[SPN] faith is a series of complications (8/16; seventh act)
VII: seventh act-satellite orbit.
Sleep, unsurprisingly, did not come easily to Gabriel after what had transpired, and the archangel was pretty certain it had taken a good hour or two before he did drift off-at the very least it would explain the insistent knocking on his door that was dragging him back into consciousness.
“I'm coming,” he snapped out unhappily as he dragged himself out of bed, tossing away the sheets covering his body and shuddered at the full-body shiver that had grabbed hold of him the moment his feet touched the floor. The knocks sounded again, and Gabriel let out an annoyed huff, shaking out the last of his post-sleep fuzziness and moved to answer the door, already rolling his eyes even before the sight of Dean Winchester's pissed off face greeted him.
It figured that Dean was the first thing he had to see in the morning.
“Just a bright ball of sunshine now, aren't you Deano?”
The human only glared back at him, green eyes narrowing at Gabriel as he snapped out pointedly. “Its noon, you asshole.”
Gabriel blinked in surprise at the words, glancing at his watch just to be sure that Dean wasn't lying; true enough, it was already past noon. The archangel dropped his wrist back down, rising his eyes back to Dean as he shrugged. “I'm still a recovering patient. Can't help but rest on such a comfortable bed.”
Dean snorted and rolled his eyes in a clear gesture of disbelief. “Whatever. Just get ready or something, Sam and I are gonna call up Cas soon.”
Castiel. The mere mention of the angel's name caused Gabriel's composure to crack just a little, witty retort already dying in his throat as the archangel paused entirely. Just earlier this morning he had been talking with the angel in question, doubt and uncertainty clashing against his desires to reach out. If anything, the events had illuminated many things for Gabriel... in more ways than one, too.
Quickly noticing the slip in Gabriel's usual demeanour Dean frowned, eyes narrowing while he called out cautiously. “...Gabriel?”
“Huh?” Gabriel jerked his head back towards the human, blinking owlishly at him for a second before the memory clicked back in his mind. “Oh, right. Sure thing. I'll be ready in about twenty.”
“We'll be back then,” Dean grunted back, quickly making a move now that his business was settled. Gabriel moved to grab his stuff for a bath, but Dean paused at the door and turned back to the archangel. “Gabriel!”
The archangel glanced up, tilting his head in confusion. “What?”
Dean's eyes flickered down and then back up, and then the man scowled. “Make sure to put on some goddamned pants.”
Gabriel looked down to see the red and pink polka-dotted boxers that he was wearing before he glanced back up and grinned. “No worries Deano. I'm not going to flash anything to your precious Cas.”
There was a brief pause on Dean's end with that comment and the human stared, looking at Gabriel for a moment longer before he shook his head and muttered something unintelligible, slamming the door shut behind him as he moved out. Gabriel grinned again.
Sometimes, he really was just too easy.
One hour later once Gabriel was done showering and calling up more room service for lunch (that was finished up quickly this time as their appointment was now running close), the brothers called upon Castiel who arrived in the usual beat of wings. Gabriel pointedly tried not to stare at the angel as Cas instantly set his gaze on the Winchesters, speaking. “Is it time?”
“Yep,” Loki’s voice cut in smoothly before Dean could even reply, and the four men turned towards Loki who was currently leaning against the door of their room. Unlike the ratty clothes she was wearing before the teenager was now donned in an all-out ensemble of black-black jeans, black sport shoes, black t-shirt complete with black jacket. Her hair was still green though, the colour putting up a violent contrast that Loki didn’t seem to bother about. The girl pushed herself off the wall and stepped closer towards the foursome, smiling as she added on. “Right on cue, even.”
Dean inched back just a little as Loki approached them, green eyes trained warily on the girl. “We going now?”
Loki rolled her eyes. “Duh. Why else would I be here?”
“Can't we just walk there?” Looks like somebody had something against being instantly transported around.
“Too lazy,” the girl returned casually, but the smile on her face wasn't exactly very kind when she got to Dean and laid a hand on his shoulder. The elder Winchester stilled, looking very much like a deer in headlights and his eyes darted towards Sam in an unspoken plea help.
Sam made a helpless gesture of his own, a forced smile on his face as Loki's voice piped up beside them once more, the girl grinning as she spoke. “Alright, folks, you'd better hold on tight coz' we’re going to the Esplanade.”
“The what-” Dean began, but couldn’t say anything more than that before Loki snapped her fingers (it was a habit thing, really, but Gabriel couldn’t help but grin when she did that) and instantly the five were transported to what Gabriel quickly made out to be a Haagen-Dazs outlet-the smell of its fine ice-cream never fooled his senses.
Dean was too busy cursing under his breath and being supported by Castiel after having been forcibly transported again, while Sam on the other hand saw the sign that was hanging from the entrance they were now standing in front of, frowning and sounding rather disbelieving. “We’re meeting at Haagen-Dazs?”
“I always liked their ice-cream,” was the only thing that Loki said (prompting another amused grin from Gabriel as Dean glared daggers again, while Castiel simply held the human tighter and went “Dean” in that warning tone of his) as she stepped away from them and into the establishment, now idly waving them off. “Feel free to grab some ice-cream for yourself and get comfy, there’s still about ten minutes before we start.” That said, the girl promptly made a beeline towards the counter where a handful of people, presumably gods, were already gathered.
All of them entered the store soon enough, and Sam glanced around the area once Loki had left them to their own devices, both brothers now noticing just how many gods were packed into this place. Some of them (like Ganesh who was at the corner sulking or something, and Baldur who was chatting somewhat amiably with Odin) most likely remembered from the incident at Elysian Fields-most of them though, Gabriel was pretty sure they never even heard of before, although the same could be said for himself; there were a bunch of gods he wasn’t aware still even existed. Loki really had outdone herself this time.
“Some turnout,” Sam started, blinking again as he turned around to lay eyes on Loki, who was finally on her turn and now currently ordering ice-cream from the rather overwhelmed staff counter. “For one god, she sure pulls a lot of weight.”
Gabriel bit his lip-he hadn’t exactly explained to them who and what Loki really was. “It’s more of the fact that they respect her, Sam. She’s the Trickster.”
Castiel's eyes instantly went wide at the mention, clearly knowing just what it was that Gabriel had spoken of; the Winchesters on the other hand did not and turned to look at the archangel with a fair amount of confusion, Dean arching up one eyebrow. “Yeah, she’s filling in for you; said so herself, remember?”
“That was-” he started, scowling a bit now as he ran a hand through his hair. He really should have explained this sooner. “Yeah, that; I’m just Loki, just one pagan god from the Norse Pantheon. She’s different-she’s the Trickster.”
Sam gave Gabriel a cautious look, nodding slowly. “O… kay. So she’s another Trickster.”
“No, Sam, you don’t understand,” Gabriel returned, insistence strong in his voice. “She-Loki-she isn’t just Loki. She’s the Trickster; she’s Loki just as she’s also Anansi and Coyote and Crow. Every god and demigod and being that follows the Trickster’s law comes from her. She’s powerful, Sam, powerful in ways even I can’t begin to imagine.” The archangel turned towards the almost weak-looking teenager, who now sat at her table enjoying her ice-cream, biting his lip once more. “If she wanted to, she could just twist the reality of this world with a snap of her fingers. There’s a reason why everyone’s so cautious of her.” He paused, sucking in a breath and letting it out as he finished his explanation. “She’s… she’s a literal wildcard.”
Sam, at least, finally seemed to get the depth of Gabriel’s explanation (judging by the widening of his eyes), but Dean himself wasn’t too impressed. The elder Winchester crossed his arms and gave the teenager a brief glare before transferring his gaze over to Gabriel. “So what, she’s like… some God God or something? Like, your dad-level God?”
“She is the one who defies the Father,” Castiel's voice cut in then, interrupting Gabriel's would be answer and now the brothers shifted their gaze to the angel-the angel who was now looking back at Gabriel, and the archangel could feel a fair amount of distrust stemming from Castiel, for it had always been told to all of them that the Trickster should never be trusted. “She is the rulebreaker, the interloper. She brings destruction to His Creation and chaos to order.” Castiel's blue eyes flashed dangerously now, as he sought out the girl amongst the crowd. “She is never to be trusted.”
Gabriel sighed, rubbing the palm of his hand against his face. “That was a long time ago, Castiel. Things change.”
Castiel's eyes flashed once more, a sign of his growing frustration. “You would speak for the Trickster?”
“I speak for what I have seen, Cas,” the archangel retorted, his own gaze boring into Castiel's. “She took me in when I had nowhere to go, gave me the title of Loki and the freedom to live under her rules. I owe her this much, at the very least.” He lowered his hand and clenched his jaw, keeping his sights on the angel. “Things change, bro. I mean, you stopped the Apocalypse. That alone should have proven something to you.”
The angel glared at Gabriel for a few more moments before he finally relented, glancing away. “I do not trust her, but I will trust your word.” It was hard to ignore the weight of what those words carried, but there wasn't much else that Gabriel could do in this matter. The archangel let out a sigh and nodded himself, just mostly glad that this had been resolved quickly.
