Dean, though, I promise."

Castiel paused in his work to skewer Gabriel with a sharp glare. "I'm not leaving without you."

Once again, Gabriel was oddly touched, but he shook off the sentimentality. "I appreciate the loyalty, kiddo, but someone may need to hold off the dogs." Hopefully not actual dogs this time. "And it's gonna be me, not you."

Castiel's eyes narrowed. "I can still fight…"

"Would you just shut up and listen?" Gabriel interrupted, and flicked a pointed look at the manacle. A muscle in Castiel's jaw ticked, but he returned to picking the lock.

"Look," Gabriel continued more gently. "This is important. Like, stop the Apocalypse important. You need to get this information to the Winchesters, capisce?"

After a long moment, Castiel slowly nodded.

"Knew I could count on you. Okay, so there's a way to put Lucifer back in his box."

Castiel glanced up sharply, and Gabriel impatiently waved for him to focus back on the lock-picking.

"Not that it'll be easy. But Lucifer himself doesn't even know this—the key to the Cage is out there. Or keys, plural. Four keys—four rings. From the Horsemen."

Castiel looked up again in disbelief.

Gabriel nodded with a grin. "Yup. You get 'em all, you got the Cage. Can't say I'm betting on those boys…but, uh, I've been wrong before. And they'll have you."

A shadow of doubt flickered across Castiel's face, but he quickly hid it by ducking his gaze back to the handcuff.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Oh puhleeze. A minute ago you were adamant that you could fight, and now you're doubting yourself? Or do you doubt the dynamic duo as well?"

"Of course not," Castiel rejoined. "Sam and Dean are…"

"Right. Don't sell yourself short either, kiddo." Swallowing a sigh, Gabriel reached out and clapped Castiel's shoulder. "That bigger purpose you thought you had? I think so too. Maybe you gotta figure out how to do it without wings, but hey, Tweedledee and Tweedledum don't have feathers either."

Castiel's expression clouded with disappointment. "You won't be helping us?"

"What do you call me sharing state secrets?" he scoffed, only to cover up his growing unease. Gabriel had one goal here: get his little brother out safely. And if that meant he had to make the sacrificial play again…well, third time was the charm, right?

Castiel returned his focus to the lock, mouth set in a grim line. It tugged at Gabriel's heart, but he had to let the younger angel get used to the idea that Gabriel might not be around to help him.

Actually, at this rate, neither of them would be around to send Lucifer packing back to the Pit. More likely the Devil would send them there first. Gabriel tried not to let his impatience show, only because it seemed to have bothered Castiel when he mentioned the eldest Winchester getting frustrated with his lack of progress in lock-picking 101. Gabriel started trying to come up with a Plan B when a small click broke the silence, and the heavy weight around his wrist suddenly fell off.

Both angels stared at the released manacle for a moment before Gabriel burst into a wide grin. "Attaboy!" The archangel flared his grace, energy coursing through his wings as he flexed them. There was still the second cuff, but being able to move just a fraction more than a moment ago felt like being able to do a jumping jack after getting out of a straitjacket.

Gabriel held out his other hand, anticipation making him jittery. Damn, he wanted to spread his wings fully and fly them both the hell outta there. Too bad one success didn't make Castiel a pro, and the younger angel was once again struggling to repeat the process with the second cuff. Then it all went to hell when the door handle cranked and the door flew open.

Both Gabriel and Cas jumped in surprise, and Gabriel quickly thrust his freed arm behind his back. He used the other to slap the nail and bobby pin from Castiel's hands and swept them under the bedspread as Lucifer stormed in. The Devil's eyes crackled with menace as his gaze landed first on Castiel, then Gabriel.

"I hear you've been taking liberties, brother," Lucifer said icily.

Gabriel shrugged glibly. "What's the point in being friend to the king if you can't take advantage of some perks?"

Lucifer regarded them for a long moment. "And are you? Friend to the king?"

Gabriel's jaw tightened. He was about to step out on thin ice, and didn't have the ace up his sleeve like he'd been hoping. "I'd like to think so. Though, sometimes being a friend means telling hard truths."

"Hm," Lucifer hummed, finally moving his focus to Castiel. "Have you shared some 'hard truths' with our dear brother?"

Gabriel felt Cas shift nervously beside him, and surreptitiously reached out to give the younger angel's arm a reassuring squeeze. Gabriel then slowly rose to his feet, careful to keep the one hand out of sight. He didn't have full access to his juice with one cuff still binding him, but he had some. And it just might be enough.

"Lucifer, if you care about our relationship at all, you'll leave Castiel out of this."