“So,” Dean started again, eyebrow arched up once more as he looked between the two angels with a skeptical look that spoke of his own disbelief. “If the girl's that powerful, why can’t she just snap her fingers and make things better?”
“Because that’d be messing up the system,” came the drawl from behind them, and the trio jumped as the girl walked into the space between the three of them, busy lapping up chocolate ice-cream from her cone as emerald eyes blinked at them. “There’s a balance to everything, you know. The angels started this mess, so it’s the angels who need to finish it and wipe up the crap behind them. Kali and Baldur and the others, they’re just here to help speed up the process.”
“Then why are you helping?” Dean snapped as he faced the girl, while both Sam and Gabriel winced at the bluntness of the other’s question, the archangel even more so. Why, oh why, did he have to deal with idiots like these?
Rather than being insulted though, the girl only seemed amused at the retort, grinning toothily as she looked at Gabriel. “Have I mentioned how much I like him?”
“Once or twice,” Gabriel replied sort-of meekly, more glad for the fact that Dean wasn’t banished into orbit or something, because the Trickster very well could if she wanted to.
“Awesome.” The girl looked back at Dean, smiling sharply like a knife, before grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him with her to settle at a nearby, unoccupied table. Without much of a choice, both Sam and Gabriel followed (with Castiel trailing cautiously behind), settling down beside Dean once Loki had sat down herself.
There was a terse moment as silence fell on the group, only interrupted by loud slurps as Loki continued to lick the ice-cream from the cone she had in hand. The other three only gave each other rather uncertain looks for a bit (Castiel was still half-glaring at her) before Gabriel broke said silence, cautiously starting to speak up. “Uh, Loki…?”
“Hm?” the girl started as she looked up at the archangel, blinking after that. “Oh! Right.” She looked over to Dean, casually having her gaze past Castiel along the way, lowering her cone and giving the elder Winchester a quizzical look. “What was the question again?”
“Um,” Sam was the one who spoke up now, deciding to cut in before Dean’s bluntness and sarcasm got the best of them-a very good plan, in Gabriel’s opinion. “Dean was just wondering why you’re deciding to only help us now, since you’re powerful and all.”
“Gabe asked, for one,” Loki returned, shrugging. “And I like him, and with the stunt he pulled during the Apocalypse I figured I owed him something as compensation. For another, I really like this world, and if Purgatory opens up to release all those souls and whatever crap it still has inside, the nature of this world would get seriously screwed, and then it wouldn’t be fun anymore. Monsters really can only think so much before their bestial side gets the best of them.” She added the last part in a whisper, although everybody could hear what the girl had just said anyway.
“…right,” the younger Winchester started slowly as Loki returned to her ice-cream, happily lapping it up again. “Well, we’re just… really glad that you’re helping us out like this. Um. Thanks.”
“No prob.” Loki grinned once more, lips smeared with melted ice-cream before she licked it away. “And just so you know, you’re always welcome to pay me a visit after this.”
“We’ll think about it,” Sam went with a small, almost shaky smile, and Dean (thank Father) managed to keep his snort quiet this time.
Castiel, on the other hand, was a completely different story. “What are your intentions, Trickster?” he all but demanded, the flash of his blue eyes giving out a dangerous warning.
Loki only sighed, idly rolling her head around to the sound of popping cricks in her neck. “I liked you better when you didn't know me.”
“You would not do this out of goodwill,” the angel continued, voice dropping dangerously as he narrowed his eyes at her. “What are your plans?”
“None,” the girl returned, now rolling her eyes. “Look, Cas, just coz' you're lording it over some angels up there doesn't give you the right to ask me stupid questions. Raphael's still got you beat in that little war you guys are having.”
“If Raphael wins-” Castiel started, but Loki was already waving her hand to cut him off.
“Rocks fall, everybody dies, blah blah blah. Yes, Constantine, I already know,” the Trickster sighed once more, finishing up the rest of her ice-cream and tossing the napkin down on the table. “Look, I don't want Raphael to win any more than you do, but it's not as if your own track record has been stellar lately.”
The Winchesters exchanged glances while Gabriel felt his body tensing up, realization settling in his mind. Of course she would know, but was she really-? “Loki.”
“You guys know what you did,” the girl smoothly finished her words, prompting Gabriel to shut up and look over at Castiel, whose expression had hardened, and he could see the angel's hands clenched into tight fists, fingers gripping the material of Jimmy Novak's suit pants. His gaze was fixed on Loki, who now merely made another face at the angel and shrugged, pretty unruffled by the other's harsh gaze. “Gabriel asked me to help you and I agreed, but if you're not going to accept the aid I offer then there's not much I can do about it.” She paused to bring out a lollipop into existence from her hand, busying herself with undoing the wrapper as she finished up what she wanted to say. “The ball's in your court, angel.”
“Look, Cas-” Gabriel started, drawing the other's attention to him while the brothers continued to look on this entire situation. He looked at Castiel's blue eyes and saw the confused swirl of emotions in there, clamping down on his sigh as Gabriel went on speaking. “I know you don't trust her, which I understand, but just-just trust me, alright? She really wants to help, and it’s not like there's much to lose at this point.” The archangel forced a small smile on his face. “Right?”
“Yeah, Cas,” Sam spoke up after him, a surprising gesture, and said surprise showed on Gabriel's face as the archangel swiveled his head around to stare at the human. The younger Winchester smiled slightly in return before he continued. “I mean, if they're offering help... no point refusing, right? What's the worst that could happen?”
Castiel eyed Sam cautiously at those words, as if not really certain that he had heard the other correctly. Gabriel himself stilled, a bout of anxiety washing over him as the archangel glanced between the younger human and the younger angel, eventually settling his gaze at Loki. The Trickster looked about as concerned as ever, which was pretty much not concerned at all, and the girl shrugged once more, shoulders rolling. “Don’t look at me; Cas’ the one making the decision here.”
There was a longer pause now, one that continued to stretch on for a time long enough for Gabriel to start feeling uncomfortable with it as he fidgeted slightly and watched Castiel until the angel finally let out a breath, eyes closing. “If Gabriel trusts her, then I will trust his word,” he said, and in that instant the archangel felt himself sagging, relief overtaking his being and washing over his mind.
Dean, however, only clenched his jaw and kept his gaze trained on Cas, voice curt as he spoke. “That’s great, Cas,” he muttered, and one would have to be an idiot to not see that there was something wrong in the way Dean was speaking. Gabriel frowned and so did Sam, but Dean didn’t add on anything and only repeated himself. “Really great.”
Loki only let out a satisfied huff of amusement and clapped her hands together, green eyes sparkling. “Alright, now that this little drama fest is over, let’s start the meeting.” She paused to look over at Gabriel, a smile crossing her face as she added. “We’ve got a truckload of things to talk about.”
Five minutes later the room had been changed into a setting uncomfortably similar to the one at Elysian Fields (although this time the Winchesters were more of guests, rather than being held against their will, and all four of them were settled behind Loki), and Gabriel did his best not to show the sheer amount of awkwardness that he was feeling as the archangel shifted in his seat, casting his gaze across the numerous other pagans sitting in the room. Some of them were looking back at him, but all of them quickly turned their attention to Loki the moment the girl stood up from her seat and cleared her throat.
“Alright, peeps,” she started, her voice oddly upbeat. “We’ll be starting the meeting now. I trust all of you know why you’re here right now?” Gabriel watched the Trickster’s sharp eyes darting across the room, glancing at each of the gods and seeing them all murmuring with each other. There were no violent outbursts however, and after a few more moments of quiet muttering Loki smiled and laced her fingers together. “Nice to see we’re all on the same page. So, first of all-”
A loud snort interrupted Loki’s words then, and the girl paused for a second to see who it was before she sighed and spoke. “Yes, Fenrir?”
Gabriel watched as Fenrir stood up, brown hair mixed with streaks of dark purple and crimson gleaming under the lights as the wolf-god turned to fix narrowed blue eyes at the girl, who barely even flinched at the harsh look that was on Fenrir’s face or the snappy tone he spoke with. “We wish to know your real reasons, Trickster,” he growled out, canines gleaming through with every move of his jaw. “The reason why you have gathered so many of us here, for the first time in countless years, to stand before the angel who had tricked us all.” Fenrir’s eyes shifted towards Gabriel when he said that, and the archangel gulped down the lump rapidly forming in his throat.
Things did not get easier when another voice chimed in-Sleipnir-and Gabriel saw him standing up, wild eyes of green fixed on the archangel as well, as the horse-god flexed his giant human form. “He lived with us, dined with us and drank with us. We imparted to him our secrets and knowledge and end up being betrayed instead.” Sleipnir’s nostrils flared dangerously, and beside him Gabriel could hear Dean mutter a few appropriate curses under his breath, although none of them would have been particularly helpful in this context.
Loki sighed once more, exasperation evident in her voice, but the girl replied anyway. “Gabriel didn’t betray anyone, Sleipnir. He never gave anything away. I would have known if he did.”
“But he is still an angel,” a third voice chimed in, not wholly recognizable to Gabriel, and it was only when the figure stood when it clicked. Amaterasu, he thought, blinking at the brilliant, fiery robes that hid the goddess’s lithe form as the woman swept her dark eyes towards him, her gaze lingering for a moment before turning back towards Loki and speaking on. “He masqueraded as one of your subjects and lived under your nose so blatantly. Even if you say he did not betray us, does he not deserve punishment for that?”
“For what?” the Trickster returned, arching up an eyebrow. “He is under my law because I let him be so, Amaterasu. Would he have managed to keep himself hidden for so long unless I allowed it? You can ask Susano-o to know better.” The girl paused and took a breath before finishing her reply. “Nothing escapes from my sight, Amaterasu-ōmikami, especially when it’s under my domain.”
There was a tense pause after those words, but eventually Amaterasu accepted the words with a curt nod and moved to sit back down, Fenrir and Sleipnir following behind. Loki threw another glance across the room, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jacket and speaking. “Well? Any other violent objections I need to hear from you guys?”
A long silence now settled, one that dragged on for long enough for Loki to deem it an answer and open her mouth to speak up again, but right before she did an all-too familiar voice sounded in Gabriel’s ears. “I wish to speak.”
Sam and Dean jerked a little next to him, clearly uncomfortable with the sight of Kali standing up and now making her way up closer to Loki, closer to where all of them were. Castiel tensed-an instinctive reaction-while Gabriel steeled himself and only hoped that nothing too awkward was going to happen now. Dealing with his million and one relationship problems with Kali wasn’t something he particularly wanted to do anytime soon, impending Apocalypse or not.
Loki gave the Hindu goddess a brief glance before nodding, gesturing with one hand. “Sure thing, Kali. Speak your mind.”
Kali nodded back, only pausing to give Gabriel a fleeting look before she turned around and faced the other pagan gods, addressing them. “Just roughly two or so years ago, the Judeo-Christian Apocalypse threatened to bring us all to ruin,” she began, her voice resounding loud and clear across the room. “As you know, we tried to fight. To battle. To put blood against blood and end things in violence.” The goddess paused, sweeping her eyes across the room and Gabriel followed her gaze to catch sight of good old Baldur in the seat next to where Kali had been sitting; it looked like they were still together.
“It is not a secret that Sam and Dean Winchester were the centre of it all,” she intoned, one hand sweeping towards where the brothers were sitting as both Sam and Dean jumped, tensing out of instinct. Kali turned her head around to look at the two humans, unspoken words flashing in her eyes before she looked back, continuing. “The brothers were the vessels of Lucifer and Michael respectively, and if they wanted it they could have allowed the end of the world to happen at any time. But yet-” She stopped again, sucking in a deep breath, and Gabriel could guess what was it that Kali was trying to do now-she did owe them, after all, for Elysian Fields. Kali was a goddess who always kept to her promises, even if she disliked them. “-but yet they did not give in. They fought against what had been set in stone for them, they fought for themselves. And in doing so, they protected this world. Now, once again, this world is on the edge of destruction, set off by the danger of Purgatory.” Kali dropped her arm, swivelling her head across the length of the room to gaze at each of the gods and finished her speech. “Considering that they have worked so hard to save this world, I would think it would be adequate to believe that they have no intention of putting it in danger.”
Murmurs instantly broke out amongst the gods the moment Kali finished speaking, but the Hindu goddess paid no attention to them and with a final bow to Loki, made her way back to the seat. Gabriel watched her going all the way back, eyeing the hand Baldur laid on her shoulder and the small smiles they gave to each other.
Once upon a time, he would have been in Baldur’s seat.
Gabriel closed his eyes and willed the memories away, a sigh escaping him. Once, perhaps, he could have almost seen the pagans as his family. But more than the Trickster he was supposed to be, Gabriel was who he truly was, first and foremost. No matter how he ran and how he hid, that one truth would forever stick with him. An angel who deserted Heaven and a pagan who wasn’t truly a pagan-Gabriel wasn’t too certain where that exactly put him in Dad’s eyes.
Loki’s sudden clapping put a halt on his train of thoughts, and Gabriel blinked, jerking his head up to glance at the girl. The smile that crossed the Trickster’s face put her expression close to triumphant as she spoke. “All very good points there, Kali, thank you.” Brushing out the hair that covered her eyes, she picked up after the goddess. “You heard her, folks-Sam and Dean here risked everything to make sure we all are still in one piece in this world, so take a rain check and think about it. You guys want to sit here and continue to piss in each other’s territory, or are you going to protect this world so that you can continue your pissing matches?” She raised a hand to tap a finger against her skull in a pointed gesture and added. “Just think about it, guys.”
The pagan gods glanced at each other once more, unspoken words sent through each of their gazes. A few of them were rather prominently fixed on Gabriel, and the intensity made the archangel fidget in his seat, hazel eyes raised to look towards the girl lounging on the big fat armchair she had conjured up for herself, absently helping herself to a second serving of ice-cream. A tap on his shoulder made him turn back towards the one who had called for his attention-Sam, complete with the questioning look on his face. “What happens now?” the younger human asked, jerking his head towards the crowd for emphasis.
“Now?” the archangel returned, turning his head back to the other pagans and narrowing his eyes at them. “Now, we wait.”
“Just what we needed,” Dean muttered under his breath and with a roll of his eyes, although Gabriel really couldn't blame him. If there was one thing that the pagans were good at, it was the waiting game. So they would wait. Wait until they had an answer; wait until they made their decision. It was all they could really do right now.
Fortunately, they didn't seem to need to wait too long. In about ten minutes the pagans had all settled back down, and a moment passed before another figure stood up-one that Gabriel recognized now, from the ashen-white hair to the baggy outfit of blues and whites that the boyish-looking man wore on his form. At first glance he would have almost looked like a teenager, but the steel blue-grey eyes that only belonged to the master of strings would have instantly showed his age and power. Orpheus was a king in his own right, the frostiness in his expression only coming from one who ruled from high.
“Before we make a true decision,” he started, and it was impossible to not hear the authority and might that boomed in his ancient voice. Gabriel straightened up in his seat along with Sam, Dean and Castiel, all of them listening intently to the words of Orpheus. “We wish to ask one question of the Trickster.”
Loki finished up the last of the ice-cream cone in her hand before flickering her green eyes and looking up at the god, shifting around to sit up properly in her chair. She raised her head, inclining it to the side and then spent the next few seconds eyeing Orpheus with a critical look. She relented once the seconds passed, acknowledging the request with a small nod. “Speak, Orpheus.”
Orpheus nodded in return, steel blue eyes unblinking as he turned to the crowd, white hair shifting with every turn of his head. “It is not a secret among us here who your true identity is,” he went, giving a glance at the Trickster who acknowledged the god's words with an incline of her head. Gabriel watched as Loki propped her head up on a fist, elbows pressing against the arm rest of the couch as she watched the events unfolding through sharp green eyes. Orpheus seemed to pay the look no mind as he went on speaking. “The interloper, the one who interferes. The Serpent, the Trickster, the rulebreaker. Ha Satan. The Adversary.”
“Isn't Lucifer supposed to be The Adversary?” inquired Sam softly beside him, his voice a mutter as the human frowned.
Gabriel snorted quietly. “Please, Sam. He's an angel-or at least, he used to be. How can he be The Adversary when he's already something else?” Despite the words it was hard to not feel the sting in what he had said, the irony of his answer. Lucifer, as much as he was the devil, was still his brother, once upon a time. He had rebelled and Fallen and now was locked back in his cage-but the devil was still one of his kind, and that fact couldn't be erased, same as the fact that Michael was with the cage, with him now, and Raphael was set on bringing back the end of the world. All of his brothers, now split apart and leaving their brotherhood in tatters. The days back in Heaven almost seemed like a dream now.
“...I guess that makes sense,” Sam muttered after a pause, a soft sigh escaping him as the human withdrew back into his seat. Gabriel could just hear that giant brain of his working, although Orpheus's voice easily overlapped the sound of Sam's thinking.
“You are the god that would not be, the almost-God,” he heard Orpheus speak, grandiose speech never faltering. “Cast down to the humans when they left Eden, you have walked this planet even before any of us existed. Save the angels, of course,” the god added the last part, giving acknowledging looks to both Gabriel and Castiel as he said it. The archangel nodded back in turn and nudged Castiel to do the same; last thing anybody needed now was to piss off the one line of help they had. Seemingly satisfied, Orpheus nodded back and returned to his speech. “All these years you have walked this earth, Trickster, and you have never once raised a finger to interfere in the affairs of the humans, not even when the Judeo-Christian Apocalypse loomed over two years ago.” He looked back to Loki, eyes narrowing. “So tell us now, Trickster-why now? Why, after everything, are you finally raising your finger? We desire to know the reason behind your choice.”