The Devil took a minatory step forward, the threat clear in his stance. "He placed himself in the middle when he sided with the Winchesters." Lucifer trained his gaze on the lesser angel. "I'm giving you a choice here, Castiel. If you stand between me and Sam Winchester, I can't be responsible for your fate."

Castiel shook his head. "I won't betray the Winchesters."

Lucifer let out a long sigh. "Very well." He raised a hand, poised to snap his fingers.

"Wait!" Gabriel shouted, giving his older brother a pleading look. "Just wait."

Lucifer arched a brow as though to say 'be my guest.'

Gabriel turned to face Cas, who was eyeing him with a pinched expression. "Remember what I told you," Gabriel said, voice low with meaning and barely concealed emotion.

"Gabriel…"

"You'll be okay. No matter what happens." Gabriel had to believe that. He lifted his freed arm and placed two fingers to his brother's forehead, and pushed. The flare of grace hurt, but nevertheless propelled Castiel into the ether, carried by the first fervent prayer Gabriel had made in over a millennium. Please see him safely home.

Castiel's echoed protest faded, drowned out by Lucifer's enraged snarl as the archangel lunged forward and grabbed Gabriel by the front of his shirt.

"You traitorous—"

Gabriel shoved him off, half his strength returned, even if he was still disadvantaged against the Devil. "You're the traitor, Lucifer! Using Castiel to manipulate me?" He barked out a bitter laugh. "But you never thought I'd sacrifice myself to save him, did you? Because you don't understand what it means to be a brother anymore."

Lucifer stormed forward. "Save him? Give me a break, Gabriel. In Castiel's state, he's a sitting duck out there. Vulnerable to angels and demons alike. Where did you send him?"

Gabriel shook his head. "Sorry, no can do." He just hoped the kid would find his way to the Winchesters soon. Either way, Gabriel wasn't letting Lucifer anywhere near their little brother, ever again.

Lucifer lifted a hand, and in a blink it held a glinting angel blade. "I'm warning you, Gabriel…"

He spread his arms and waggled his brows. "Let's tango."

Gabriel charged first, even though he was weaponless. But this time he was actually counting on his brother's temper and reflexes. Lucifer arced his blade around and down, and Gabriel threw up his arm into the blade's path. Metal collided with metal in a shower of sparks as Lucifer's angel blade cracked the remaining sigiled cuff.

Gabriel spun away, wrenching the manacle off and throwing it on the floor before clutching at his bleeding wrist where blade had also nicked flesh. Bluish-white light pulsed between his fingers. Lucifer's nostrils flared, and in barely a second, he'd flapped his wings with a gust and plowed into Gabriel. The Trickster tried to twist away, and the two archangels slammed into one of the bookcases, scattering paperbacks across the floor. White-hot agony pierced Gabriel's abdomen, and he sucked in a harsh gasp, glancing down to find his brother's blade buried in his stomach. Wasn't this familiar…

Lucifer grasped a fistful of Gabriel's collar with his other hand, bringing their faces inches from each other. "Why?" he seethed.

"You were right," Gabriel choked out. "About where my heart lies." His fingers clutched at Lucifer's sleeve. "With you. Always with you." Blood bubbled up in his throat with a coppery tang. "Which is why I can't watch you become this. Can't watch you torture our brother, or destroy this world." Tears pricked at the corners of Gabriel's eyes. "And it's why I can't kill you, either. I can't kill the Morningstar."

His lips quirked upward at the memories stirred by the nickname. It'd been a joke between them, once upon a time. When the sun rose over a newly-created earth, it was still Lucifer who'd shone the brightest. And Gabriel had loved him. Oh, how he'd loved him.

Lucifer's eyes glistened darkly as he hovered over Gabriel, the angel blade still embedded in the younger archangel's stomach.

Gabriel coughed, which sent searing pain lancing through him. "Just do it," he ground out. It'd be easier this way; he wouldn't have to watch anymore people he loved die.

Lucifer was shaking, or perhaps that was just Gabriel as his lifeblood dribbled out along the edge of the blade and onto the carpet. He may have been the Trickster, but he was fairly certain he'd used up all of his nine lives.

The blade shifted, agony firing along his nerves anew, but instead of the world exploding in a supernova, Lucifer pulled the blade out and stepped back. Gabriel staggered, yet still managed to stay upright. Blinking past white spots, he stared incredulously at his older brother.

Lucifer's expression was somber and…old. Wearied. The archangel waved his hand, and Gabriel felt the Enochian sigils marked around this part of the mansion vanish. He still didn't know what was going on, but then Lucifer turned his head away, shoulders heavy with something like resignation. Gabriel decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and with one final exertion of strength, spread his wings and leaped.