Silence reigned abruptly after Orpheus's words, and every pagan god and goddess now looked to Loki who stayed strangely quiet. The girl's eyes were closed, but Gabriel could still sense her breathing deeply, almost as if in sleep. He would have believed it, if he didn’t know for a fact that the Trickster never slept.
Eventually, though, the Trickster opened her eyes, her green irises sparkling with an odd clarity and Loki straightened, suddenly carrying herself very differently, in a way that spoke of experience and power. This, Gabriel knew, was just a flash of the true Trickster she really was-the nameless god, the true Adversary. He watched the girl blink once, then twice, and she opened her mouth to speak, power resonating in every syllable. “There are many reasons,” she began, sweeping a glance to the room to ensure that she had everybody's attention. “And some of them I will not speak of. But know this-Gabriel is and has always been one of my subjects. Under me he is Loki, and anybody who follows the Trickster's rule will be subjected to my law. I agreed to aid him and his companions because he is a subject I admire, a subject who I respect. He gave his life and put himself against his brother, and I think he deserves the respect of that action.”
“Gabriel,” Castiel started, his voice low, but the archangel didn't hear any of it. His attention was focused on Loki, his own hazel eyes wide in surprise at the words that the Trickster was speaking.
“How many of you are able to fight against your brother? Your kin? Your family?” Loki's green eyes were blazing with ancient power, irises flaring under the shades of her bangs. “How many of you are willing to pick up your weapon and fight solely for what you believe? Gabriel had that courage, a courage that I cannot look away from. And that courage is also in the Winchesters and in Castiel over there.”
The angel in question made a start, surprised as well at the mention of his name. Sam and Dean looked visibly shaken, too, all their eyes fixed onto the girl who now stood up from her seat and cast her gaze on the crowd of gods. “The four of them found their courage to fight against their destiny, and they tore up the script and burned the pages right up.” A grin made its way to Loki's face, casting the Trickster's expression into a different light. “They chose free will and humanity and battled for it, and each and every one of you owes your existence to them. So, now, tell me this-” Her voice dropped lower, speaking in clipped tones now as she finished. “Are you all so spineless as to not repay your debt to them, or will you stand up and ensure that your believers and existence will not be threatened again?”
A hushed silence now settled in the room as the echoes of the Trickster's last words faded, and every one of the gods stayed quiet, eyes not even moving. Gabriel, too, found himself unable to say anything, stunned at the weight of Loki's words. Normally he could have easily shrugged off such things, but when it came from the Trickster herself... what could he say to that?
“They are the ones who chose humanity, and He has allowed this to pass,” Loki said, her voice quieter but still imbued with the fierce determination that had been present earlier. “And so if He indeed has allowed this so, then I wish to do whatever is in my power to keep this tender peace going.” She stared at the room again, her jaw set. “So, you may choose to help or you may choose to keep to yourselves, but know that the moment you interfere is the moment I will end you and your followers, no matter how many of them there are.”
Orpheus spoke up again, a deep-sated amusement within his voice. “You need not resort to such measures, Trickster,” he replied, a small smile on his face. “Indeed, it is a fact that we owe the Winchesters for what they have done.” To Gabriel's astonishment, he saw the master of strings bowing his head and watched as the other gods followed suit, paying all of them tribute. “For what they did two years ago, now we return the favour to them. I cannot speak for those who are not here, but for those who are in this room-know that we will aid in your struggle, for you as well as for ourselves.”
It was almost too good to be true; Gabriel's eyes were as big as saucers as he gazed at the many gods who were now pledging their help to him and to them, and he saw both Sam and Dean being as weirded out as he was. Even Castiel was taken aback, sitting ramrod straight in his seat, as his blue eyes drank in the sight that lay before them. It was so hard to believe that now suddenly there was hope, now there was a way, rather than the hopelessness they had all felt just one week ago. It made Gabriel's heart swell with a flare of hope.
Without thinking twice he reached out to Castiel through their Grace, touching each other so that the angel could feel his joy, his delight, his gratitude and his hope. See, bro? Told you we could do it.
Castiel sent back an acknowledgment through their link, and Gabriel couldn't help but smile. Finally, now, something was starting to go right for them.
And of course, when things were actually starting to go right, it always seemed to be the cue for the other shoe to drop. Gabriel found out about that the hard way, moments later when Loki got the pagans to start discussing and she took the archangel aside from his other three companions and started her words with “There’s a condition, Gabe.”
Knowing the nature and power of the Trickster, Gabriel didn’t even need a moment to guess what the girl was speaking about. Still, he couldn’t just give up his brother like this, even though he knew that it was probably the dumbest course of action he could take. “What condition?” he returned, although he failed to keep his gaze on the girl and was soon looking down at the ground.
He heard the Trickster let out a tightly-controlled breath, the hand that she had curled up in the sleeve of his clothes curling up tighter. “Don’t make me do this, Gabriel. You know what I’m talking about.”
“Loki-” he started, but the girl cut in before Gabriel could say anything else.
“Don’t start,” she snapped back, voice rising for just a moment before she caught herself and instantly fell silent. Her gaze remained unerringly fixed on Gabriel, green eyes staring at the archangel with an intensity that could put Castiel’s to shame. “I am treading a very fine line here by doing this, so I expect for you to give me the respect to at least fucking listen.” Her tone was quivering, shaking between absolute anger and painful disappointment as her fists trembled.
Gabriel remained silent, his own hazel eyes still refusing to look up at the myriad of expressions he knew he’d be able to see on the Trickster’s face. His head was still bowed, gaze settled between the floor and the knobs of Loki’s wrist shifting under the skin of the vessel she was wearing as the Trickster leaned forward, growling out her next words. “Stop that idiot angel brother of your before it’s too late, Gabe. Stop him and the deal he has with the King of Hell. It’s not going to end well.”
The archangel bit on his lower lip, trying very hard to ignore the swirl of emotions that swelled in his gut. Loki’s words, of course, made sense, but he didn’t know if he could even bring up the courage to go up against the one brother who he still had, to break this small, fragile bond that tethered him to this world. Lucifer had been different-Lucifer had rebelled, and he had been wrong. Castiel, though… Cas was different; he was just an angel trying to keep everything together, and considering his own track record, did Gabriel have any reason to fault him for what he was doing? Castiel was trying and, even until now, Gabriel knew he was doing nothing but looking the other way and ignoring his own piling problems.
“It’s time for you to stop running, Gabriel,” the Trickster hissed out, eyes narrowing. “Stand up for what should be right and convince Castiel to end his foolish crusade. Trust me; you do not want the Winchesters to find out about this. And when they do-” she paused at that, the trembling of her fist abruptly stopping just as the grip she had on Gabriel slackened. The archangel stumbled as he regained his balance, lifting his gaze out of instinctive curiosity and saw the pained look on Loki’s face, a dark regret painted on her features. Her voice lapsed into sudden quietness, speaking in a way that was almost like a whisper. “When they do, Gabriel, it’ll be too late to fix anything.”
She turned her eyes to him, and suddenly Gabriel could see a fragment of the Trickster’s mask peeling off, a crack through the countless layers of false happiness that she wore to the world. She was the Trickster, the interloper, the god cast down to Earth and chained to it. She could have been a God of her own making, a being just as powerful as the old man himself… but yet, here she was broken and battered and bound to a world beyond her choosing. It reminded Gabriel of how it had been back in the other world, of how he had all the power and might and everything there vulnerable at his fingertips. He recalled the freedom and joy and ease of living in a world that had nothing to challenge his power, the ecstasy of being at the top of the proverbial food chain. Most of all though, he could remember how incredibly painful it was all the way up there, in that lonely spot just reserved for one and one alone.
The archangel swallowed down the hard lump in his throat, trying to work his suddenly dry mouth. “Did you…?”
Loki’s eyes softened and a wry smile appeared on her lips as she let go of the other entirely and took a step back. “I went to take a glance,” she admitted, her voice soft as the pained look entered her eyes again. “That’s why I interfered.”
“Just because of that?” Gabriel asked despite himself, and the Trickster’s smile widened just a little more.
“There are other things,” she replied, and the regret in her voice was impossible to ignore. “You’ll understand when the time comes. Please, Gabe-” and it was so rare to hear the Trickster actually pleading, to ask for help when help was the last thing that the Trickster should ever need, and the enormity of that moment struck Gabriel so hard he was lost on what to do or say. “Just-just stop Castiel, before everything goes down the drain. Promise me that you will.”
“I-” Gabriel started, stopping as the words caught in his throat momentarily. How could he even… “I don’t know.”
“Just try,” Loki returned, trying to be gentle, to be helpful. “Please. Just try, at least.”
Knowing that he didn’t have anything else to say to that, the archangel could only nod in response. He agreed, even though his eyes were already betraying his own feelings about the situation. He didn’t even know how he was going to do this or if it was even possible, but-
You are still Gabriel; you are still the messenger of Heaven, no matter the things you have done as Loki. You are… You are still my brother, Gabriel. That will not change.
Will it? Gabriel thought to himself cruelly as he started to count down the minutes he had left of everything he could still hold dear in this world. Will it not change, when I have to stand up against you?
Suddenly he wasn’t all that certain at all.