A door slammed open, followed by pounding footsteps and raucous voices. "Bobby! Where is he?"

"In here," the older hunter groused back.

Dean and Sam barreled through the foyer into the living room, stopping short as they spotted Castiel sitting on the couch, a blanket draped across his shoulders. He was pale, with dark circles under his eyes, yet his posture perked up ever so slightly at the Winchesters' arrival.

"Cas!" Dean surged forward first. "We thought you were dead. Where the hell have you been?"

"It's a long story," the angel replied gravely.

Sam looked him over worriedly, and then slowly sat down next to him on the sofa. "Are you okay?"

"I…" His cheeks colored with shame and he looked away. "You could say my batteries are…are drained."

Dean blinked. "What? You're out of angel mojo?"

Castiel didn't answer, and Sam placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What happened, Cas?"

Kali stepped in front of the mirror, mouth pursed in a thoughtful moue. "I don't see how you consider this a victory, Gabriel."

He propped himself up on the king-size bed he was currently lounging on, in the vacation house in Tahiti. It felt strange for Kali to call him by his real name, while at the same time sent an arousing thrill through him. Too bad he wasn't in any shape for that kind of activity. Gabriel grimaced, settling a hand over his bandaged stomach. "Shh and wait for the good part."

Kali rolled her eyes, but sauntered back over to the bed and climbed up behind him. Long fingers pinched the back of his neck before furling into fists and kneading at the knots in his muscles. Gabriel relaxed into her touch.

"Gabriel?" Dean said in disbelief. "Where is he now?"

Castiel dropped his gaze to the floor. "I don't know. He…he stayed behind to hold off Lucifer while I…"

"So he's probably dead," Dean muttered.

Sam shot his brother a bitch-face.

"I don't understand why he did that," Castiel said in a soft voice.

Sam squeezed his shoulder and smiled sadly. "Because he's your brother."

"Are you sure they're talking about you?" Kali crooned in his ear.

Gabriel placed his hand over his heart. "You wound me, you know that?"

She gave him a simpering pout before pressing her lips to his bare shoulder. Gabriel tried to focus on the mirror, though Kali was making it quite difficult.

"All we need is Pestilence and Death," Dean was saying.

Sam snorted. "Oh, is that all?"

Dean shrugged. "It's a plan." He looked to Cas and Bobby to back him up. Neither looked very enthused, though.

Castiel cleared his throat. "I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I'll do everything I can."

"Sure," Dean replied casually. "Just like any of us."

Sam eyed Castiel contemplatively. "Hey, we're just glad to have you back, man. And if you need help getting used to this…human thing, we're here for you."

Castiel gaped at the younger Winchester owlishly. "Without my powers…"

"It'll be okay, Cas," Sam assured him. "That's not the most important thing here." He shot Dean a pointed look.

Dean frowned, apparently taking a minute to catch on.

"Always were the slow one, weren't you," Gabriel muttered.

Kali draped an arm across his chest. "Are you done yet?"

Ohhh, she was doing that thing with her tongue again. "In a minute."

"Yeah, man," Dean said, clapping Castiel on the shoulder. "You're frickin' alive. Hey, if you're human now, you gotta eat, right? I'll throw on some burgers and we can spitball how we're gonna gank Pestilence."

Gabriel watched the Winchesters usher a confused and taken aback Castiel into the kitchen where Dean set about puttering through the refrigerator and Sam started fussing over the wounds he discovered Castiel was concealing.

Gabriel waved his arm, and the image in the mirror shimmered before returning to a normal reflection of the bedroom. Yeah, you'll be okay, kiddo.

Kali pressed her body along the curve of his own. "Took you long enough."

"Hey, be gentle with the goods, darlin', I just got stabbed."

"You seem to make a habit of that," she purred in his ear.

He shifted to face her, reaching up to cup the side of her head. "I must be a glutton for punishment."

She stole a kiss before her expression turned serious. "What are we doing, Gabriel? I'm not ready to lie down and let the Judeo-Christian religion destroy this world."

He stroked her arm. "Eh, have a little faith. I think we've got more bang for our buck than you think." Gabriel would keep an eye on things, too. But in the meantime, he'd definitely earned a vacation.

A/N: And that's all, folks! It's been a blast with BAMF!Gabriel, and thank you everyone for coming along for this ride. My next story is an AU of 5x18, "Point of No Return" and will be an ANGST fest with major Cas!whump. Hope to see you there! ^_^