← sixth act | eighth act →
Sleep, unsurprisingly, did not come easily to Gabriel after what had transpired, and the archangel was pretty certain it had taken a good hour or two before he did drift off-at the very least it would explain the insistent knocking on his door that was dragging him back into consciousness.
“I'm coming,” he snapped out unhappily as he dragged himself out of bed, tossing away the sheets covering his body and shuddered at the full-body shiver that had grabbed hold of him the moment his feet touched the floor. The knocks sounded again, and Gabriel let out an annoyed huff, shaking out the last of his post-sleep fuzziness and moved to answer the door, already rolling his eyes even before the sight of Dean Winchester's pissed off face greeted him.
It figured that Dean was the first thing he had to see in the morning.
“Just a bright ball of sunshine now, aren't you Deano?”
The human only glared back at him, green eyes narrowing at Gabriel as he snapped out pointedly. “Its noon, you asshole.”
Gabriel blinked in surprise at the words, glancing at his watch just to be sure that Dean wasn't lying; true enough, it was already past noon. The archangel dropped his wrist back down, rising his eyes back to Dean as he shrugged. “I'm still a recovering patient. Can't help but rest on such a comfortable bed.”
Dean snorted and rolled his eyes in a clear gesture of disbelief. “Whatever. Just get ready or something, Sam and I are gonna call up Cas soon.”
Castiel. The mere mention of the angel's name caused Gabriel's composure to crack just a little, witty retort already dying in his throat as the archangel paused entirely. Just earlier this morning he had been talking with the angel in question, doubt and uncertainty clashing against his desires to reach out. If anything, the events had illuminated many things for Gabriel... in more ways than one, too.
Quickly noticing the slip in Gabriel's usual demeanour Dean frowned, eyes narrowing while he called out cautiously. “...Gabriel?”
“Huh?” Gabriel jerked his head back towards the human, blinking owlishly at him for a second before the memory clicked back in his mind. “Oh, right. Sure thing. I'll be ready in about twenty.”
“We'll be back then,” Dean grunted back, quickly making a move now that his business was settled. Gabriel moved to grab his stuff for a bath, but Dean paused at the door and turned back to the archangel. “Gabriel!”
The archangel glanced up, tilting his head in confusion. “What?”
Dean's eyes flickered down and then back up, and then the man scowled. “Make sure to put on some goddamned pants.”
Gabriel looked down to see the red and pink polka-dotted boxers that he was wearing before he glanced back up and grinned. “No worries Deano. I'm not going to flash anything to your precious Cas.”
There was a brief pause on Dean's end with that comment and the human stared, looking at Gabriel for a moment longer before he shook his head and muttered something unintelligible, slamming the door shut behind him as he moved out. Gabriel grinned again.
Sometimes, he really was just too easy.
One hour later once Gabriel was done showering and calling up more room service for lunch (that was finished up quickly this time as their appointment was now running close), the brothers called upon Castiel who arrived in the usual beat of wings. Gabriel pointedly tried not to stare at the angel as Cas instantly set his gaze on the Winchesters, speaking. “Is it time?”
“Yep,” Loki’s voice cut in smoothly before Dean could even reply, and the four men turned towards Loki who was currently leaning against the door of their room. Unlike the ratty clothes she was wearing before the teenager was now donned in an all-out ensemble of black-black jeans, black sport shoes, black t-shirt complete with black jacket. Her hair was still green though, the colour putting up a violent contrast that Loki didn’t seem to bother about. The girl pushed herself off the wall and stepped closer towards the foursome, smiling as she added on. “Right on cue, even.”
Dean inched back just a little as Loki approached them, green eyes trained warily on the girl. “We going now?”
Loki rolled her eyes. “Duh. Why else would I be here?”
“Can't we just walk there?” Looks like somebody had something against being instantly transported around.
“Too lazy,” the girl returned casually, but the smile on her face wasn't exactly very kind when she got to Dean and laid a hand on his shoulder. The elder Winchester stilled, looking very much like a deer in headlights and his eyes darted towards Sam in an unspoken plea help.
Sam made a helpless gesture of his own, a forced smile on his face as Loki's voice piped up beside them once more, the girl grinning as she spoke. “Alright, folks, you'd better hold on tight coz' we’re going to the Esplanade.”
“The what-” Dean began, but couldn’t say anything more than that before Loki snapped her fingers (it was a habit thing, really, but Gabriel couldn’t help but grin when she did that) and instantly the five were transported to what Gabriel quickly made out to be a Haagen-Dazs outlet-the smell of its fine ice-cream never fooled his senses.
Dean was too busy cursing under his breath and being supported by Castiel after having been forcibly transported again, while Sam on the other hand saw the sign that was hanging from the entrance they were now standing in front of, frowning and sounding rather disbelieving. “We’re meeting at Haagen-Dazs?”
“I always liked their ice-cream,” was the only thing that Loki said (prompting another amused grin from Gabriel as Dean glared daggers again, while Castiel simply held the human tighter and went “Dean” in that warning tone of his) as she stepped away from them and into the establishment, now idly waving them off. “Feel free to grab some ice-cream for yourself and get comfy, there’s still about ten minutes before we start.” That said, the girl promptly made a beeline towards the counter where a handful of people, presumably gods, were already gathered.
All of them entered the store soon enough, and Sam glanced around the area once Loki had left them to their own devices, both brothers now noticing just how many gods were packed into this place. Some of them (like Ganesh who was at the corner sulking or something, and Baldur who was chatting somewhat amiably with Odin) most likely remembered from the incident at Elysian Fields-most of them though, Gabriel was pretty sure they never even heard of before, although the same could be said for himself; there were a bunch of gods he wasn’t aware still even existed. Loki really had outdone herself this time.
“Some turnout,” Sam started, blinking again as he turned around to lay eyes on Loki, who was finally on her turn and now currently ordering ice-cream from the rather overwhelmed staff counter. “For one god, she sure pulls a lot of weight.”
Gabriel bit his lip-he hadn’t exactly explained to them who and what Loki really was. “It’s more of the fact that they respect her, Sam. She’s the Trickster.”
Castiel's eyes instantly went wide at the mention, clearly knowing just what it was that Gabriel had spoken of; the Winchesters on the other hand did not and turned to look at the archangel with a fair amount of confusion, Dean arching up one eyebrow. “Yeah, she’s filling in for you; said so herself, remember?”
“That was-” he started, scowling a bit now as he ran a hand through his hair. He really should have explained this sooner. “Yeah, that; I’m just Loki, just one pagan god from the Norse Pantheon. She’s different-she’s the Trickster.”
Sam gave Gabriel a cautious look, nodding slowly. “O… kay. So she’s another Trickster.”
“No, Sam, you don’t understand,” Gabriel returned, insistence strong in his voice. “She-Loki-she isn’t just Loki. She’s the Trickster; she’s Loki just as she’s also Anansi and Coyote and Crow. Every god and demigod and being that follows the Trickster’s law comes from her. She’s powerful, Sam, powerful in ways even I can’t begin to imagine.” The archangel turned towards the almost weak-looking teenager, who now sat at her table enjoying her ice-cream, biting his lip once more. “If she wanted to, she could just twist the reality of this world with a snap of her fingers. There’s a reason why everyone’s so cautious of her.” He paused, sucking in a breath and letting it out as he finished his explanation. “She’s… she’s a literal wildcard.”
Sam, at least, finally seemed to get the depth of Gabriel’s explanation (judging by the widening of his eyes), but Dean himself wasn’t too impressed. The elder Winchester crossed his arms and gave the teenager a brief glare before transferring his gaze over to Gabriel. “So what, she’s like… some God God or something? Like, your dad-level God?”
“She is the one who defies the Father,” Castiel's voice cut in then, interrupting Gabriel's would be answer and now the brothers shifted their gaze to the angel-the angel who was now looking back at Gabriel, and the archangel could feel a fair amount of distrust stemming from Castiel, for it had always been told to all of them that the Trickster should never be trusted. “She is the rulebreaker, the interloper. She brings destruction to His Creation and chaos to order.” Castiel's blue eyes flashed dangerously now, as he sought out the girl amongst the crowd. “She is never to be trusted.”
Gabriel sighed, rubbing the palm of his hand against his face. “That was a long time ago, Castiel. Things change.”
Castiel's eyes flashed once more, a sign of his growing frustration. “You would speak for the Trickster?”
“I speak for what I have seen, Cas,” the archangel retorted, his own gaze boring into Castiel's. “She took me in when I had nowhere to go, gave me the title of Loki and the freedom to live under her rules. I owe her this much, at the very least.” He lowered his hand and clenched his jaw, keeping his sights on the angel. “Things change, bro. I mean, you stopped the Apocalypse. That alone should have proven something to you.”
The angel glared at Gabriel for a few more moments before he finally relented, glancing away. “I do not trust her, but I will trust your word.” It was hard to ignore the weight of what those words carried, but there wasn't much else that Gabriel could do in this matter. The archangel let out a sigh and nodded himself, just mostly glad that this had been resolved quickly.
“So,” Dean started again, eyebrow arched up once more as he looked between the two angels with a skeptical look that spoke of his own disbelief. “If the girl's that powerful, why can’t she just snap her fingers and make things better?”
“Because that’d be messing up the system,” came the drawl from behind them, and the trio jumped as the girl walked into the space between the three of them, busy lapping up chocolate ice-cream from her cone as emerald eyes blinked at them. “There’s a balance to everything, you know. The angels started this mess, so it’s the angels who need to finish it and wipe up the crap behind them. Kali and Baldur and the others, they’re just here to help speed up the process.”
“Then why are you helping?” Dean snapped as he faced the girl, while both Sam and Gabriel winced at the bluntness of the other’s question, the archangel even more so. Why, oh why, did he have to deal with idiots like these?
Rather than being insulted though, the girl only seemed amused at the retort, grinning toothily as she looked at Gabriel. “Have I mentioned how much I like him?”
“Once or twice,” Gabriel replied sort-of meekly, more glad for the fact that Dean wasn’t banished into orbit or something, because the Trickster very well could if she wanted to.
“Awesome.” The girl looked back at Dean, smiling sharply like a knife, before grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him with her to settle at a nearby, unoccupied table. Without much of a choice, both Sam and Gabriel followed (with Castiel trailing cautiously behind), settling down beside Dean once Loki had sat down herself.
There was a terse moment as silence fell on the group, only interrupted by loud slurps as Loki continued to lick the ice-cream from the cone she had in hand. The other three only gave each other rather uncertain looks for a bit (Castiel was still half-glaring at her) before Gabriel broke said silence, cautiously starting to speak up. “Uh, Loki…?”
“Hm?” the girl started as she looked up at the archangel, blinking after that. “Oh! Right.” She looked over to Dean, casually having her gaze past Castiel along the way, lowering her cone and giving the elder Winchester a quizzical look. “What was the question again?”
“Um,” Sam was the one who spoke up now, deciding to cut in before Dean’s bluntness and sarcasm got the best of them-a very good plan, in Gabriel’s opinion. “Dean was just wondering why you’re deciding to only help us now, since you’re powerful and all.”
“Gabe asked, for one,” Loki returned, shrugging. “And I like him, and with the stunt he pulled during the Apocalypse I figured I owed him something as compensation. For another, I really like this world, and if Purgatory opens up to release all those souls and whatever crap it still has inside, the nature of this world would get seriously screwed, and then it wouldn’t be fun anymore. Monsters really can only think so much before their bestial side gets the best of them.” She added the last part in a whisper, although everybody could hear what the girl had just said anyway.
“…right,” the younger Winchester started slowly as Loki returned to her ice-cream, happily lapping it up again. “Well, we’re just… really glad that you’re helping us out like this. Um. Thanks.”
“No prob.” Loki grinned once more, lips smeared with melted ice-cream before she licked it away. “And just so you know, you’re always welcome to pay me a visit after this.”
“We’ll think about it,” Sam went with a small, almost shaky smile, and Dean (thank Father) managed to keep his snort quiet this time.
Castiel, on the other hand, was a completely different story. “What are your intentions, Trickster?” he all but demanded, the flash of his blue eyes giving out a dangerous warning.
Loki only sighed, idly rolling her head around to the sound of popping cricks in her neck. “I liked you better when you didn't know me.”
“You would not do this out of goodwill,” the angel continued, voice dropping dangerously as he narrowed his eyes at her. “What are your plans?”
“None,” the girl returned, now rolling her eyes. “Look, Cas, just coz' you're lording it over some angels up there doesn't give you the right to ask me stupid questions. Raphael's still got you beat in that little war you guys are having.”
“If Raphael wins-” Castiel started, but Loki was already waving her hand to cut him off.
“Rocks fall, everybody dies, blah blah blah. Yes, Constantine, I already know,” the Trickster sighed once more, finishing up the rest of her ice-cream and tossing the napkin down on the table. “Look, I don't want Raphael to win any more than you do, but it's not as if your own track record has been stellar lately.”
The Winchesters exchanged glances while Gabriel felt his body tensing up, realization settling in his mind. Of course she would know, but was she really-? “Loki.”
“You guys know what you did,” the girl smoothly finished her words, prompting Gabriel to shut up and look over at Castiel, whose expression had hardened, and he could see the angel's hands clenched into tight fists, fingers gripping the material of Jimmy Novak's suit pants. His gaze was fixed on Loki, who now merely made another face at the angel and shrugged, pretty unruffled by the other's harsh gaze. “Gabriel asked me to help you and I agreed, but if you're not going to accept the aid I offer then there's not much I can do about it.” She paused to bring out a lollipop into existence from her hand, busying herself with undoing the wrapper as she finished up what she wanted to say. “The ball's in your court, angel.”
“Look, Cas-” Gabriel started, drawing the other's attention to him while the brothers continued to look on this entire situation. He looked at Castiel's blue eyes and saw the confused swirl of emotions in there, clamping down on his sigh as Gabriel went on speaking. “I know you don't trust her, which I understand, but just-just trust me, alright? She really wants to help, and it’s not like there's much to lose at this point.” The archangel forced a small smile on his face. “Right?”
“Yeah, Cas,” Sam spoke up after him, a surprising gesture, and said surprise showed on Gabriel's face as the archangel swiveled his head around to stare at the human. The younger Winchester smiled slightly in return before he continued. “I mean, if they're offering help... no point refusing, right? What's the worst that could happen?”
Castiel eyed Sam cautiously at those words, as if not really certain that he had heard the other correctly. Gabriel himself stilled, a bout of anxiety washing over him as the archangel glanced between the younger human and the younger angel, eventually settling his gaze at Loki. The Trickster looked about as concerned as ever, which was pretty much not concerned at all, and the girl shrugged once more, shoulders rolling. “Don’t look at me; Cas’ the one making the decision here.”
There was a longer pause now, one that continued to stretch on for a time long enough for Gabriel to start feeling uncomfortable with it as he fidgeted slightly and watched Castiel until the angel finally let out a breath, eyes closing. “If Gabriel trusts her, then I will trust his word,” he said, and in that instant the archangel felt himself sagging, relief overtaking his being and washing over his mind.
Dean, however, only clenched his jaw and kept his gaze trained on Cas, voice curt as he spoke. “That’s great, Cas,” he muttered, and one would have to be an idiot to not see that there was something wrong in the way Dean was speaking. Gabriel frowned and so did Sam, but Dean didn’t add on anything and only repeated himself. “Really great.”
Loki only let out a satisfied huff of amusement and clapped her hands together, green eyes sparkling. “Alright, now that this little drama fest is over, let’s start the meeting.” She paused to look over at Gabriel, a smile crossing her face as she added. “We’ve got a truckload of things to talk about.”
Five minutes later the room had been changed into a setting uncomfortably similar to the one at Elysian Fields (although this time the Winchesters were more of guests, rather than being held against their will, and all four of them were settled behind Loki), and Gabriel did his best not to show the sheer amount of awkwardness that he was feeling as the archangel shifted in his seat, casting his gaze across the numerous other pagans sitting in the room. Some of them were looking back at him, but all of them quickly turned their attention to Loki the moment the girl stood up from her seat and cleared her throat.
“Alright, peeps,” she started, her voice oddly upbeat. “We’ll be starting the meeting now. I trust all of you know why you’re here right now?” Gabriel watched the Trickster’s sharp eyes darting across the room, glancing at each of the gods and seeing them all murmuring with each other. There were no violent outbursts however, and after a few more moments of quiet muttering Loki smiled and laced her fingers together. “Nice to see we’re all on the same page. So, first of all-”
A loud snort interrupted Loki’s words then, and the girl paused for a second to see who it was before she sighed and spoke. “Yes, Fenrir?”
Gabriel watched as Fenrir stood up, brown hair mixed with streaks of dark purple and crimson gleaming under the lights as the wolf-god turned to fix narrowed blue eyes at the girl, who barely even flinched at the harsh look that was on Fenrir’s face or the snappy tone he spoke with. “We wish to know your real reasons, Trickster,” he growled out, canines gleaming through with every move of his jaw. “The reason why you have gathered so many of us here, for the first time in countless years, to stand before the angel who had tricked us all.” Fenrir’s eyes shifted towards Gabriel when he said that, and the archangel gulped down the lump rapidly forming in his throat.
Things did not get easier when another voice chimed in-Sleipnir-and Gabriel saw him standing up, wild eyes of green fixed on the archangel as well, as the horse-god flexed his giant human form. “He lived with us, dined with us and drank with us. We imparted to him our secrets and knowledge and end up being betrayed instead.” Sleipnir’s nostrils flared dangerously, and beside him Gabriel could hear Dean mutter a few appropriate curses under his breath, although none of them would have been particularly helpful in this context.
Loki sighed once more, exasperation evident in her voice, but the girl replied anyway. “Gabriel didn’t betray anyone, Sleipnir. He never gave anything away. I would have known if he did.”
“But he is still an angel,” a third voice chimed in, not wholly recognizable to Gabriel, and it was only when the figure stood when it clicked. Amaterasu, he thought, blinking at the brilliant, fiery robes that hid the goddess’s lithe form as the woman swept her dark eyes towards him, her gaze lingering for a moment before turning back towards Loki and speaking on. “He masqueraded as one of your subjects and lived under your nose so blatantly. Even if you say he did not betray us, does he not deserve punishment for that?”
“For what?” the Trickster returned, arching up an eyebrow. “He is under my law because I let him be so, Amaterasu. Would he have managed to keep himself hidden for so long unless I allowed it? You can ask Susano-o to know better.” The girl paused and took a breath before finishing her reply. “Nothing escapes from my sight, Amaterasu-ōmikami, especially when it’s under my domain.”
There was a tense pause after those words, but eventually Amaterasu accepted the words with a curt nod and moved to sit back down, Fenrir and Sleipnir following behind. Loki threw another glance across the room, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jacket and speaking. “Well? Any other violent objections I need to hear from you guys?”
A long silence now settled, one that dragged on for long enough for Loki to deem it an answer and open her mouth to speak up again, but right before she did an all-too familiar voice sounded in Gabriel’s ears. “I wish to speak.”
Sam and Dean jerked a little next to him, clearly uncomfortable with the sight of Kali standing up and now making her way up closer to Loki, closer to where all of them were. Castiel tensed-an instinctive reaction-while Gabriel steeled himself and only hoped that nothing too awkward was going to happen now. Dealing with his million and one relationship problems with Kali wasn’t something he particularly wanted to do anytime soon, impending Apocalypse or not.
Loki gave the Hindu goddess a brief glance before nodding, gesturing with one hand. “Sure thing, Kali. Speak your mind.”
Kali nodded back, only pausing to give Gabriel a fleeting look before she turned around and faced the other pagan gods, addressing them. “Just roughly two or so years ago, the Judeo-Christian Apocalypse threatened to bring us all to ruin,” she began, her voice resounding loud and clear across the room. “As you know, we tried to fight. To battle. To put blood against blood and end things in violence.” The goddess paused, sweeping her eyes across the room and Gabriel followed her gaze to catch sight of good old Baldur in the seat next to where Kali had been sitting; it looked like they were still together.
“It is not a secret that Sam and Dean Winchester were the centre of it all,” she intoned, one hand sweeping towards where the brothers were sitting as both Sam and Dean jumped, tensing out of instinct. Kali turned her head around to look at the two humans, unspoken words flashing in her eyes before she looked back, continuing. “The brothers were the vessels of Lucifer and Michael respectively, and if they wanted it they could have allowed the end of the world to happen at any time. But yet-” She stopped again, sucking in a deep breath, and Gabriel could guess what was it that Kali was trying to do now-she did owe them, after all, for Elysian Fields. Kali was a goddess who always kept to her promises, even if she disliked them. “-but yet they did not give in. They fought against what had been set in stone for them, they fought for themselves. And in doing so, they protected this world. Now, once again, this world is on the edge of destruction, set off by the danger of Purgatory.” Kali dropped her arm, swivelling her head across the length of the room to gaze at each of the gods and finished her speech. “Considering that they have worked so hard to save this world, I would think it would be adequate to believe that they have no intention of putting it in danger.”
Murmurs instantly broke out amongst the gods the moment Kali finished speaking, but the Hindu goddess paid no attention to them and with a final bow to Loki, made her way back to the seat. Gabriel watched her going all the way back, eyeing the hand Baldur laid on her shoulder and the small smiles they gave to each other.
Once upon a time, he would have been in Baldur’s seat.
Gabriel closed his eyes and willed the memories away, a sigh escaping him. Once, perhaps, he could have almost seen the pagans as his family. But more than the Trickster he was supposed to be, Gabriel was who he truly was, first and foremost. No matter how he ran and how he hid, that one truth would forever stick with him. An angel who deserted Heaven and a pagan who wasn’t truly a pagan-Gabriel wasn’t too certain where that exactly put him in Dad’s eyes.
Loki’s sudden clapping put a halt on his train of thoughts, and Gabriel blinked, jerking his head up to glance at the girl. The smile that crossed the Trickster’s face put her expression close to triumphant as she spoke. “All very good points there, Kali, thank you.” Brushing out the hair that covered her eyes, she picked up after the goddess. “You heard her, folks-Sam and Dean here risked everything to make sure we all are still in one piece in this world, so take a rain check and think about it. You guys want to sit here and continue to piss in each other’s territory, or are you going to protect this world so that you can continue your pissing matches?” She raised a hand to tap a finger against her skull in a pointed gesture and added. “Just think about it, guys.”
The pagan gods glanced at each other once more, unspoken words sent through each of their gazes. A few of them were rather prominently fixed on Gabriel, and the intensity made the archangel fidget in his seat, hazel eyes raised to look towards the girl lounging on the big fat armchair she had conjured up for herself, absently helping herself to a second serving of ice-cream. A tap on his shoulder made him turn back towards the one who had called for his attention-Sam, complete with the questioning look on his face. “What happens now?” the younger human asked, jerking his head towards the crowd for emphasis.
“Now?” the archangel returned, turning his head back to the other pagans and narrowing his eyes at them. “Now, we wait.”
“Just what we needed,” Dean muttered under his breath and with a roll of his eyes, although Gabriel really couldn't blame him. If there was one thing that the pagans were good at, it was the waiting game. So they would wait. Wait until they had an answer; wait until they made their decision. It was all they could really do right now.
Fortunately, they didn't seem to need to wait too long. In about ten minutes the pagans had all settled back down, and a moment passed before another figure stood up-one that Gabriel recognized now, from the ashen-white hair to the baggy outfit of blues and whites that the boyish-looking man wore on his form. At first glance he would have almost looked like a teenager, but the steel blue-grey eyes that only belonged to the master of strings would have instantly showed his age and power. Orpheus was a king in his own right, the frostiness in his expression only coming from one who ruled from high.
“Before we make a true decision,” he started, and it was impossible to not hear the authority and might that boomed in his ancient voice. Gabriel straightened up in his seat along with Sam, Dean and Castiel, all of them listening intently to the words of Orpheus. “We wish to ask one question of the Trickster.”
Loki finished up the last of the ice-cream cone in her hand before flickering her green eyes and looking up at the god, shifting around to sit up properly in her chair. She raised her head, inclining it to the side and then spent the next few seconds eyeing Orpheus with a critical look. She relented once the seconds passed, acknowledging the request with a small nod. “Speak, Orpheus.”
Orpheus nodded in return, steel blue eyes unblinking as he turned to the crowd, white hair shifting with every turn of his head. “It is not a secret among us here who your true identity is,” he went, giving a glance at the Trickster who acknowledged the god's words with an incline of her head. Gabriel watched as Loki propped her head up on a fist, elbows pressing against the arm rest of the couch as she watched the events unfolding through sharp green eyes. Orpheus seemed to pay the look no mind as he went on speaking. “The interloper, the one who interferes. The Serpent, the Trickster, the rulebreaker. Ha Satan. The Adversary.”
“Isn't Lucifer supposed to be The Adversary?” inquired Sam softly beside him, his voice a mutter as the human frowned.
Gabriel snorted quietly. “Please, Sam. He's an angel-or at least, he used to be. How can he be The Adversary when he's already something else?” Despite the words it was hard to not feel the sting in what he had said, the irony of his answer. Lucifer, as much as he was the devil, was still his brother, once upon a time. He had rebelled and Fallen and now was locked back in his cage-but the devil was still one of his kind, and that fact couldn't be erased, same as the fact that Michael was with the cage, with him now, and Raphael was set on bringing back the end of the world. All of his brothers, now split apart and leaving their brotherhood in tatters. The days back in Heaven almost seemed like a dream now.
“...I guess that makes sense,” Sam muttered after a pause, a soft sigh escaping him as the human withdrew back into his seat. Gabriel could just hear that giant brain of his working, although Orpheus's voice easily overlapped the sound of Sam's thinking.
“You are the god that would not be, the almost-God,” he heard Orpheus speak, grandiose speech never faltering. “Cast down to the humans when they left Eden, you have walked this planet even before any of us existed. Save the angels, of course,” the god added the last part, giving acknowledging looks to both Gabriel and Castiel as he said it. The archangel nodded back in turn and nudged Castiel to do the same; last thing anybody needed now was to piss off the one line of help they had. Seemingly satisfied, Orpheus nodded back and returned to his speech. “All these years you have walked this earth, Trickster, and you have never once raised a finger to interfere in the affairs of the humans, not even when the Judeo-Christian Apocalypse loomed over two years ago.” He looked back to Loki, eyes narrowing. “So tell us now, Trickster-why now? Why, after everything, are you finally raising your finger? We desire to know the reason behind your choice.”
Silence reigned abruptly after Orpheus's words, and every pagan god and goddess now looked to Loki who stayed strangely quiet. The girl's eyes were closed, but Gabriel could still sense her breathing deeply, almost as if in sleep. He would have believed it, if he didn’t know for a fact that the Trickster never slept.
Eventually, though, the Trickster opened her eyes, her green irises sparkling with an odd clarity and Loki straightened, suddenly carrying herself very differently, in a way that spoke of experience and power. This, Gabriel knew, was just a flash of the true Trickster she really was-the nameless god, the true Adversary. He watched the girl blink once, then twice, and she opened her mouth to speak, power resonating in every syllable. “There are many reasons,” she began, sweeping a glance to the room to ensure that she had everybody's attention. “And some of them I will not speak of. But know this-Gabriel is and has always been one of my subjects. Under me he is Loki, and anybody who follows the Trickster's rule will be subjected to my law. I agreed to aid him and his companions because he is a subject I admire, a subject who I respect. He gave his life and put himself against his brother, and I think he deserves the respect of that action.”
“Gabriel,” Castiel started, his voice low, but the archangel didn't hear any of it. His attention was focused on Loki, his own hazel eyes wide in surprise at the words that the Trickster was speaking.
“How many of you are able to fight against your brother? Your kin? Your family?” Loki's green eyes were blazing with ancient power, irises flaring under the shades of her bangs. “How many of you are willing to pick up your weapon and fight solely for what you believe? Gabriel had that courage, a courage that I cannot look away from. And that courage is also in the Winchesters and in Castiel over there.”
The angel in question made a start, surprised as well at the mention of his name. Sam and Dean looked visibly shaken, too, all their eyes fixed onto the girl who now stood up from her seat and cast her gaze on the crowd of gods. “The four of them found their courage to fight against their destiny, and they tore up the script and burned the pages right up.” A grin made its way to Loki's face, casting the Trickster's expression into a different light. “They chose free will and humanity and battled for it, and each and every one of you owes your existence to them. So, now, tell me this-” Her voice dropped lower, speaking in clipped tones now as she finished. “Are you all so spineless as to not repay your debt to them, or will you stand up and ensure that your believers and existence will not be threatened again?”
A hushed silence now settled in the room as the echoes of the Trickster's last words faded, and every one of the gods stayed quiet, eyes not even moving. Gabriel, too, found himself unable to say anything, stunned at the weight of Loki's words. Normally he could have easily shrugged off such things, but when it came from the Trickster herself... what could he say to that?
“They are the ones who chose humanity, and He has allowed this to pass,” Loki said, her voice quieter but still imbued with the fierce determination that had been present earlier. “And so if He indeed has allowed this so, then I wish to do whatever is in my power to keep this tender peace going.” She stared at the room again, her jaw set. “So, you may choose to help or you may choose to keep to yourselves, but know that the moment you interfere is the moment I will end you and your followers, no matter how many of them there are.”
Orpheus spoke up again, a deep-sated amusement within his voice. “You need not resort to such measures, Trickster,” he replied, a small smile on his face. “Indeed, it is a fact that we owe the Winchesters for what they have done.” To Gabriel's astonishment, he saw the master of strings bowing his head and watched as the other gods followed suit, paying all of them tribute. “For what they did two years ago, now we return the favour to them. I cannot speak for those who are not here, but for those who are in this room-know that we will aid in your struggle, for you as well as for ourselves.”
It was almost too good to be true; Gabriel's eyes were as big as saucers as he gazed at the many gods who were now pledging their help to him and to them, and he saw both Sam and Dean being as weirded out as he was. Even Castiel was taken aback, sitting ramrod straight in his seat, as his blue eyes drank in the sight that lay before them. It was so hard to believe that now suddenly there was hope, now there was a way, rather than the hopelessness they had all felt just one week ago. It made Gabriel's heart swell with a flare of hope.
Without thinking twice he reached out to Castiel through their Grace, touching each other so that the angel could feel his joy, his delight, his gratitude and his hope. See, bro? Told you we could do it.
Castiel sent back an acknowledgment through their link, and Gabriel couldn't help but smile. Finally, now, something was starting to go right for them.
And of course, when things were actually starting to go right, it always seemed to be the cue for the other shoe to drop. Gabriel found out about that the hard way, moments later when Loki got the pagans to start discussing and she took the archangel aside from his other three companions and started her words with “There’s a condition, Gabe.”
Knowing the nature and power of the Trickster, Gabriel didn’t even need a moment to guess what the girl was speaking about. Still, he couldn’t just give up his brother like this, even though he knew that it was probably the dumbest course of action he could take. “What condition?” he returned, although he failed to keep his gaze on the girl and was soon looking down at the ground.
He heard the Trickster let out a tightly-controlled breath, the hand that she had curled up in the sleeve of his clothes curling up tighter. “Don’t make me do this, Gabriel. You know what I’m talking about.”
“Loki-” he started, but the girl cut in before Gabriel could say anything else.
“Don’t start,” she snapped back, voice rising for just a moment before she caught herself and instantly fell silent. Her gaze remained unerringly fixed on Gabriel, green eyes staring at the archangel with an intensity that could put Castiel’s to shame. “I am treading a very fine line here by doing this, so I expect for you to give me the respect to at least fucking listen.” Her tone was quivering, shaking between absolute anger and painful disappointment as her fists trembled.
Gabriel remained silent, his own hazel eyes still refusing to look up at the myriad of expressions he knew he’d be able to see on the Trickster’s face. His head was still bowed, gaze settled between the floor and the knobs of Loki’s wrist shifting under the skin of the vessel she was wearing as the Trickster leaned forward, growling out her next words. “Stop that idiot angel brother of your before it’s too late, Gabe. Stop him and the deal he has with the King of Hell. It’s not going to end well.”
The archangel bit on his lower lip, trying very hard to ignore the swirl of emotions that swelled in his gut. Loki’s words, of course, made sense, but he didn’t know if he could even bring up the courage to go up against the one brother who he still had, to break this small, fragile bond that tethered him to this world. Lucifer had been different-Lucifer had rebelled, and he had been wrong. Castiel, though… Cas was different; he was just an angel trying to keep everything together, and considering his own track record, did Gabriel have any reason to fault him for what he was doing? Castiel was trying and, even until now, Gabriel knew he was doing nothing but looking the other way and ignoring his own piling problems.
“It’s time for you to stop running, Gabriel,” the Trickster hissed out, eyes narrowing. “Stand up for what should be right and convince Castiel to end his foolish crusade. Trust me; you do not want the Winchesters to find out about this. And when they do-” she paused at that, the trembling of her fist abruptly stopping just as the grip she had on Gabriel slackened. The archangel stumbled as he regained his balance, lifting his gaze out of instinctive curiosity and saw the pained look on Loki’s face, a dark regret painted on her features. Her voice lapsed into sudden quietness, speaking in a way that was almost like a whisper. “When they do, Gabriel, it’ll be too late to fix anything.”
She turned her eyes to him, and suddenly Gabriel could see a fragment of the Trickster’s mask peeling off, a crack through the countless layers of false happiness that she wore to the world. She was the Trickster, the interloper, the god cast down to Earth and chained to it. She could have been a God of her own making, a being just as powerful as the old man himself… but yet, here she was broken and battered and bound to a world beyond her choosing. It reminded Gabriel of how it had been back in the other world, of how he had all the power and might and everything there vulnerable at his fingertips. He recalled the freedom and joy and ease of living in a world that had nothing to challenge his power, the ecstasy of being at the top of the proverbial food chain. Most of all though, he could remember how incredibly painful it was all the way up there, in that lonely spot just reserved for one and one alone.
The archangel swallowed down the hard lump in his throat, trying to work his suddenly dry mouth. “Did you…?”
Loki’s eyes softened and a wry smile appeared on her lips as she let go of the other entirely and took a step back. “I went to take a glance,” she admitted, her voice soft as the pained look entered her eyes again. “That’s why I interfered.”
“Just because of that?” Gabriel asked despite himself, and the Trickster’s smile widened just a little more.
“There are other things,” she replied, and the regret in her voice was impossible to ignore. “You’ll understand when the time comes. Please, Gabe-” and it was so rare to hear the Trickster actually pleading, to ask for help when help was the last thing that the Trickster should ever need, and the enormity of that moment struck Gabriel so hard he was lost on what to do or say. “Just-just stop Castiel, before everything goes down the drain. Promise me that you will.”
“I-” Gabriel started, stopping as the words caught in his throat momentarily. How could he even… “I don’t know.”
“Just try,” Loki returned, trying to be gentle, to be helpful. “Please. Just try, at least.”
Knowing that he didn’t have anything else to say to that, the archangel could only nod in response. He agreed, even though his eyes were already betraying his own feelings about the situation. He didn’t even know how he was going to do this or if it was even possible, but-
You are still Gabriel; you are still the messenger of Heaven, no matter the things you have done as Loki. You are… You are still my brother, Gabriel. That will not change.
Will it? Gabriel thought to himself cruelly as he started to count down the minutes he had left of everything he could still hold dear in this world. Will it not change, when I have to stand up against you?
Suddenly he wasn’t all that certain at all.
← sixth act | eighth act →